Suchergebnisse

How do voters make decisions in low-information elections? How distinctive are these voting decisions? Traditional approaches to the study of voting and elections often fail to address these questions by ignoring other elections taking place simultaneously. In this groundbreaking book, Stephen Nicholson shows how issue agendas shaped by state ballot propositions prime voting decisions for presidential, gubernatorial, Senate, House, and state legislative races. As a readily accessible source of information, the issues raised by ballot propositions may have a spillover effect on elections and ultimately define the meaning of myriad contests. Nicholson examines issues that appear on the ballot alongside candidates in the form of direct legislation. Found in all fifty states, but most abundant in those states that feature citizen-initiated ballot propositions, direct legislation represents a large and growing source of agenda issues. Looking at direct legislation issues such as abortion, taxes, environmental regulation, the nuclear freeze, illegal immigration, and affirmative action, Nicholson finds that these topics shaped voters' choices of candidates even if the issues were not featured in a particular contest or were not relevant to the job responsibilities of a particular office. He concludes that the agendas established by ballot propositions have a far greater effect in priming voters than is commonly recognized, and indeed, that the strategic use of initiatives and referenda by political elites potentially thwarts the will of the people

In today's asymmetric armed conflicts, military agents carry out targeted killings against civilians that »take a direct part in the hostilities«. This book defines such participation for the purposes of international humanitarian, criminal and human rights law. Additionally, the general framework of the law of war is revisited, in particular under the currently frequent scenario of non-international armed conflicts. Treaty requirements for the recognition of non-state actors (degree of collectivity) are addressed and the legal ethics of a strict status-based approach in international law (combatants/civilians) is opined on. The study at hand analyzes the repertory of applicable legal texts and their authentic versions in the different official languages. It discloses existing incoherencies and gives an overview of their implementation into the national legislation of several countries. The research closes with a fictional case study. Graphs and figures are used for illustration purposes throughout the document. In today's asymmetric armed conflicts, military agents carry out targeted killings against civilians that »take a direct part in the hostilities«. This book defines such participation for the purposes of international humanitarian, criminal and human rights law. Additionally, the general framework of the law of war is revisited, in particular under the currently frequent scenario of non-international armed conflicts. Treaty requirements for the recognition of non-state actors (degree of collectivity) are addressed and the legal ethics of a strict status-based approach in international law (combatants/civilians) is opined on. The study at hand analyzes the repertory of applicable legal texts and their authentic versions in the different official languages. It discloses existing incoherencies and gives an overview of their implementation into the national legislation of several countries. The research closes with a fictional case study. Graphs and figures are used for illustration purposes throughout the document. In asymmetric armed conflicts military agents carry out targeted killings against civilians taking »a direct part in the hostilities«. This book defines such participation and revisits the applicable legal framework. Treaty requirements for the recognition of non-state actors are addressed and the legal ethics of a strict status-based approach (combatants/civilians) is opined on. The research uses numerous graphs for illustration purposes and closes with a fictional case study. Josef Alkatout, deutsch-palästinensischen Ursprungs, wuchs in den USA sowie in Süddeutschland auf. Nach dem Studium der Rechtswissenschaft und der internationalen Beziehungen in der Schweiz und in Finnland, promovierte er an der Universität Göttingen im internationalen Strafrecht zum Dr. jur. Er war über mehrere Jahre als Jurist in der Regulierungsbranche in London und Genf sowie als Dozent für den Weltverband der Gesellschaften für die Vereinten Nationen beschäftigt. Momentan vertritt er die tamilische Exilregierung in New York in Belangen des internationalen Strafrechts und ist darüber hinaus für eine Genfer Rechtsanwaltskanzlei tätig. Seine Abhandlung zur Zulässigkeit der Tötung Osama bin Ladens wurde in sechs Sprachen veröffentlicht. Josef Alkatout ist auch Autor von zwei belletristischen Romanen. Josef Alkatout is of Palestinian and German origin and grew up in the US and in Europe. He earned his degrees in law and international relations in Switzerland and Finland, and a PhD in international criminal law in Germany. During several years, Alkatout worked as a regulation lawyer in London and Geneva and lectured for the World Federation of United Nations Associations. Currently, he is the legal representative for the Tamil government in exile in New York and works in the field of criminal law in a firm in Geneva. His treatise on the legality of the Osama bin Laden killing was issued in six languages. Josef Alkatout has also published two novels.

The article substantiates a set of proposals for amending housing legislation aimed at building effective financial models of various ways to manage apartment buildings in modern Russia. The implementation of the proposals will allow the creation of financially sustainable management organizations in the housing and utilities sector, who receive their remuneration in legal form and are interested in the results of their financial and economic activities. The study was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research in the framework of the research project No. 18-010-00090 "Study of the financial and economic aspects of the activities of management companies in the housing and utilities sector and the development of proposals to improve their financial sustainability."

Across the United States, there is wide variation in opportunities for citizens to craft legislation through the process of direct democracy. Previous studies suggest that an active role in policy making can spark political interest and engagement, encouraging individuals, who would otherwise abstain from voting, to turn out. Daniel R. Biggers challenges this contention, testing a new theoretical framework that details the exact circumstances under which any proposition might increase participation. Morality at the Ballot reveals that the ability of direct democracy to increase turnout is significantly more limited than currently thought, and that the propositions that do affect participation are restricted to a small subset of ballot issues that include morality policy. Biggers uses these morality propositions to demonstrate the conditions necessary for direct democracy to influence turnout, affect who votes, and shape electoral and policy outcomes. The investigation provides significant insights into the consequences of deciding policy via the ballot and expanding the role for citizens in the political process

AbstractIt is over a year since the collapse of the devolved administration at Stormont, which left one region of the United Kingdom without a functioning executive. Reluctance to introduce direct rule from Westminster reduced Northern Ireland to a desiccated form of governance. This article examines the nature and form of government in this political vacuum. The consequences of this system are examined in terms of the absence of legislation, mechanisms for scrutiny, and participation in intergovernmental relations. In the absence of devolution and direct rule, the potential for greater involvement of the Irish government in the affairs of Northern Ireland is also considered.

This paper deals with the debate on the methods to regulate hedge funds, with a particular focus on direct or indirect regulation. After having briefly examined the pros and the cons of directly regulating these investment schemes, it comes to the conclusion (largely shared by most scholars) that hedge funds should not be directly regulated, while regulation should concern their management companies and, most of all, their counterparts (lenders in the first place) with a view to managing systemic risk. In addition, regulation should also set precise thresholds for access which should aim at protecting unsophisticated investors from hazardous moves, without, however, falling into the trap of regulating hedge fund themselves.The attention is then turned to the European Union and to its Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). An analysis is conducted on some of the most significant approaches to hedge fund regulation which have fuelled (and are partly still fuelling) the debate within EU institutions in its struggle to provide Member States with a valid response to the financial crisis, and on some key provisions of the first level AIFMD. In this light the author concludes that, despite the declared intent to regulated fund managers, the directive often seems to regulate hedge fund themselves. This does not seem to be in line with the thoughts of most scholars and market operators on hedge fund regulation and also looks at odds with other pieces of EU legislation (in particular with the so-called "Newcits").

Between 1960 & 1998, the people of Oregon, Colorado, & California passed 127 citizen-sponsored state ballot measures. More than half of those ballot measures were challenged in court, & eventually half of those were partially or completely invalidated by state & federal courts. Understandably, those who draft & bear the costs of passing these measures become frustrated when they are invalidated by one or a handful of judges. Initiative drafters have little recourse against unelected federal judges. But state courts, to varying degrees, are subject to democratic elections & are therefore more likely to face political responses from disgruntled initiative activists. This article examines how the invalidation of initiatives by state courts affects the politicization of state judicial elections. Specifically, it is argued that initiative activists who have had their ballot measures overturned will increasingly bear the costs of challenging sitting state justices, primarily by assuming the "information costs" associated with electoral politics. Tables, References. Adapted from the source document.

This paper has as its emphasis the cogent need for the effective implementation of a general but uniform legal framework or environment for the treatment of foreign direct investment by the recipient African States. Hence its purpose, namely, the need to move towards the development of a harmonised legal regime on foreign direct investment within the Southern African Development Community. This necessitates a comparative study of the FDI laws of select South African countries, examining and analysing the principal features of the legal regimes of some of these countries with the aim of illustrating the areas of commonality and highlighting the differences. It also assesses the feasibility of developing or adopting an already existing model legislation on direct foreign investment by contracting parties to the SADC treaty. It thus proves instructive not to confine this paper to Southern African countries, but rather to draw from the experiences of various other countries on the African continent.

Subjective composition of legalization of illegal proceeds is related to the fact that an individual acknowledges the character of his/her actions and, what is of utmost importance, he/she is well informed about the illegal origin of monetary resources and other property; in other words, he/she purposefully legalizes proceeds. This issue is not solved in the legislations of foreign countries. Three models of the subjective side of an action can be pointed out by generalizing different approaches: the model that is based on direct intention, the model that includes indirect intention, the model that takes into consideration imprudence. This article deals namely with the model based on direct intention.

The EU is a pre-eminent player in sustainable development, adopting more than 200 pieces of legislation that have direct repercussions for marine environmental policy and management. Over five decades, measures have aimed to protect the marine environment by tackling the impact of human activities, but maritime affairs have been dealt with by separate sectoral policies without fully integrating all relevant sectors. Such compartmentalisation has resulted in a patchwork of EU legislation and resultant national legislation leading to a piecemeal approach to marine protection. These are superimposed on international obligations emanating from UN and other bodies and are presented here as complex 'horrendograms' showing the complexity across vertical governance. These horrendograms have surprised marine experts despite them acknowledging the many uses and users of the marine environment. Encouragingly since 2000, the evolution in EU policy has progressed to more holistic directives and here we give an overview of this change.

[cat] El 20 de febrer de 2006 es va aprovar el Reglament núm. 318/2006 del Consell que reforma l'Organització Comuna de Mercats del sucre. L'article analitza els canvis introduïts en el nou règim europeu del sucre i valora la seva adequació a les normes i demandes internacionals de liberalització del comerç agrícola. Es conclou que la reforma ha estat el mínim necessari per fer front als reptes internacionals: la recent resolució de l'Òrgan de Solució de Diferències de l'Organització Mundial del Comerç i les demandes de liberalització plantejades en el marc de la Ronda de Doha. ; [spa] El 20 de febrero de 2006 se aprobó el Reglamento nº 318/2006 del Consejo que reforma la Organización Común de Mercados del azúcar. El artículo analiza los cambios introducidos en el nuevo régimen europeo del azúcar y valora su adecuación a las normas y demandas internacionales de liberalización del comercio agrícola. Se concluye que la reforma ha sido el mínimo necesario para hacer frente a los retos internacionales: la reciente resolución del Órgano de Solución de Diferencias de la Organización Mundial del Comercio y las demandas de liberalización planteadas en el marco de la Ronda de Doha. ; [eng] The WTO rules have had a direct influence upon the 2006 reform of the European Common Market Sugar Organisation. The pre-2006 sugar CMO was not in a position to successfully face neither the recent Resolution of the World Trade Organisation's Dispute Settlement Body and the liberalisation demands made in the Doha Round context. Through a comparative analysis of the European sugar regime, before and after the reform, this paper 2 argues that the 2006 changes are the minimum improvements necessary to face present international challenges.

Moldova is at the stage of elaborating the new legal framework that covers the migration domain. The most important challenge faced by Moldova at the moment is to see how all these legal acts will be implemented in practice, i.e. how they will be interpreted and understood by authorities responsible for their direct application. Another issue is if European standards transposed into legislation will fill the existing gaps, if the state is willing to commit politically and financially, and if the Law will work in practice. An example here might be the tolerated stay, which is a new notion for Moldova, the introduction of which aims at avoiding abuses of the asylum system or solving, for a short period of time, the situation of stateless persons. In order to improve the coordination and supervision mechanism of central public authorities vested with duties related to migration management, the Government, by its Decision No. 133 of 23.02.2010, established the Commission for the Coordination of Certain Activities relating to the Migration Process which is a permanent consultative body to the Government, assuring the monitoring of and cooperation between the relevant authorities. Moldova is at the stage of elaborating the new legal framework that covers the migration domain. The most important challenge faced by Moldova at the moment is to see how all these legal acts will be implemented in practice, i.e. how they will be interpreted and understood by authorities responsible for their direct application. Another issue is if European standards transposed into legislation will fill the existing gaps, if the state is willing to commit politically and financially, and if the Law will work in practice. An example here might be the tolerated stay, which is a new notion for Moldova, the introduction of which aims at avoiding abuses of the asylum system or solving, for a short period of time, the situation of stateless persons. In order to improve the coordination and supervision mechanism of central public authorities vested with duties related to migration management, the Government, by its Decision No. 133 of 23.02.2010, established the Commission for the Coordination of Certain Activities relating to the Migration Process which is a permanent consultative body to the Government, assuring the monitoring of and cooperation between the relevant authorities. Moldova is at the stage of elaborating the new legal framework that covers the migration domain. The most important challenge faced by Moldova at the moment is to see how all these legal acts will be implemented in practice, i.e. how they will be interpreted and understood by authorities responsible for their direct application. Another issue is if European standards transposed into legislation will fill the existing gaps, if the state is willing to commit politically and financially, and if the Law will work in practice. An example here might be the tolerated stay, which is a new notion for Moldova, the introduction of which aims at avoiding abuses of the asylum system or solving, for a short period of time, the situation of stateless persons. In order to improve the coordination and supervision mechanism of central public authorities vested with duties related to migration management, the Government, by its Decision No. 133 of 23.02.2010, established the Commission for the Coordination of Certain Activities relating to the Migration Process which is a permanent consultative body to the Government, assuring the monitoring of and cooperation between the relevant authorities. ; Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM-East) is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European Union

The author argues that direct election intensified existing electoral incentives in the early-twentieth-century Senate, shifting the audience for senators' reelection efforts with measurable behavioral consequences. The author examines patterns of bill sponsorship, roll-call participation, and party voting in the decades surrounding the Seventeenth Amendment's ratification, a time when originally elected and originally selected senators served side by side. The author finds evidence of increased sponsorship and participation among originally elected senators. Comparing behavioral patterns before and after the constitutional amendment also reveals other important behavioral shifts toward a mass audience in the post-amendment period, including a tendency to increase constituency bill sponsorship immediately before reelection and a strengthening of the link between state partisanship and senators' party support voting. Adapted from the source document.

AbstractA review of the status and results of direct legislation and the recall in German municipal government, 1919–1928.