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I analyse case-law developments in the European Court of Human Rights based on Article 2 (right to life) as they relate to suicide prevention in places of detention (prisons, police stations, and psychiatric hospitals) and the paradoxical effects they have had on prevention policies enacted by states condemned by the Court. I first show that the jurisprudential philosophy referred to by the Court is marked by an emphasis on risk management and a narrow understanding of individuals' suicide attempts. I then demonstrate that, under pressure exerted by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the national associations for the defence of the rights of detainees, the Court's judgments lead states to adopt suicide prevention policies that are actuarial (risk management) and punitive. However, this perverse effect seems to be partially offset by the possibility that the families of detainees, through the investigative duties of member states of the Council of Europe, can exercise at least some supervision over the custodial and police systems.

Keywords: Cour européenne des droits de l'homme, suicide, prévention, prison, commissariats de police, European Court of Human Rights, suicide, prevention, prison, police station, Corte europea de los derechos del hombre, suicidio, prevención, cárcel, comisarías de policía

This article analyses developments in case law based on Article 2 (right to life) in the European Court of Human Rights as they relate to suicide prevention for those in detention (in prison, police stations, or psychiatric hospitals) and the paradoxical effects they have had on prevention policies enacted by states condemned by the Court. I first show that the jurisprudential philosophy used by the Court is characterized by an emphasis on risk management and a narrow understanding of individual motivations for suicide. I then demonstrate that, under pressure from the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the national associations for the defence of the rights of detainees, the Court's judgments have led states to adopt suicide prevention policies that are actuarial (based on risk management) and punitive. However, this perverse effect seems to be partially offset by the possibility that the families of detainees, through the investigative duties of member states of the Council of Europe, can exercise at least some supervision over the custodial and police systems.

Keywords: European Court of Human Rights, suicide, prevention, prison, police station, Cour européenne des droits de l'homme, suicide, prévention, prison, commissariats de police, Corte europea de los derechos del hombre, suicidio, prevención, cárcel, comisarías de policía

ABSTRACTThe theory of the optimum currency areas—OCA—has been, for forty years, an unavoidable framework regarding the choice of the exchange's mode. Of Keynesian inspiration, it initially supplements the friedmanian plea in favor of the generalized floating exchange rate mode. Improved, then deeply renewed by taking into account time inconsistency and the theory of credibility—the new theory of the optimal currency areas—, Mundell's construction is still robust and topical. The OCA theory maintains all its relevance at a time of rising regional unions, it is currently being used to help Canada determine the optimal mode of exchange vis-a-vis the currency of the United States—float, dollarization, monetary union—, or to help the Asian countries tempted by the peg and by regional solutions.

This contribution provides a social psychological perspective on the construction of an European identity and its relationships with national identities. We start by demonstrating the importance of collective identities to international relations in general and to the process of European integration in particular. We then focus on the question of national identities. Our analysis emphasizes the constructed nature of national identities as well as the functional dimension of these constructions. Next, we account for the special status of national identities within the range of collective identities. We address some of the reasons for their past and continuing importance in structuring the social world and the reasons why people invest so much in national identities in contrast to many other types of identity. Finally, we point to some further issues which arise from our argument and which have consequences for the construction of Europe and of an European identity. The overall purpose of our contribution is to develop a theoretical understanding of the processes of collective identification and to underline the practical and political consequences of the particular constructions of identity which are or which might be used in the process of European integration.

Do mutual health insurers share a common identity at the European level? This is the question at the heart of this article, the product of an action-research project carried out by the Mutuelle générale de l'Éducation nationale (MGEN, mutual for public education employees) in 2001- 2004. European mutual societies are currently members of the Association internationale de la mutualité (AIM), which was created in 1950, while the first international federation was set up at the beginning of the 20th century. Depending upon the country, European mutual societies can play totally different roles, such as partly running the social-welfare system or providing supplementary health insurance. Nonetheless, the author shows that their identity is composed of shared principles, illustrated by examples taken from brochures, reports and various articles. Risk-pooling, nonprofit status, democratic management, open membership and striving for members' well-being are all concrete components of a unique way of operating that make up the mutualist identity in Europe. In addition to these fundamental characteristics, there are other similar features such as the names of mutual societies and the symbols that appear in logos.