bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Priorities under the Land Registration Act in Nigeria
Authors: Chianu Emeka 
Published: July 2009

A substantial part of the rules governing land tenure and its conveyance has had the prevention of fraud and double-dealing as its object. Rapacious vendors have perfected the skill of selling the same piece of land successively to more than one purchaser. Trespassers have brazenly taken possession of land in which they have no vestige of interest, challenging the owner and asserting limited or absolute rights to it. Some of these frauds are perpetrated because land transactions are not publicised. It is no surprise therefore that the elimination of secrecy in such dealings was appreciated early in man's history.The oldest recorded land transaction, which took place almost 4,000 years ago in 1881 BCE in the Middle East, was concluded in the presence of witnesses, “before the eyes of the sons of Heth among all those entering the gate of his city”. Witnesses give the transaction publicity and they are also people who could testify to it. But the testimony, useful as it is, has its shortcomings and cannot always be relied on to determine either whether the transaction took place or the nature of the rights and obligations it conferred on the parties. With the passing of time the frail memory of the witnesses fails; on their death any evidence given becomes hearsay with the attendant possibility that subsequent persons may alter what they were told.
Murder without Corpus Delicti: A Brief Excursus on Circumstantial Evidence
Authors: Rwelamira Medard R. 
Published: July 2009

This comment sets out to re-examine the problems associated with circumstantial evidence in instances of murder where there is no trace of a body or corpus delicti. This curiosity has been rekindled by the recent decision of Rooney, Ag. C. J., of the High Court of Swaziland in the case of King v. John Spokes Lawrence Madeleke. Besides the bizarre events which characterize its details, the case has brought to the fore once again the need to re-examine the principles underlying circumstantial evidence. Of particular interest is the basis of relying on such evidence as well as the weight to be attached to it particularly if it is the only basis on which a conviction on charge of murder is sustained. It is also contended that the decision in the Madeleke case, the first of its kind in Swaziland judicial history, has implications which go beyond its jurisdictional boundaries. Swaziland's juridical ties with Roman-Dutch law make the arguments interesting, especially for those concerned with comparative jurisprudence in the neighbouring states including South Africa.It is first important to review briefly the relevant facts. In Madeleke the accused was charged with and subsequently convicted of the murder of his wife, Sheila, on the night following 17 January, 1991. The case for the prosecution was that Sheila was dead, murdered by her husband. To establish this proposition the Crown relied entirely upon circumstantial evidence. The most significant was that given by Thulie, the domestic servant of the accused.
The Legal Effect of Executive Confirmation of Findings or Awards by Quasi-Judicial Bodies in Ghana
Authors: Bimpong-Buta S. Y. 
Published: July 2009

The functioning of society is considerably aided by legal rules and social norms. The extent, scope and complexity of such laws and norms are determined in the final analysis by the level of socio-economic activity, growth and development. Corresponding economic and social institutions of an administrative nature tend to evolve and become intertwined with such developments. In order to cope with increasing responsibilities, a government may establish statutory bodies to deal with certain aspects of governmental activity of a quasi-judicial nature.In developing countries such as Ghana, therefore, one often finds in the Statute books enactments conferring certain powers on quasi-judicial bodies. In Ghana, powers are conferred on such bodies to carry out investigations and make findings of fact concerning such matters as chieftaincy disputes, the determination of boundaries between two communities, the settlement of trade disputes, etc. Perhaps, recognising the limitations of such bodies, the decisions based on the facts found by such bodies do not usually become binding on the persons or the institutions to be affected in die same way as die decisions of the regular courts do. To become binding, the law usually provides that two conditions are satisfied:(i) The findings or decisions must be confirmed by the executive or the minister acting in that behalf; and(ii) they must be published in an official gazette, bulletin or in any such official publication.
On Indeterminacy in Law
Authors: Otakpor N. 
Published: July 2009

The problem of indeterminacy in law has been the subject of interesting debate for many years now. Pitched against each other in the controversy are Hart, Dworkin, Benditt, American Realist jurisprudence and recent exponents of Critical Legal Studies (C.L.S.). Interesting as the controversy is, it is not as ordinary as our most casual statements seem to suggest, especially if the implications and outcomes necessitated by the existence of legal indeterminacy are examined rather than the concentration on ideologies and perspectives. To consider these implications and outcomes in detail, it is important to develop a generalised overview within which more detailed inquiries may find their context. Thus, in this paper, I shall first, examine indeterminacy as a concept per se. I shall then examine a selection of general arguments for and against legal indeterminacy and elucidate what is critically involved in these claims and in their denials. I do hope, at least, to give an idea of the difficulties we meet when we try to get our ideas clear on it and to show how any solution of the problem (if it is soluble at all) is closely connected with other problems in language and politics.The topic of this paper is indeterminacy in law.
The Effect of Non-Registration of Contracts for Transfer of Technology in Nigeria: Beecham Group Ltd v. Esdee Food Products Nigeria Ltd
Authors: Fagbemi O. A. 
Published: July 2009

The main object of the National Office of Industrial Property (NOIP) Act 1979, is the regulation of all contracts and agreements for the transfer of technology to Nigeria. It attempts to achieve this by requiring all such contracts and agreements to be registered with the NOIP and for their terms to be predicated upon state or judicial consent.In Beecham's case, the Court of Appeal decided that failure to register relevant contracts or agreements with the NOIP does not affect their validity. It is the submission of this note that the decision of the Court of Appeal was wrong: such contracts or agreements become tainted with illegality and, therefore, should be null and void.Although this was an action for infringement of the plaintiff's (Beecham Group Ltd), registered trade mark “Lucozade”, this note will concentrate on the point of law (raised for the first time at the appeal), that non-registration of the transaction whereby the proprietorship of the mark was transferred to the plaintiff, rendered the transaction void. The defendant's argument was that the plaintiff had no locus standi to institute the action or use the trade mark, because it had failed to register a transaction that was registrable within the context of section 4(d) of the NOIP Act.The Court of Appeal disagreed:
The Organs of Economic Co-operation in Africa
Authors: Sohn Louis B. 
Published: July 2009

In studying economic co-operation in Africa, it might be useful to start with an investigation of the special characteristics of African international organizations, and the effect of these characteristics on the modalities of African economic co-operation.Any comparative study of African international organizations has to take into account the bewildering variety of these organizations, and the difficulty of classifying them in a meaningful fashion. There are many factors which need to be considered, as well as the fact that most organizations belong at the same time to various categories. When one tries to evaluate the respective merits of various organizations, one finds quickly that it is really not a particular feature of an organization that matters, but that an organization's performance depends, to an important extent, on the special mixture of various characteristics, which is peculiar to that organization.
The Methodological Problems of International Law And Development
Authors: Brownlie Ian 
Published: July 2009

My approach in introducing the discussion must be that of the “necessary hostility” of the practitioner who sees the client privately and tries to raise the real difficulties so that these are tackled constructively before the opposition is let loose on the client. Thus the tactic is that of constructive criticism, asking the tough questions. It is well known that multinationals and other interested parties are well served by international lawyers who will not neglect the tough technical problems.No doubt methodology can be over-emphasised. It is clear that many lawyers have long and successful careers probably without once stopping to worry about methodology. In contrast are the linguistic philosophers who are rather like the gardener who spends his entire career in the tool shed and seed store but never gets out and grows any vegetables. Whilst the problems can be exaggerated, nonetheless there are problems and in a sense I want to raise questions without having firm views about the answers. I think this is exactly the forum in which we can exchange our views and impressions.In my opinion the New International Economic Order presents problems of sources of a magnitude which is greater than the problems which have to be faced even when one is dealing with relatively old established parts of customary international law. In the first place we look at the nature of the sources. There is an incredible variety of sources, using the term “sources” in a rather question-begging way.
Adapting International Law to the Development of the Third World
Authors: Flory Maurice 
Published: July 2009

What is the connection between international law and economic development? The answer will very likely be different according to whether the question is asked in a developed country or in one of the 120 less-developed countries. Consequently the answer can only be found in international law itself.Criticism has been levelled against the International Law Commission on the ground that its work only deals with the traditional topics which constitute the core of international law. Such criticism implies that the Commission has failed to perceive the need for developing international law adequately to encompass new areas.Of course this assertion could be disputed. However, the General Secretary of the United Nations, in a Survey of International Law published in April, 1971, clearly points to a number of newly emerging areas of concern, including the law relating to economic development which comprises the following headings:1. international legal rules and measures concerning regulation and coordination of the economic activities of states;2. international trade;3. economic and technical assistance.In order to assess the full implication of this question, it should be appreciated that the activities of the U.N. and of a growing number of international economic institutions are now devoted increasingly to development. The numerous relevant publications issued especially, but not only, by Third World lawyers show how this matter is becoming of fundamental importance. Indeed, there can be little doubt that Foreign Office legal advisers would readily admit that much of their daily work involves questions of international economic law. Nevertheless, if one looks at the role allocated to this subject by what may loosely be called the established international law, one must recognise that this is, indeed, a very modest role.
Circulars of the Sharī'a Courts in the Sudan (Manshūrāt el-Mahākim el-Sharī'a fi Sūdān) 1902–1979
Authors: Fluehr-Lobban Carolyn 
Published: July 2009

An excellent documentation of the twentieth century history of the Sharī'a in Sudan is contained within the Judicial Circulars which have been issued from the office of the Grand Qadi from 1902–1979. During the colonial period and in the post-independence period the Circulars provided a unique means for modifying the adapting Sharī'a law in the Sudan, drawing on opinions of the Hanafī and Mālikī schools of juristic interpretation.These Circulars and Memoranda are, in fact, basic to an understanding of the practice and application of the Sharī'a law in the Sudan. It is with these Circulars that I began my study of Sharī'a law and it is because of their importance that they were translated for my own work and in the hope that they may shortly be offered to students of the law of the Sudan who lack proficiency in the Arabic language.
The Origins of Forest Law and Policy in Ghana during the Colonial Period
Authors: Agbosu L. K. 
Published: July 2009

John Whittow in a recent book observes that droughts, unlike an earthquake, a tsunami or an avalanche do not suddenly appear in a dramatic fashion hitting the newspaper headlines of an unsuspecting world. Drought, he says, is slow and insidious, a creeping death which gradually paralyses entire nations and changes the course of history.That is how it seems Ghana was taken unawares by the recent prolonged droughts that have been affecting the country since the early part of 1982. Until then, people in Ghana had taken for granted constant water supplies, uninterrupted supply of electricity and other energy resources, principally from the Volta hydroelectric dam—the largest man-made lake in the world—feeling secure in the mistaken belief that drought comes only to the geographically arid or semi-arid parts of the world.
OPPORTUNITY FOR NATURAL SELECTION AMONG THE INDIAN POPULATION: SECULAR TREND, COVARIATES AND IMPLICATIONS
Authors: GAUTAM RAJESH K. 
Published: July 2009

SummaryCrow's index is widely used for indirect quantitative estimation of natural selection using birth and death rates. The present investigation is based on 179 studies among 144 different endogamous communities belonging to nineteen states and six geographical regions of India, categorized into six social groups. These studies appeared in 33 different years over six decades (1956 to 2007). The secular trend in Crow's index (It) and its mortality and fertility components (Im and If) shows a gradual decline in It and radical shift in the relative contributions of Im and If. Before 1990 the opportunity for natural selection was mainly determined by differential pre-reproductive mortality (Im), whereas after 1990 it has been determined by differential fertility (If). To find out the covariates of It, Im and If sixteen socio-demographic variables were considered, and nine were found to be significantly correlated with It: total dependency ratio, decadal growth rate 1991–2001, young age dependency ratio, crude death rate, total fertility rate, child mortality rate, under-5 mortality rate, old age dependency ratio and decadal growth rate 1981–1991. On the basis of multivariate stepwise regression analysis, female literacy emerged as one of the most important predictors of It. The declining trend of It, Im and If shows that the Indian population is passing through the demographic transition.
Pharmacological action of tick saliva upon haemostasis and the neutralization ability of sera from repeatedly infested hosts
Authors: RECK J. , BERGER M. , MARKS F. S. , ZINGALI R. B. , CANAL C. W. , FERREIRA C. A. S. , GUIMARÃES J. A. , TERMIGNONI C. 
Published: July 2009

SUMMARYTicks are blood-feeding arthropods widely distributed in the world and vectors of several diseases. As haematophagy demands evasion strategies and repeatedly infested hosts develop protective immune responses, we investigated the mechanisms of theRhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplussaliva anti-haemostatic activity and the possible relationship between the acquired natural anti-tick host resistance and anti-haemostatic action. For this purpose, we studied the effects ofR. microplussaliva on different pathways of haemostasis and tested whether repeated infested bovine sera (RIBS) are able to abolish salivary anti-haemostatic activities.R. microplussaliva (i) displays inhibitory activity upon collagen-induced platelet aggregation; (ii) inhibits the induction of endothelial pro-coagulant state; and (iii) reduces thrombogenesisin vivo. RIBS were shown to be able to partially block the delay of coagulation and the anti-thrombotic effect of saliva, and to totally abolish the modulation of endothelium activation. Conversely, RIBS has no effect on the inhibition of platelet aggregation. These results show, for the first time, the neutralization ability of sera from acquired resistance hosts against tick anti-haemostatics. Moreover, this is the first report of a haematophagous parasite able to modulate endothelial cell pro-coagulant state, and addresses the presence of anti-platelet and anti-thrombotic activity inR. microplussaliva.
The advantage of errorless learning for the acquisition of new concepts' labels in alcoholics
Authors: Pitel A. L. , Perruchet P. , Vabret F. , Desgranges B. , Eustache F. , Beaunieux H. 
Published: July 2009

BackgroundPrevious findings revealed that the acquisition of new semantic concepts' labels was impaired in uncomplicated alcoholic patients. The use of errorless learning may therefore allow them to improve learning performance. However, the flexibility of the new knowledge and the memory processes involved in errorless learning remain unclear.MethodNew concepts' labels acquisition was examined in 15 alcoholic patients and 15 control participants in an errorless learning condition compared with 19 alcoholic patients and 19 control subjects in a trial-and-error learning condition. The flexibility of the new information was evaluated using different photographs from those used in the learning sessions but representing the same concepts. All of the participants carried out an additional explicit memory task and an implicit memory task was also performed by subjects in the errorless learning condition.ResultsThe alcoholic group in the errorless condition differed significantly from the alcoholic group in the trial-and-error condition but did not differ from the two control groups. There was no significant difference between results in the learning test and the flexibility task. Finally, in the alcoholic group, the naming score in the learning test was correlated with the explicit memory score but not with the implicit memory score.ConclusionsUsing errorless learning, alcoholics improved their abilities to learn new concepts' labels. Moreover, new knowledge acquired with errorless learning was flexible. The errorless learning advantage may rely on explicit rather than implicit memory processes in these alcohol-dependent patients presenting only mild to moderate deficits of explicit memory capacities.
Paternal and maternal ages at conception and risk of bipolar affective disorder in their offspring
Authors: Menezes P. R. , Lewis G. , Rasmussen F. , Zammit S. , Sipos A. , Harrison G. L. , Tynelius P. , Gunnell D. 
Published: July 2009

BackgroundA consistent association between paternal age and their offspring's risk of schizophrenia has been observed, with no independent association with maternal age. The relationship of paternal and maternal ages with risk of bipolar affective disorders (BPAD) in the offspring is less clear. The present study aimed at testing the hypothesis that paternal age is associated with their offspring's risk of BPAD, whereas maternal age is not.MethodThis population-based cohort study was conducted with individuals born in Sweden during 1973–1980 and still resident there at age 16 years. Outcome was first hospital admission with a diagnosis of BPAD. Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using Cox's proportional hazard regression.ResultsAfter adjustment for all potential confounding variables except maternal age, the HR for risk of BPAD for each 10-year increase in paternal age was 1.28 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11–1.48], but this fell to 1.20 (95% CI 0.97–1.48) after adjusting for maternal age. A similar result was found for maternal age and risk of BPAD [HR 1.30 (95% CI 1.08–1.56) before adjustment for paternal age, HR 1.12 (95% CI 0.86–1.45) after adjustment]. The HR associated with having either parent aged 30 years or over was 1.26 (95% CI 1.01–1.57) and it was 1.45 (95% CI 1.16–1.81) if both parents were >30 years.ConclusionsUnlike schizophrenia, the risk of BPAD seems to be associated with both paternal and maternal ages.
Algebra of programming in Agda: Dependent types for relational program derivation
Authors: MU SHIN-CHENG , KO HSIANG-SHANG , JANSSON PATRIK 
Published: July 2009

AbstractRelational program derivation is the technique of stepwise refining a relational specification to a program by algebraic rules. The program thus obtained is correct by construction. Meanwhile, dependent type theory is rich enough to express various correctness properties to be verified by the type checker. We have developed a library, AoPA (Algebra of Programming in Agda), to encode relational derivations in the dependently typed programming language Agda. A program is coupled with an algebraic derivation whose correctness is guaranteed by the type system. Two non-trivial examples are presented: an optimisation problem and a derivation of quicksort in which well-founded recursion is used to model terminating hylomorphisms in a language with inductive types.
Subconvexity bounds for automorphicL-functions
Authors: Diaconu A. , Garrett P. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractWe break the convexity bound in thet-aspect forL-functions attached to cusp formsffor GL2(k) over arbitrary number fieldsk. The argument uses asymptotics with error term with a power saving, for second integral moments over spectral families of twistsL(s,f⊗χ) by Grossencharacters χ, from our previous paper on integral moments.
Binding of the CHD4 PHD2 finger to histone H3 is modulated by covalent modifications
Authors: Musselman Catherine A. , Mansfield Robyn E. , Garske Adam L. , Davrazou Foteini , Kwan Ann H. , Oliver Samuel S. , O'Leary Heather , Denu John M. , Mackay Joel P. , Kutateladze Tatiana G. 
Published: July 2009

CHD4 (chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 4) ATPase is a major subunit of the repressive NuRD (nucleosome remodelling and deacetylase) complex, which is involved in transcriptional regulation and development. CHD4 contains two PHD (plant homeodomain) fingers of unknown function. Here we show that the second PHD finger (PHD2) of CHD4 recognizes the N-terminus of histone H3 and that this interaction is facilitated by acetylation or methylation of Lys9 (H3K9ac and H3K9me respectively) but is inhibited by methylation of Lys4 (H3K4me) or acetylation of Ala1 (H3A1ac). An 18 μM binding affinity toward unmodified H3 rises to 0.6 μM for H3K9ac and to 0.9 μM for H3K9me3, whereas it drops to 2.0 mM for H3K4me3, as measured by tryptophan fluorescence and NMR. A peptide library screen further shows that phosphorylation of Thr3, Thr6 or Ser10 abolishes this interaction. A model of the PHD2–H3 complex, generated using a combination of NMR, data-driven docking and mutagenesis data, reveals an elongated site on the PHD2 surface where the H3 peptide is bound. Together our findings suggest that the PHD2 finger plays a role in targeting of the CHD4/NuRD complex to chromatin.