bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Facility readiness for basic emergency obstetric and neonatal care at PHC centres in Nigeria
Authors: Ibadin S H , Ogboghodo E O , Obarisiagbon O E , Okojie O H
Published: October 2020

Background

Functionality of essential delivery services at primary health care (PHC) centres is crucial to achieving targeted improvements in maternal and neonatal outcomes in Nigeria. However, evidence suggests that PHC centres are often unable to adequately render basic emergency obstetric and neonatal care (BEmONC) services. This study assessed BEmONC availability and facility readiness at PHC centres in Edo State, Nigeria.

Methods

This facility-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in Edo State, Nigeria among 36 public primary health care centres selected by multistage sampling. The WHO service availability and readiness assessment tool was adapted to obtain data from PHC centres. BEmONC availability index was derived using 6 indicators (intravenous oxytotics, intravenous anticonvulsants, intravenous antibiotics, assisted deliveries, removal of retained products of conception and neonatal resuscitation). A composite readiness index was developed based on 26 indicators across five domains (trained staff, basic amenities, basic equipment, diagnostic tests and essential medicines). Indices were summarized as mean percentages and 95% confidence intervals.

Results

Among 36 facilities assessed, the mean BEmONC availability index score was 48.6% (CI = 41.7 - 55.5%) while the mean composite readiness index score was 58.9% (CI = 54.5 - 63.2%). Domain specific readiness indices showed marked variations with low mean scores for basic amenities (45.8%, CI = 38.4 - 55.3%) and trained staff (43.5%, CI = 33.1 - 53.9%), moderate score for basic equipment (53.5%, CI = 48.6 - 58.5%) and high scores for diagnostic tests (71.2%, CI = 60.5 - 82.1%) and essential medicines (80.1%, CI = 72.4 - 87.8%).

Conclusions

BEmONC availability and readiness at PHC centres in Edo State was suboptimal. Current efforts to improve services at PHC centres should strategically target availability of emergency obstetric functions, enhancing staff capacity and upgrading basic amenities.

Key messages

There are crucial gaps in the provision of BEmONC at primary health care level in Edo State, Nigeria that may negatively impact the quality of maternal and neonatal care. This study highlights the need for stakeholders to intensify PHC strengthening initiatives geared towards better pregnancy outcomes.
New insights into North Sea deep crustal structure and extension from transdimensional ambient noise tomography
Authors: Crowder E , Rawlinson N , Cornwell D G , Sammarco C , Galetti E , Curtis A
Published: October 2020

The deep crustal structure beneath the North Sea is poorly understood since it is constrained by only a few seismic reflection and refraction profiles. However, it is widely acknowledged that the mid to lower crust plays important roles in rift initiation and evolution, particularly when large-scale sutures and/or terrane boundaries are present, since these inherited features can focus strain or act as inhibitors to extensional deformation. Ancient tectonic features are known to exist beneath the iconic failed rift system of the North Sea, making it an ideal location to investigate the complex interplay between pre-existing regional heterogeneity and rifting. To this end, we produce a 3-D shear wave velocity model from transdimensional ambient seismic noise tomography to constrain crustal properties to ∼30 km depth beneath the North Sea and its surrounding landmasses. Major North Sea sedimentary basins appear as low shear wave velocity zones that are a good match to published sediment thickness maps. We constrain relatively thin crust (13–18 km) beneath the Central Graben depocentres that contrasts with crust elsewhere at least 25–30 km thick. Significant variations in crustal structure and rift symmetry are identified along the failed rift system that appears to be related to the locations of Laurentia–Avalonia–Baltica palaeoplate boundaries. We constrain first-order differences in structure between palaeoplates; with strong lateral gradients in crustal velocity related to Laurentia–Avalonia–Baltica plate juxtaposition and reduced lower crustal velocities in the vicinity of the Thor suture, possibly representing the remnants of a Caledonian accretionary complex. Our results provide fresh insight into the pivotal roles that ancient terranes can play in the formation and failure of continental rifts and may help explain the characteristics of other similar continental rifts globally.
Early earthquake detection capabilities of different types of future-generation gravity gradiometers
Authors: Shimoda Tomofumi , Juhel Kévin , Ampuero Jean-Paul , Montagner Jean-Paul , Barsuglia Matteo
Published: October 2020

Since gravity changes propagate at the speed of light, gravity perturbations induced by earthquake deformation have the potential to enable faster alerts than the current earthquake early warning systems based on seismic waves. Additionally, for large earthquakes (Mw > 8), gravity signals may allow for a more reliable magnitude estimation than seismic-based methods. Prompt elastogravity signals induced by earthquakes of magnitude larger than 7.9 have been previously detected with seismic arrays and superconducting gravimeters. For smaller earthquakes, down to Mw ≃ 7, it has been proposed that detection should be based on measurements of the gradient of the gravitational field, in order to mitigate seismic vibration noise and to avoid the cancelling effect of the ground motions induced by gravity signals. Here we simulate the five independent components of the gravity gradient signals induced by earthquakes of different focal mechanisms. We study their spatial amplitude distribution to determine what kind of detectors is preferred (which components of the gravity gradient are more informative), how detectors should be arranged and how earthquake source parameters can be estimated. The results show that early earthquake detections, within 10 s of the rupture onset, using only the horizontal gravity strain components are achievable up to about 140 km distance from the epicentre. Depending on the earthquake focal mechanism and on the detector location, additional measurement of the vertical gravity strain components can enhance the detectable range by 10–20 km. These results are essential for the design of gravity-based earthquake early warning systems.
A network analysis of patient referrals in two district health systems in Tanzania
Authors: Francetic Igor , Tediosi Fabrizio , Kuwawenaruwa August
Published: October 2020

Patient referral systems are fragile and overlooked components of the health system in Tanzania. Our study aims at exploring patient referral networks in two rural districts in Tanzania, Kilolo and Msalala. Firstly, we ask whether secondary-level facilities act as gatekeepers, mediating referrals from primary- to tertiary-level facilities. Secondly, we explore the facility and network-level determinants of patient referrals focusing on treatment of childhood illnesses and non-communicable diseases. We use data collected across all public health facilities in the districts in 2018. To study gatekeeping, we employ descriptive network analysis tools. To explore the determinants of referrals, we use exponential random graph models. In Kilolo, we find a disproportionate share of patients referred directly to the largest hospital due to geographical proximity. In Msalala, small and specialized secondary-level facilities seem to attract more patients. Overall, the results call for policies to increase referrals to secondary facilities avoiding expensive referrals to hospitals, improving timeliness of care and reducing travel-related financial burden for households.
The genomic prehistory of peoples speaking Khoisan languages
Authors: Pakendorf Brigitte , Stoneking Mark
Published: October 2020

Peoples speaking so-called Khoisan languages—that is, indigenous languages of southern Africa that do not belong to the Bantu family—are culturally and linguistically diverse. They comprise herders, hunter-gatherers as well as groups of mixed modes of subsistence, and their languages are classified into three distinct language families. This cultural and linguistic variation is mirrored by extensive genetic diversity. We here review the recent genomics literature and discuss the genetic evidence for a formerly wider geographic spread of peoples with Khoisan-related ancestry, for the deep divergence among populations speaking Khoisan languages overlaid by more recent gene flow among these groups and for the impact of admixture with immigrant food-producers in their prehistory.
Shifted Poisson Structures on Differentiable Stacks
Authors: Bonechi Francesco , Ciccoli Nicola , Laurent-Gengoux Camille , Xu Ping
Published: October 2020

The purpose of this paper is to investigate $(+1)$-shifted Poisson structures in the context of differential geometry. The relevant notion is that of $(+1)$-shifted Poisson structures on differentiable stacks. More precisely, we develop the notion of the Morita equivalence of quasi-Poisson groupoids. Thus, isomorphism classes of $(+1)$-shifted Poisson stacks correspond to Morita equivalence classes of quasi-Poisson groupoids. In the process, we carry out the following program, which is of independent interest: (1) We introduce a ${\mathbb{Z}}$-graded Lie 2-algebra of polyvector fields on a given Lie groupoid and prove that its homotopy equivalence class is invariant under the Morita equivalence of Lie groupoids, and thus they can be considered to be polyvector fields on the corresponding differentiable stack ${\mathfrak{X}}$. It turns out that $(+1)$-shifted Poisson structures on ${\mathfrak{X}}$ correspond exactly to elements of the Maurer–Cartan moduli set of the corresponding dgla. (2) We introduce the notion of the tangent complex $T_{\mathfrak{X}}$ and the cotangent complex $L_{\mathfrak{X}}$ of a differentiable stack ${\mathfrak{X}}$ in terms of any Lie groupoid $\Gamma{\rightrightarrows } M$ representing ${\mathfrak{X}}$. They correspond to a homotopy class of 2-term homotopy $\Gamma$-modules $A[1]\rightarrow TM$ and $T^{\vee } M\rightarrow A^{\vee }[-1]$, respectively. Relying on the tools of theory of VB-groupoids including homotopy and Morita equivalence of VB-groupoids, we prove that a $(+1)$-shifted Poisson structure on a differentiable stack ${\mathfrak{X}}$ defines a morphism ${L_{\mathfrak{X}}}[1]\to{T_{\mathfrak{X}}}$.
KZ equations and Bethe subalgebras in generalized Yangians related to compatible $R$-matrices
Authors: Gurevich Dimitri , Saponov Pavel , Talalaev Dmitry
Published: October 2020

The notion of compatible braidings was introduced in Isaev et al. (1999, J. Phys. A, 32, L115–L121). On the base of this notion, the authors of Isaev et al. (1999, J. Phys. A, 32, L115–L121) defined certain quantum matrix algebras generalizing the RTT algebras and Reflection Equation ones. They also defined analogues of some symmetric polynomials in these algebras and showed that these polynomials generate commutative subalgebras, called Bethe. By using a similar approach, we introduce certain new algebras called generalized Yangians and define analogues of some symmetric polynomials in these algebras. We claim that they commute with each other and thus generate a commutative Bethe subalgebra in each generalized Yangian. Besides, we define some analogues (also arising from couples of compatible braidings) of the Knizhnik–Zamolodchikov equation—classical and quantum.

Communicated by: Alexander Veselov
Sunshine or Curse? Foreign Direct Investment, the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, and Individual Corruption Experiences in Africa
Authors: Brazys Samuel , Kotsadam Andreas
Published: October 2020

It remains unclear if foreign direct investment (FDI) benefits local citizens in host countries. Combining geo-referenced FDI data and household level surveys, this paper uses spatial-temporal techniques to assess how FDI impacts individual corruption experiences. We investigate if this relationship is conditional on the corruption levels, or engagement with the OECD's anti-bribery convention (ABC), of the FDI's source country. We find evidence that FDI flows reduce individual bribery experiences, but only when existing levels of corruption are high. We find it is FDI from comparatively more corrupt, and non-ABC engaging, countries that locates to areas of high corruption. Further, FDI appears to improve both the employment prospects and financial positions of local households. Collectively, we argue that these results suggest that individual empowerment via a wealth effect, rather than spillovers from firm professionalization or regulatory pressure mechanisms, is what stems individual corruption experiences.
Education in Africa: What Are We Learning?
Authors: Evans David K , Mendez Acosta Amina
Published: October 2020

Countries across Africa continue to face major challenges in education. In this review, we examine 145 recent empirical studies (from 2014 onward) on how to increase access to and improve the quality of education across the continent, specifically examining how these studies update previous research findings. We find that 64% of the studies evaluate government-implemented programs, 36% include detailed cost analysis and 35% evaluate multiple treatment arms. We identify several areas where new studies provide rigorous evidence on topics that do not figure prominently in earlier evidence syntheses. New evidence shows promising impacts of structured pedagogy interventions (which typically provide a variety of inputs, such as lesson plans and training for teachers together with new materials for students) and of mother tongue instruction interventions, as well as from a range of teacher programs, including both remunerative (pay-for-performance of various designs) and non-remunerative (coaching and certain types of training) programs. School feeding delivers gains in both access and learning. New studies also show long-term positive impacts of eliminating school fees for primary school and positive impacts of eliminating fees in secondary school. Education technology interventions have decidedly mixed impacts, as do school grant programs and programs providing individual learning inputs (e.g., uniforms or textbooks).
Vertical limits of host infestation by gnathiid isopods (Isopoda: Gnathiidae) parasitic on Caribbean coral reef fishes
Authors: Nicholson Matthew D , Hendrick Gina C , Packard Amber J , Strobel Davis L , Vondriska Clayton , Sikkel Paul C
Published: October 2020

Parasites play significant roles in the function of ecosystems and can make up a large proportion of overall biomass. Yet, fundamental aspects of their ecology are often understudied relative to other organisms. Gnathiid isopods are the primary ectoparasites of fishes in coral reef ecosystems. While some studies have investigated their host-detection capabilities, the means by which they seek hosts are largely unknown. Gnathiids are benthic and live on the bottom, and all collection efforts involving live hosts have thus far involved traps set at or near the reef substrate. We investigated the distance gnathiids will travel vertically in the water column to attach to a fish host. The majority of gnathiids collected were at or less than 1 m above the reef substrate, and gnathiids were collected in serially diminishing numbers at 2 and 3 m above it. No gnathiids were collected from any fish hosts set more than 3.5 m above the reef substrate. Results suggest that gnathiids will actively seek host fishes in situ and will travel further from their benthic habitat than previously known. By swimming into the water column, gnathiids can exploit larger, highly-mobile fishes, which can serve as a major source of dispersal.
Methamphetamine-Induced Open Field Behavior and LD50 inPeriplaneta americanaCockroaches (Blattodea: Blattidae)
Authors: Findley David L , Berquist Michael D , Hambuchen Michael D
Published: October 2020

Invertebrate animal studies of methamphetamine (METH) could allow for high throughput, inexpensive, and high-animal number pharmacology and toxicology studies. We hypothesized that in Periplaneta americana cockroaches, METH would increase locomotion compared to saline and produce lethality. Lethal dose, 50% (LD50) was determined with 0–1,780 µg/g (mg/kg) METH (n = 15–16/group) using logit analysis. Locomotor activity after METH (0–560 mg/kg, intra-abdominal, n = 8 per group) administration and spontaneous locomotor activity in surviving cockroaches in an open field 24 h after LD50 study doses was measured with Noldus Ethovision. The LD50 of METH was 823.1 mg/kg (more than 10-fold greater than the value in rats). There were significant decreases in spontaneous locomotor activity in surviving cockroaches after administration of 650 and 750 mg/kg METH (P < 0.05). While 100 mg/kg METH did not significantly increase METH locomotor activity relative to saline, 300 mg/kg METH significantly increased locomotor activity compared to saline (P < 0.05), and 560 mg/kg METH resulted in most of the cockroaches slowly moving around the open field in the supine position for most of the trial. In conclusion, METH produces pharmacological and toxicological effects in P. americana. The high availability, low cost, and relative ease of use of these animals makes them a potential, very accessible option for studying METH use disorder.
Progress Toward an Attract-and-Kill Device for Asian Citrus Psyllid (Hemiptera: Liviidae) Using Volatile Signatures of Citrus Infected With Huanglongbing as the Attractant
Authors: Martini Xavier , Hoyte Angelique , Mafra-Neto Agenor , Aksenov Alexander A , Davis Cristina E , Stelinski Lukasz L
Published: October 2020

Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri (Kuwayama), preferentially orient toward citrus hosts infected with the phytopathogenic bacterium, Candidatus liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) the agent of citrus greening (Huanglongbing, HLB), compared to uninfected counterparts. We investigated whether this preference for the odors of infected plants could be useful for the development of an attract-and-kill (AK) device for D. citri. Twenty-nine blends of volatile organic compounds derived from the odor of citrus infected with CLas were tested in laboratory olfactometer tests, and two blends were also assessed under field conditions. A seven component blend of tricosane: geranial: methyl salicylate: geranyl acetone: linalool: phenylacetaldehyde: (E)-β-ocimene in a 0.40: 0.06: 0.08: 0.29: 0.08: 0.06: 0.03 ratio released from a proprietary slow-release matrix attracted twice more D. citri to yellow sticky traps compared with blank control traps. The attractive blend was subsequently co-formulated with spinosad insecticide into a slow-release matrix to create a prototype AK formulation against D. citri. This formulation effectively reduced the population density of D. citri up to 84% as measured with tap counts when deployed at a density of eight 2.5 g dollops per tree as compared with untreated controls in small plot field trials conducted in citrus orchards. Psyllid populations were not statistically affected at a deployment rate of four dollops per tree. Our results indicate that an AK formulation incorporating spinosad and a volatile blend signature of citrus greening into a slow-release matrix may be useful to suppress D. citri populations.
Current status of immunotherapy for advanced gastric cancer
Authors: Kawazoe Akihito , Shitara Kohei , Boku Narikazu , Yoshikawa Takaki , Terashima Masanori
Published: October 2020

Recently, immune checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) or programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) monoclonal antibodies have improved the overall survival of various types of cancers including advanced gastric cancer (AGC). Until now, two ant-PD-1 inhibitors were approved for AGC in Japan: nivolumab as third- or later-line treatment for AGC and pembrolizumab for previously treated patients with microsatellite instability-high tumours. However, a limited number of patients achieved clinical benefit, highlighting the importance of the better selection of patients or additional treatment to overcome resistance to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade. This review focused on pivotal clinical trials, biomarkers and novel combination therapy of immune checkpoint inhibitors forAGC.
Comprehensive Assessment of Diet Quality and Risk of Precursors of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Zheng Xiaobin , Hur Jinhee , Nguyen Long H , Liu Jie , Song Mingyang , Wu Kana , Smith-Warner Stephanie A , Ogino Shuji , Willett Walter C , Chan Andrew T , Giovannucci Edward , Cao Yin
Published: October 2020

Background

The role of poor diet quality in the rising incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosed younger than age 50 years has not been explored. Based on molecular features of early-onset CRC, early-onset adenomas are emerging surrogate endpoints.

Methods

In a prospective cohort study (Nurses’ Health Study II), we evaluated 2 empirical dietary patterns (Western and prudent) and 3 recommendation-based indexes (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension [DASH], Alternative Mediterranean Diet [AMED], and Alternative Healthy Eating Index [AHEI]-2010) with risk of early-onset adenoma overall and by malignant potential (high-risk: ≥1 cm, tubulovillous or villous histology, high-grade dysplasia, or ≥3 adenomas), among 29 474 women with 1 or more lower endoscopy before age 50 years (1991–2011). Multivariable logistic regressions were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

We documented 1157 early-onset adenomas with 375 at high risk. Western diet was positively associated, whereas prudent diet, DASH, AMED, and AHEI-2010 were inversely associated with risk of early-onset adenoma. The associations were largely confined to high-risk adenomas (the highest vs lowest quintile: Western, OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.18 to 2.37; prudent, OR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.48 to 0.98; DASH, OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.45 to 0.93; AMED, OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.38 to 0.79; AHEI-2010, OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.51 to 1.01; all Ptrend ≤ .03), driven by those identified in the distal colon and rectum (all Ptrend ≤ .04, except AMED: Ptrend = .14).

Conclusion

Poor diet quality was associated with an increased risk of early-onset distal and rectal adenomas of high malignant potential. These findings provide preliminary but strong support to the role of diet in early-onset CRC.
Arbitration and Law
Authors: Park William W.
Published: October 2020

This chapter discusses the relationship between arbitration and law. Three sets of questions present themselves with respect to the role of law in arbitration. The first relates to arbitration’s legal framework. The second relates to the specific procedures by which arbitration proceedings unfold, for example, in presenting evidence or organizing oral hearings. The third implicates the arbitrator’s evaluation of the merits of the disputes itself. Although separate, the three dimensions of law support each other in promoting the efficiency, fairness, and legitimacy of cross-border dispute resolution. Performance of the arbitrator’s function thus falls within a framework of cases, statutes, and treaties seeking balance between two goals: (i) to prevent disregard of an arbitration commitment; while at the same time (ii) to monitor the arbitral process for conformity to recognized notions of procedural fairness.
The Ethos of Arbitration
Authors: Schultz Thomas
Published: October 2020

This chapter describes the ethos of arbitration. It first distinguishes between two well-known schools of thought regarding how legal decision-makers make decisions, how judges and arbitrators decide cases. It also looks at legal formalism and legal realism, at justification and decision-making, and at rules and ethos. Ultimately, the chapter argues that the ethos of arbitration plays a role in the decisions that arbitration produces. However, this ethos is not necessarily one that is suited for all the different types of parties and disputes that arbitration has come to cover. It also may not be one that current political societies will necessarily condone now that they are becoming aware of it. Moreover, it probably is even damaging for the arbitration industry in the longer run.
Marginals and Elites in International Arbitration
Authors: Grisel Florian
Published: October 2020

This chapter highlights a field that has raised significant interest in recent years: the sociology of individuals who are routinely appointed as international arbitrators to settle the important business disputes that commonly arise in transnational settings. These individuals serve as the private judges of global business law, and their governance functions have grown together with the growth of international arbitration, which is now the preferred method for resolving these disputes. The private nature of these appointments and the creation of a closed group of elite arbitrators have raised important concerns within civil society. The chapter then shows how the elites of international commercial arbitration (ICA) have successfully gained a strong and growing foothold in the burgeoning field of investor–state arbitration (ISA), despite the structural differences between ICA and ISA. Indeed, the elites of ISA and ICA significantly overlap, and have developed similar social strategies to secure legitimacy within the unified field of international arbitration.
Mediators in Arbitration
Authors: Nolan-Haley Jacqueline
Published: October 2020

This chapter studies the role of mediation in international arbitration. Mediation is often promoted as being less costly and time-consuming than arbitration. Compared to litigation, mediation can reduce the economic and emotional costs of resolving disputes, and empirical studies show high compliance and user satisfaction rates with mediation. Indeed, mediation’s benefits flow from the culture of mediation, which changes the paradigm in dispute resolution from adversarial, positional bargaining to a more problem-solving approach focused on underlying needs and interests. Moreover, mediators as neutral third parties can add value to the parties’ negotiations. Thinking about mediators in the world of international arbitration calls for an appreciation of the fundamental differences between the roles of arbitrators and mediators. The critical difference between the two roles lies in the nature of decision-making. Arbitrators decide the outcome of parties’ disputes. Mediators help the parties to decide the outcome themselves.
Civil Society and International Investment Arbitration
Authors: Bernasconi Nathalie , Brauch Martin Dietrich , Mann Howard
Published: October 2020

This chapter discusses the role of civil society in international investment arbitration. Much of the civil society focus on international arbitration has been on the investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) process included in many international investment agreements. However, the historical role of commercial arbitration as the progenitor of investment treaty arbitration and the procedural and structural links between ISDS and commercial arbitration are important for the discussions on civil society engagement. Civil society recognized early on the problems of using a commercial arbitration model for investment arbitration, which involves public law matters, and concluded that this created a misappropriation of a tool that up to that time had only been used for private commercial purposes or very well-defined state-to-state purposes. The crossing of these purposes and actors to create public law arbitration between investors and states is what created this sense of misappropriation and led to a spotlight being shone on the regime by civil society. The chapter then looks back at the beginnings of civil society engagement with international arbitration through the experience with investment treaties, including the advancement of transparency and the ability to submit amicus curiae briefs.
The Multiple forms of Transparency in International Investment Arbitration
Authors: Shirlow Esmé , Caron David D.
Published: October 2020

This chapter explores transparency in international investment arbitration. In the field of international investment arbitration, there has been a particularly concerted campaign for the publication of awards and other arbitral documents, for the opening of arbitral hearings to the public, and for the participation of a more diverse group of stakeholders in arbitral proceedings. In isolation, each of these strands of the campaign for greater transparency in international investment arbitration might be characterized as a reform effort focused on a series of technical changes to aspects of the international arbitral process. However, they could alternatively be viewed from a broader angle, insofar as collectively they articulate and are driven by more fundamental concerns about international investment arbitration. Seen from this broader perspective, the campaign for greater transparency in international investment arbitration is underpinned by differing perspectives on the structure of transparency, on its role in the international arbitral process, and on the subjects and stakeholders which it might benefit. Reforms to transparency in international investment arbitration are thus ‘both technically narrow and strategically broad’.
Arbitration and Offshore Resources in Disputed Maritime Areas
Authors: Morgandi Tibisay
Published: October 2020

This chapter studies the role of arbitration for offshore resources in disputed maritime areas. It is an observable fact that disputes over maritime boundaries are mostly caused by competing desires of states to exploit offshore natural resources, in particular oil and gas deposits. Indeed, it is well known that the law on maritime boundaries was developed precisely in order to allocate rights over offshore natural resources. However, it has also long been observed that the law on maritime boundary delimitation, as developed by international tribunals, ostensibly pays only scant regard to this underlying basis of the disputes at issue. Rather, the law purports to base itself on other principles. In particular, the unilateral activities of the parties are consistently rejected as being ‘relevant circumstances’ relevant to a boundary delimitation. However, if one looks at what tribunals do, instead of what they say they do, it seems that in fact the unilateral activities of the parties concerning the exploitation of offshore hydrocarbons play a rather larger role. Whenever tribunals have some discretion, they invariably choose a delimitation line that gives oil and gas deposits to those parties that have taken the initiative to drill them unilaterally, provided that this drilling has taken place at least within a plausible boundary of the state that issued the concession. Moreover, tribunals are extremely reluctant to draw boundaries over drilled deposits, thus avoiding making them shared as a result of the delimitation exercise.
International Arbitration
Authors: Ruiz Fabri Hélène , Stoppioni Edoardo
Published: October 2020

This chapter examines some of the methodological elements of feminist approaches to international law to rethink international arbitration. The central focus of a feminist prism appears to be whether international arbitration is subjugated by patriarchal domination structures, bias and injustice, thus mirroring and even reinforcing the idiosyncrasies of international law, especially international economic law. Probably, one could answer yes to all these questions, and this is essentially why the legitimacy of international arbitration is so much at stake. However, the absence of such a dispute settlement system would not necessarily lead to a better situation for international economic regulation: if international law did not regulate resources at all, the international order would be that much more unjust. A feminist deconstruction shows the need for clear, transparent, and well-balanced rules and dispute settlement resolution systems, and not their absence. This direction is the one progressively taken by projects of reform.
Investment Treaty Arbitration
Authors: Vastardis Anil Yilmaz
Published: October 2020

This chapter challenges investment treaty arbitration at its core by questioning the validity of insistence on special routes for access to justice reserved to remediate the grievances of a class of privileged investors, which can be referred to as ‘justice bubbles’. Despite the potential of the ongoing reform initiatives to genuinely improve the existing investment treaty arbitration model, salvaging and strengthening these justice bubbles that serve the needs of the privileged few sustains and even makes permanent the prioritization of institutions of justice for foreign investors over the improvement of local institutions that could provide justice for members across society, including foreign investors. However, no institutional process used or proposed for settling international investment law disputes is perfect, and each process is ‘imperfect in different ways given the dynamics of participation within them’. Thus, the challenge in this chapter is directed towards the singling out of high-value investment disputes as deserving special treatment above and beyond any institutional options available to any other private party aggrieved by governmental abuse. The chapter then argues that the establishment of a permanent investment court is a short-sighted solution to deficiencies in local access to justice, which is likely to undermine domestic legal developments.
The Sociological Dimension of International Arbitration
Authors: Hirsch Moshe
Published: October 2020

This chapter addresses the sociological dimension of international arbitration. Sociological analysis of international arbitration begins from the premise that individuals’ behaviour and normative choices are significantly affected by sociocultural factors and processes. Indeed, the behaviour of actors participating in international arbitration is not isolated from its social context. The chapter then analyses the interactions between the social features of the investment arbitration community and two significant issues in investment arbitration: the application of human rights law by investment arbitrators and the constraining nature of norms regarding side arbitrator impartiality. While the first issue focuses on the particular features of the investment arbitration community and its interactions with another social group—the human rights community—the second issue regarding arbitrators’ impartiality is explored by employing several theoretical perspectives relating to the structure–agency debate in sociological literature.
International Commercial Arbitration
Authors: Dezalay Yves , Garth Bryant G.
Published: October 2020

This chapter traces the development of international commercial arbitration, which is often presented as a response to the demand for law and dispute resolution created naturally by an increase in transnational commerce and investment. Indeed, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris was relatively marginal from its establishment in 1923 until the increase in global trade and commerce that came in the 1970s and 1980s. The demand naturally created the supply. Based on the recognition that this market was not inevitable, it has been argued that the rise of international commercial arbitration depended on institutional entrepreneurs around the ICC. The chapter then looks at how the relatively marginal group around the ICC that Sgard studies gained credibility and acceptance from both multinational enterprises and developing countries.
Inter-State Arbitration in Historical Perspective
Authors: Keller Alexis
Published: October 2020

This chapter identifies the principal moments when the definition of arbitration and the institutions and techniques associated with it underwent major changes. It specifically highlights inter-state arbitration, yet its proposed historical lessons illuminates the entire field of international dispute settlement. This history can be divided into five distinct moments. The first, which could be described as the ‘Greek moment’, refers to the systematic use of arbitration by Greek cities to resolve their conflicts. The second, covering the period between 1200 and 1400 ad, witnessed the emergence of the first arbitration procedures under the influence of canonical law and acknowledged the growing power of the popes in the settlement of disputes between states. The third, marked by the Jay Treaty of 1794, initiated a major turning point in the history of arbitration, as it confirmed the role of diplomatic commissions in the peaceful resolution of disputes. The fourth moment, which began with the Alabama case (1871), saw the establishment of the first impartial and independent tribunal. Finally, the fifth moment began with the setting up of the Permanent Arbitration Court in 1899 and the harmonization of arbitration procedures.
Arbitration from a Law & Economics Perspective
Authors: van Aaken Anne , Broude Tomer
Published: October 2020

This chapter offers a Law & Economics (L&E) perspective on international arbitration. L&E scholars tend to view dispute resolution as a market. They thus look at the supply and demand of such third-party adjudication, usually comparing litigation to arbitration. Predominantly, in the literature, there are two interrelated L&E perspectives on this: one is focused on the general welfare consequences of arbitration; the other is focused on why disputants choose one kind of third-party settlement over another. There are many ways of resolving disputes between contractual parties: arbitration is also in competition with mediation, conciliation, litigation, and other forms of resolving disputes, including so-called ‘extra-legal’, socially normative ones. Most literature has focused either on the choice between litigation and arbitration or on the influence of arbitration on negotiation and settlement between the parties. The chapter then addresses other disputant choices relating to third-party funding and arbitrator appointment. It also looks at the incentives and behaviour of arbitrators, including their cognitive abilities.
Arbitration and Literature
Authors: Ost François
Published: October 2020

This chapter discusses the representation of arbitration in literature. Arbitration seems to receive little attention in literary works, as opposed to justice and the judge, which form the heart of the ‘law and literature’ movement. This disparity is likely due to the collective fascination with the judge as the embodiment of justice. The air of mystery that often surrounds arbitration can also be explained by the difference between the way in which it is presented in fictional texts and in modern law. Literature does not usually apprehend arbitration in the strict understanding of a private judge chosen by the parties, who adjudicates on a dispute by rendering a final and binding award which he cannot enforce without the assistance of state courts. Yet literature’s approximations in the treatment of arbitration are precisely what makes them interesting, in that they shed a welcome light on a justice that is both broader and more perennial than the justice that is rendered within the strict boundaries of the traditional court system. Works of literary fiction also provide many valuable stories about the value and reach of decisions rendered by arbitrators.
Introduction
Authors: Vrdoljak Ana Filipa , Francioni Francesco
Published: October 2020

This chapter provides an introductory overview to the Handbook. It outlines the definition of cultural heritage as covered by the key international instruments covering movable and immovable, tangible and intangible heritage. It outlines the role of key stakeholders including States, the international community, individuals, groups and communities (including Indigenous peoples), and experts and non-governmental organizations. Finally, the structure of the Handbook is explained. It outlines that there are special rules covering cultural heritage in most specialist areas of international law. It signposts how practice relating to cultural heritage is influencing the development of the rules of general public international law. Likewise, it notes that cultural heritage is influencing disputes resolution processes, integral to the interpretation and implementation of these rules. Finally, the role of regional practice in Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa is flagged.
Intellectual Cooperation Organisation, Unesco, And The Culture Conventions
Authors: Vrdoljak Ana Filipa , Meskell Lynn
Published: October 2020

This chapter provides an overview of multilateral interventions in the field of cultural heritage and its legal protection over the last century by focusing on the work of specialist cultural international organizations that have spearheaded the adoption and implementation of the leading treaties. The first part examines the early work of the League of Nations’ Intellectual Cooperation Organisation from the 1920s to the Second World War. The second part considers the work of its successor, UNESCO from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. The concluding observations consider the challenges which both organizations faced in realizing their mission in the cultural field. A deeper understanding of the ideals, challenges, and tensions which have marked the internal workings of UNESCO, its forerunner, and their Members States is fundamental to appreciating the instruments and initiatives in the cultural field that they adopted and seek to implement.
The Responsibilities to Protect Cultural Heritage and Prevent Cultural Genocide
Authors: Nafziger James A. R.
Published: October 2020

This chapter assesses the concept of a State’s limited responsibility to protect persons against atrocities (R2P). Though still quite new, R2P is already respected and modestly operational as a political principle or, arguably, as soft law. It is importantly related to the international crime of genocide, as acknowledged, for example, by the title and mission of the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect. The chapter then looks at the applicability of R2P to cultural heritage, introducing the concepts of cultural genocide and cultural cleansing against a background of armed conflict. With reference to R2P, the intentional mass destruction of cultural material already has been accepted under international law as evidence of atrocity crimes against persons. Somewhat paradoxically, however, although cultural genocide has become prominent in international discourse as a threat to fundamental human rights and global order, it lacks a secure foundation in international law.
Cultural Heritage, Transitional Justice, and Rule of Law
Authors: Vrdoljak Ana Filipa
Published: October 2020

This chapter examines the interrelationship between cultural heritage and efforts to secure and sustain peace. It gives an overview of the new international order the post–World War I and II peace settlements sought to create and the role of specialist culture bodies within intergovernmental frameworks in promoting the role of culture and cultural heritage in peace efforts. The role of culture rights and cultural heritage is considered within the transitional justice framework enunciated by the UN covering the rights to justice and accountability, truth, remedy and reparation, and guarantees of non-recurrence. Illustrations are drawn from the burgeoning jurisprudence of regional human rights courts and international criminal courts and State practice arising from the proliferation of peace processes since 1989. Finally, it considers the preventative role of cultural heritage and cultural rights in sustaining peace beyond the post-conflict context and UN/UNESCO efforts to promote a culture of sustainable peace.
Theft and Illegal Excavation
Authors: Gerstenblith Patty
Published: October 2020

This chapter describes the detrimental effects of the international market in antiquities on the preservation of knowledge about the past. It examines the domestic laws adopted by States to control the retrieval of archaeological objects and to determine the ownership of such objects. Recognition of State ownership laws, which vest ownership of undiscovered antiquities in the State, is a crucial element for discouraging the looting of archaeological artefacts. The chapter then examines the international legal response, in particular the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, followed by the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen and Illegally Exported Cultural Objects. Finally, the United Nations Security Council has adopted sui generis resolutions to prevent trafficking of archaeological objects from Iraq and Syria and, in its most recent Resolution, trafficking in its broader context.
Landscape as Cultural Heritage
Authors: Strecker Amy
Published: October 2020

This chapter examines the protection of landscape in international cultural heritage law. Since the inclusion of ‘cultural landscapes’ within the scope of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention in 1992, landscape has gained increasing importance at the international level. However, given the focus of the World Heritage Convention on landscapes of ‘outstanding universal value’, it was not until the adoption of the European Landscape Convention (ELC) in 2000 that landscape became democratized. The ELC conceives of landscape above all as a people’s landscape and, accordingly, provides for the active participation of the public in the formulation of plans and polices. It focuses not only on outstanding places but also on the everyday and degraded landscapes where most people live and work. This ostensibly brings ‘landscape’ back to its early etymological origins—when it corresponded to a close-up, lived-in perspective—and has a number of implications for human rights and democracy.
Underwater Cultural Heritage
Authors: O’Keefe Patrick J.
Published: October 2020

This chapter focuses on underwater cultural heritage. This form of heritage is important because it constitutes what has been called a ‘time capsule’—meaning everything on a site may well be as it was when it disappeared beneath the water’s surface. It may be the wreck of a ship, the remains of a town, or a prehistoric settlement where land has subsided. There is general agreement that what remains is important to humanity. As such, protection and preservation of the underwater cultural heritage is a significant objective of the international legal system. The UNESCO Convention of 2001 is illustrative of this. However, the Convention exists within the international political and legal framework. In negotiating it, States were constrained by what they felt this framework required. Many were prepared to be generous in how they interpreted those requirements—others not so. The result is a complex agreement requiring care in implementation.
Cultural Heritage and Women
Authors: Powderly Joseph , Braga da Silva Rafael
Published: October 2020

The women’s rights movement has secured important reforms aimed at realizing the promise of genuine equality and the universality of fundamental human rights norms. Giving substantive voice to the cultural rights of women has been an important feature of the discourse and has led to significant advances in recognizing the intersectionality of the forms of oppression experienced by women, the centrality of women’s agency in exercising their cultural rights, and the dangers of essentialized conceptions of the lived experiences of women. The chapter explores the extent to which gender issues are reflected in international cultural heritage instruments as well as in the practices and policy initiatives of UNESCO. It suggests that the advances made in the realization of women’s cultural rights have not yet been fully translated in the context of international cultural heritage law and practice.