Negotiating with Terrorists: The Costs of Compliance

It is often argued that negotiating with terrorists will encourage terrorist attacks. To date, corroborating empirical evidence is scarce. Using ITERATE data, we investigate the impact of conceding to terrorist demands on terror activity. We restrict attention to hostage events with clear‐cut demands from terrorists. Our sample period runs from 1978 to 2005 and comprises 1435 events in 125 countries. Estimating a flexible and dynamic Structured Additive Regression model, we find that the percentage of successfully negotiated events has a nonlinear effect on future terror intensity consistent with our simple theoretical model. More specifically, although moderate rates of negotiation increase the number of future terror events, higher negotiation rates tend to have the opposite effect. The estimated threshold is around 20%.     

The Moderating Effect of Equal Opportunity Support and Confidence in Grievance Procedures on Sexual Harassment from Different Perpetrators

This study drew on three theoretical perspectives – attribution theory, power, and role identity theory – to compare the job-related outcomes of sexual harassment from organizational insiders (i.e., supervisors and co-workers) and organizational outsiders (i.e., offend- ers and members of the public) in a sample (n = 482) of UK police officers and police support staff. Results showed that sexual harassment from insiders was related to higher intentions to quit, over-performance demands, and lower job satisfaction, whereas sexual harassment from outsiders was not significantly related to any of the outcome variables investigated. We also examined two moderator variables: equal opportunity support and confidence in grievance procedures. Consistent with our hypotheses, equal oppor- tunity support mitigated the effects of sexual harassment from supervisors on intent to quit and over-performance demands. Confidence in grievance procedures moderated the relationship between sexual harassment from supervisors and all outcome variables. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Equity dimensions of road traffic injuries in low- and middle-income countries

Globally, poorer population groups bear a disproportionate burden of avoidable morbidity and mortality from road traffic injuries. The distribution of road traffic injuries is generally influenced by socioeconomic factors. Poor countries bear a disproportionate burden of injuries and fatalities, and within countries, poor people account for a disproportionate portion of the ill health due to road traffic injuries. The main source of data for this paper was the road traffic injury database of the WHO World Health Report for 1999 supplemented by the WHO Global Burden of Disease Study 2000 report, and published and unpublished works. Fatality rates for 0-4 and 5-14 year olds in low- and middle-income regions, measured as deaths per 100,000 population, were six times the rates for high-income regions, while within low- and middle-income regions the rates varied widely. Within poor countries, poor people – represented by pedestrians, passengers in buses and trucks, and cyclists – suffer a higher burden of morbidity and mortality from traffic injuries. In rich countries, children from poor socioeconomic classes suffer more injuries and deaths from road crashes than their counterparts from highincome groups. The disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries, and among low socioeconomic groups in those countries, illustrates problems of global inequities in health. The problems can be addressed through policies that focus on the road safety of vulnerable groups.     

Stabilising Citizen and Consumer Expectations by Legal Means when Introducing the Euro in the Participating Member States

The author discusses the introduction of the euro from a consumer law point of view. The paper refers to the report of the Euro Working Group of the EC Consumer Committee. Dual indication of prices, continuity of contracts, costs, and transparency are discussed and solutions suggested. The recommendations recently adopted by the EC Commission have taken up some of these points but the proposals are far from satisfactory.     

Neue tendenzen des kartellrechtlichen verbraucherschutzes in der BRD

In German consumer protection, antitrust law is playing an increasingly prominent role. This article informs about the problems of protecting consumers against monopolizing pricing practices. It also discusses the law of recommended prices. The author suggests that substantive reforms of the antitrust law are necessary in order to improve the position of the consumer.

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Neue tendenzen des kartellrechtlichen verbraucherschutzes in der BRD

Zusammenfassung Für den Schutz des Verbrauchers in der Bundesrepublik gewinnt das Kartellrecht zunehmende Bedeutung. Der Beitrag stellt dies an den Problemen der Preiskontrolle gegenüber marktbeherrschenden Unternehmen und des Preisempfehlungsrechtes dar. Der Autor verficht hier die These, daß im Zuge der Novellierung des Kartellrechtes auch Vorschriften zur Verbesserung des Verbraucherschutzes erforderlich und möglich sind.

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Norbert Reich ist Professor für Rechtswissenschaft an der Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Politik, 2000 Hamburg 13, Von-Melle-Park 9.     

Der Deutsche Juristentag und die Reform des Konsumentenkreditrechtes

Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag berichtet über Verfahren und Ergebnisse der zivilrechtlichen Abteilung des 53. Deutschen Juristentages in Berlin zum Thema »Reform des Konsumentenkreditrechts«. Der DJT hat sich neueren Anliegen des Verbraucherschutzes weitgehend verschlossen. Das — zersplitterte, unklare — Recht soll nur wenig modifiziert werden. Dies wird an einzelnen Sachfragen unter kurzem Blick auf die in- und ausländische Diskussion dargestellt (Anwendungsbereich, Vertragsschluß, Wucher, Verzug). Der Autor stellt grundsätzlich den Reformauftrag des DJT in Frage.

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German lawyers and the reform of consumer credit legislation

The German Lawyers and Law Teachers Association (Deutscher Juristentag) held its 53rd biannual conference in Berlin. One of the working committees discussed proposals for the reform of consumer credit. The author describes and criticizes the proceedings and results of the working committee. The Juristentag provided no answer to the pressing legal and social problems of consumer credit, e. g., the idea of contracting as a process, defining the sphere of application of credit law, extortionate dealings, the consequences of default. The Juristentag did not consider the reform movement abroad, the initiative of the EC-Commission, or the (still rather tentative) results of social science research. The author suggests that the German legislator should not follow the recommendations of the Juristentag.

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Norbert Reich ist Professor für Zivilrecht an der Universität Hamburg, Fachbereich Rechtswissenschaft II (Einstufige Juristenausbildung), Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1, D-2000 Hamburg 13.