Accident of a civil passenger aircraft at a military airfield: The Casevac experience

Introduction: There are many civil airports in India wherein the airfield and flying operations are controlled by the military whereas, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) controls the civil terminal. Accident of a civil aircraft on such a base poses unique challenges. This paper discusses the medical contingency plan of a Naval Air Station to deal with civil aircraft crashes based on a civil aircraft incident. Case Details: In the early morning of late Dec in 2016, a Mumbai bound civil flight (Boeing 737) took off from an Indian Navy controlled airfield. While initiating the take-off roll from RW, it veered off the runway towards right and came to halt along the perimeter road 230 m north of the runway edge, on hard rocky ground. There were 154 passengers and 7 crew members who were evacuated from the aircraft, through emergency chutes. Few passengers escaped through the over wing hatches. Twenty passengers sustained injuries, mostly involving the lower limbs. This was primarily due to jumping on hard rocky ground and falling and tripping on rocks while moving away from the aircraft. An analysis was done to understand the limitations on the existing medical contingency plan. Discussion: The ICAO Airport Services Manual Part 7 on Airport Emergency Planning (Doc 9137-AN/898 Part 7) is the guiding reference for all airports on Airport Disaster and Planning. The Medical Services portion delineates clearly the role of the Medical Aid Providers. In the instant case, the medical department had successfully handled the casualty evacuation and their medical management. SOP and the existing medical contingencies were effectively used. A post-accident analysis in the instant case revealed that 17 out of 25 checklist points were satisfied. The lessons learned from the incident have been discussed in the paper.

Estimation of instant case fatality rate of COVID-19 in Wuhan and Hubei based on daily case notification data

BackgroundThe outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) initially appeared and has most rapidly spread in Wuhan, China. The case fatality rate is the most direct indicator to assess the hazards of an infectious disease. We aimed to estimate the instant fatality rate and cure rate of COVID-19 in Wuhan City and its affiliated Hubei Province.MethodsWe collected the daily case notification data of COVID-19 from Dec 8, 2019 to Mar 10, 2020 in Wuhan City and Hubei Province officially announced by the Chinese authority. The numbers of daily confirmed/deaths/cured cases and the numbers of daily cumulative confirmed/deaths/cured cases were obtained. The death time and cure time of COVID-19 patients were calculated based on the dates of diagnosis, death and discharge of individual cases. Then the estimated diagnosis dates of deaths and cured cases were obtained on the basis of the median death or medium cure time, respectively. Finally, the instant fatality rate of COVID-19 was calculated according to the numbers of deaths and cured cases on the same estimated diagnosis dates.ResultsFrom Jan 1, 2020 to Feb 22, 2020 in Wuhan City, the instant case fatality rate of COVID-19 was 3.4%∼19.5% and the instant cured rate was 80.0%∼96.6%. The average fatality rate reached 11.4% while the average cure rate was 88.6%. During the same period in Hubei Province, the instant case fatality rate was 3.8%∼16.6% and the instant cured rate was 83.4%∼96.6%. The average fatality rate and the average cure rate were 9.2% and 91.8%, respectively.ConclusionsThe fatality rate and cure rate of COVID-19 in Wuhan City and Hubei Province were underestimated. Wuhan showed higher fatality rate and cure rate than the whole Hubei Province did.

Use of zeroing in the W-T comparison methodology and targeted dumping (US anti-dumping measures on large residential washers from Korea (DS464))

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the use of zeroing in the weighted average-to-transaction (W-T) comparison methodology and targeted dumping under the anti-dumping agreement by reviewing the WTO appellate body’s rulings on the use of zeroing in the W-T comparison methodology in the USA – anti-dumping measures on large residential washers from Korea (DS464). Although the appellate body has ruled that the use of zeroing would not be allowed in the weighted-average-to-weighted-average comparison methodology nor in the transaction-to-transaction comparison methodology, it has not ruled on whether the use of zeroing is allowed in the W-T comparison methodology prior to the instant case. Design/methodology/approach This paper mainly analyzes the WTO appellate body report on the USA – anti-dumping and countervailing measures on large residential washers from Korea’s rulings (DS464) and reviews other WTO appellate body reports on the use of zeroing in anti-dumping measures. This paper reviews the relevant provisions of the WTO anti-dumping agreement and the US Anti-Dumping Act, and also referred prior papers on the use of zeroing. Findings The appellate body upheld the panel’s finding that the USA’s use of zeroing in the W-T comparison methodology is inconsistent with Article 2.4.2 of the anti-dumping agreement. As zeroing inflates dumping margins, increases the amount of duty collected, and hinders the expansion of trade in goods. The use of zeroing should be prohibited or permitted only in very limited circumstances. Social implications Zeroing, which has been the subject of many WTO disputes between the USA and foreign governments, causes dumped sales to be masked by fair value. The WTO appellate body has consistently condemned the US practice of zeroing over the past decade as an unfair commerce practice. The instant case and this paper will help to stop the practice of zeroing in anti-dumping measures. Originality/value The text of Article 2.4.2 does not clearly prohibit the use of zeroing. The paper reviews the WTO appellate body’s rulings on the use of zeroing in the W-T comparison methodology in the USA – anti-dumping measures on large residential washers from Korea (DS464). The appellate body report was very recently circulated, on September 9, 2016. The appellate body has not ruled on whether the use of zeroing is allowed in the W-T comparison methodology prior to the instant case. This paper, first, concludes that the W-T comparison methodology is inconsistent with Article 2.4.2 of the anti-dumping agreement.

Human rights in the House of Lords: what standard of review?

THE applicants in R. v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex p. Simms [1999] 3 W.L.R. 328 were convicted murderers whose applications for leave to appeal had been refused but who continued to protest their innocence. To this end they gave interviews to investigative journalists, hoping that this would ultimately result in their cases being referred back to the Court of Appeal. However, paragraph 37 of the Prison Rules 1964 provides that professional visits by journalists to prisoners should not generally be allowed and that any journalist wishing to visit a prisoner qua relative or friend must undertake not to publish anything disclosed during the visit. Paragraph 37A stipulates that if, exceptionally, a journalist is permitted to make a professional visit, he must undertake to abide by any conditions prescribed by the prison governor. In the instant case the prison authorities, pursuant to a Home Office policy directing prison governors to impose a blanket ban on all visits by journalists in their professional capacity, refused to permit further visits unless paragraph 37 undertakings were forthcoming. Their Lordships accepted the applicants' argument that this constituted unlawful interference with their entitlement to free expression.

A Preliminary Study of the Problem of the Isle of Kolbeinsey

The diversity of modes of acquisition of territory is a well researched topic in international law, but little has been written on the possibilities of divestment of a title to territory. Natural changes of coastal formations can divest the coastal State of some area of land and maritime territory and greatly affect its national economy. An illustrative case is the phenomenon of erosion by sea of offshore islands. This study is particularly focused on one such case concerning an uninhabited Icelandic islet, Kolbeinsey. The vanishing of the islet is aggravating existing concerns about the allocation of fish stocks in the area, and there will arise the problem of loss of varioius maritime zones pertaining to the islet and to the Icelandic mainland. This paper will examine the way in which Iceland may continue to enjoy the whole or part of the extant jurisdiction in the Kolbeinsey area. Issues to be addressed include those as to whether Kolbeinsey is a juridical island and whether the concepts of artificial islands and low-tide elevations are helpful in the instant case.

Syndicat Unique des Vignerons de l'Aude

Syndicat Unique des Vignerons de l’Aude. 1981 Revue Trimestrielle de Droit Européen 363.Conseil d’Etat (Litigation Section, 2d and 6th Subsections), June 21, 1981.According to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, EEC Council regulations are directly applicable in the courts of the member states, and domestic legislation duplicating or reenacting such regulations are without effect and may be illegal. The instant case presents an interesting application of that rule by the French Conseil d’Etat.

Marriage and Internal Conflict of Laws in Ghana

Although the study of comparative law, or rather the study of foreign legal systems in a comparative manner, is in general of academic rather than practical value, except in so far as it gives us insights into the ideas, attitudes and procedures of our own legal system, yet for those who are concerned, as practitioner, judge or student, with certain types of legal system the position is radically different; I refer to legal systems in which internal conflicts of law arise. In such systems the judge is faced, constantly or even daily, with situations which require him, not merely to choose between one system and another as the appropriate one for the decision of the instant case, but to perform a running comparative interpretation, classification or analysis of the institutions of two or more legal systems, which must somehow be brought into harmony (one might aptly use the metaphor of meshing gears here). The part that a rule or a feature of one legal system plays in its functioning total legal complex must be understood, and the rule or feature must be properly characterised so as to permit it to be translated into another legal system which is administered concurrently with the first.

William E. Chapman v. United Mexican States

It is unnecessary to give any detailed consideration to the generalities of writers on international law who have repeatedly stated that consular officers are entitled to special protection.In the instant case the special protection is concerned with a situation in which there was a threat against the personal safety of the consul, an explicit warning of imminent danger promptly communicated by him to the proper authorities, some assurances of special protection were received by him upon which he was warranted to rely, but no such protection was given.