Professional Liability of the Construction Professional as an Expert Witness in the Spanish Legal Framework

Inside COBRA 2011 RICS International Research Conference, the present paper is linked to analyze the liability of the construction professional in his practice as a expert witness in the Spanish legal framework. In a large number of legal procedures related to the building it is necessary the intervention of the expert witness to report on the subject of litigation, and to give an opinion about possible causes and solutions. This field is increasingly importantly for the practice of construction professional that requires an important specialization. The expert provides his knowledge to the judge in the matter he is dealing with (construction, planning, assessment, legal, ...), providing arguments or reasons as the base for his case and acting as part of the evidence. Although the importance of expert intervention in the judicial process, the responsibilities arising from their activity is a slightly studied field. Therefore, the study has as purpose to think about the regulation of professional activities raising different aims. The first is to define the action of the construction professional-expert witness and the need for expert evidence, establishing the legal implications of this professional activity. The different types of responsibilities (the civil, criminal and administrative) have been established as well as the economic, penal or disciplinary damages that can be derived from the expert report

O devido processo legal para o refúgio no Brasil

O processo para o refúgio é o conjunto de regras e princípios necessários à aplicação do Direito dos Refugiados aos casos concretos. Quando este conjunto respeita os padrões democráticos do Devido Processo Legal, as tendências históricas de exploração e manipulação política do instituto de refúgio podem ser limitadas e os objetivos humanitários deste ramo dos Direitos Humanos podem ser alcançados com maior transparência. Quando o Devido Processo Legal para o refúgio é respeitado, também se permite que a pessoa que figura como solicitante de refúgio seja tratada como sujeito de direitos - e não como objeto do processo. Uma vez que a Convenção de Genebra de 1951, sobre o Estatuto dos Refugiados, não estabeleceu normas de processo, cada país signatário necessita criar um regime próprio para processar os pedidos de determinação, extensão, perda e cessação da condição de refugiado em seus territórios. O primeiro regime processual brasileiro foi criado no ano de 1997, pela Lei Federal 9497. Desde então, o país vem desenvolvendo, através do Comitê Nacional para Refugiados (CONARE), regras infra legais e rotinas práticas que têm determinado um padrão processual ainda fragmentado e inseguro. O estudo do aparato normativo nacional e da realidade observada entre 2012 e 2014 revelam a existência de problemas (pontuais ou crônicos) sobre o cumprimento de diversos princípios processuais, tais como a Legalidade, a Impessoalidade e Independência da autoridade julgadora, o Contraditório, a Ampla Defesa, a Publicidade, a Fundamentação, a Igualdade e a Razoável Duração do Processo. Estes problemas impõem desafios variados ao Brasil, tanto em dimensão legislativa quanto estrutural. O enfrentamento destas questões precisa ocorrer com rapidez. O motivo da urgência, porém, não é a nova demanda de imigração observada no país, mas sim o fato de que as violações ao Devido Processo Legal, verificadas no processo para o refúgio brasileiro, representam, em si, violações de Direitos Humanos, que, ademais prejudicam o compromisso do país para com a proteção internacional dos refugiados.

Suicídio : uma análise epidemiológica : estudo retrospetivo da casuística da Delegação do Sul do Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal e Ciências Forenses, I.P. (2007-2012)

Trabalho Final do Curso de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 2014

A transmissão contratual do direito de propriedade sobre os bens imóveis em Portugal : a "crise" do princípio da consensualidade e o regime do Código de Registo Predial

A presente Dissertação versa sobre a aplicação do princípio da consensualidade à transmissão contratual do direito de propriedade na ordem jurídica portuguesa, dando especial destaque à transmissão contratual dos bens imóveis. A transmissão contratual do direito de propriedade sobre os bens imóveis suscita a problemática da articulação entre o princípio da consensualidade e as restantes normas do ordenamento jurídico, principalmente as normas da ordem registal, na medida em que, se discute se no plano da transmissão contratual dos bens imóveis o princípio da consensualidade consiste numa regra geral ou, por outro lado, assume um papel residual ou supletivo. Tanto a Doutrina maioritária como a Jurisprudência portuguesas defendem a prevalência do Direito substantivo e do princípio da consensualidade na transferência do direito de propriedade, mesmo no caso dos bens imóveis. Já uma Doutrina minoritária defende a prevalência do Direito Registal ao dar relevância ao papel da inscrição registal da transmissão do direito de propriedade sobre os bens imóveis, defendendo que a transferência de bens imóveis por mero efeito do contrato é uma regra supletiva ou residual na ordem jurídica portuguesa. Da análise da ordem jurídica portuguesa verificou-se que o sistema do título português possui “efeitos fracos”; a transmissão contratual do direito de propriedade ocorre por efeito do contrato mesmo em relação aos bens imóveis, logo, o princípio da consensualidade é a regra geral; o sistema de registo é semi-obrigatório; o registo não é elemento de transmissão do direito de propriedade mas condição de oponibilidade face aos terceiros (apenas os terceiros tutelados pelo legislador), por isso, o registo possui um efeito consolidativo do direito registado.

The EU regime on biofuels in transport: Still in search of sustainability. Egmont Paper No. 68, July 2014

Like other regions of the world, the EU is developing biofuels in the transport sector to reduce oil consumption and mitigate climate change. To promote them, it has adopted favourable legislation since the 2000s. In 2009 it even decided to oblige each Member State to ensure that by 2020 the share of energy coming from renewable sources reached at least 10% of their final consumption of energy in the transport sector. Biofuels are considered the main instrument to reach that percentage since the development of other alternatives (such as hydrogen and electricity) will take much longer than expected. Meanwhile, these various legislative initiatives have driven the production and consumption of biofuels in the EU. Biofuels accounted for 4.7% of EU transport fuel consumption in 2011. They have also led to trade and investment in biofuels on a global scale. This large-scale expansion of biofuels has, however, revealed numerous negative impacts. These stem from the fact that first-generation biofuels (i.e., those produced from food crops), of which the most important types are biodiesel and bioethanol, are used almost exclusively to meet the EU’s renewable 10% target in transport. Their negative impacts are: socioeconomic (food price rises), legal (land-grabbing), environmental (for instance, water stress and water pollution; soil erosion; reduction of biodiversity), climatic (direct and indirect land-use effects resulting in more greenhouse gas emissions) and public finance issues (subsidies and tax relief). The extent of such negative impacts depends on how biofuel feedstocks are produced and processed, the scale of production, and in particular, how they influence direct land use change (DLUC) and indirect land use change (ILUC) and the international trade. These negative impacts have thus provoked mounting debates in recent years, with a particular focus on ILUC. They have forced the EU to re-examine how it deals with biofuels and submit amendments to update its legislation. So far, the EU legislation foresees that only sustainable biofuels (produced in the EU or imported) can be used to meet the 10% target and receive public support; and to that end, mandatory sustainability criteria have been defined. Yet they have a huge flaw. Their measurement of greenhouse gas savings from biofuels does not take into account greenhouse gas emissions resulting from ILUC, which represent a major problem. The Energy Council of June 2014 agreed to set a limit on the extent to which firstgeneration biofuels can count towards the 10% target. But this limit appears to be less stringent than the ones made previously by the European Commission and the European Parliament. It also agreed to introduce incentives for the use of advanced (second- and third-generation) biofuels which would be allowed to count double towards the 10% target. But this again appears extremely modest by comparison with what was previously proposed. Finally, the approach chosen to take into account the greenhouse gas emissions due to ILUC appears more than cautious. The Energy Council agreed that the European Commission will carry out a reporting of ILUC emissions by using provisional estimated factors. A review clause will permit the later adjustment of these ILUC factors. With such legislative orientations made by the Energy Council, one cannot consider yet that there is a major shift in the EU biofuels policy. Bolder changes would have probably meant risking the collapse of the high-emission conventional biodiesel industry which currently makes up the majority of Europe’s biofuel production. The interests of EU farmers would have also been affected. There is nevertheless a tension between these legislative orientations and the new Commission’s proposals beyond 2020. In any case, many uncertainties remain on this issue. As long as solutions have not been found to minimize the important collateral damages provoked by the first generation biofuels, more scientific studies and caution are needed. Meanwhile, it would be wise to improve alternative paths towards a sustainable transport sector, i.e., stringent emission and energy standards for all vehicles, better public transport systems, automobiles that run on renewable energy other than biofuels, or other alternatives beyond the present imagination.

Communication in investigative and legal contexts:integrated approaches from forensic psychology, linguistics and law enforcement

Communication in Forensic Contexts provides in-depth coverage of the complex area of communication in forensic situations. Drawing on expertise from forensic psychology, linguistics and law enforcement worldwide, the text bridges the gap between these fields in a definitive guide to best practice. • Offers best practice for understanding and improving communication in forensic contexts, including interviewing of victims, witnesses and suspects, discourse in courtrooms, and discourse via interpreters • Bridges the knowledge gaps between forensic psychology, forensic linguistics and law enforcement, with chapters written by teams bringing together expertise from each field • Published in collaboration with the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group, dedicated to furthering evidence-based practice and practice-based research amongst researchers and practitioners • International, cross-disciplinary team includes contributors from North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, and from psychology, linguistics and forensic practice

Communication in investigative and legal settings:integrated approaches from forensic psychology, linguistics and law enforcement

Communication in Forensic Contexts provides in-depth coverage of the complex area of communication in forensic situations. Drawing on expertise from forensic psychology, linguistics and law enforcement worldwide, the text bridges the gap between these fields in a definitive guide to best practice. •Offers best practice for understanding and improving communication in forensic contexts, including interviewing of victims, witnesses and suspects, discourse in courtrooms, and discourse via interpreters •Bridges the knowledge gaps between forensic psychology, forensic linguistics and law enforcement, with chapters written by teams bringing together expertise from each field •Published in collaboration with the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group, dedicated to furthering evidence-based practice and practice-based research amongst researchers and practitioners •International, cross-disciplinary team includes contributors from North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, and from psychology, linguistics and forensic practice

Una sociedad legalista: Abogados, procuradores de causas y la creación de una cultura legal colonial en Lima y Potosí, 1540–1670

This study deals with the formation, reproduction, and the role in litigation of two branches of the legal profession, lawyers and procurators. They were the experts in charge of civil, criminal, and ecclesiastical litigation during the Old Regime. While the lawyers provided erudite legal advice, procurators oriented and drove the procedure as legal representatives of their clients. The European legal revolutions of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries forged a new legal culture in which the lawsuit was reputed to be the best way to settle disputes. Likewise, that legal culture conferred an important place to specialists as legal facilitators of the contending parties. When Castilians exported their legal system to the New World, they spread a complex and bureaucratic framework, contributing to the reproduction of a class of experts in urban spaces. Lima and Potosi, two urban centers created in the sixteenth century, quickly became significant ‘legal cities’. This dissertation explores how the legal markets of these cities operated, the careers of their specialists, their professional options, social images regarding them, and litigation costs. This study examines the careers of 267 facilitators and demonstrates that they constituted a class of distinctive legal professionals. Legal culture embodies the representation and use of law. The closeness of specialists with litigants, in particular of procurators familiarized the parties with litigation and its complex processes. These specialists forged dominant legal discourses and manipulated juridical order. Litigants were not passive agents of their specialists. Caciques and members of the Hispanicized communities appropriated the law in a visible way as the growing litigiousness illustrates. Colonial law (of a pluralistic basis) was an arena of assertion and discussion of rights by different social actors, encomenderos, leading citizens, widows, native chieftains, artisans, and commoners. This study concludes that this struggle and manipulation served to legitimate the role of those legal experts and gave birth to a complex legalistic society in the Andes under Spanish Habsburg rule.

Mental health tribunals: a significant medico-legal change

After lengthy delays and protracted debates, the Mental Health Act 2001 was finally enacted and commencement of its substantive sections appears to be imminent. One crucial cornerstone of the new regime introduced by the Act will be automatic periodic reviews of patients' detentions by Mental Health Tribunals. This article will focus on the background to the new tribunal system, the statutory rules for its operation, and case law of relevance from Strasbourg and England.

Professionalizing school governance: the disciplinary effects of school autonomy and inspection on the changing role of school governors

Since the 1980s, state schools in England have been required to ensure transparency and accountability through the use of indicators and templates derived from the private sector and, more recently, globally circulating discourses of ‘good governance’ (an appeal to professional standards, technical expertise, and performance evaluation as mechanisms for improving public service delivery). The rise of academies and free schools (‘state-funded independent schools’) has increased demand for good governance, notably as a means by which to discipline schools, in particular school governors – those tasked with the legal responsibility of holding senior leadership to account for the financial and educational performance of schools. A condition and effect of school autonomy, therefore, is increased monitoring and surveillance of all school governing bodies. In this paper, I demonstrate how these twin processes combine to produce a new modality of state power and intervention; a dominant or organizing principle by which government steer the performance of governors through disciplinary tools of professionalization and inspection, with the aim of achieving the ‘control of control’. To explain these trends, I explore how various established and emerging school governing bodies are (re)constituting themselves to meet demands for good governance.

Avaliação de risco ambiental na indústria em regime de responsabilidade ambiental

O presente relatório surgiu na sequência do estágio curricular realizado na empresa Envienergy - Ambiente e Energia, Lda. O tema do estágio resultou da necessidade de responsabilização das empresas pelos danos ambientais que possam surgir da sua atividade, segundo as disposições da Diretiva n.º 2004/35/CE, de 21 de Abril, transposta para o regime jurídico nacional pelo Decreto-Lei n.º 147/2008, de 29 de julho, também conhecido por Diploma da Responsabilidade Ambiental. No âmbito deste regime de responsabilidade, desenvolveu-se e aplicou-se a um caso de estudo, uma metodologia de avaliação de riscos ambientais, com posterior cálculo da garantia financeira. O caso de estudo foi uma empresa industrial da área da cerâmica, de médias dimensões, cliente da Envienergy. A metodologia consistiu numa apreciação do estado inicial do ambiente envolvente à empresa em estudo (designada como CERÂMICA), levantamento dos riscos da sua atividade, formulação de cenários de acidentes, avaliação da severidade e da probabilidade dos riscos de acidente e estimativa dos custos de reparação e compensação ambiental dos danos que a atividade possa provocar (a garantia financeira). Segundo esta metodologia, o caso de estudo requer uma garantia financeira no valor de 26.125€, correspondente ao valor financeiro necessário para assegurar que seja possível à indústria avaliada a responsabilização ambiental por danos provocados pela sua atividade. A metodologia também prevê a sugestão de medidas de redução de risco e, considerando a aplicação dessas medidas, a reavaliação dos riscos e da garantia financeira. Desta reavaliação resultou uma garantia financeira estimada em 5.403€. A avaliação de riscos ambientais feita à indústria cerâmica serviu para testar e comprovar a adaptabilidade da metodologia a um caso real. Os resultados obtidos foram satisfatórios, e a metodologia está apta a ser aplicada a casos de estudo de dimensão semelhantes ao caso de estudo avaliado neste relatório.

Drones y el orden legal internacional. Tecnología, estrategia y largas cadenas de acción

The main thesis of this article is that the increasing recourse to the use of unmanned aerial systems in asymmetric warfare and the beginning routinization of U.S. drone operations represent part of an evolutionary change in the spatial ordering of global politics -- Using a heuristic framework based on actor-network theory, it is argued that practices of panoptic observation and selective airstrikes, being in need of legal justification, contribute to a reterritorialization of asymmetric conflicts -- Under a new normative spatial regime, a legal condition of state immaturity is constructed, which establishes a zone of conditional sovereignty subject to transnational aerial policing -- At the same time, this process is neither a deterministic result of the new technology nor a deliberate effect of policies to which drones are merely neutral instruments -- Rather, military technology and political decisions both form part of a long chain of action which has evolved under the specific circumstances of recent military interventions

Dos prejuízos no regime de participation exemption: a relação entre estabelecimento estável e filial

Mestrado em Fiscalidade