Reading Faust into International Criminal Law
LAW & LITERATURE
Authors: Bikundo, Edwin
Abstract
Metaphorical references to the devil in international criminal justice are various, varied and tap into a rich vein of allusion, association and meaning. These range from simple references to evil, to more complex referencing to Faustian pacts of one form or another, to the downright esoteric encompassing the arcane origins of the immunity erstwhile afforded to official acts. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta's statement 'That devil shall be defeated' as well as Canadian General Romeo Dallaire's 'Shake Hands with the Devil' are two examples respectively resisting and promoting international individual criminal liability. That Carl Schmitt was asked by his interrogator at Nuremberg 'when did you renounce the devil?' and that defence counsel at the International Criminal court in the Kenyan Situation analogised the Kenyan government as being accused of entering into 'a deal with the devil', to the judge at Rudolf Kastner's case in Israel related to Nazi-era crimes described him as having 'sold his soul to the devil'; cut across perpetrators and victims and speak of knowing and willing compacts with evil in order to, allegedly, produce good. Which is to say that they are all political theodicies explaining away evil by linking it in some causal way to good.
Quality assessment of Sclerocarya birrea leaves and leaves products from Burkina Faso based on fingerprinting using HPTLC
JPC-JOURNAL OF PLANAR CHROMATOGRAPHY-MODERN TLC
Authors: Do, Thi Kieu Tien; Clark, Kevin; Christen, Philippe; Reich, Eike
Abstract
The species Sclerocarya birrea, also known as Marula, is present in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Burkina Faso, the leaves are sold as a traditional improved medicine with antidiabetic indication. The objective of this study was to develop a simple, rapid and robust high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method for the reliable quality control of S. birrea leaves in Burkina Faso and other West African countries. Chromatography was performed using HPTLC Si 60 F-254 plates (20 x 10 cm) as the stationary phase and ethyl acetate-formic acid-water (80:10:10, V/V) as the mobile phase. Derivatization steps using natural product and anisaldehyde reagents were used after the development for the detections of flavonoids and triterpenoids. Detection was carried out prior to and after derivatization under UV 254 nm, 366 nm and white light. The HPTLC method was successfully applied to the analysis of 182 collected samples including different origins, related herbal drugs (different plant parts, confounding species) and 12 traditional improved medicines in different forms (capsule, powdered sample, tea). The method was then adapted for use in quality control at different levels in developing countries.