New Hong Kong statute protects factual statements in medical apologies from use in litigation

Providing an apology which contains a factual explanation following a medical adverse incident may facilitate an amicable settlement and improve patient experience. Numerous apology laws exist with the aim of encouraging an apology but the lack of explicit and specific protection for factual admissions included in “full” apologies can give rise to legal disputes and deter their use. The new Hong Kong Apology Ordinance expressly prohibits the admission of a statement of fact in an apology as evidence of fault in a wide range of applicable proceedings and thus provides the clearest and most comprehensive apology protection to date. This should significantly encourage open medical disclosure and the provision of an apology when things go wrong. This paper examines the significance and implication of the Apology Ordinance in the medico-legal context. </jats:p

Offender and offence characteristics of school shooting incidents

School shootings are a concern due to their impact in the local community. This paper aimed to (a) establish frequent characteristics of the offender and offence, (b) explore the differences between offenders who are over the age of 18 years and those who are younger, and (c) consider the underlying themes of the offence characteristics. Data were collected on 28 cases through accessing resources such as West Law and case studies. The majority of the offenders were Caucasian and US citizens and suffered from depression. Their offences were primarily well planned, involved more than three deaths, and resulted in the offender committing suicide. Pearson’s chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test identified significant differences between the two age groups. Offenders who were 18 years of age or under were more likely to experience depression, be US citizens and be linked to the school. Additionally, offenders who were 18 years of age or under were more likely to have stolen their weapons and made threats prior to the incident. Smallest space analysis revealed four thematic regions in relation to the offence characteristics: making an impact, delivering a message, doing unrestrained activity, and targeting specific individuals. These findings have implications for risk assessment and furthering understanding. Keywrods : school shooting; juvenile; offence characteristics; multidimensional scaling; school violenc

The Regulation of Human Genetic Databases in Japan

Regulators drafting the legal and ethical framework of the UK Biobank Project are attempting to achieve a complex and delicate balance of interests. The regulatory structure which they devise must maximise the usefulness of the Biobank as a long-term resource for a variety of population-based genetic studies. At the same time, regulators must also strive to protect the rights and dignity of the donors of genetic material on whose highly-sensitive information this research will be based. When weighing the various competing interests, it may be useful to observe the ways in which other jurisdictions have attempted to regulate human genetic databases- to analyse the successes and problems of their regulatory frameworks and see how behaviour has evolved in those countries in practice. Viewed in this spirit, Japan may prove to be a valuable and informative case study in the regulation of human biobanks