code: public static boolean isNormalizedPathAbsolute(String nPath) {
          boolean retval = "..".equals(nPath) || nPath.startsWith("../") || nPath.startsWith("/..");
          //System.out.println("returning " + retval);
          return !retval;
      }
docs: Tell if a path, if applied to a target location, will reach above the
  target location. The path must use forward slashes and must have
  all ".." elements resolved.
  
  The path reaches above target locations if it is "..", or if it starts
  with "../" or starts with "/..".
  
  @param normalizedPath The path which is to be tested.
  
  @return True or false telling if the path reaches above target locations.