Temporary Restrictions on Travel: How the United Kingdom deals with foreign fighters and how it affects the individual's Human Rights

I februari 2015 antog det Brittiska parlamentet the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, i syfte att fylla ut luckor i den tidigare kontra-terror lagstiftningen. De temporära reseförbud som därmed infördes riktas mot det tilltagande problemet med så kallade foreign fighters och består av två delar. Befogenheten att beslagta och kvarhålla pass och andra resedokument ger en gränskontrollerande tjänsteman friheten att bestämma om det föreligger skälig grund att misstänka att personen ifråga har för avsikt att resa utanför Storbritannien för att delta i terrorismrelaterad verksamhet. I en sådan situation har tjänstemannen tillåtelse att beslagta passet och/eller resedokumenten och, efter tillstånd av en polistjänsteman av högre rang, kvarhålla dem. Den andra delen aktiveras när en person befinner sig utanför Storbritannien och Secretary of State (den minister som har det övergripande ansvaret för säkerhet och terrorism, lagstiftning och budgetfrågor) anser att det finns skälig anledning att misstänka att personen är, eller har varit, delaktig i terrorismrelaterad verksamhet. Secretary of State kan då söka tillstånd hos en domstol om att få ålägga individen en temporär exkluderingsorder. Domstolen är skyldig att ge tillstånd, såvida inte de beslut Secretary of State har fattat är uppenbart felaktiga. Till följd av detta förbjuds individen att återvända till Storbritannien, oavsett om det är en Brittisk medborgare eller inte. För den händelse att andra länder följer Storbritannien och introducerar nya kontra-terror åtgärder för att förhindra människor från att resa utomlands för att delta i terrorism, är det nödvändigt att granska vilka konsekvenser för mänskliga rättigheter dessa åtgärder medför. I den här uppsatsen argumenterar jag för att de temporära reseförbuden är straffrättsliga till sin natur, även om de i det inhemska rättssystemet klassificeras som administrativa åtgärder. Europadomstolen för mänskliga rättigheter fastställde i sitt avgörande i Engel med flera mot Nederländerna tre kriterier för att avgöra den de facto karaktären på nationella bestämmelser så som de ska tolkas inom ramen för Europakonventionen för mänskliga rättigheter: den nationella klassificeringen, brottets beskaffenhet och straffets allvarlighet. Genom tillämpning av dessa kriterier på de temporära reseförbuden, visar min analys att utövandet av befogenheterna innebär ett åläggande av en straffrättslig sanktion, särskilt med beaktande av de allvarliga intrång i individens mänskliga rättigheter som de orsakar. Att betrakta lagrum som straffrättsliga, i motsats till administrativa, ställer krav på att inkludera processuella skyddsmekanismer som är lämpliga för den straffrättsliga standarden. Det grundläggande skyddet i detta hänseende är rätten till en rättvis rättegång i Europakonventionens artikel 6. För att användningen av de temporära reseförbuden ska vara laglig måste en godtycklig tillämpning undvikas, vilket kräver en adekvat rättslig granskning. Min analys visar att lagen saknar tillräckliga skyddsmekanismer vilket medför en nackdel för den berörda individen, något jag menar beror på valet att betrakta åtgärderna som administrativa.In February 2015 the British Parliament adopted the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 for the purpose of filling gaps in the previous counterterrorism legislations. The temporary restriction on travel measures thus introduced, target the increasing problem with so-called foreign fighters and consist of two elements. The power to seize and retain passports and/or travel documents entrusts a port constable the discretion to decide whether there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an individual intends to leave the United Kingdom for engaging in terrorism-related activity while being abroad. In such event, the constable is permitted to seize the passport and/or travel documents, and on authorization from a senior police officer, retain them. The second element is triggered when a person is outside the UK and the Secretary of State considers there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the person is, or has been, involved in terrorism-related activity. The Secretary of State may then seek permission from a court to impose a Temporary Exclusion Order upon the individual. The court is obliged to give permission, unless the decisions taken by the Secretary of State are obviously flawed, which results in the person being prohibited from returning to the UK, regardless of whether the affected individual is a UK citizen or not. In the event of other States following the UK in introducing new counterterrorism measures to prevent people from travelling abroad to participate in terrorism, it is vital to assess the human rights implications these measures bring. In this thesis, I argue that the temporary restriction on travel measures are criminal in nature although in the domestic legal order they are classified as administrative powers. The European Court of Human Rights established in its judgment in Engel and Others v the Netherlands three criteria for determining the de facto character of domestic provisions as they should be understood within the meaning of the European Convention on Human Rights: the label in national law, the nature of the offence and the severity of the penalty. In applying these criteria to the temporary restrictions on travel, my analysis shows that the use of these powers amounts to an imposition of a criminal sanction, in particular due to the severe intrusions with the affected individual’s human rights and liberties they cause. To consider a provision criminal in nature, as opposed to administrative, renders the need to include procedural safeguards appropriate for criminal law standards. The fundamental protection in this respect is the right to a fair trial codified in ECHR, article 6. For the use of the temporary restrictions on travel measures to be lawful, adequate judicial review is crucial in order to protect from an arbitrary application. As my analysis reveals, the Act lacks sufficient safeguards to the detriment of the targeted individual, which I contend is due to the choice to regard the provisions as containing administrative powers

Efficiency of closed loop geothermal heat pumps: A sensitivity analysis

Geothermal heat pumps are becoming more and more popular as the price of fossil fuels is increasing and a strong reduction of anthropogenic CO2 emissions is needed. The energy performances of these plants are closely related to the thermal and hydrogeological properties of the soil, but a proper design and installation also plays a crucial role. A set of flow and heat transport simulations has been run to evaluate the impact of different parameters on the operation of a GHSP. It is demonstrated that the BHE length is the most influential factor, that the heat carrier fluid also plays a fundamental role, and that further improvements can be obtained by using pipe spacers and highly conductive grouts. On the other hand, if the physical properties of the soil are not surveyed properly, they represent a strong factor of uncertainty when modelling the operation of these plants. The thermal conductivity of the soil has a prevailing importance and should be determined with in-situ tests (TRT), rather than assigning values from literature. When groundwater flow is present, the advection should also be considered, due to its positive effect on the performances of BHEs; by contrast, as little is currently known about thermal dispersion, relying on this transport mechanism can lead to an excessively optimistic desig

Stressade katter på polikliniken

Katter visar ofta tecken på rädsla och frustration i samband med veterinärbesök. Kattens möjligheter att agera på dessa känslor med önskat beteende blir ofta begränsade på kliniken. Dessa begränsningar i kombination med de många stressorer som kan finnas för en katt på veterinärklinik kan leda till stress hos katten. Stressen ger fysiologiska och emotionella effekter hos katten. Detta kan i sin tur leda till ett utåtagerande beteende hos katten som försvårar en undersökning och kan även ge avvikande diagnostiska fynd. Möjligheten att ställa korrekt diagnos kan således påverkas. Kattägare upplever i stor utsträckning att deras katt blir stressad på poliklinik och det har visats att kattägare därför undviker att ta sin katt till veterinären. Det finns råd i vetenskaplig litteratur för hur stress hos katt kan minimeras i samband med veterinärbesök som i denna studie benämns stressreducerande åtgärder. Hur användandet av dessa stressreducerande åtgärder för katt ser ut på veterinärkliniker i Sverige idag undersöks i detta kandidatarbete. En litteraturöversikt utfördes för att utröna vilka stressreducerande åtgärder som rekommenderas i vetenskaplig litteratur och utifrån denna sammanställning skapades en online-enkät. Denna enkät med frågor om stressreducerande åtgärder skickades ut till 160 kliniker runt om i Sverige och hade en svarsfrekvens på 27,5 %. Av dessa uppgav 56,8 % av respondenterna att de använde stressreducerande åtgärder vid en majoritet av kattbesöken och en majoritet angav att de använde 5 av 15 efterfrågade stressreducerande åtgärder "Alltid” eller ”Ofta”. Av 13 åtgärder för vänt- och undersökningsrum hade 7 införts på en majoritet av klinikerna. De mest frekvent upplevda hindren för införande av stressreducerande åtgärder var utformningen och/eller klinikens befintliga lokaler, tidsbrist och kunskapsbrist. Om kliniken hade nedskrivna rutiner fanns det genomgående också en mer omfattande användning av stressreducerande åtgärder. Upplevda hinder för tillämpning av stressreducerande åtgärder är ett önskvärt ämne för framtida studier. Detta för att ta reda på vad som krävsför att fler veterinärkliniker ska anta ett mer omfattande arbete med stressreducering för katt.Cats commonly show signs of fear and frustration in connection with veterinary visits. The cat’s ability to respond to these emotions with the desired behavior is often limited at the veterinary clinic. These limitations, in combination with the many stressors that can be present for a cat at a veterinary clinic, may lead to stress for the cat. Stress may have physiological and emotional implications for the cat. This, in turn, may lead to the cat acting out, making an examination more difficult and result in abnormal diagnostic findings. The possibility of making a correct diagnosis can thus be affected. Cat owners experience, to a large extent, that their cat becomes stressed in outpatient clinics, and it has been shown that cat owners therefore avoid taking their cat to the veterinary. There is advice in scientific literature focused on minimizing stress in cats during veterinary visits, in this study termed as stress-reducing measures. How widespread the use of these stress reducing measures is for cats are in veterinary clinics in Sweden is investigated in this bachelor's thesis. A literature review was conducted to establish which stress reducing measures are recommended in the literature and based on this review an online survey was created. This survey, with questions regarding stress reducing measures, was distributed to 160 veterinary clinics in Sweden and had a response rate of 27.5%. Out of these 56.8% of respondents reported that they used stress-reducing measures in a majority of cat visits and a majority stated that they used 5 out of 15 requested stress reducing measures “Always” or “Often”. Of the 13 measures for waiting and examination rooms, 7 had been introduced in a majority of the clinics. The most frequently perceived obstacles to the implementation of stress reducing measures were the layout and/or the clinic’s existing premises, lack of time and lack of education. If the clinic had written routines, there was consistently also a more extensive use of stress-reducing measures. Perceived obstacles for the application of stress-reducing measures are a desired subject for future studies. This to ascertain what is needed for more veterinary clinics to adopt a more extensive work with stress reduction for cats

Vertical GSHP systems in Sweden 1978-2015 - A survey based on the Swedish Well Database

The Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU) is the Swedish government agency responsible for groundwater, geological and mineral management in Sweden. SGU provides open access geological data on rock, soil and groundwater conditions. Since 1978 over 600 000 wells (water wells, GSHP boreholes, etc) have been registered in the SGU Well Database, with around 20 000 new registrations per year. Sweden is one of the leading countries in the world in developing and using ground source heat pump (GSHP) technology. Of the more than 600 000 registered wells, roughly 320 000 wells are registered as GSHP boreholes. The vast majority of these GSHP boreholes are single boreholes for single-family buildings. The number of large GSHP systems with 20 boreholes or more, is estimated to 300-350 sites. This paper uses data from the SGU Well Database to quantify and analyze the number of vertical GSHP systems reported between 1978-2015, with special focus on GSHP systems with 20 or more boreholes. Results are shown from the development of larger vertical GSHP system installments over the years, number of registrations per year, system size, average well depth, and geographical distribution

Sagaen om amtmannens is-døtre: Intertekstualitet mellom Amtmannens døtre og Sagaen om Isfolket - Trollbundet

Denne bacheloroppgaven omhandler Camilla Collets Amtmannens døtre (1854-1855) og Margit Sandemos Sagaen om Isfolket – Trollbundet (1982). Oppgavens formål er å sette romanene opp mot hverandre for å se etter tegn av intertekstualitet. Objektene for denne forskningen er avgrenset til romanenes kvinnelige hovedkarakterer og handlingsforløp og plot. Oppgaven vil inneholde en hoveddel hvor teoribegrepene intertekstualitet og triviallitteratur blir presentert. Videre redegjøres det for hvordan de kvinnelige hovedkarakterene kan analyseres som individualiserte personer og typer og utforske hvordan deres karaktertrekk kan vise tegn til intertekstualitet. Hoveddelen avsluttes med en utredning av romanenes plot og handlingsforløp hvor de sammenlignes med hverandre og triviallitteratur-sjangeren romantikk. Oppgaven avsluttes med en drøfting av mine funn og hvordan triviallitteratur som forskningsobjekt kan være reelt.This bachelor's thesis examines Camilla Collett's The District Governor's Daughters (1854-1855) and Margit Sandemo's The Saga of the Ice People – Enchanted (1982). The purpose of the thesis is to compare the novels to look for signs of intertextuality. The objects of this research are limited to the female protagonists and the plots of the novels. The thesis will include a main section where the theoretical concepts of intertextuality and popular literature are presented. Furthermore, it will explain how the female protagonists can be analyzed as individualized characters and types, and explore how their traits may show signs of intertextuality. The main section will conclude with an analysis of the novels' plots and storylines, comparing them with each other and with the romance genre of popular literature. The thesis will conclude with a discussion of my findings and how popular literature as a research subject can be legitimate

Модернизация оборудования и автоматизация процесса обработки алмазов

Материалы VIII Междунар. науч.-техн. конф. студентов, магистрантов и молодых ученых, Гомель, 28–29 апр. 2008

Characterisation of ground thermal and thermo-mechanical behaviour for shallow geothermal energy applications

Increasing use of the ground as a thermal reservoir is expected in the near future. Shallow geothermal energy (SGE) systems have proved to be sustainable alternative solutions for buildings and infrastructure conditioning in many areas across the globe in the past decades. Recently novel solutions, including energy geostructures, where SGE systems are coupled with foundation heat exchangers, have also been developed. The performance of these systems is dependent on a series of factors, among which the thermal properties of the soil play one of major roles. The purpose of this paper is to present, in an integrated manner, the main methods and procedures to assess ground thermal properties for SGE systems and to carry out a critical review of the methods. In particular, laboratory testing through either steady-state or transient methods are discussed and a new synthesis comparing results for different techniques is presented. In-situ testing including all variations of the thermal response test is presented in detail, including a first comparison between new and traditional approaches. The issue of different scales between laboratory and in-situ measurements is then analysed in detail. Finally, thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of soil is introduced and discussed. These coupled processes are important for confirming the structural integrity of energy geostructures, but routine methods for parameter determination are still lacking