The Meaning of Procreative Autonomy in the Inter-American System of Human Rights. An Analysis of the Decision in Artavia Murillo v. Costa Rica Case

Teresinha Inês Teles Pires

Law and Forensic Science, Volume 15 (2018/1), pages 9-44.

Submitted: April 3, 2018. Published: May 12, 2018.

The author declares there is no conflict of interest.

Abstract: The trial and the reasons adopted by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) in Artavia Murillo v. Costa Rica represent significant progress in protecting women’s procreative autonomy. The decision of the IACtHR revoked a decision of the Constitutional Chamber of Costa Rica that banned the use of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) in the country. With its decision, the IACtHR not only linked universal rights of freedom with procreative autonomy for women and men; but also, the IACtHR strongly reinforced an interpretation of the “right to life” that favors procreative autonomy. The decision is also remarkable by including a standard of equality in matters of procreative autonomy insofar as the IACtHR has held that women, because of negative gender stereotypes in society, have been significantly undermined by the decision of the Chamber of Costa Rica to ban IVF. Moreover, as will be argued, in similar future cases courts may introduce in the analysis the Convention of Belém do Pará,considering that the elimination of the IVF services (or other limitation of women’s procreative autonomy) can be seen as a form of violence against women’s moral integrity. Finally, the author will propose the possible application of international provisions on freedom of religion in the context of a broad protection of procreative autonomy. In this perspective, we will argue that those provisions should have been included in Artavia Murillo’s decision, considering the standards stated by IACtHR regarding the right to life and non-discrimination based on religion.

Keywords: procreative autonomy, gender equality, gender stereotypes, fundamental freedoms, right to life, religious discrimination Continue reading “The Meaning of Procreative Autonomy in the Inter-American System of Human Rights. An Analysis of the Decision in Artavia Murillo v. Costa Rica Case”

January 2, 2018March 14, 2018

Postmortem Vitreous Humor Analysis for Xenobiotics and their Metabolites

Marcin Łukasik
Faculty of Applied Toxicology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
Anna Małkowska
Faculty of Applied Toxicology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
Paulina Anna Cieślak
Faculty of Applied Toxicology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
Ireneusz Sołtyszewski
Department of Criminalistics and Forensic Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland. Corresponding author: e-mail: ireneusz.soltyszewski@uwm.edu.pl
Mirosław Szutowski
Faculty of Applied Toxicology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland

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Law and Forensic Science, Volume 15 (2018/1), pages 1-8.

Submitted: September 14, 2017.

The authors declare there is no conflict of interest.

Abstract: This article discusses the current state of knowledge on quantifying xenobiotics and their metabolites in vitreous humor as part of postmortem toxicological analysis. The evaluated compounds included: opiates and their metabolites, cocaine and its metabolites, amphetamine and its metabolites, cannabinoids, phencyclidine, benzodiazepines, and ethyl alcohol and biomarkers of its abuse.

Keywords: vitreous humor, detection, quantification, xenobiotics Continue reading “Postmortem Vitreous Humor Analysis for Xenobiotics and their Metabolites”

December 31, 2017February 2, 2018

Comparing Law as Science with Science in the Law: Preliminary Thoughts

Kirk W. Junker
University Professor of Law, University of Cologne, Faculty of Law, and Director of International Master of Environmental Science Programme, University of Cologne.

Law and Forensic Science, Volume 14 (2017/2).

Submitted: September 18, 2017.

The author declares there is no conflict of interest.

Abstract: Comparative law often compares institutions or sources of law from various countries. This article rather compares civil law and common law families, but does use Germany and the USA to represent the two families respectively. Rather than focus upon institutions or sources of law, this article compares how these two families understand their practices of law, specifically in reference to science. First the concept of comparison itself is examined through its western conceptions in the discipline of rhetoric. Then the relationship of law to science is discussed, comparing the legal standard of scientist as authority on science to judge as ultimate adjudicator on scientific matters. The author concludes that law requires an evaluative element in its practices if it is to effect justice and further concludes that the evaluative element is better conceived by philosophy than science. Lawyers are thus encouraged to seriously consider evaluative practices, but are invited to do so on their own, rather than treat philosophy as a body of knowledge only present through the philosopher as expert witness.

Keywords: comparativism, rhetoric, science, evidence, scientism, moral, evaluative

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December 30, 2017January 3, 2018

Wpływ szkolenia na skuteczność wykrywania kłamstwa (The Layman’s Ability to Detect Deception – Can it Be Improved by a Short Training?)

Jagoda Dzida
Wydział Prawa i Administracji Uniwersytetu im. A. Mickiewicza w Poznaniu

Law and Forensic Science, Volume 14 (2017/2).

Submitted: May 24, 2017.

The author declares there is no conflict of interest.

Abstract: The study was conducted to verify, whether it is possible to improve people’s ability to detect deception by a short training, and if so, to what extend it can be improved. The results are important due to the potential applicability of non-instrumental deception detection methods in the criminal procedure. The experiment was conducted on the group of students who were asked to decide, whether the persons, depicted on the video, are telling the truth or are lying. The procedure was repeated after a short training that gave the students more detailed information about the most reliable verbal and nonverbal cues to deception. The results revealed that a short training may improve lie detection by about 22%. The implications for future research are discussed.

Keywords: deception detection, lie, training

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