Category Archives: Volume 19, no. 1 (2024)

Öryggishlutverk lögreglu

12/03/2024New article (double blind peer review)Iceland, island, lögregla, policeBirgir Jónasson

Í grein þessari er fjallað um öryggishlutverk lögreglu samkvæmt a-lið 2. mgr. 1. gr. lögreglulaga nr. 90/1996 frá sjónarhóli lögregluréttar. Fjallað er um hlutverk lögreglu almennt og einstaka hlutverkaþætti öryggishlutverksins samkvæmt a-lið 2. mgr. 1. gr. lögreglulaga. Varpað er ljósi á hið fjölbreytta öryggishlutverk lögreglu, samspil þess við aðrar réttarreglur, hvernig á það getur reynt og hvernig íslenskir dómstólar hafa túlkað ákvæði lögrl. um hlutverk lögreglu. Greinin er hluti af rannsókn höfundar á hlutverki lögreglu á sviði lögregluréttar. Að nokkru byggir umfjöllunarefnið á efnistökum höfundar í kennslu á sviði lögregluréttar við HA.

This article addresses the security role of the police according to paragraph 2 (a) in Article 1 of the Icelandic Police Act no. 90/1996 in the aspect of police law. The general role of the police is discussed, and each section of the provision is defined further. The multiple means of the security role are illuminated in terms of other judicial rules, how the role is practised and how Icelandic courts have interpreted the provisions. The article is a part of the author’s research on Icelandic police law. The issue is also based on the author’s academic approach to teaching police law at the University of Akureyri.

Health Locus of Control and Psychological and Somatization Disorder in Icelandic Outpatients with Cancer: A Quantitative Study

20/02/2024New article (double blind peer review)Depression, Health locus of control, anxiety, cancer, chronic illnessElísabet Hjörleifsdóttir, Eva Charlotte Halapi and Þórhalla Sigurðardóttir

The aim of this study was to investigate locus of control amongst outpatients with cancer and its association with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms. Women scored higher on the anxiety scale than men. The age group <50 had significantly higher anxiety than the other age groups (p<0.001). Participants who belonged to the age group 61-70 years old reported significantly higher scores for faith in ELC-physicians than those who were in the age group <50 (p<0.001). Those who were in treatment for symptom control only, reported significantly higher scores for MDASI total than those in treatment aiming for cure (p<0.001). For them interference with daily life was also found to be significantly worse (p<0.001). Chemotherapy treatment had significantly more impact on total scores for MDASI total (p<0.001), symptoms severities (p<0.001), and interference with daily life (p<0.001), wen compared to those receiving radiotherapy or combination of both.

Philosophical Preconditions Guide Null Hypothesis Significance Testing in Empirical Psychology

19/02/2024New article (double blind peer review)empirical psychology, epistemic virtues, methodology, null hypothesis significance testing, philosophical preconditions, reductionism, replication crisis, scientific objectivityFredrik Dreyer Moe

To mathematize is closely related to the ideal of scientific objectivity, claiming bias-free results. In this respect, mathematization may substantiate the belief that significance testing could prove or disprove a hypothesis, since it is considered bias-free. However, this belief overlooks the fact that scientific objectivity is an epistemic virtue. Additionally, reducing human activity to numbers inevitably involves simplifying the real world, which includes uncertainty. Although statistics is valuable to psychology and science, it may be vulnerable to ontological reductionism.

Transcultural Mediterranean in the History of Chinese Travelogues: Oumei manyou riji as a Case Study

18/02/2024New article (double blind peer review)China, MediterraneanGabriele Tola

Chen Yifu 陳一甫 (1869–1948) and his son Chen Dayou 陳達有 (exact dates unknown) are the authors of a rare travelogue, Oumei manyou riji 歐美漫遊日記 [Diary of a journey in Europe and the United States]. The text is a fundamental milestone in the late Qing and Republican era odeporic production. As much as the father and son were well-known in the scholarly milieu of the epoch, they were in the first place entrepreneurs, not literati or diplomats, unlike most of the authors of previous travelogues of this historical phase. The focus of this article is the representation of the Mediterranean portion of the Chens’ travels, particularly the description of relics both as cultural finds and as comparison examples. By highlighting fresh elements and representations that the authors’ backgrounds involved, the article aims to assess if and to what extent the Mediterranean was perceived in Oumei manyou riji as a “transcultural space,” as defined by David Tomas, and what new research perspectives this provides for the study of late Qing and Republican era odeporic production.

Per un’“archeologia filosofica” della secolarizzazione. Agostino, Gioacchino da Fiore e i paradigmi cristiani del pensiero secolare

17/02/2024New article (double blind peer review)Augustin, Joachim of Fiore, philosophical archaeology, secularizationJonas Gamborg Lillebø and Paola de Cuzzani

This article aims to demonstrate that both secular and Protestant thinking of secularization are founded on a Christian and pre-Reformed “ruin” (as this notion is understood within Giorgio Agamben’s “philosophical archaeology”). In fact, it is shown that the thought of secularization and its path of rupture and criticism of religion have their foundation in pre-Reformation Christianity, and are already found, albeit in two completely opposite ways, in Augustine and Joachim of Fiore.

Réttur til réttargæslumanns. Þjóna skilyrðin vilja löggjafans?

16/02/2024New article (double blind peer review)Brotaþoli, crime, domestic violence, réttargæslumaður, victims lawyer, þolendur ofbeldis í nánum samböndumJúlí Ósk Antonsdóttir

Réttindi brotaþola eru mörgum hugleikin um þessar mundir. Grein þessi fjallar um rétt brotaþola til þess að fá tilnefndan eða skipaðan réttargæslumann til að gæta hagsmuna þeirra við meðferð mála er varða brot gegn þeim. Þá verður fjallað um þau skilyrði sem lög setja fyrir tilnefningu og skipun réttargæslumanns og hvernig dómstólar hafa túlkað skilyrðin í framkvæmd og hvers vegna nauðsynlegt er að breyta skilyrðunum til að tryggja betur hagsmuni brotaþola og þá einkum þeirra sem voru beittir ofbeldi í nánum samböndum.

Victims’ rights are in the spotlight these days. This article deals with victims of crime and their right to have a designated or appointed legal aid to protect their interests during the handling of a case concerning a crime against them. It will discuss the conditions set by law for the nomination and appointment of a legal aid and how the courts have interpreted the conditions in case law and why it is necessary to change the conditions to better ensure the interests of victims of crime and especially victims of domestic violence.

Munnlegur málflutningur fyrir æðra dómi: Aðdragandi breytinga á 3. mgr. 158. gr. og 3. mgr. 182. gr. laga um meðferð einkamála og mál Súsönnu Rósar Westlund gegn Íslandi

15/02/2024New article (double blind peer review)European Court of Human Rights, Mannréttindadómstóll Evrópu, Oral hearing, civil procedural law, fair trial, lög um meðferð einkamála, munnlegur málflutningur, opinber málsmeðferð, public proceedings, réttlát málsmeðferðRagnheiður E. Þorsteinsdóttir

Meginreglan um munnlega málsmeðferð er ein af grundvallarreglum réttarfars. Mannréttindadómstóll Evrópu hefur í dómum sínum fjallað um munnlega málsmeðferð og hvað felist í réttlátri málsmeðferð. Ákvæði um munnlega málsmeðferð fyrir æðra dómi eiga sér nokkra sögu hér á landi og voru fyrst lögfest með lögum um Hæstarétt nr. 22/1919 þegar æðsta dómsvald fluttist til landsins með Sambandslögunum. Þann 6. desember 2007 kvað Mannréttindadómstóll Evrópu upp dóm í máli Súsönnu Rósar Westlund gegn Íslandi þar sem íslenska ríkið var talið hafa gerst brotlegt við 1. mgr. 6. gr. mannréttindasáttmála Evrópu um réttláta málsmeðferð þar sem kæranda hafði verið meinað að flytja mál sitt munnlega fyrir Hæstarétti. Við dómnum var brugðist með lögum nr. 18/2019 sem fólu í sér breytingu á lögum um meðferð einkamála nr. 91/1991. Hér verður fjallað um íslenska löggjöf um munnlega málsmeðferð fyrir æðra dómi í einkamálum og túlkun Mannréttindadómstóls Evrópu á því hvað felist í réttlátri málsmeðferð og hvort brugðist hafi verið með fullnægjandi hætti við dómi dómstólsins í máli Súsönnu Rósar Westlund.

The principle of oral hearings is one of the fundamental principles of justice. The European Court of Human Rights has addressed oral hearings in its judgments regarding what constitutes a fair trial. Provisions on oral proceedings before higher courts in Iceland were first established by Act no. 22/1919 when the highest judicial authority was transferred to the country with the Union Act. On December 6, 2007, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in the case of Susanna Rós Westlund v Iceland that the Icelandic state was found to have violated Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights regarding fair trial proceedings, as the applicant had been denied the opportunity to present her case orally before the Supreme Court. In response to the judgment, Act no. 18/2019 was adopted, which included amendments to the Icelandic Law on Civil Procedural no. 91/1991. This article discusses the Icelandic legislation on oral proceedings before higher courts in private law cases and the interpretation of the European Court of Human Rights regarding what constitutes fair proceedings, as well as whether Iceland has responded adequately to the ruling in Susanna Rós Westlund v Iceland.

The Polar Mediterranean Imaginary. A Renewed Paradigm by Vilhjalmur Stefansson

14/02/2024New article (double blind peer review)Arctic, Braudel, Castoriadis, Mediterranean, Polar, Pytheas, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, imaginary, transpolarSantiago Villalobos Dantas

Southern social imaginaries have typically conceived of the North as a frozen and inhospitable area, depriving it of much interest. However, during the first part of the 20th century, the anthropologist and explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson unveiled many mysteries about the Arctic. Throughout his life and writings, he tried to modify many inaccurate and now old-fashioned imaginings and imaginaries about the Arctic. The concept of the Polar Mediterranean Imaginary was thus proposed by him, whereby the Arctic region could be seen as a place similar to the Mediterranean region, i.e., an important socio-cultural, economic and political hub. Past and present events (e.g., global conflicts, scientific and technologic developments) contribute also to determining how the Arctic is shaped and understood today. The contemporary twin trends of globalization and climate change are making the North more and more globally connected and interconnected, especially through the rise of transpolar routes, which represent an opportunity for the affirmation of the Arctic’s central role, precisely along the lines envisioned by Vilhjalmur Stefansson and his Polar Mediterranean Imaginary one hundred years ago.

“I confini del mio linguaggio significano i confini del mio mondo”. Riflessioni filosofiche sul tema del confine

12/02/2024Conference paper (multiple non-blind peer review)Borges, Fantozzi, Leonardo da Vinci, Suárez, Varzi, Zeno, border studies, borders, human rights, logic, mereology, ontology, paradoxes, topologyGiorgio Baruchello

The present paper addresses some intriguing conceptual and historical implications of the notion of border arising from ontology, mereology, topology, and logic. On such seemingly abstract bases, it proceeds to presenting some philosophical reflections on the ethical and political dimensions of the same notion, fostering the idea that extant national and international institutions, and human rights law in particular, ought to be utilised to their full extent in order to deal with global migration-related challenges.

The Mediterranean at the Dawn of the Third Millennium

10/02/2024Conference paper (multiple non-blind peer review)Global South, God, Mediterranean, Migration, Neocolonialism, Third millennium, War, climate change, genocide, identity, raceLeoluca Orlando

The Mediterranean, after the end of the Cold War and the massacres of 11.9.2001 in New York and 7.10.2023 in Israel, is at the center of new conflicts and international imbalances. The crisis of Western hegemony is confirmed and intertwined with growing migratory flows, desertification and poverty produced by new financial selfishness and climate change, genocides and wars involving old and new forms of colonialism. Also, the Mediterranean is confronted with the new protagonism of the South of the world. “Our Sea” is a symbolic place for new conceptions of Identity, Race and God, and of the desire for freedom from old and new fears.

The Ambiguity and Danger of the Concept of Border

09/02/2024Conference paper (multiple non-blind peer review)Immigration, Migrants, Migration, Toleration, ambiguity, border, border studies, borders, danger, ethics of migration, intolerance, openingLuigi Patronaggio

The border is a dangerous and ambiguous concept to deal with. Following an historical-juridical analysis of the evolution of the concept of border, the author explains what in his judgment is a proper connection that the concept of border must establish: (1) to overcome barriers, in respect of both the actors of changing traditions and customs, and in order to encourage integration and growth in the society as a whole; (2) to cleanse the concept of border from nationalist and supremacist ideas, so as to achieve a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society; (3) the right to immigration as a fully recognised universal human right.

L’incerto: Paura e bisogno del confine

09/02/2024Conference paper (multiple non-blind peer review)amplification, analytic psychology, border, claustrophilia, difference, differentiation, imagination, imagining, individuation, integration, prejudice, psychoanalysis, shadowRoberto Buccola

The concept of border is a much-debated topic, also due to numerous planetary crises of political, economic, and religious origin. The present author supports both the usefulness and the necessity of the border qua psychological entity, insofar as its proper function allows for the process of psychological identification to occur. Moreover, the speed of major socio-cultural changes characterising the contemporary era is argued to be compromising the dynamic psychological balance between growth and transformation, whilst providing the illusion of the psyche as an undifferentiated whole.

The Sex Offenders Public Registry of the Republic of Poland: Problems that Require Solutions

08/02/2024Conference paper (multiple non-blind peer review)Poland, comparative studies, criminal law, criminal responsibility for sexual crimes, criminology, human rights, publicly available registries of sexual offendersGeorgii Sibirtsev

The paper examines the experience of the Republic of Poland in recording and classifying convicted sexual offenders. The register is a comprehensive criminal law tool for crime prevention of sexual violent crimes. The author examines the effectiveness of the register as well as compares it to the similar practices in some Western countries. The author dwells upon the experience of one of the very few publicly available crime registries in the European Union, The Polish Public Sex Offenders Registry, which is currently functioning on the base of the Act of 13 May of 2016 on counteracting sexual crime threats. The current registry could be checked from any device from any part of the globe (which makes it similar to some US public registries). The article examines how such regulations correlate with General Data Protection Regulation of the European Parliament and if this type of crime prevention could be considered to be adequate to its task.

Lára Kristín Pedersen, Veran í moldinni – Hugarheimur matarfíkils í leit að bata (Reykjavík: Sögur útgáfa, 2022)

06/02/2024Book review (editorial review)biography; addiction; lived experienceBerglind Hólm Ragnarsdóttir

Veran í moldinni (The creature in the dirt), by Lára Kristín Pedersen, chronicles the struggles of a professional Icelandic football player to name, understand, and overcome her food addiction. A memoir, the book starts in 2006 when the then-twelve year old Lára Kristín began experiencing obsessive thoughts around food. As the story progresses, we witness … Continue reading Lára Kristín Pedersen, Veran í moldinni – Hugarheimur matarfíkils í leit að bata (Reykjavík: Sögur útgáfa, 2022) →

Rudolf Haller and Heiner Rutte (eds.), Otto Neurath, Gesammelte philosophische und methodologische Schriften, Band 1 (Münster: LIT Verlag, 2021)

05/02/2024Book review (editorial review)Philosophy, Vienna Circle, philosophy of scienceGuðmundur Heiðar Frímannsson

Otto Karl Wilhelm Neurath was a philosopher of science, sociologist, and political economist. He was born on December 10, 1882, in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria) and died on December 22, 1945, in Oxford, England. Neurath was one of the leading figures of the Vienna Circle, a group of philosophers who sought to prevent confusion rooted … Continue reading Rudolf Haller and Heiner Rutte (eds.), Otto Neurath, Gesammelte philosophische und methodologische Schriften, Band 1 (Münster: LIT Verlag, 2021) →

Deciancio, Melisa, Pablo Nemina, and Diana Tussie (eds.), Handbook on the Politics of International Development (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2022)

04/02/2024Book review (editorial review)WTO, development, economicsHans Bakker

This is a book that makes a significant contribution to the extant professional literature, particularly the academic literature in political science, although there continue to be far too few serious attempts to link their research issues directly with those of economics, i.e., neoclassical economics or contemporary political economy. Sociology is also not directly a major … Continue reading Deciancio, Melisa, Pablo Nemina, and Diana Tussie (eds.), Handbook on the Politics of International Development (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2022) →

Håkon Hermanstrand, Asbjørn Kolberg, Trond Risto Nilssen and Leiv Sem (eds.), The Indigenous Identity of the South Saami: Historical and Political Perspectives on a Minority within a Minority (Cham: Springer, 2019)

03/02/2024Book review (editorial review)Arctic, Minorities, Sami, indigenous studiesIlona Kater

Books written about identity, and specifically the identity of those in less well-known cultures, can easily fall into an exoticizing trap, focusing more on why those groups are different or ‘unusual’ than on who they simply are. Editors Håkon Hermanstrand, Asbjørn Kolberg, Trond Risto Nilssen and Leiv Sem manage to avoid this trap very well … Continue reading Håkon Hermanstrand, Asbjørn Kolberg, Trond Risto Nilssen and Leiv Sem (eds.), The Indigenous Identity of the South Saami: Historical and Political Perspectives on a Minority within a Minority (Cham: Springer, 2019) →