La Litis contestatio en el proceso penal canónico

One of the principal elements of the trial is the act by which the judge, after hearing the parties and weighing the libellus, determines the terms of the controversy (the litis contestatio). Canonical tradition suggests that this moment can be reconfigured in a penal trial in terms of the delicti contestatio, since it involves a bearing witness before the judge of the public notitia criminis and opposition to it or at least the acknowledgment of being the one accused of it. This moment marks the institution of the contradictorium in the penal process and constitutes the basis for procedural self-defense. Judicial praxis deems it sufficient for the formula of the doubt to indicate the alleged delict together with a commonly indeterminate penalty, except in the case of most serious penalties. However, natural justice and the rationality of the judicial process seem to suggest that the formula of the doubt be endowed with greater specificity of the threatened penalty. This could even have implications for a more just administrative penal process.Uno de los elementos principales del proceso es el acto por el que el juez, tras haber oído a las partes y valorado el libellus, determina los términos de la controversia (la litis contestatio). La tradición canónica sugiere que, en el juicio penal, este momento puede reconfigurarse como delicti contestatio, puesto que supone poner en conocimiento del juez la notitia criminis y su oposición, o al menos el reconocimiento de ser el acusado. Este momento señala la iniciación del contradictorium en el proceso penal y constituye la base de la defensa propia en el proceso. La praxis judicial considera suficiente, para la fórmula de la duda, que se indique el delito que se le imputa junto a la pena que le corresponde que, por lo común, queda indeterminada, excepto en el caso de las penas más graves. Sin embargo, la justicia natural y la racionalidad del proceso parecen sugerir que, en la fórmula de la duda, debería delimitarse más concretamente la pena. Este proceder podría dar lugar también a un procedimiento administrativo penal más justo

La normalización del proceso penal extrajudicial (c. 1720). Análisis, crítica, propuestas

A plain reading of c. 1342 § 1, albeit in its implicit sense, reveals that the judicial process is the ordinary instrument for handling a penal cause, while an extrajudicial or administrative penal process may only be employed when just causes impede a judicial process. Nevertheless, because the formulation of that canon is a result of a compromise in the Code Commission, and also because of the rarity of penal trials in the decades following the promulgation of the CIC, canonical doctrine has yielded much discretion to the Ordinary in selecting the form of penal process, such that the extrajudicial process has come to be considered the “normal” pathway. In any case, it is critical that the judicial nature of the decision concluding the extrajudicial process be born carefully in mind. Moreover, ongoing profound reflection is to be devoted to considering how the extrajudicial process can be a truly just one. It may be optimal for a single penal process to be proposed to the Legislator de iure condendo.Una simple lectura del c. 1342 § 1, al margen de su sentido implícito, revela que el proceso judicial es el instrumento ordinario para la tramitación de causas penales, mientras que el proceso penal extrajudicial o administrativo sólo se puede emplear cuando se dan causas justas que impiden el proceso judicial. Sin embargo, puesto que la formulación de este canon es el resultado de un acuerdo en la Comisión Codicial, y dado que los juicios penales fueron más bien infrecuentes en las décadas posteriores a la promulgación del CIC, la doctrina canónica le ha otorgado gran discreción al Ordinario para elegir el modo del proceso penal, hasta el punto de que el proceso extrajudicial ha venido a considerarse como la vía “normal”. En cualquier caso, resulta esencial que se tenga presente con la debida prudencia la naturaleza jurídica de la decisión que concluye el proceso extrajudicial. Además, en la actualidad, hace falta una reflexión profunda para considerar de qué modo puede el proceso extrajudicial ser verdaderamente justo. Quizás lo ideal sería proponer un proceso penal único al legislador de iure condendo

The biomechanical characteristics of the strongman atlas stone lift

BACKGROUND: The atlas stone lift is a popular strongman exercise where athletes are required to pick up a large, spherical, concrete stone and pass it over a bar or place it on to a ledge. The aim of this study was to use ecologically realistic training loads and set formats to (1) establish the preliminary biomechanical characteristics of athletes performing the atlas stone lift; (2) identify any biomechanical differences between male and female athletes performing the atlas stone lift; and (3) determine temporal and kinematic differences between repetitions of a set of atlas stones of incremental mass. METHODS: Kinematic measures of hip, knee and ankle joint angle, and temporal measures of phase and repetition duration were collected whilst 20 experienced strongman athletes (female: n = 8, male: n = 12) performed three sets of four stone lifts of incremental mass (up to 85% one repetition maximum) over a fixed-height bar. RESULTS: The atlas stone lift was categorised in to five phases: the recovery, initial grip, first pull, lap and second pull phase. The atlas stone lift could be biomechanically characterised by maximal hip and moderate knee flexion and ankle dorsiflexion at the beginning of the first pull; moderate hip and knee flexion and moderate ankle plantarflexion at the beginning of the lap phase; moderate hip and maximal knee flexion and ankle dorsiflexion at the beginning of the second pull phase; and maximal hip, knee extension and ankle plantarflexion at lift completion. When compared with male athletes, female athletes most notably exhibited: greater hip flexion at the beginning of the first pull, lap and second pull phase and at lift completion; and a shorter second pull phase duration. Independent of sex, first pull and lap phase hip and ankle range of motion (ROM) were generally smaller in repetition one than the final three repetitions, while phase and total repetition duration increased throughout the set. Two-way interactions between sex and repetition were identified. Male athletes displayed smaller hip ROM during the second pull phase of the first three repetitions when compared with the final repetition and smaller hip extension at lift completion during the first two repetitions when compared with the final two repetitions. Female athletes did not display these between-repetition differences. CONCLUSIONS: Some of the between-sex biomechanical differences observed were suggested to be the result of between-sex anthropometric differences. Between-repetition differences observed may be attributed to the increase in stone mass and acute fatigue. The biomechanical characteristics of the atlas stone lift shared similarities with the previously researched Romanian deadlift and front squat. Strongman athletes, coaches and strength and conditioning coaches are recommended to take advantage of these similarities to achieve greater training adaptations and thus performance in the atlas stone lift and its similar movements

Ocean Science Series: Redistribution of Fish Catch by Climate Change

Global climate change is expected to affect marine fisheries productivity because of changes in water temperature, ocean currents and other ocean conditions. Marine fisheries are an important food source, and changes in the total amount or geographic distribution of fish available for catch could affect food security. Changes in marine food supply due to climate change, however, were previously unknown

Dialectic tensions in the financial markets: a longitudinal study of pre- and post-crisis regulatory technology

This article presents the findings from a longitudinal research study on regulatory technology in the UK financial services industry. The financial crisis with serious corporate and mutual fund scandals raised the profile of compliance as governmental bodies, institutional and private investors introduced a ‘tsunami’ of financial regulations. Adopting a multi-level analysis, this study examines how regulatory technology was used by financial firms to meet their compliance obligations, pre- and post-crisis. Empirical data collected over 12 years examine the deployment of an investment management system in eight financial firms. Interviews with public regulatory bodies, financial institutions and technology providers reveal a culture of compliance with increased transparency, surveillance and accountability. Findings show that dialectic tensions arise as the pursuit of transparency, surveillance and accountability in compliance mandates is simultaneously rationalized, facilitated and obscured by regulatory technology. Responding to these challenges, regulatory bodies continue to impose revised compliance mandates on financial firms to force them to adapt their financial technologies in an ever-changing multi-jurisdictional regulatory landscape

The three-dimensional random field Ising magnet: interfaces, scaling, and the nature of states

The nature of the zero temperature ordering transition in the 3D Gaussian random field Ising magnet is studied numerically, aided by scaling analyses. In the ferromagnetic phase the scaling of the roughness of the domain walls, $w\sim L^\zeta$, is consistent with the theoretical prediction $\zeta = 2/3$. As the randomness is increased through the transition, the probability distribution of the interfacial tension of domain walls scales as for a single second order transition. At the critical point, the fractal dimensions of domain walls and the fractal dimension of the outer surface of spin clusters are investigated: there are at least two distinct physically important fractal dimensions. These dimensions are argued to be related to combinations of the energy scaling exponent, $\theta$, which determines the violation of hyperscaling, the correlation length exponent $\nu$, and the magnetization exponent $\beta$. The value $\beta = 0.017\pm 0.005$ is derived from the magnetization: this estimate is supported by the study of the spin cluster size distribution at criticality. The variation of configurations in the interior of a sample with boundary conditions is consistent with the hypothesis that there is a single transition separating the disordered phase with one ground state from the ordered phase with two ground states. The array of results are shown to be consistent with a scaling picture and a geometric description of the influence of boundary conditions on the spins. The details of the algorithm used and its implementation are also described.Comment: 32 pp., 2 columns, 32 figure

Individualised perioperative blood pressure and fluid therapy in oesophagectomy:study protocol for a randomised clinical trial

INTRODUCTION: Oesophagectomy is the mainstay of curative treatment for oesophageal cancer, but it is associated with a high risk of major complications. Goal-directed fluid therapy and individualised blood pressure management may prevent complications after surgery. Extending goal-directed fluid therapy after surgery and applying an individual blood pressure target may have substantial benefit in oesophagectomy. This is a protocol for a clinical trial implementing a novel haemodynamic protocol from the start of anaesthesia to the next day with the patient’s own night-time blood pressure as the lower threshold.METHODS: This is a single-centre, single-blind, randomised, clinical trial. Oesophagectomy patients are randomised 1:1 for either perioperative haemodynamic management according to a goal-directed fluid therapy protocol with an individual target blood pressure or for standard care. The primary endpoint is the total burden of morbidity and mortality assessed by the Comprehensive Complication Index 30 days after surgery. Secondary endpoints are complications, reoperations, fluid and vasopressor dosage and quality of life at 90 days after surgery.CONCLUSIONS: The results from this trial provide an objective and easy-to-follow algorithm for fluid administration, which may improve patient-centred outcomes in oesophagectomy patients.</p