Constitutional Analogies in the International Legal System

This Article explores issues at the frontier of international law and constitutional law. It considers five key structural and systemic challenges that the international legal system now faces: (1) decentralization and disaggregation; (2) normative and institutional hierarchies; (3) compliance and enforcement; (4) exit and escape; and (5) democracy and legitimacy. Each of these issues raises questions of governance, institutional design, and allocation of authority paralleling the questions that domestic legal systems have answered in constitutional terms. For each of these issues, I survey the international legal landscape and consider the salience of potential analogies to domestic constitutions, drawing upon and extending the writings of international legal scholars and international relations theorists. I also offer some preliminary thoughts about why some treaties and institutions, but not others, more readily lend themselves to analysis in constitutional terms. And I distinguish those legal and political issues that may generate useful insights for scholars studying the growing intersections of international and constitutional law from other areas that may be more resistant to constitutional analogies

Defence diplomacy: is the game worth the candle?

Few defence topics have been as prominent or invested with as much optimism in recent years as defence diplomacy. This paper has been created to explore the issue and help guide policymakers. Foreword Few Defence topics have been as prominent or invested with as much optimism in recent years as defence diplomacy (also called military diplomacy or defence engagement). In response to the growing security challenges of Asia, scholars, policymakers and practitioners have looked for ways to build confidence, decrease the risk and impact of accidents and encourage peaceful dispute resolution. Defence diplomacy, namely the practice of military and defence officials engaging their overseas counterparts, is increasingly regarded as a vital way to achieve these aims. Given the importance of this topic, a special Centre of Gravity paper has been created to explore the issue and help guide policymakers. This edition features six short papers, each with a different take and policy recommendation. The authors were asked the same question ‘Is the game worth the candle?’ and while their answers focus largely on Australia there are lessons and implications from their findings for the entire region. Brendan Taylor, the head of the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre begins the special edition calling for a stocktake of current efforts, in a bid to understand what has worked and what resources it requires. He is joined by two colleagues, John Blaxland who argues strongly in favour of an expanded defence diplomacy program and Hugh White who urges caution about the strategic influence of the practice. To complement these views, Nick Bisley, Executive Director La Trobe Asia, highlights the need for realistic ambitions. Lieutenant General (Ret.) Peter Leahy draws on his distinguished career in the ADF to detail how defence diplomacy occurs in practice and why it matters. Finally, See Seng Tan, Deputy Director of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore provides a regional perspective on Australia’s defence diplomacy. The authors of these papers don’t agree with each other, and that was precisely why they were invited to contribute. But some common themes are clear. Such as the need for a clear —and public — strategy along with integrating defence diplomacy into the efforts of other parts of government. Together these six papers provide insight into the practice and potential of defence diplomacy. This special edition also marks a re-launch of the Centre of Gravity Series. While some of the design may change, the focus remains the same: inviting some of the best analysts from Australia and around the world to provide short, accessible papers on the key questions facing Australian strategic affairs

Crystal structure of bis(μ2-di-n-butyldithiocarbamato-κ3S,S′:S;κ3S:S:S′)-hexacarbonyl-di-rhenium(I), C24H36N2O6Re2

C24H36N2O6Re2, triclinic, P¯1 (no. 2), a=10.3013(2) Å, b=11.3471(2) Å, c=14.5967(3) Å, α=72.540(2)°, β=73.074(2)°, γ=85.369(2)°, V =1557.05(6) Å3, Z =2, Rgt(F)=0.0214, wRref(F2)=0.0466, T =100(2) K

Novel Wide Harmonic Suppression Antenna Designed Using Adaptive Meshing and Genetic Algorithms.

yesMicrostrip patch antennas with harmonic suppression are designed and optimised, using a genetic algorithm and applying a novel adaptive meshing program to generate a wire-grid simulation. A coaxially-fed air-dielectric patch antenna design with a folded patch was investigated. It was confirmed that antennas with excellent performances could be designed by this method.MSCR

Computation of Electromagnetic Fields in Assemblages of Biological Cells Using a Modified Finite-Difference Time-Domain Scheme

When modeling objects that are small compared with the wavelength, e.g., biological cells at radio frequencies, the standard finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method requires extremely small time-step sizes, which may lead to excessive computation times. The problem can be overcome by implementing a quasi-static approximate version of FDTD based on transferring the working frequency to a higher frequency and scaling back to the frequency of interest after the field has been computed. An approach to modeling and analysis of biological cells, incorporating a generic lumped-element membrane model, is presented here. Since the external medium of the biological cell is lossy material, a modified Berenger absorbing boundary condition is used to truncate the computation grid. Linear assemblages of cells are investigated and then Floquet periodic boundary conditions are imposed to imitate the effect of periodic replication of the assemblages. Thus, the analysis of a large structure of cells is made more computationally efficient than the modeling of the entire structure. The total fields of the simulated structures are shown to give reasonable and stable results at 900,1800, and 2450 MHz. This method will facilitate deeper investigation of the phenomena in the interaction between electromagnetic fields and biological systems