Judicial review in Austria

The European and Austrian constitutions endow the Austrian court system with broad powers of judicial review.
All Austrian courts are charged with verifying that the statutes and ordinances they are about to apply conform to European Union law, and to refuse to apply them if not. A specialized Constitutional Court checks statutes for compliance with the Austrian constitution and executive ordinances for compliance with Austrian law in general.
A system of administrative courts reviews individual-scope actions of the executive branch.
Influenced by Hans Kelsen and a general local tradition of legal positivism, the statutory construction of the Austrian Constitutional Court relied mostly on grammatical interpretation from its beginnings in 1920 to the mid-1980s. In the decades since then, the court has increasingly made use of teleological reasoning. Much of the court's workload is due to – and many of its decisions are the product of – unique distinctivenesses of the legal and political framework it is operating in.
Fundamentals.
The European Union constitutional framework charges the Austrian court system with checking Austrian statutes and ordinances for compliance with Union law. Austrian legislation, either primary or secondary, that violates Union law must not be applied.
The Union does not charge Austrian courts with checking statutes for compliance with the constitution, or administrative ordinances for compliance with law. The country's national constitution, on the other hand, does. It also provides for judicial review not just of ordinances () but also of individual-scope decisions of the Austrian executive branch – written findings and assessments () as well as face-to-face personal orders and instances of the use of physical force ().
In effect, the Austrian constitution concentrates the power of judicial review of primary and secondary legislation in a single specialist tribunal, the Constitutional Court.
The approach is called the "centralized" system of judicial review.
Because Austria was the first country ever to adopt centralized judicial review – with the 1920 Kelsen constitution – the approach is sometimes also called the "Austrian" system.
Because centralized judicial review has since spread to Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Belgium, some people call it the "European" system.
Judicial review of individual-scope administrative actions is performed by a special system of administrative courts.
Review of legislation.
Ways of challenging legislation.
The general courts – civil and criminal chambers, essentially – are encouraged (and in fact required) to make sure that statutes they are about to apply have been enacted and promulgated in accordance with the constitution, and that ordinances they are about to apply have been issued in accordance with the constitution and with pertinent other legislation, primary or secondary. Statutes and ordinances that fail this test cannot be applied.
General courts are also authorized to consider whether a statute or ordinance at issue might be unconstitutional or illegal on other grounds. They can neither strike nor refuse to apply legislation they deem suspicious, however. Instead, they are encouraged (and required) to put the matter before the Constitutional Court. If a party to the trial believes that the court has applied a statute or an ordinance that is unconstitutional or illegal, that party can file a special appeal at law () against the verdict with the Constitutional Court.
In addition, the Constitutional Court can also be asked to intervene by legislative or administrative authorities:
Finally, a private person, natural or other, can file a complaint () against a statute or an ordinance with the Constitutional Court. The complaint has to argue that the complainant is being violated in their rights by the piece of legislation at issue, actually and not just potentially. The complaint also has to argue that there is no plausible way for the complainant to get the problem resolved through any other means available to them.
Purview of the Constitutional Court.
The Constitutional Court is charged with making sure that all Austrian legislation, primary or secondary, conforms to any Austrian legislation outranking it.
Statutes have to conform to the constitution.
Executive ordinances also have to conform to ordinary law; supplementary ordinances also have to conform to the original ordinances they derive from.
A road sign, for instance, needs to be legal under the Road Traffic Act but also in compliance with the Ministry of Commerce Regulation on Road Signs.
Since the Austrian constitution defines Austria to be a federation, the provinces are federated states on paper and have token constitutions of their own; provincial law has to conform with these as well as with the national constitution.
Since provinces do not run any courts of their own, reviewing provincial law for compatibility with provincial constitutions falls within the purview of the Constitutional Court as well.
The court does not check legislation for compliance with European Union law.
Unconstitutional laws and ordinances are not void "ex tunc". The Court's decision rescinds them just like abrogation by the legislature would have done; decisions based on them that have been made in the past remain standing..
The court has some latitude with respect to the date its decision becomes effective. Usually, laws and ordinances found to be unconstitutional go out of force the day after the publication of the verdict.
To prevent disruption, however, the court can set a grace period during which a piece of unconstitutional legislation still remains on the rolls and may still be applied. The grace period may last up to six months for ordinances and up to eighteen months for laws. The court may allow eighteen months for ordinances that are "de facto" statutes because their disappearance will require a new statute to deal with. On the other hand, the court can also make its decision retroactive. The court's broad discretion forces the court to "legislate from the bench" whether it wants to or not: it does not simply announce a finding it notionally cannot avoid; it is officially choosing policy.
Treaties.
Judicial review of legislation includes judicial review of international treaties. Since treaties are concluded by the president, they originate with the executive branch. This makes them equivalent to ordinances, meaning they cannot be incompatible with any statutes. Certain treaties can be elevated to statute rank by the National Council, however, meaning they only have to be constitutional.
Since Austria cannot unilaterally rescind an agreement it has entered into under international law, the court cannot actually void any treaty. It can, however, order Austrian officials to stop applying it. If this puts Austria in breach of treaty obligations, it is up to the administration to negotiate an amendment to the treaty or a withdrawal from it. As with legislation it strikes, the court can grant a grace period during which the provisions of the treaty can still be applied. The grace period may last up to two years for treaties that alter the constitution of the European Union and up to one year for most other treaties.
Review of administrative actions.
Administrative courts.
Judicial review of actions of the executive branch other than secondary legislation is performed by a special system of administrative courts. These courts are where persons, natural or other, complain about written findings and assessments (), about officials making use of their authority to issue face-to-face personal orders () and against officials using physical force or threats of physical force (). The systems hears complaints not just about action but also about inaction; Austrians can take the administration to court if it refuses to make decisions it is required to make, misses deadlines, or generally neglects its responsibilities.
There are eleven administrative trial courts (), two for each province and two for the national level. Verdicts of the administrative trial courts can be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court ().
Escalation to the Constitutional Court.
Like general courts, administrative courts can (and should) invoke the assistance of the Constitutional Court if the constitutionality or legality of a statute or an ordinance appears dubious. As with general courts, a party to the trial can file an appeal at law against the verdict of the trial court with the Constitutional Court. With administrative courts, however, the complaint () does not have to argue that the court has applied an unconstitutional statute or an illegal ordinance, it can also argue that the verdict is violating the complainant's constitutional rights in some other way.
An appeal to the Constitutional Court either against a general court () or against an administrative court () is not a appeal at law (); it is an extraordinary measure independent of the normal appeals process:
The relative complexity of this arrangement is due to historical reasons.
Starting with the reforms of Maria Theresa and Joseph II, Austrian constitutional thinking gradually developed the principle that general court system and administration should not interfere with each other. Judges should not be allowed to overturn administrative decisions just like bureaucrats should not be allowed to overturns verdicts. Citizens would not fight unfavorable administrative decisions in court, they would appeal them to higher levels of the administration, much like they appealed unfavorable judicial decisions to higher levels of the judiciary.
By the 1840s, this principle was well established. In 1848, it became enshrined in the Pillersdorf Constitution.
Originally, keeping judges and bureaucrats at arm's length was a great step forward because the main practical consequence was judicial independence.
By 1867, however, the downsides of the arrangement had also become obvious. The 1867 December Constitution established the Administrative Court (), a tribunal that could overturn administrative decisions on behalf of complainants who had exhausted their administrative appeals. It also created the Imperial Court (), a tribunal that would hear complaints about general violations of constitutional rights by the executive branch.
The Republic of Austria renamed the Imperial Court to Constitutional Court but did not change the arrangement in any fundamental way.
Austrians who felt violated in their constitutional rights by an administrative decision or assessment () could petition the Constitutional Court to overturn it. The complaint had to name a right specifically guaranteed by the constitution and had to assert that the administration had applied a law violating the constitution or an ordinance violating the law.. The complainant still had to already have exhausted their appeals.
Not designed with the modern regulatory state in mind, both Administrative Court and Constitutional Court were under serious strain by the late 20th century. It was also increasingly seen as outdated and inadequate from a human rights perspective; European integration demanded an upgrade.
A reform in 2014 added created eleven new administrative trial courts (), one for each of the nine provinces and two for the national level. The original Administrative Court was retained as the appeals court in which verdicts of the new trial courts could be fought. The intra-administrative appeals process was scrapped to prevent durations of proceedings from becoming excessive.
The Constitutional Court no longer hears complaints about the administration directly. Instead, it now hears complaints regarding the constitutionality of verdicts of administrative trial courts.
While unusual, the system allows the Constitutional Court to keep both the administration and the judiciary in line with the constitution, even though it technically hears neither complaints about the former nor appeals against verdicts of the latter. At the same time, it prevents the Constitutional Court from getting overburdened.
Review of legislation in practice.
The judicial review of legislation in Austria is marked by three apparent contradictions: a strong Constitutional Court in a country with a high degree of constitutional flexibility; a constitution that uses the language of federalism but stipulates strong centralization; a sprawling and fragmented constitution that practically forces jurists to legislate from the bench in a democracy that used to be consociationalist and remains strongly consensus-oriented to this day.
All three incongruities have inspired significant volumes of legal scholarship over the years; they have also strongly influenced the court's actual decisions.
Flexibility.
The Constitutional Court is powerful but Austria has what political scientists call a high degree of constitutional flexibility: the Austrian constitution is comparatively easy to amend.
With a few qualifications that have proven mostly irrelevant in practice, a two-thirds supermajority in the National Council is enough.
For much of the second half of the 20th century, Austria's Grand Coalition governments of Social Democrats and People's Party have commanded majorities well in excess of this requirement;
in the late 1940s to early 1960s, the government controlled 92% of the seats on average.
The backbone of the constitution, the Federal Constitutional Law, has been amended over a hundred times since 1945.
As a result of this tension, political scientists rate Austrian judicial review as "medium strength" even though the Austrian-style centralized model generally tends to result in "strong" judicial review.
Fragmentation.
One consequence of Austria's easy amendments is that the constitution has to be treated as layered (): if the core of the constitution and the amendment of the week had been treated as equal in rank, there would effectively not have been any real constitution at all. In acknowledgement of this, the court has established that some parts of the constitution are more constitutional than others. This gives rise to the possibility that can be unconstitutional.
Another consequence of the ease of amending it is that Austria's constitution has grown exceptionally large; it may in fact be the most extensive national constitution in the world.
Austria has about 60 constitutional statutes (). In addition, there are about 100 ordinary statutes () some of whose sections are individually marked as constitutional provisions (); these constitutional provisions number about 1000 total. Yet more constitutional provisions are contained in about 100 international treaties.
Additional complications arise from the fact that different parts of Austria's constitutional law were written by authors from fundamentally different schools of legislative thought; the corpus is therefore very uneven in style. This makes statutory interpretation technically challenging. Core parts of the corpus are unusually terse, practically guaranteeing that subtly different approaches will yield widely different results.
Federalist elements.
The Federal Constitutional Law defines Austria to be a federation but distributes powers and responsibilities in a way that makes the country more or less unitary in reality.
Cisleithania had been a unitary state with some limited devolution of responsibility to regional administrations; the modern Republic of Austria mostly retains this structure.
The national level clearly dominates political life.
Austria is commonly described as "centralized"
or "highly centralized".
The country has also been called "a federation without federalism"
and "so centrally dominated in design as to be little short of unitary".
The apportionment of areas of competence between national and regional levels is internationally unique, highly complex, and badly outdated.
The framework is immune to reform because, for all its faults, it represents a stable compromise between political camps with radically different visions regarding the Austrian government's basic structure.
The Constitutional Court regularly has to create new rules to allow legislatures to handle pressing matters that a straightforward reading of the constitution would make impossible to legislate on: neither the national level nor the regional level could deal with the problem without disturbing the respectively other level's territory.
These issues create a large amount of legal theory and academic literature;
scholars are torn between two competing schools of thought on the subject.
Disposition.
The Constitutional Court has historically shown considerable judicial restraint.
To some degree, this was a choice, made out of a desire not to appropriate the power to legislate. To some degree, especially in the decades since 1945, it was also a result of the appointment process. Very early into the Second Republic, Social Democrats and People's Party reached an informal agreement regarding Constitutional Court nominations that prevented either camp from gaining a strong upper hand. Each party would effectively own a share of the seats. Retiring Social Democratic members would be replaced by other Social Democratic members; the People's Party would get to replace retiring People's Party justices. As a result, the court has tended to take non-interventionist positions on politically sensitive issues.
Interpretative approach.
From its beginning in 1920 to its elimination by the Austrofascist putsch in 1934, the Constitutional Court has leaned strongly towards grammatical interpretation (), although with occasional elements of the historical approach. Reasons include the court's general philosophy of restraint, the influence of Hans Kelsen, and a general local tradition of legal positivism.
In the first few decades after the court's reestablishment in 1945, restraint continued to seem a wise policy, and grammatical reasoning continued to be the court's preferred approach.
From the 1980s forward, the court has gradually shifted towards teleological reasoning, similar to the approach taken by the German Federal Constitutional Court and partly influenced by it. Today, both approaches are used side by side; this can make verdicts difficult to predict even in the absence of political contentiousness.


Chatumongol Sonakul

Mom Ratchawongse Chatumongol Sonakul () is Thailand's former Labour Minister and a former permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance of Thailand, and Governor of the Bank of Thailand.
Life and career.
Chatumongkol is a descendant of Thailand's royal family (great-grandson of King Rama IV) and belongs to the noble house of Sonakul. He was educated at Harrow School and is an honors graduate of Cambridge University in England for engineering and economics and Harvard University in John F. Kennedy School of Government. He rose up through the civil service through the Finance Ministry, initially serving as Director-General of the Tax Department. Later he rose to be the ministry's deputy permanent secretary.
He was the permanent secretary (the most senior civil servant) in the Ministry of Finance from 1 October 1995 to 28 July 1997. This was during the flotation of the baht, which led to a massive devaluation, the Asian Financial Crisis, and a long period of International Monetary Fund intervention. He was dismissed by the Chavalit Yongchaiyudh government soon after the devaluation.
During the Democrat-led government that followed, Chatumongkol was appointed Governor of the Bank of Thailand, Thailand's central bank. He held this position from 1998 to 30 May 2001, when he was dismissed by the newly elected Thai Rak Thai-led government.
After his dismissal, Chatumongkol became a vocal critic of TRT leader Thaksin Shinawatra. He denigrated Thaksin's populist job-creating policies, claiming that "Any attempt to create petty jobs is unnecessary... Policies should focus on providing machines and know-how."
After a military junta overthrew Thaksin's government and canceled scheduled general elections in 2006, Chatumongkol was one of its favorites for the Premiership; eventually, General Surayud Chulanont was chosen by King Bhumibol. He hinted that if the Democrat Party won post-coup elections, he would enter the political arena in support of the Democrats. However, the Democrats were defeated in the elections.
When the Democrat Party gained control of the government in 2008, it appointed Chatumongkol as Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Thailand.
He noted that under Thaksin's populist policies, "people who got money did not think hard about how to use it. People who got motorcycles became motorcycle taxi drivers. Many got rich. But when more people became motorcycle taxi drivers, they ended up earning just 100 baht [approximately US$3] a day. I used to survey some of those drivers. Many said they would not vote for [Thaksin's] Thai Rak Thai party anymore."
Personal life.
His son, "Mom Luang" Apimongkol Sonakul, was elected to be a Democrat Party MP in Bangkok in the former seat of Charoen Kantawongs.


Royal Unibrew

Royal Unibrew is a brewing and beverage company headquartered in Faxe, Denmark. Its brands include Ceres, Faxe, Albani, Thor,
Karlens and Royal. Royal Unibrew also has a strong presence in the Baltic region, where it owns Vilniaus Tauras, Kalnapilis (both in Lithuania), and Lāčplēša Alus (in Latvia). As of 2018 it owns the brewery in France that produces the Lorina soft drink brand. It also brews and markets Heineken in Denmark.
History.
The company was founded in 1989 through the merger of the breweries Faxe, Ceres and Thor under the name Bryggerigruppen. Odense-based Albani merged with the company in 2000. In 2005, the name of the company was changed to Royal Unibrew.
Operations.
Denmark.
RoyalUnibrew is the second largest beer company in Denmark with a market share of about 25%.
Baltic countries and Poland.
Royal Unibrew acquired Lithuanian breweries Vilniaus Tauras and Kalnapilis in 2001 and a controlling interest in Latvian brewery Lāčplēša Alus in 2004. The company also owns the Latvian soft drink company Cido.
Royal Unibrew entered the Polish beer market with the acquisition of Browary Polskie Brok-Strzelec S.A. in April 2005.
It was followed by the acquisition of Browar Łomża in 2007. In December 2010, Van Pur Breweries bought the Polish branch of the Danish Royal Unibrew group. In exchange, Royal Unibrew received 20% of shares of Van Pur in Poland with Van Pur retaining buyers options of the shares. In 2011 Van Pur, owned five breweries with the total production capacity of 4 million hectolitre of beer annually. October 15, 2012 Van Pur exercised its buyers option on the 20% shares previously held by Royal Unibrew for 111 PLN.
France.
In 2018 the soft drink brewery that produces the brand Lorina was acquired.
Royal Brand.
The largest brand of Unibrew is Royal. It is based on Ceres' Ceres Royal Export and Faxe's Faxe Pilsner/Classic. Royal Export was also brewed by the other breweries in the group, but later the Pilsner and Classic were added to make a complete family of beer as is traditional in Denmark.


Akpan Hogan Ekpo

Akpan Hogan Ekpo (born 26 June 1954) is a Nigerian economist and professor. He is currently a Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Ekpo is also the Chairman of the Foundation for Economic Research and Training (FERT) in Lagos, Nigeria. He was the Director General of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) in Lagos, Nigeria from May 2009 to December 2018. He is a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Ekpo is also a former Director at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Early life.
Akpan Hogan Ekpo was born in Lagos, Nigeria to Late Elder Hogan Ekpo Etuknwa (1917–1997) who was a policeman and Late Deaconess Affiong Harrison Hogan Ekpo (née Udosen)(1936–2019). He is the oldest of four children. Ekpo originally hails from Ikot Obio Eka in Etinan Local Government of Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Ekpo attended Anglican Isoko Primary School, Marine Beach, Apapa, Lagos from 1959 to 1965. From 1965 to 1970 he attended United Christian Secondary School, Bombay Crescent, Apapa, Lagos. After completing his secondary school education, Ekpo received a scholarship from the Federal Government of Nigeria to attend University in the United States of America.
Career.
Ekpo attended the prestigious Howard University in Washington, DC where he received Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Economics in 1976 and 1978 respectively. He also attended Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois under the American Economic Association Fellowship Award in 1975. In 1983, he obtained a PhD in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Ekpo lectured at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, North Carolina from 1981 to 1983. He returned to Nigeria in 1983. From 1983 to 1989 he was a lecturer at the University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria where he quickly rose up the ranks becoming a Senior Lecturer in 1987. From 1990 to 1992, Ekpo was a Visiting Professor, Department of Economics, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe. He was an Associate Professor and Head, Department of Economics, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria from January to July, 1992. In February 1992, he became professor, Department of Economics, University of Abuja.
He became the dean of Faculty of Management Sciences of the university in July 1992. In September 1994, Ekpo returned to his home state of Akwa Ibom where he became head, Department of Economics at the University of Uyo, Uyo. In 1997 he became the dean, Faculty of Social Sciences. In 1999, he was appointed the Deputy Vice-chancellor of the University of Uyo. He was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Uyo in May 2000. He held this position until May 24, 2005.
In May 2009, he was appointed the Director General of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) in Lagos, Nigeria.
Ekpo has over 170 publications comprising refereed journal articles, books, chapters in books, conference proceedings and other research outlets;. He has consulted (still consulting) for several national and international organizations such as the National Planning Commission of Nigeria, The World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), African Economic Research Consortium in Kenya, Global Network in India, Forum of Federations in Canada, among others. He has advised all levels of government (Municipal, State and Federal) in Nigeria. Between 1995 and 1999, he was Chairman, Ministerial Advisory Committee, Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja. He was Technical Adviser to the Vision 2010 Committee. He was Editor of the prestigious Nigerian Journal of Economics and Social Studies from 1997 to 2003. Ekpo was once the chairman of Akwa Ibom Investment and Industrial Promotion Council (AKIIPOC), Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. He has served in various government boards and boards of companies notably the Utilities Commission in Abuja and the Central Bank of Nigeria (2004–09). He was also a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (2004–09). In 2002, Ekpo was conferred with the National Productivity Order of Merit Award by the President of Nigeria.
Ekpo was a member of the National Economic Management team in Abuja, member of the Steering Committee of Vision 2020 and a former President of the Nigerian Economic Society. He belongs to several professional associations such as the Nigerian Economic Society, American Economic Association, Royal Economic Society in the United Kingdom, African Finance and Economic Association, International Institute for Public Finance, Nigerian Statistical Association, among others. He is member of the board of the African Institute for Applied Economics, and the Clement Isong Foundation in Nigeria. Ekpo is a Fellow of the Nigerian Economic Society.
Selected honors.
Ekpo's areas of interest are; Economic Theory, (Microeconomics and Macroeconomics), Economic Development, Public Finance and Quantitative Economics.
Personal life.
While attending Howard University, Ekpo met Njeri Mbaka, a fellow Howard student from Kenya. They have been married for over 40 years. They have four children and nine grandchildren.


Antonio Cabral de Melo

Antonio Cabral de Melo (1646-c.1717) was a Spanish landowner and Captain of provincial militias. He dedicated himself to the raising of cattle and agriculture, later obtaining the position of "Accionero" () of the Río de la Plata, with permission for the slaughter of the cattle cimarron.
Biography.
Antonio Román Cabral de Melo y Carbajal was born in Buenos Aires, the son of Cristóbal Cabral de Melo, a nobleman born in Vila do Porto, and María de Carbajal, belonging to a distinguished family. He was baptized on March 11, 1646, being his godparents the Captain Diego Gutiérrez de Humanes and Leonor Carbajal.
He was married to Leonor Morales, daughter of Pedro Morales y Mercado and Mariana de Manzanares. The wedding was celebrated on July 13, 1671, in the Cathedral Mayor, and attended as godparents Juan Báez de Alpoim and Gerónima Cabral, relatives of the groom.
He possibly completed his studies at the age of 18 or 20 at the Jesuit College of the City. He was dedicated himself to the raising of livestock, horses and pigs. He also devoted himself to agriculture and viticulture. He owned a large number of haciendas, one of them was located in the center of Buenos Aires Province.
Like most of his relatives he had an active participation in the provincial militias belonging to the Fort of Buenos Aires. He toke part in some military expeditions against the Pampas tribes. He held the position of Maestre de Campo, in charge of the provincial militias of the Spanish Army. Towards 1690 the town council authorized him to carry out the slaughter of the wild cattle that were in the jurisdiction of the province of Buenos Aires.
The "accioneros" of the cattle of the Río de la Plata, supplied meat and leather to the city during the 17th and 18th century, and were also in charge of the export of leather through of the and Asiento de Inglaterra until 1740. The right to the title of "accionero" was inheritable. In 1668, Cabral de Melo requested to the Ayuntamiento for permission to hunt 3000 head of cattle in the area of Luján, belonging to his mother Doña María de Carbajal. After the death of Antonio Cabral de Melo, the right to hunt cattle cimarron passed to his son-in-law Don Miguel Gerónimo de Esparza.
After the extinction of cattle cimarron of Buenos Aires Province, the accioneros were dedicated entirely to the raising of cattle in their haciendas, trading their products with the Compañía Guipuzcoana and .
In 1707, Antonio Cabral de Melo, granted power to make his testament to Miguel de Riglos, personal friend of the Cabral de Melo family. He was the nephew of Manuel Cabral de Alpoim, a prominent rancher and military leader of Portuguese origin, who had an outstanding performance in the Río de la Plata, where he served as Mayor and Lieutenant of Governor of Corrientes. His maternal grandfather was the General Gonzalo Carbajal, who held various honorary positions in Buenos Aires.


Charles Chuka

Charles Chuka is the former governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi in which he served from April 2012 to April 2017. When he became the Governor of Malawi's Central Bank in April 2012, he announced a series of reforms that allowed for foreign exchange to enter the country.
Chuka holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Economics and Sociology) degree from the University of Malawi including a Master of Philosophy in monetary economics from the University of Glasgow. He worked for the Reserve Bank of Malawi from 1979 in the Economic Services division.
Chuka joined the World Bank Group from 2003–2009; he was a Senior Advisor to the Executive Director at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC. In 2010–2012, he worked at the CEO of Malawi Telecommunications Ltd., Malawi's national telecommunications company. Dr. Dalitso Kabambe is currently serving as governor of Malawi's central bank.


Tunas Springs

Tunas Spring, formerly Escondido Spring, a spring along Tunas Creek (formerly Arroyo Escondido), a tributary of the Pecos River in Pecos County, Texas.
History.
Known originally as Escondido Spring, Tunas Spring was a watering and resting place on the San Antonio-El Paso Road for travelers and for the stagecoaches of the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line and other lines. It was 8.58 miles east of were that road met the Arroyo Escondido and 19.4 miles from Comanche Springs.
In one of the earliest descriptions of the road from the Pecos to Escondido Springs and the springs themselves is found in the December 21, 1849 report Captain S. G. French, of the Quartermaster's Department:
Leaving the Pecos, the [San Antonio-El Paso] road turns directly to the west, up a wide valley or plain, with hills in broken ridges on both sides. As the distance increases, the soil becomes more and more sterile, without grass, and yielding support to nothing but dwarf bushes, Spanish bayonets, and stunted cactus. Continuing over a gently-swelling hill, another valley is entered, following which about six miles, water is found in ponds, some of them quite deep, surrounded by a tall growth of rushes and cane. The water rises from a rocky bottom, and, as it imperceptibly glides away, gives life and freshness to the coarse grass and cane. This water is distant from the Pecos about eighteen miles, and has been called Escondido creek. The grazing is not good, and wood for fuel is scarce. Eight miles further on are the Escondido springs. The water gushes out from beneath a shelf of rocks, and flows some distance down the creek. The country around is rocky and barren, covered with chaparral and prickly pear. The grazing is limited, and wood by no means plenty.
On July 13, 1857, Edward Fitzgerald Beale described it:
Started at 4 a m. and travelled over an almost level country until we came to the Escondido spring. This water is beautifully clear, though slightly brackish. There is sufficient grass here, but of a coarse innutritious quality.


Alfred Ahner

Major General Alfred F. Ahner (November 12, 1921 – September 23, 2010) was an Indiana National Guard officer who served for 15 years as the state's Adjutant General.
Ahner was born in Huntington, Indiana, and was a graduate of the University of Indianapolis and Butler University. He served in World War II as a 1st Lieutenant, and was the first De-Nazification Officer in the American Zone of Vienna, Austria.
After serving as a full-time staff officer with the Indiana Guard, Ahner was appointed as Adjutant General in 1960 by Governor Harold Handley. Governor Edgar Whitcomb also appointed MG Ahner in 1972, and he served until his retirement in 1986. MG Ahner served in that position longer than any other Adjutant General in the state's history, a total of 15 years, under 4 governors.
Awards and decorations.
During his military service he was awarded: Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Commendation Ribbon with Medal Pendant, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, European Theatre Medal with Three Battle Stars for Ground Combat in Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe, World War II Victory Medal, Army Occupation Medal-Germany, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, National Guard Minute Man Award, Certificate of Commendation from General Mark Clark, Indiana Distinguished Service Medal, Indiana Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Indiana Long Service Medal, Indiana Volunteer Emblem, Indiana Emergency Service Ribbon, Army National Guard Recruiter Badge, Selective Service System Meritorious Service Award and NGAUS Distinguished Service Medal.


John Thomas Underwood

John Thomas Underwood (April 12, 1857, in London, England – July 2, 1937, in Osterville, Massachusetts) was an American entrepreneur and investor who founded the Underwood Typewriter Company.
Biography.
He was the elder brother of missionary Horace Grant Underwood and helped finance Horace's missionary work.
John and his two sisters, Hannah Underwood Stephens and Helen Underwood Conard, and his brothers, the Rev. Dr. Horace Grant Underwood and Frederick Wills Underwood, were all born in London. Their father, John Underwood (son of Thomas Underwood), operated an ink business in England and then moved to New Jersey. John met the typewriter inventor, bought the business from him, and founded the Underwood Typewriter Co. He set the office up in Manhattan and moved to Brooklyn where he and his wife, Grace, and their daughter, Gladys, lived at 336 Washington Avenue. He supported his brother Horace, who was one of the early Protestant missionaries to Korea, starting in 1885. John was active in Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn. This was where the Rev. Dr. Frank L. Gosnell was assigned for student ministry while attending Union Theological Seminary in NY and met Helen Evelyn Conard.
Underwood became a successful entrepreneur. His typewriters were even used at the Imperial Court in Vienna. He was made an official Purveyor to the Imperial and Royal Court by emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.
Underwood died in "Blink Bonnie", his summer home in Wianno, MA, on Cape Cod, and is buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. The site of Underwood's mansion in Clinton Hill was donated by his widow and daughter to the borough of Brooklyn as a public park, named in his honor.


Eugen Seim

Police Major Eugen Seim (4 July 1896 in Stuttgart – 7 March 1943 in Kiev) was a Nazi German officer during World War II, in charge of the "Polizei-Battalion No. 83" of the German Schutzpolizei (or Schupo) involved in mass expulsions of some 18,000–20,000 ethnic Poles from the territory of Żywiec County in Silesia at the beginning of Nazi–Soviet occupation of Poland. Seim was born in Stuttgart and died on the Eastern Front in the Soviet Union at the age of 47. He is buried at the military cemetery in Kiev.


Thekkethil Kochandy Alex

Thekkethil Kochandy Alex is an Indian space scientist. He was the director of the ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) (2008–2012) and Member, Space Commission. He specialized in electro-optic systems and satellite technology. Starting with the first Indian satellite Aryabhata he has been responsible for the sensor systems in all the Indian satellites. Under his leadership the Laboratory for Electro Optics Systems (LEOS) was established in 1993 and from the inception he was its director till 2008. He was conferred "Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Distinguished Professorship" in 2011.
Education.
Dr. Alex from Kerala studied at the SRVLP school, Azhoor, Pathanamthitta and his high school studies were at the Catholicate High School. This was followed by the pre-university course at the Catholicate College Pathanamthitta,kerala. He studied at the T.K.M. College of Engineering, Kollam from 1964 to 1969. He received his bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the Kerala University (Gold Medallist), Masters from IIT Madras and Doctorate from IISc Bangalore in Aerospace Engineering.
Contributions to ISRO/India.
Alex has contributed to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) by establishing the Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems in Bangalore. Alex was the project director of the remote sensing experiment on board the Indo-soviet manned mission in which the first Indian astronaut, Rakesh Sharma, squadron leader, flew aboard Soyuz T-11, launched on 3 April 1984. He contributed to India to the first Indian Moon mission, "Chandrayaan-1" in 2008. He provided guidance to the inter-planetary mission, Mars Orbiter mission, "Mangalyaan".
Awards and recognition.
Alex was awarded the Padma Shri in 2007, and the Distinguished Achievement Award of ISRO in 1976 for his contributions for the first Indian satellite. Other awards received include the IMDA award for the development of Infrared sensors and the Hari Om Ashram Vikram Sarbhai award (1987). He received the Aryabhata Award( 2015) of the Astronautical Society of India. He is a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), National Academy of Science, India (NASI) and the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, India (IETE) and a life member of ASI and Instrument Society of India. He is a fellow of the Optical Society of India and he was its President (2010–11).


Adjutant General of North Carolina

The Adjutant General of North Carolina is the head of the North Carolina National Guard. The position was created in 1806, when the Militia Acts of 1792 required the state to establish the position to better train the state militia. The office is appointed by the Governor of North Carolina and requires five years prior military service.
List of Adjutant Generals.
This is a list of persons who have held the office of Adjutant General of North Carolina.


Enterprise Investment Scheme

The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is a series of UK tax reliefs launched in 1994 in succession to the Business Expansion Scheme. It is designed to encourage investments in small unquoted companies carrying on a qualifying trade in the United Kingdom.
By the end of the 2014-15 tax year, a cumulative total of £14.2 billion had been invested under the scheme into approximately 25,000 companies. In that year, in excess of £1.8 billion was invested under the EIS.
Purpose.
Investment in companies that are not listed on a stock exchange often carries a high risk of loss of capital, and low market liquidity means that it may be difficult or time consuming to sell or realise the investment. The tax reliefs available under the EIS are intended to offer investors some incentive to counterweigh those risks.
Provision of tax relief.
The EIS offers several different kinds of tax relief, available both to direct investors and investors through a managed EIS fund or portfolio service. They are conditional upon the company receiving investment being a qualifying company under the scheme. A brief summary of the tax benefits is as follows:
Qualifying companies and individuals.
The rules for qualifying are complicated; for example, the following are some of the qualifications that must be met:
Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme.
On 6 April 2012, the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) was launched, with the goal to "stimulate entrepreneurship and kick start the economy."


Taula de canvi

The Taula de canvi ("table of change" in Catalan), also Taula de cambi or simply Taula, was a type of municipal public bank that existed in the Crown of Aragon in the late Middle Ages and early modern period. The Taula de canvi of Barcelona, created in 1401 and still extant in diminished form in the 19th century, has been described as the first-ever central bank.
Barcelona.
The first Taula de canvi was created following a request of the city of Barcelona's main governing body, the Consell de Cent, calling for the establishment of a public bank on . It ceremonially started its operations on , inside Barcelona's "".
Structure and governance.
The Taula's charter, dated 1405 or 1412 depending on authors, is the oldest preserved public bank regulation. Its design remained essentially unchanged for 300 years until the early 18th century. The Taula was a fully-owned operation of the city with a city guarantee of its deposits, and there is no evidence that it had capital of its own. The city appointed the Taula's "taulers" who worked on the table and its cashier for two-years fixed terms and paid their salaries. Other Taula officers, including its regent, chief of deposits, "credencer" in charge of first bookings, and notary, were appointed for life. The Taula's coffers had six keys, of which two were held by each "tauler" and two by the city councillors. The Taula was also subject to frequent inspection by municipal auditors.
In 1609, the city council created the Bank of the City of Barcelona ("Banc de la Ciutat") as an independent department of the municipal administration, to accept lower-quality coins than were allowed under the Taula's regulation. In practice, that bank appears to have operated as an extension of the Taula rather than a separate let alone competing institution.
Operations.
The Taula's objective was to provide an efficient and stable central deposit and giro transfer system, and, in its initial decades of operations, to provide funding to the city. From 1413 it also served as fiscal agent for the Generalitat of Catalonia.
It accepted both sight deposits and term deposits, in coin or jewellery, from residents of the city or its immediate surrounding; deposits were transferable as long as that did not result in overdraft, thus the taula's characterization as an early central bank. Cheques were in use from the 1520s at the latest. The bank operated on its eponymous table, installed in Barcelona's and covered with a carpet decorated with the arms of Barcelona. It was open every working day from 8 to 10am.
From its inception the Taula was systemically significant. Its oldest surviving book records over 500 individual accounts. It kept the deposits of the Generalitat, of the Barcelona Cathedral chapter, of religious institutions, of trade bodies, of military orders, and of the Aragonese monarchs.
The Taula was granted a monopoly on certain types of deposits, e.g. those of minors. From 1446 to 1499 it also had a legal monopoly on the clearing of bills of exchange. It competed with private banks to attract deposits, but unlike these did not pay interest on sight deposits.
The Taula suspended the convertibility of deposits in 1463-1468 during the Catalan Civil War, 1640-1653 during the Reapers' War, and 1706-1713 during the War of the Spanish Succession; in the two latter episodes the "Banc de la Ciutat" also suspended payments. In 1468, existing depositors were offered the option to convert to bonds of the city at 5 percent, or accept prolonged non-convertibility. After that restructuring and until the 17th century, lending to the city was prohibited. Following the Siege of Barcelona (1713–14), the Taula continued to exist but in restricted form without giro banking, while the "Banc" was entirely separated from the city and brought under direct Spanish state control. Another episode of payments suspension occurred in 1812. The Taula's remaining activities were gradually discontinued or taken over by other institutions. It was eventually absorbed by the Bank of Spain in 1853 and stopped paying its last staff in 1865.
Valencia.
Several successive "Taulas de canvi" were established in Valencia, respectively from 1408 to 1416 (or 1418), 1519 to 1649 ("Taula Nova"), and 1649 to 1719 ("Taula Novisima"). The Taula of Valencia was a deposit bank and fiscal agent of the city.
Gerona.
A royal document authorized the creation of a Taula de canvi in Gerona on . The bank was again established by the City Council on and operated until being finally closed by order of King Philip V in 1741.
Other "Taulas de canvi".
"Taulas de canvi" were also created in Perpignan (1404), Vic (1413, 1583), Tarragona (1420), Palma de Mallorca (1507), Lleida (1585), and Cervera (1599). A "Taula de comunes depósitos" also existed in Zaragoza from the 15th to the 18th centuries. No comparable institutions appear to have existed in Castile until the creation of the Banco Nacional de San Carlos in 1782.


Charles Lewis Tiffany

Charles Lewis Tiffany (February 15, 1812 – February 18, 1902) was an American businessman and jeweller who founded New York City's Tiffany & Co. in 1837. Known for his jewelry expertise, Tiffany created the country's first retail catalog and introduced the English standard of sterling silver in imported jewelry in 1851.
Life and career.
Tiffany was born on February 15, 1812, in Killingly, Connecticut, the son of Chloe (Draper) and Comfort Tiffany. Tiffany was educated in a district school and in an academy in Plainfield, Connecticut. Starting at the age of 15, he helped manage a small general store started by his father, the owner of a cotton-manufacturing company. He later worked at the office of his father's mill. The Tiffany family descended from the immigrant Squire Humphrey Tiffany (England, 1630-Swansea, Massachusetts, 1685), who had lived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1660.
In 1837, with $1,000 borrowed from his father, Tiffany and a school friend, John B. Young, set up a small stationery and gift shop in New York City. Their first three days in business brought them only $4.38 in total sales, but two years later they were still in business, selling glassware, porcelain, cutlery, clocks and jewelry.
The store expanded in 1841 and changed its name to Tiffany, Young and Ellis. It established a reputation for selling only the finest goods and specialized in Bohemian glass and porcelain. It also began manufacturing its own jewelry. In the early 1850s, the company was reorganized under the name Tiffany and Company and opened branches in Paris (1850) and London (1868). The store also relocated uptown to a Fifth Avenue location in that decade.
Tiffany was terribly embarrassed in an 1872 diamond and gemstone hoax perpetrated by Philip Arnold that cost investors more than half a million dollars.
In cooperation with Thomas Edison, Tiffany created footlights and other methods of theater lighting. As a result of this, Broadway and other shows became more popular during that time.
The firm acquired and sold some of the French Crown Jewels in 1887, firmly establishing its reputation.
Charles Tiffany died at his home in Manhattan, New York, on February 18, 1902, at age 90. At the time of his death his company was capitalized at more than $2 million and acknowledged as the most prominent jewelry company in North America.
Personal life.
On November 30, 1841, Tiffany married John B. Young's sister, Harriet Olivia Avery Young (1817–1897), with whom he had six children: Charles Lewis Tiffany Jr. (1842–1847), Annie Olivia Tiffany Mitchell (1844–1937; grandmother of Hiram Bingham IV through her daughter Alfreda Mitchell and she, at the same time, is the first wife of Hiram Bingham III, one of the first explorers to Machu Picchu, Peru), Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933), Louise Harriet Tiffany (1856–1937), Henry Charles Tiffany (1858–1859) and Burnett Young Tiffany (1860–1945).
In addition to his business, Tiffany was a patron of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and one of the founders of the New York Society of Fine Arts.
Honors.
Tiffany was made a chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1878.
References.
Notes


Commission of Inquiry on the Situation of the French Language and Linguistic Rights in Quebec

The Commission of Inquiry on the Situation of the French Language and Linguistic Rights in Quebec was established under the Union Nationale government of Jean-Jacques Bertrand on December 9, 1968.
It was commissioned in response to conflicts in the Catholic school board in Saint-Léonard. The Mouvement pour l'intégration scolaire (MIS), created by francophone parents in the middle of the Saint-Leonard Crisis, wished for mandatory French-language education for allophones, but immigrants, mostly of Italian origin were supported by anglophones in creating the Saint Leonard English Catholic Association of Parents to defend being able to choose either English or French schools.
Composition.
Premier Jean-Jacques Bertrand appointed the following people as commissioners:
Mandate.
The commission was mandated to propose measures "to ensure 1) the respect of the linguistic rights of the majority as well as the protection of the rights of minorities and 2) the free blooming and diffusion of the French language in all activity sectors at the educational, cultural, social and economic levels." Because the linguist Jean-Denis Gendron presided the commission, ir is often referred to in French as the Commission Gendron.
Report.
The final report of the commission was published on February 13, 1973. It consisted of three volumes:
On the subject of the language of work, the commissioners concluded:
It comes out that if French is not about to disappear among francophones, neither is it the predominant language in the Quebec labour market. French seems useful only to francophones. In Quebec even, it is in the end a marginal language, since non-francophones need it very little. A great number of francophones in important tasks use English as often, and sometimes more, than their mother tongue. And that, even though francophones in Quebec are a strong majority, in the work force as well as in the total population.
On the subject of the language of instructions, it noted:
The immigrants arrived in Quebec to improve their material condition and to insure a better future for their children. They were obliged to work in English to live and they saw French Canadians give them the example. They observed that in Montreal at least, a part of the French-Canadian parents were sending their children to English schools and private schools, each time they had the financial means to do it. They therefore followed the same path. Their bilingualism seemed absolutely necessary to them, and they never stopped demanding neutral bilingual schools, so that their children could get the best possible training.
The report recommend the government to give Quebec a policy in which the general objective would be: "to make French the common language of Quebecers, that is to say, a language which, being known to everyone, could be used as a communication tool in contact situations between francophones and non-francophones." Thus far, English, the language of the majority in Canada and North America, the language of socioeconomic promotion for most workers, had been playing a much greater role than French as an interethnic language inside Quebec.
The commission recommended the Quebec government make French the sole official language of Quebec and declare French and English the national languages of Quebec. The report also included some 31 measures devised to reinforce the position of the French language in the workplace.
Following the presentation of this report, the National Assembly of Quebec, then under a Liberal government, passed the Official Language Act. The Act was ultimately supplanted by the 1977 Charter of the French Language.


Pauline Neville-Jones, Baroness Neville-Jones

Lilian Pauline Neville-Jones, Baroness Neville-Jones (born 2 November 1939) is a British politician and former civil servant who served as Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) from 1993 to 1994. A member of the Conservative Party, she served on the National Security Council and was Minister of State for Security and Counter Terrorism at the Home Office from 2010 to 2011.
Before her elevation to the peerage she was styled Dame Pauline Neville-Jones, DCMG and, on 12 May 2010, Prime Minister David Cameron appointed Lady Neville-Jones his Minister of State for Security and Counter Terrorism in the Home Office with a permanent position on the newly created National Security Council.
On 9 May 2011, the BBC reported that Neville-Jones had left her role as Security Minister at "her own request"; her security brief was taken over by James Brokenshire. She was then immediately appointed as "Special Representative to Business on Cyber Security".
Education.
Lady Neville-Jones was educated at Leeds Girls' High School and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford (Modern History).
Career.
Civil Service.
Neville-Jones was a career member of Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service from 1963 to 1996, during which time she served in British Missions in Rhodesia, Singapore, Washington, DC and Bonn. Between 1977 and 1982 she was seconded to the European Commission where she worked as Deputy and then Chef de Cabinet to Commissioner Christopher Tugendhat.
From 1991 to 1994 she was Head of the Defence and Overseas Secretariat in the Cabinet Office and Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet. During 1993 and 1994 she was Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee. From 1994, until her retirement, she was Political Director in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in which capacity she led the British delegation to the Dayton negotiations on the Bosnia peace settlement. In 2003 the Bosnian leader Alija Izetbegović commented that during these negotiations she "never tried to conceal her dislike for us".
BBC.
She was appointed a BBC governor in January 1998. Her final post was as chairman of the Governors' World Service Consultative Group. Neville-Jones was chairman of the Audit Committee from 1998 until standing down from that position in September 2004 and left the BBC on 31 December 2004.
Defence.
From 2002 to 2005, Neville-Jones was non-executive chairman of the part Government-owned defence technology company QinetiQ, which was privatised for £1.3 billion in February 2006. She was chairman of the Information Assurance Advisory Council until 2007.
Politics.
In January 2006 she joined one of the Conservative Party's new 'policy groups' on national security.
On 2 July 2007 her appointment as a working peer and Shadow Security Minister was announced. Her title was gazetted as "Baroness Neville-Jones, of Hutton Roof in the County of Cumbria" on 15 October 2007.
On 9 January 2009, Lady Neville-Jones warned that Israel's ongoing war in the Gaza Strip would encourage revolutionary Islamism in Arab countries and Islamic terrorism beyond, and called for a revival of the Middle East peace process.
On 13 May 2010, she was appointed Minister of State for Security and Counter Terrorism in David Cameron's Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government, and was also sworn of the Privy Council.
On 31 March 2011 she told "The Daily Telegraph" that Britain's Muslim population needs to be persuaded by the Government that Britain is a single nation, and that they can't just "rub along together" but must be persuaded that their long-term future lies in Britain. Neville-Jones later spoke out against "internet hate preaching and jihadist rhetoric", arguing that the murder of Lee Rigby was likely to have been inspired by such material.
On 9 May 2011, Neville-Jones left her post as Minister of State for Security and Counter-Terrorism in the Home Office at her own request.
In November 2014, Neville-Jones presented a speech at the Halifax International Security Forum, which she prefaced with an op-ed in a Toronto newspaper. She wrote about the quantum technology revolution and related that the "policy failure" of the 2003 Iraq War was due to "outdated intelligence, lack of ability to test agent information against other sources and misinterpretation of apparent battlefield evidence".
Positions.
Neville-Jones is an honorary fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and an honorary doctor of the University of London and the Open University. In August 2013, the Council on CyberSecurity announced that she had joined the organization's Advisory Board.
Honours.
Appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1987 Birthday Honours, she was raised to Dame Commander (DCMG) in the 1995 New Year's Honours. Neville-Jones also received the Légion d'honneur (Chevalier) in 2009.


Narong Kittikachorn

Narong Kittikachorn (, birth 21 October 1933) is the son of Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn, former Prime Minister. former military commander former Commander in Chief and former Minister of Defense and the son-in-law of Field Marshal Praphas Charusathien, former army commander, former Chief of Police And former Minister of the Interior.
Personal life.
Narong was born on 21 October 1933, the son of Thanom Kittikachorn and Jongkol Kittikachorn. and is the son-in-law of Field Marshal Praphas Charusathien, due to marrying Mrs. Supaporn Kittikachorn, the third daughter of Field Marshal Praphas and Sawai Jarusathien, have a total of 4 children.
Education.
Narong graduated from Suankularb Wittayalai School, then study at Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, class 5 and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Government service.
Narong Kittikachorn has served as assistant secretary-general of the coup junta (Coup in Thailand 1971) when the coup was finished hold a position Deputy Secretary-General, Commission on Inspecting and Monitoring of Official performance and is the commander of the 2nd Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment, The King's Guard.
After the 1973 Thai popular uprising, Narong left Thailand with Thanom and Praphas before traveling back to Thailand at a later time.
Politics.
After the political situation calmed down Narong returned to Thailand and became a member of the Thai Nation Party and was elected as the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province MP in 1983. Later, Narong resigned from the Thai Nation Party and was a member of the Liberal Party and accepted the position of party leader and was elected as the 2nd Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya MP in 1986 and the 3rd term in 1988. The 3rd period is still under the Liberal Party before resigning from the Liberal Party and laying a political hand in 1992.


Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

The Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Filipino: "Tagapangasiwa ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas") is the chief executive officer of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Philippines' central bank. This position succeeds and replaces the earlier post of Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines.
On March 4, 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Secretary of Budget and Management Benjamin Diokno as the fifth Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. He will serve the unexpired term of his predecessor, Nestor Espenilla Jr., which will end in July 2023.
Roles with other agencies.
He also serves as the chairman and principal representative of the Monetary Board; chairman of Anti-Money Laundering Council and Philippine International Convention Center; vice-chairman of the Governing Council of Agriculture Credit Policy Council; member of the Capital Market Development Council, Export Development Council, PhilExport board of trustees, and Philippine Export-Import Credit Agency; and director of Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Development Council, and National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation.
Powers and duties.
His powers and duties as the chief executive officer of the Bangko Sentral shall be to:
In capacity as the principal representative of Bangko Sentral and the Monetary Board and in accordance with the instructions of the Monetary Board, he shall be empowered to:


London Emergency Services Liaison Panel

The London Emergency Services Liaison Panel (LESLP) consists of representatives from the following agencies:
Established in 1973, the group meets regularly and is chaired by the Metropolitan Police Service. The role of the LESLP is to establish the correct procedures for a collaborative approach to responding to major incidents within London. A major incident could be anything from a terrorist attack to a natural disaster.
A revised version of the LESLP Major Incident Procedure Manual (2019 edition) is published on the London Prepared webpages.
Major incident.
A "major incident" is defined by LESLP as "an event or situation with a range of serious consequences which requires special arrangements to be implemented by one or more emergency responder agency."
Definition of a "major incident" explanatory notes:
This definition is different to the definition of an "Emergency", a related term defined in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.
An example of the declaration of a major incident is the emergency system activated during the 7 July 2005 attacks on London.
Declaration of a major incident.
Declaring a ’major incident’ triggers a response from each emergency service and other responder agencies. It takes time for operational structures, resources and protocols to be put in place. Declaring that a major incident is in progress as soon as possible means these arrangements can be put in place as quickly as possible.
A major incident may be declared by one or more emergency responder agency if any of the major incident criteria is satisfied. A major incident declaration will normally be declared by one of the emergency services. In certain circumstances, for example flooding, a local authority or other responder agency may declare a major incident.
It is important that all individuals who could be first on scene for their respective responder agency are able to declare a major incident, and that they understand the implications of declaring one.
A major incident declared by one emergency responder agency may not be so for another, however, each agency will attend with an appropriate response and notify relevant support organisations. This is so even if they are to be employed in a standby capacity and not directly involved in the incident.
Stages.
Major incidents are considered to have four stages, namely:
Co-ordinating groups.
In the event of a major incident, the formation of Strategic, Tactical and Operational co-ordinating groups (also known as Gold and Silver co-ordinating groups) will occur. These groups will be responsible for actions and co-ordination within their own spheres of activity.
References.
The London Emergency Services Liaison Panel (LESLP) Major Incident Procedure Manual conforms to the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP) 'Joint Doctrine: The Interoperability Framework, Edition Two, 2016'.


Disruptive Technology Office

The Disruptive Technology Office (DTO) was a funding agency within the United States Intelligence Community. It was previously known as the Advanced Research and Development Activity (ARDA). In December 2007, DTO was folded into the newly created IARPA.
ARDA was created in 1998 after the model of DARPA by the Director of Central Intelligence and the Department of Defense, and took responsibility for funding some of DARPA's projects. ARDA evaluates proposals and funds speculative research, particularly in the fields of data mining, video processing, and quantum computing.
There has been speculation that the DTO is continuing research efforts started under the Total Information Awareness program (TIA) in DARPA's Information Awareness Office (IAO). Data-mining activities within the US Department of Defense are controversial and have met with public and congressional disapproval.
Although ARDA's budget is presumably classified as part of the intelligence budget, the "New York Times" quoted an unnamed former government official saying the agency spent about $100 million a year in 2003. The Associated Press reports that ARDA had a staff of only eight in 2004.
Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland, site of the headquarters of the National Security Agency, ARDA/DTO has kept a low profile, quietly funding research of interest to the intelligence community. A move to a research park near the University of Maryland, College Park was announced at about the same time as the consolidation into IARPA.


Mine Hill Railroad


Outfall

An outfall is the discharge point of a waste stream into a body of water; alternatively it may be the outlet of a river, drain or a sewer where it discharges into the sea, a lake or ocean.
In the United States, industrial facilities that discharge storm water which was exposed to industrial activities at the site are required to have a multi-sector general permit. Issuing permits for storm water is delegated to the individual states that are authorized by the EPA. Facilities that apply for a permit must specify the number of outfalls at the site. According to the EPA's 2008 MSGP (final version), outfalls are locations where the stormwater exits the facility, including pipes, ditches, swales, and other structures that transport stormwater. If there is more than one outfall present, measure at the primary outfall (i.e., the outfall with the largest volume of stormwater discharge associated with industrial activity).
Outfalls from sewage plants can be up to 20 feet in diameter and release 4000 gallons of treated human waste every second, only miles from the shore.
A wastewater treatment system discharges treated effluent to a water body from an outfall. An ocean outfall may be conveyed several miles offshore, to discharge by nozzles at the end of a spreader or T-shaped structure. Outfalls may also be constructed as an outfall tunnel or subsea tunnel and discharge effluent to the ocean via one or more marine risers with nozzles.


Emil Kiesewetter

Emil Kiesewetter (pronunciation unknown) (May 15, 1845 – October 28, 1924) was a Democratic politician in the U.S. State of Ohio. He was the Ohio State Auditor 1884–1888.
Kiesewetter was born at Prairie Township, Franklin County, Ohio on May 15, 1845. His parents were Theodore and Joanna E. Kiesewetter, natives of Germany, who had emigrated to Franklin County in 1844. They stayed at Prairie Township until 1849, when they moved to Columbus, the state capital, in that county. The mother died in 1850 and the father died in 1874.
At age 12, Kiesewetter began working at a Columbus hotel. He later attended the Columbus Commercial College, where he studied bookkeeping. He worked in that field until 1862.
On September 30, 1862, Kiesewetter enlisted as a private in Company B, 46th Ohio Infantry during the American Civil War. At the Battle of Resaca, he was severely injured in the left hip May 14, 1864. He was confined to a bed for seven months, as the wound became gangrenous. With treatment from a surgeon, he recovered, and was discharged at Camp Chase, Columbus, March 31, 1865. He remained at the camp as a clerk until August 25, when he hired on as a bookkeeper at a Columbus firm. He remained there until 1878.
In 1878, Kiesewetter was elected as Franklin County Auditor. He was nominated at the Democratic Party state convention in 1883 for Ohio State Auditor, and defeated Republican incumbent John F. Oglevee that autumn. He assumed the office January 1884.
While he was Auditor, Kiesewetter fired two shots at a newspaper reporter, November 8, 1885, in a Columbus hotel. The reporter had criticized Kiesewetter in his paper. The shots missed their mark. Kiesewetter was arrested, and appeared November 16 before Mayor Charles C. Walcutt, who dismissed charges on the grounds that Kiesewetter had been provoked.
Kiesewetter ran for re-election in 1887, but lost to Republican Ebenezer W. Poe. He completed his term January, 1888.
Kiesewetter died October 28, 1924, and was interred at Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio.
On November 4, 1869, Kiesewetter married Francis Orthafer, and had two sons. He was a member of the Masons, I.O.O.F., and Knights of Pythias.


Raines v. Byrd

Raines v. Byrd, 521 U.S. 811 (1997), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held individual members of Congress do not automatically have standing to litigate the constitutionality of laws affecting Congress as a whole.
Background of the case.
The Line Item Veto Act of 1996 allowed the president to nullify certain provisions of appropriations bills, and disallowed the use of funds from canceled provisions for offsetting deficit spending in other areas.
At its passage, the Act was politically controversial, with many Democrats breaking with Clinton to oppose it. Of the opposition, six members of Congress, including Republican Mark Hatfield, sued to prevent use of the line-item veto. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson found the Act unconstitutional.
Opinion of the Court.
The Supreme Court held that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue, as they had not suffered any particularized injury. The courts reasoning held that individual members of Congress were subject to strict limits on their ability to sue, particularly in a dispute between different branches of government.
Subsequent events.
After taking effect, the Act was in 1998 found unconstitutional in "Clinton v. City of New York."


TE Data

TE Data S.A.E. () is an Internet service provider in Egypt,established in 2001 by Telecom Egypt (Incumbent Operator of Egypt) to act as its data communications and Internet arm.
TE Data has 65% of the market share and controls over 70% of the internet bandwidth in Egypt.
TE Data was awarded a Class A license from Egypt's National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA). Such a license allows TE Data to build its own national backbone network, operate its international data gateway, co-locate its equipment at the central offices and all IP based services to end-users as well as other Service Providers.
The company is a growing data communications and Internet services provider. Currently, with operations in Egypt and Jordan and plans in other parts of the MENA region, The company's portfolio
includes narrowband and broadband Internet access services, managed
dedicated Internet access services, IP VPN connectivity services, global
connectivity services in addition to consulting and professional services and it depend on employees from youth in order to provide such professional consultant .
The Company's network includes full transit connections to the Internet networks of MCI, Flag, WorldCom and Teleglobe. TE Data provides global Internet route coverage on either a direct or transit basis. The network architecture allows diverse and redundant routing options by incorporating connections to multiple Network Access Points (NAPs).
TEVU.
On 1 February 2005, TE Data and Salec Egypt announced in Cairo ICT 2005, the launch of a trial TV over IP IPTV system. In this trial the company demonstrated the capability of its IP MPLS network to provide the next generation bandwidth intensive service. The trial involved the broadcasting of high quality TV channels and video-on-demand VOD on the TE Data network using a trial setup supplied by Salec Egypt.
In that trial Salec Egypt Integrated a solution based on equipment supplied from TANDBERG Television for the head-end system, where Live IPTV and Video on Demand VoD are streamed on TE Data's IP MPLS network and delivered to the end user using the ADSL infrastructure.
In November 2006, TE Data announced the launch of its new service TEVU, providing a range of Streaming and VOD content to existing and new ADSL subscribers over TE Data’s IP MPLS network and Egypt’s last mile lines.
TE Data launched an IP based video streaming service in Egypt and the Middle East during the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The current TEVU content has 9 streaming channels including 4 ART sports channels, 1 Arabic movie channel (ART AFLAM), 1 Arabic TV shows channel (ART HEKAYAT), 1 western movie channel (ART MOVIE WORLD), 1 religious channel (IQRAA) and the famous Cable News Network CNN news channel. In addition to the live streaming channels, TEVU includes a VOD library that contains more than 40 Arabic films ranging from classics to new films. All of TEVU’s streaming and VOD content is provided by the Arab Radio and Television network ART.
TEVU service utilizes several Microsoft products ranging from Windows Server 2003, which includes Windows Media Services 9 Series responsible for multicasting live streams over the network, as well as providing unicast VOD content. Microsoft Media Encoder 9 responsible for transcoding live streams into WMV format, Microsoft Media Services 9. The content is encrypted using Microsoft's Digital Rights Management software, which protects live content as well as VOD content. TEVU customers watch the content using Microsoft's Windows Media Player
Telecom Italia.
On 2 February 2005, Telecom Egypt, Egypt’s incumbent operator, TE Data, and Telecom Italia Sparkle, Italy’s international services carrier, announced that they are expanding the cooperation of the already signed Partnership Agreement in the field of IP services and advanced data solutions for multinational customers.
The three-party Agreement called for the sharing of technical and commercial strategies with the aim of building a mutually stronger position in the Mediterranean basin telecommunications market.
The qualifying element of the Partnership Agreement is the installation and start-up of a Telecom Italia Sparkle Point of Presence (POP) in Cairo. Through this POP, essentially Egyptian and Italian corporate customers can gain access to IP/Data services (e.g. IP-VPN Virtual Private Networks and other managed bandwidth solutions).
The three partners have announced that a handful of corporate customers are already connected and using the services of the brand new Cairo POP.
Alcatel.
In July 2005, Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) announced that it has signed a frame contract with TE Data, to supply its broadband Digital Subscriber Line DSL solution.
Alcatel installed and supported 50,000 DSL lines over 2006. The Alcatel solution provided Egyptian end users with high speed Internet access, as well as other broadband services.
TE Data deployed the Alcatel 7300 Advanced Services Access Manager (ASAM), the most widely deployed DSL platform in the world. TE Data joins other service providers such as Iceland Telecom, Ventelo, Bell Canada, Hawaii Telecom, Vodafone Italy, Bell Alliant, Orange Spain, France Telecom, Saudi Telecom, and KPN who use the 5530 Network Analyzer to support the introduction of broadband services.
Avaya Inc..
Starting September 2005 TE Data has adopted IP telephony from Avaya Inc. (NYSE:AV), a provider of business communications applications, systems and services. Since then the company doubled its call center capability, and deployed the Avaya voice system.
Flag Telecom.
On 4 February 2006 – TE Data, announced that it has signed a frame agreement with Flag Telecom, a leading provider of international wholesale network transport and communications services, to raise its International bandwidth capacity with Flag to an STM16 (2.42 Gbit/s) before mid-2006, a move that took TE Data's overall total International capacity to the higher capacity.
TE Data's former activated international bandwidth capacity was 1.8 Gbit/s, while the current total market capacity is estimated at 4.48 Gbit/s, which represents around 40% of the total market capacity and the highest in the market. With this upgrade, TE Data's total international bandwidth capacity reached the higher capacity, taking the market to a total capacity of around 5.69 Gbit/s. Such a move fortified TE Data's leadership position in the Egyptian market with an estimated 52% of the total market international bandwidth.
The STM16 circuits is connected to the Flag Global Network through points of presence (PoPs) in Cairo and Alexandria.


Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co.

Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co., 259 U.S. 20 (1922), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled the 1919 Child Labor Tax Law unconstitutional as an improper attempt by Congress to penalize employers using child labor. The Court indicated that the tax imposed by the statute was actually a penalty in disguise.
The Court later abandoned the philosophy underlying the "Bailey" case. For example, see "United States v. Kahriger", 345 U.S. 22 (1953), "overruled on other grounds", "Marchetti v. United States", 390 U.S. 39 (1968).
Background.
On February 24, 1919, Congress passed the Child Labor Tax Law which imposed an excise tax of 10 percent on the net profits of a company that employed children. The law defined child labor as “under the age of sixteen in any mine or quarry, and under the age of fourteen in any mill, cannery, workshop, factory, or manufacturing establishment.” The definition also included the use of children between the ages of fourteen and sixteen who worked more than eight hours a day or more than six days a week, or who worked between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Drexel was a furniture manufacturing company in North Carolina.
On September 21, 1921, a collector from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (now the Internal Revenue Service) assessed $6,312.79 in excise taxes for employing a child under fourteen during the 1919 tax year. Drexel paid the tax under protest and sued for a refund.
Procedural history.
Drexel's main argument was that the tax was an unconstitutional attempt to regulate manufacturing. The United States argued that, the statute, as an indirect tax, did not need to meet a standard as long as it was geographically uniform. In addition, the government contended that the tax was merely an excise tax levied by Congress under its broad power of taxation under Article One of the Constitution. The lower court ruled in favor of the company.
Holding.
Chief Justice Taft's Court declared the tax on child labor was unconstitutional because it was a disguised criminal penalty, not a tax, on employment of children. In addition, the Child Labor Tax Law is a regulation on businesses instead of a tax.
Reasoning.
Taft argued the law describes a set course for businesses and when they deviate from that course, a payment is enacted. Taft said, “Scienters are associated with penalties, not with taxes.” “[A] court must be blind not to see that the so-called tax is imposed to stop the employment of children within the age limits prescribed.” Taft said that the court must commit itself to the highest law of the land and the duty of the court, even though it requires them to refuse legislation designed to promote the highest good. He went on to say that the good sought in unconstitutional legislation leads citizens and legislators down a dangerous path of breaching the constitution and recognized standards. In addition, Congress could take control of many areas of public interest, which the States have control over reserved by the Tenth Amendment, by enacting regulating subjects and enforcing them by a so-called “tax.” This would break down the constitutional limitations on Congress and eliminate the sovereignty of States. A tax is a source of revenue for the government, while a penalty is a regulation and punishment for a certain behavior.
Implications.
One possible criticism is that the decision in Drexel was a reversal of the Supreme Court's position on excise taxes since the early 19th century and that this decision is out of line with Supreme Court rulings before and after. As a general rule, the court repeatedly favored the federal power to tax. In other cases, the court has upheld Congress's excise tax on narcotics, marijuana, and firearms. Even with the firearms case, the Court admitted the law was unmistakably a legislative purpose to regulate rather than tax.
Despite this reversal of philosophy regarding Congress's ability to regulate through the tax code, the Court's definition of the Child Labor Tax as a penalty due to its characteristics featured prominently in the majority opinion in "National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius", penned by Chief Justice John Roberts in 2012. The opinion holds that the individual mandate at the center of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act does not fulfill any of the characteristics (i.e., the heavy burden of tax for even slight infractions, the requirement of scienter in levying the tax, and the use of the Department of Labor to aid in enforcement) that allowed the Court to consider the Child Labor Tax as outside of Congress’ “Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises”, and therefore, the individual mandate may be considered within that power.
Previously, in "Hammer v. Dagenhart", 247 U. S. 251, the Court ruled a law prohibiting the transportation in interstate commerce of goods manufactured with child labor was unconstitutional. After the court rejected both attempts by Congress to regulate child labor, Congress proposed a constitutional amendment which would give the national government the power to regulate and prohibit child labor, without a deadline for ratification by the states. The proposed amendment was never ratified, as it was made unnecessary by state child labor laws, and a later reversal of the "Bailey" decision after a suit against Section 212 of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which prohibited the transportation of goods in interstate commerce made from "oppressive child labor."


Sonya Branch

Sonya Branch is General Counsel at the Bank of England. She was appointed by Mark Carney in May 2015 and is responsible for all aspects of the Bank’s legal Directorate and for providing legal advice to the Bank and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Career.
From 2012-2015 Branch was Director General (Enforcement) and a Board member at the Competition and Markets Authority. Prior to this, Sonya had been an Executive Director of Enforcement and Mergers, and a Board member, at the Office of Fair Trading until its merger with the Competition Commission to form the CMA. Sonya was also seconded to Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by the Cabinet Office to lead on a Triennial Review in 2012.
From 2000 to 2007, Branch worked at an international law firm Clifford Chance, where she specialised in financial services antitrust law. She began her legal career at Linklaters.
Sonya holds a postgraduate diploma in European Competition Law from Kings College London and read jurisprudence at Magdalen College and Oxford University. She is a Trustee of the national charity, Target Ovarian Cancer, and of Now Teach.