Selection, Professional Profile and Initial Training of Judges in Spain

La función jurisdiccional ha cambiado de forma significativa a partir de la consolidación de lo que se ha dado en llamar “estado constitucional de derecho” o “neoconstitucionalismo”, por contraposición al “estado legal de derecho” y al “iuspositivismo legalista”, en los sistemas jurídicos continentales. En lo que podría calificarse como un nuevo paradigma jurídico, es evidente que el rol de los jueces cambia, en la medida en que ya no pueden limitarse a una aplicación mecánica de la ley, sino que deben contrastarla con las previsiones constitucionales, abiertas y axiológicamente densas. Ello va aparejado al reforzamiento del juez como gestor del conflicto social, una responsabilidad que supera su condición de “boca de la ley”, que se le había asignado a partir de Montesquieu. Esta situación debe contrastarse con el proceso de selección y la formación inicial de los jueces en España, centrada desde 1870 en el modelo de oposición, que, a medida que se consolidaba, se revelaba como particularmente impermeable a la introducción de factores de corrección. La oposición, tal como está planteada, nos acerca hacia un modelo de juez que es, justamente, el que la Constitución de 1978, la cultura jurídica europea común que va desarrollándose en este momento, y la complejidad e incertidumbre que conlleva la llamada globalización convierten en anacrónico. En este marco, la inserción en el Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior de los estudios de derecho y la reforma del acceso a la abogacía suponen oportunidades para iniciar el proceso hacia un cambio de modelo en la selección y la formación inicial de los jueces.  The judicial function has changed significantly since the consolidation of what has been named “constitutional legal system” or “neoconstitutionalism”, as a contrary of the “legalist legal system” or “legalist positivism”, in civil law systems. In what can be considered as a new legal paradigm, it is obvious that the role of judges changes, being that they cannot limit themselves to a mechanical application of the (statutory) law, but they should taking into account constitutional previsions, open and axiologically dense. This takes place alongside with the strengthening of the judge as manager of social conflict, responsibility which exceeds the role as a “mouth of the law”, which has been assigned to he/she since Montesquieu. This situation has to be contrasted with the selection process and initial training of judges in Spain, centered since 1870 in a model of competitive examination, which has been particularly impervious to the introduction of correction factors, since its progressive consolidation. As it is conceived nowadays, competitive examination brings us closer to a model of judge which is what Spanish Constitution, the emerging European legal culture and the complexity and uncertainty derived from what is call globalization turn into anachronistic. In this situation, the insertion of legal studies into the European Higher Education Area and the reform of the admission to the Bar in Spain are opportunities to start the process to change the model of selection and initial training of judges

Newborn Sequencing in Genomic Medicine and Public Health

The rapid development of genomic sequencing technologies has decreased the cost of genetic analysis to the extent that it seems plausible that genome-scale sequencing could have widespread availability in pediatric care. Genomic sequencing provides a powerful diagnostic modality for patients who manifest symptoms of monogenic disease and an opportunity to detect health conditions before their development. However, many technical, clinical, ethical, and societal challenges should be addressed before such technology is widely deployed in pediatric practice. This article provides an overview of the Newborn Sequencing in Genomic Medicine and Public Health Consortium, which is investigating the application of genome-scale sequencing in newborns for both diagnosis and screening

C3-EURO4M-MEDARE Mediterranean historical climate data

<p>Historical surface climate data files and meta-data for stations in Mediterranean North Africa and Middle East areas (1852-2008)</p

Stanford-Binet and WAIS IQ differences and their implications for adults with intellectual disability (aka mental retardation)

Els components de diferents equips de la Congregació fent un vermut de germanor, veiem entre altres a Joan González, Ricard Farré, Antoni Bofill, Francesc Almiñana, Joan Pérez, Lluís Tortajada i Dídac Ramos

Outcome measures for clinical trials in fragile X syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Progress in basic neuroscience has led to identification of molecular targets for treatment in fragile X syndrome (FXS) and other neurodevelopmental disorders; however, there is a gap in translation to targeted therapies in humans. One major obstacle to the demonstration of efficacy in human trials has been the lack of generally accepted endpoints to assess improvement in function in individuals with FXS. To address this problem, the National Institutes of Health convened a meeting of leading scientists and clinicians with the goal of identifying and standardizing outcome measures for use as potential endpoints in clinical trials in FXS. METHODS: Participants in the meeting included FXS experts, experts in the design and implementation of clinical trials and measure development, and representatives from advocacy groups, industry, and federal agencies. RESULTS: The group generated recommendations for optimal outcome measures in cognitive, behavioral, and biomarker/medical domains, including additional testing and validation of existing measures and development of new measures in areas of need. Although no one endpoint or set of endpoints could be identified that met all criteria as an optimal measure, recommendations are presented in this report. CONCLUSION: The report is expected to guide the selection of measures in clinical trials and lead to the use of a more consistent battery of measures across trials. Furthermore, this will help to direct research toward gaps in the development of validated FXS-specific outcome measures and to assist with interpretation of clinical trial data by creating templates for measurement of treatment efficacy