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The two Pulp Mills construction on the River Uruguay has involved Argentina and Uruguay in a diplomatic conflict without records in Latin America. The Author analyses the origins of the controversy between the two Countries and the rules of 1975 Statute applyable to the case, as well as other relevant rules of international law. Follows the analysis of the International Court of Justice orders (July 2006-January 2007) on the provisional measures requested by both States and of the arbitral decision of the MERCOSUR ad hoc Tribunal (September 2006), also involved in the controversy. The article also contains some studies on the technology used in the cellulose industry and on the praxis followed in the multinational financing by the World Bank Group. The legal picture that emerges is a fairly critical one, unable to give the right weight to the wider ecologist manifestation in Argentinian history

Whaling is considered to be one of the most violent of all hunting practices for the animals which are subject to it. The technical progress achieved in prey location systems and in processing carcasses on board factory ships has not been accompanied by an improvement in hunting techniques aimed at guaranteeing the animals a quicker bloodless death. The 58th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission provided a stage for heated disagreement over the «humanitarian» treatment of these large sea mammals. (Even the bodies who are most sensitive to the moral question raised by the bloody killing of large whales failed to find an agreement, suggesting the need for serious reflection on the « speciesism » which characterises the ethical and legal approach to animal exploitation). The article contains a brief overview of the hunting techniques employed in oceans all over the world, from Greenland to the waters of the Antarctic, and the measures adopted by the International Whaling Commission over the last twenty years. The picture that emerges is a fairly critical one, showing no signs of improving as long as contingent economic considerations continue to prevail over ethical factors in the regulation of hunting techniques

Right lower abdominal pain is a common problem in the pediatric population. Ultrasonography (US) is a well-accepted imaging modality in the clinical management of this problem. One hundred and six consecutive pediatric patients with right lower abdominal pain were prospectively evaluated. There were 54 boys and 52 girls, with ages ranging from 3 to 15 years (mean: 9.9 years). Final diagnoses were established based on pathological findings or clinical follow-up. US had sensitivity of 90%, specificity of 98%, and accuracy of 94% in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Among all true negative cases (n = 55), there was a variety of US findings other than appendiceal abnormality in 21 cases including intestinal and/or mesenteric (n = 19), gallbladder (n = 1), and ovarian (n = 1) abnormalities. All 21 cases were managed medically without complication. We conclude that US of pediatric right lower abdominal pain is a reliable imaging modality not only for the diagnosis of surgical cases but for eliminating the unexpected surgical intervention.

The production of energy from wind through the use of offshore installations is a business that has been growing rapidly over the last decade. Offshore wind-power remains today the most expensive energy generating technology being considered for a large scale deployment. This chapter reviews the international legal regime applicable to the development of offshore wind farms, taking into account the possible impacts produced on the marine environment and its living components by the placement and functioning of wind turbines. In the perspective of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the question of which legal regime applies to offshore wind-energy exploitation essentially depends on the location of wind farm installations. At the international level, an instrument which indirectly deals with the issue of wind-energy production in a nature conservation perspective is the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (the Bonn Convention). Keywords: Bonn Convention; international legal regime; marine environment; offshore installations; Offshore wind farms; UNCLOS; wind turbines

Abstract This article provides an overview of the functions entrusted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and performed on his behalf by the United Nations Secretariat, namely the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs. In accordance with the commemorative spirit of this special issue, the article seeks to chronicle the major institutional steps through which the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea came into existence and was assigned with unique tasks in ocean and sea-related matters within the United Nations system. The functions of the Division are then briefly discussed.