The political purpose of the ‘mixed legal system’ conception in the law of Scotland

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The influence of Lord Kames (Henry Home) on some of the founders of the United States

The jurist, judge, philosopher and legal historian Henry Home, Lord Kames (1696-1782) was one of the principal representatives of the Scottish Enlightenment. He also shaped considerably the thinking of some of the founders of the United States, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Wilson. Franklin exchanged ideas with Kames about art and American affairs. For Adams, Kames was an authority on law and legal history, with a singularly critical stance towards the traditional feudal system. For Jefferson, Kames was an authoritative writer on law and a principal influence in the shaping of Jefferson’s own moral philosophy. Wilson made Kames a role model for young lawyers in a new American spirit. Kames’s thought has influenced these four founders of the United States more substantively than has commonly been assumed

Money as a legally enforceable debt

Money is usually regarded as a subject in the domain of economists, but it is really a fundamentally legal notion. In fact, it is a creation of the law. Money is a special object of property, and at the same time a form of debt, enforceable by law which ultimately confers on it the quality of money. The concept of dematerialised property assists in describing the concept of money accurately. The article discusses the different types of money, and the creation of money through central banks and through commercial banks by giving credit. It explores the possible legal foundation of this money creation process. The discussion also looks at the legal regulation of money creation in Germany and presents findings from an interview with a practising commercial lawyer in Germany which confirm the author’s thesis that money is a legally enforceable debt

University academics as employees and creators of copyright works: university academics as owners of copyright?

Examines whether the copyright in works created by academics are owned by themselves or their university employers, addressing: (1) the nature of these works; (2) how the academic's contract of service affects his or her employment status; and (3) the meaning of "in the course of employment" under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 s.11. Discusses how the issue is treated in the typical intellectual property policies of UK universities

Make the butterflies fly in formation? Management of copyright created by academics in UK universities

Universities have increasingly become aware of the fact that the intellectual property (IP) rights that attach to the work of their academics could become significant and valuable assets to the university as an institution and economic organisation. The study involved analysis of the copyright and intellectual property policies of universities in the UK and the interviewing of specialised representatives of universities in relation to the policies of their respective institutions. The principal question of the study was the way in which university policies deal with the issue of ownership of copyright generated by academic staff, which proved to be a sensitive area. University policies presume that, by default, they own all work that academics create as their employees. There seems to be insufficient appreciation of the differentiated legal interpretation of the employees' copyright rule. At least in relation to core academic work (scholarly books and journal articles in particular), initial copyright ownership by the university, by virtue of the statutory employee-copyright rule, is highly doubtful. As a result of the universities' principal position with regard to ownership, university IP policies have resorted to complicated and artificial assignment and licencing provisions, with questionable enforceability

The Relationship Between the Level of Copper, Lead, Mercury and Autism Disorders: A Meta-Analysis

Background and Objectives: There is a likelihood of a possible relationship between the concentrations of copper, lead, and mercury and autism. The present review was carried out to determine the relationship between the concentrations of these elements and autism by meta-analysis. Methods: In this study, searching Scopus, PubMed, and Science Direct databases, 18 articles conducted in different countries from 1982 to 2019 were collected. Studies' heterogeneity was investigated using the 1 2 index. The data were analyzed using R and STATA software. Results: In these 18 studies, 1797 patients (981 cases and 816 controls) aged 2 to 16 years were examined. Concentration of the samples (blood, hair, and nails) for both case and control groups was evaluated. There was no significant relationship between copper concentration and autism (SMD (95 CI): 0.02 (-1.16,1.20); I-2=97.7; P=0.972); there was a significant relationship between mercury concentration and autism (SMD (95 CI): 1.96 (0.56,3.35); I-2=98.6; P=0.006); there was also a significant relationship between lead concentration and autism (SMD (95 CI): 2.81 (1.64,3.98); I-2 =97.8; P=0.000). Conclusion: There is, nevertheless, a significant relationship between mercury concentration and autism. Thus, the concentration of mercury can be listed as a pathogenic cause (disease-causing) for autism

Indirect Sovereignty through Property Rights

The careful distinction between property and sovereignty is a central part of legal thought from the early modern period onwards. But the reality shows that this division is socioeconomically not that clear. Property rights are rights against persons in relation to things, but effectively they can be rights over people in relation to resources and space—notional, conceptual, or real. Examples of this general trend are the international financial system and international intellectual property protection. If one looks at international commercial and banking law and the corresponding regulations, one realizes that the classical understanding of sovereignty in political philosophy and in public law needs to be broadened. In particular, the forms of exercising de facto sovereignty are no longer confined to specific nation states but can increasingly be found with multinational corporations, and the legal instruments are situated more in private and commercial law (scientifically justified by mainstream economics) than in traditional public law and public international law

Brief speculations about changes to intellectual property law in the UK after ‘Brexit’

No abstract available

Scottish Independence: the romantic game

No abstract available