This paper reviews certain decisions adopted recently by the Spanish Constitutional Court (STC 136/2011, ATC 7/2012 and ATC 9/2012), which reveal a certain disregard for rule of law in legislative proceedings. This affects Parliament’s minorities insofar as it prevents or hinders their legislative participation and their access to the Constitutional Court, both key elements in any democratic st...

Although many think campaign donations buy influence from legislators, scholars have difficulty determining whether and how much influence contributions have in the legislative process. Many studies seek to identify the influence of donors on roll call votes. After considerable debate most scholars have concluded that donors have little influence on these votes. What voting studies cannot detec...

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data published in 2002 shows a continued rise in health care costs to the Australian community due to the growing number of people diagnosed with mental health disorders. Those mental health disorders may originate from a number of sources, including work and non-work-related factors. The so called work-related stress claims in all Australian juris...