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The Vendée War (1793-1795) was an essential part of the French Revolution (1789-1799). A region of western France, south of Nantes, the Vendée, refused to continue obeying the new authorities of the Republic (1792), against a backdrop of forced military mobilization and anti-Catholic religious persecution. This peasant insurrection, led by nobles like Charette, suffered terrible repression, beyond military counter-insurgency. The Convention, the assembly governing the Republic, was very frightened in 1793, in a context of difficult foreign war and multiple domestic disputes. It took revenge by organizing a populicide in the Vendée. Carrier's infamous massacres in Nantes, carried out to order, were the norm, not a pathological exception. The infernal columns of the Republican army carried out the Vendée genocide. We propose to rediscover these historical facts, sometimes still hidden.

Caring for the welfare of children is a continuous and ongoing process, the foundation of which is a legally sound system. Child-friendly proceedings are designed to ensure the meaningful involvement of children in the decision-making process, which, of course, is manifested in the proper realization of the child’s right to be heard. A child’s right to be heard in civil proceedings is a crucial aspect of child-centred justice, recognizing children as active participants in decision-making. The article studies the evolution of the child’s right to be heard in the international legal system, thus examining international conventions such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and regional documents that recognize the children’s right to participate in decision-making processes related to them. The article analyzes the legal framework applicable in different jurisdictions, including challenges and best practices in exercising the right. In addition, the article discusses the importance of the child’s participation in civil proceedings, emphasizing its impact on the child’s development and well-being and, on the other hand, on the quality of court decisions. The article discusses the relationship between the child’s right to be heard and the standard of protection of the best interests. It emphasizes the need for a multidisciplinary approach when dealing with cases related to children. The article reviews the practical challenges and opportunities related to this issue and circumstances limiting the right, such as age and maturity. The legal ways necessary for better realization of the child’s right to be heard are proposed in the form of recommendations in the article.

The article reveals the formal-legal basis for the institutionalisation of international commercial arbitration. It is found that states are still far from a unified understanding of the basic scope of human rights, but they have a clear common vision of the mechanism for protecting the interests of international commerce. Against the background of the economic and innovative successes of the EU and other countries in the world that have made human rights a priority, it would appear that the source of modern transnational trade problems lies precisely in another group of states in which commercial interests dominate human rights. This second type of state nourishes its development at the expense of the innovations of the first type of state, its constructive and passionate representatives. Innovative solutions are formulated by the freest people, whose freedom is legally and organisationally guaranteed, which becomes a source of release for their creative, productive existential energy. Therefore, the contradictions between these two types of entrepreneurs of nations give rise to commercial disputes regarding the path of development, as well as legal conflicts within each of these types of nations regarding the vector of development or decline. Strategically, it is an ontology of modern problems of international commercial disputes. It is emphasised that the institutionalisation of international commercial arbitration is conceived as the creation of legal models for interpretation, determination of cause-effect relations, assessment of all essential circumstances of commercial relations, about which the parties of this type of social interaction have not reached an agreement and are forced to turn to mediators, to whom they entrust jurisdiction over the dispute between them. It was noted that the legal reality of the institutionalisation of international commercial arbitration reflects the path of human development, which at the present stage is marked by crisis. Logical, rational, clear law is in a permanent process of critical evaluation of the synergy of creative, risky, adventurous, pragmatic entrepreneurship. Ideal legal models absorb the constructive activity of entrepreneurship, foreseeing its long-term prospects as positive. At the same time, it is the task of lawyers to reject those types of economic relationships that threaten common humanity. In conclusion, the UN Commission on International Trade Law is the only global body designed to ensure the optimal course of correlation processes between private international law and transnational commercial activity. At the same time, however, this Commission suffers from all the consequences of the UN's dysfunction. This is particularly evident in the UN's inability to prevent wars, famines, environmental disasters, military crimes and other global crises. It is advisable for the states to create a separate organisation in which they can coordinate their legal standards of joint entrepreneurship in the extractive industries, production, trade, finance, as well as the global environmental, national economic and other consequences of commercial projects. This organisation would become a convenient platform for honest parity in the unification of the legal practice of transnational entrepreneurship and the settlement of its disputes, based on the legal customs and traditions of different nations. This would provide a significant impetus for the healthy creation and application of international private law, capable of determining the vector both of global progress and of appropriate transformations in domestic national economic policies.

The article provides a brief overview of international legal standards and Russian legislation in the field of climate change adaptation. Currently, states are adopting the so-called “climate adaptation plans” and “strategies”, each of which has its own specifics depending on the country, economics, population and the challenges they are caused by. The author aims to reveal the key provisions of the Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement in the context of climate change adaptation, the role of UNEP in the UN system on this issue, as well as the standard forms of “national plans”, which are proposed as framework by international organizations. It is concluded that the majority of international treaties do not attempt to impose a single standard of climate adaptation commitments for all countries without exception, but adopt a flexible approach for specific groups of countries. A review of existing practices on this issue is made, depending on the climatic zone and existing domestic institutions. A separate part is devoted to the Russian legal system in the field of climate adaptation, from legal support to the stages of implementation of the national plan.

This critical review engages with Michael Devitt’s exposition on language theory and communication as presented in his book Overlooking Conventions. The review is comprised of two main sections. In the first, Devitt’s theory is elucidated, encompassing both its negative delineations in relation to linguistic pragmatism/contextualism and its affirmative attributes concerning the pre-eminence of speaker meaning and convention. The second section delves deeper into Devitt’s conception of polysemy, scrutinizing three contentious facets of his approach: (i) the reductive characterization of polysemy and its consequential omission of emerging/new linguistic usages; (ii) the parameter of regularity and its function in distinguishing novel usages from established or conventional ones; and (iii) the principled identification of polysemy and homonymy, coupled with the dismissal of psycholinguistic evidence supporting their differentiation.

The relevance of the development and the improvement of methods for the determination of metabolites (biomarkers) of toxic substances in biological fluids (blood, urine, etc.) is associated with the need to establish facts of humans and animals exposure to toxic chemicals. The need for such analysis arises within the framework of monitoring of the compliance with the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), when conducting investigations into the alleged use of chemical agents, as well as within the framework of the official proficiency tests carried out by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Nowadays there exists the problem of the determination of low­molecular­weight mustard gas biomarkers in biological samples with the use of gas chromatography methods with mass­selective detection. The lowmolecular­weight biomarkers of sulfur mustard (SM) are thiodiglycol, oxides and sulfoxides. The identification and quantitative assessment of SM markers in blood and urine is carried out according to the methods, based on the displacement of thiodiglycol and its derivatives from protein conjugates with titanium trichloride, solidphase extraction, concentration in ethyl acetate solution, derivatization with pentafluorobenzoyl chloride, heptafluorobutyrylimidazole, heptafluorobutyric acid anhydride or chloride, subsequent stripping of the derivative into the appropriate solvent and GH­MS analysis (chemical ionization technique with methane as a reagent gas with the registration of negative ions). After the sample preparation, the limits of detection of the minimum values of ultra­low concentrations of the analyzed biomarkers of SM in urine and blood plasma were determined. After the chromatographic analysis, the corresponding graphs of indicators have been constructed, based on the concentrations of biomarkers in urine and blood plasma. Later on they have been used for the elaboration of the methods for the determination of SM biomarkers in human urine and blood.

L’idée prit corps de convoquer une réunion des Supérieurs des Sociétés Missionnaires le 23 octobre 1905. A cette même année, la commission exécutive ou commission d’examen fut constituée. Elle fut créée afin d’examiner quelles reformes devraient être introduites dans l’administration de l’Etat Indépendant du Congo. Son a été d’éliminer et de prévenir les abus signalés par la commission d’enquête. Les résolutions et propositions formulées dans la réunion des supérieurs, ne concernent nullement ou d’une manière seulement indirecte les relations avec l’Etat Indépendant du Congo. Ce sont des vœux qui se rattachent soit à l’évangélisation soit à l’œuvre civilisatrice en général. Telles sont les résolutions qui traitent des écoles, des taxes et prestation des autochtones, de la question arabe et de la moralité publique.

The last chemical munition from Russian arsenals of chemical weapons has been destroyed September 22, 2017, at the Kizner facility in Udmurtia. Chemical weapons (CW) destruction started at the times of the demise of the USSR and the change of political formation in the country, followed by the collapse of its economy. Russian Federation Government Decree № 305, «On the Approval of the Special Federal Targeted Program for the Destruction of Chemical Weapons Stockpiles in the Russian Federation» (21 March 1996), became an important milestone in Russia`s fulfilling its international commitments, including its chemical weapons disarmament obligations. Due to certain Soviet scientific and technological advances and thanks to the extraordinary efforts and talent of the experts from the Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, from the Federal Agency for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons and from several other scientific research organizations, the CW destruction program has been completed three years ahead of schedule. Two-stage process of chemical neutralization, technically adapted to different types and ways of CW stockpiling, have been used for CW destruction. Seven special facilities have been built in Gorny (Saratov region), Kambarka and Kizner (Udmurt Republic), Maradykovsky (Kirov region), Shchuch'ye (Kurgan region), Leonidovka (Penza region) and Pochep (Bryansk region) for this purpose. 40,000 metric tons of CW have been destroyed at these facilities. The implementation of the Federal Targeted Program three years ahead of schedule saved considerable financial resources for the country and saved the population of the regions where CW stockpiling and destruction facilities have been located, from serious danger in case of any incident or accident.

The article is dedicated to the elaboration of highly sensitive method for the detection of bis(2-N,Ndialkylaminoethyl)disulfides – hydrolysis (degradation) products of highly toxic organophosphorus nerve agents like VX and their analogues. These compounds are subject to the complete prohibition and destruction in accordance with the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction. Thus their detection is of great importance for the monitoring of the compliance with the Convention. The search for the optimum conditions for the chromatographic separation and mass-selective detection for these compounds is based on the OPCW recommendations for the annual international Proficiency Tests. We use gas chromatography as a separation technique. The objects of the research are the homologous organic compounds – bis(2-N,N-diisopropylaminoethyl)disulfide (hydrolysis product of VX-gas) and bis(2-N,N-diethylaminoethyl)disulfide (hydrolysis product of VR-gas). The optimum way of sample preparation is the organic extraction of disulfides from aqueous solution using methylene chloride. During the practical experiments we found out that the most sensitive devices for the detection of bis(2-N,N-dialkylaminoethyl)disulfides were the gas chromatograph Agilent 7890A together with the mass selective detector Agilent 7000B GC/MS Triple Quad and the licenced software Mass Hunter Workstation Software, Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis, version B.04.00. Using the proposed approach, the detection limits of bis(2-N,N-diisopropylaminoethyl) disulfide and bis(2-N,N-diethylaminoethyl)disulfide in water bodies were found to be 0,533±0,003 ng/ml, and 0,68±0,002 ng/ml, respectively.

The development of scientific research methods and dual-use production technologies, the widening of the range of new toxic chemicals, as well as technical possibilities for the development of a new generation of poisonous substances, formally not forbidden by the acting Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, pose a new level of threats to nonproliferation of chemical weapons. Under these circumstances, it is necessary to possess not only legal possibility, but also appropriate laboratory equipment and services for the effective non-proliferation control. Considerable attention in this sphere has been paid earlier to environmental samples for toxic chemicals analysis, including samples of air, soil, vegetation and water. But at the present time the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) gives special emphasis to analysis of biomedical samples (blood, urine) in the context of non-proliferation and investigations of alleged use of chemical weapons and toxic chemicals. The proper sensitivity during the detection and identification of biomarkers of exposure to chemical agents and toxic chemicals can be achieved by gas chromatography- mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS) methods. Efforts in this sphere are now focused on three main tasks – sample preparation, the optimization of the conditions of chromatographic separation of samples, storage and interpretation of mass-spectra characteristics. The article provides examples of how the above mentioned techniques are used in the detection of signs and evidence of exposure to organic phosphorus compounds and sulfur mustard.

First attempts to ban chemical weapons (CW) as a method of warfare have been made since the second half of the XIX century. At the beginning of the XX century, several legal documents – declarations, protocols and conventions, forbidding the use of poisons, poisonous weapons, poisonous and asphyxiating gases and means of their delivery, have been adopted at the international level. But all these documents, including the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and the 1925 Geneva Protocol, turned out to be useless and ineffective as a means of deterrence. They could prevent neither large-scale use of CW in World War I, nor their further development. Instead of the assistance to the prohibition of CW, in fact they assisted their legalization and further arms race. The article is dedicated to the history of first efforts to ban CW by international treaties. It describes in details the circumstances of the elaboration of these declarations, protocols and conventions in connection with other general security problems, their further adoption or breakdown. Special attention is paid to the attitude towards CW at the beginning of the XX century and their use as a means of pressure and propaganda.

This article examines the safeguarding and implementation of the ICH convention using a case study approach in the United Republic of Tanzania context. The study investigated safeguarding measures employed after independence in 1961 and since 2011 when the country became a signatory to UNESCO (2003) convention. The study revealed that the country has still not achieved much in terms of identifying and safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH). The country has neither developed a national inventory nor inscribed any element on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. This situation is due to the failure to understand the philosophical background of the ICH Convention. The negative beliefs of some people that many cultural elements such as rituals and witchcraft are outdated or evil has influenced challenges in safeguarding ICH in Tanzania. Furthermore, fear of bringing identity problems and tribalism issues while there is a feeling that Tanzanians are unified by the Kiswahili language which leads to Swahili culture has also brought negative perspectives towards safeguarding and implementing ICH in the country. Finally, this paper contributes to the discourse on the best practices in safeguarding and implementing ICH.

In work the general principles of transfer of thermal energy in limited space are theoretically considered. To simplify the task, the tasks are defined in the Cartesian coordinate system. The dependence of the transfer on the coefficients of thermal conductivity, heat capacity and eigencoefficients of differential partial differential equations of an inhomogeneous and homogeneous nature are analyzed. Modeling sets initial and boundary conditions. In solving the problem, the method of multiple separation of variables is used. In conclusion, the final form of the function of the phenomenon of heat transfer in a limited space is derived from 4 variables.

Prepared by other iconoclasms, French revolutionary vandalism spared nothing and inspired the destruction of successive revolutions throughout the world. The contradiction lies in the fact that, at the same time, the actors of this drama were developing the idea of heritage that is still prevalent in our country today. There was no shortage of decrees and laws, most of which had no effect. Two prominent examples are briefly discussed here: the desecration of the royal basilica of Saint-Denis and the fate of Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris. The powerlessness of a few men who were aware of the tragedy unfolding before them shows how the machine that mercilessly crushed human beings was also particularly effective in erasing the traces and roots of a two-thousand-year-old culture founded on God and the King.

At the time when great emphasis is being placed on environmental protection as well as on the introduction of environmental safeguards, we are faced with an undesirable phenomenon—environmental crime. Environmental crime represents one of the fastest growing security issues. It is a criminal activity, and like other crimes, it has serious consequences that are costly to eliminate. This article uses systematic analysis and, through scientific methods, points out the growth of environmental crime in Slovakia. At the same time, it introduces possible prevention tools. Our aim is to specify the term ‘environmental crime’, present the legal aspects of environmental crimes by focusing on Slovak legal regulation, extend the topic to bentonite mining and processing companies, map environmental crime in the EU Member States, and clarify the nature of environmental crime as well as the legal basis for the protection of the environment in Slovakia. The findings and conclusions have the potential to introduce a new approach to mapping the topic of environmental crimes, provide recommendations for the prevention of this type of crime, and open a discussion on the actual global problem. It is evident that the effective fight with environmental crime requires a complex and multidisciplinary approach at all levels. This includes, in particular, the use of relevant national policies and instruments, as well as those of the European Union and other international organizations.

The article describes a little-known period in the life of one of the major figures of the French Revolution — Paul Barras (1755-1829). That was the time of his youth, attempts to make a career as a professional military man. At the same time, the formation of his socio-political ideas took place. The study of this figure is undoubtedly important, since Barras played a key role in such turning points of the revolution as: 9 Thermidor — the overthrow of the Jacobin dictatorship and 13 Vendemière (October 5, 1795) — the defeat of a dangerous royalist uprising that almost destroyed the Republic. He will go down in world history as the leader of the Directory regime. The economic troubles of this stage of the French Revolution, the machinations of corrupt officials, political instability — all this will be blamed primarily on him. He was presented as a certain deputy — a businessman closely connected with the so-called new bourgeoisie. A careful study of his youth does not seem to fit well with such ideas and versions. Neither by origin, nor by his way of life, Paul Barras had anything to do with the French bourgeoisie, neither with the old — Rentier, nor with the new — business. It was a typical representative of the noble nobility of the «sword». His attitude to material values was also appropriate. Such people could squander funds, «burn life», but they were not adapted to entrepreneurial activity. Barras was attracted by service in the navy, adventures in the French colonies. Under these conditions, Barras showed himself to be an independent and courageous military officer, able to show ingenuity at a critical moment. And in another way, his behavior resembled the lifestyle of many young nobles of his time. Just like them, he was a member of the Masonic lodge, visited salons, and was attentive to new social trends. Already under the Old Order, this nobleman and naval officer was inclined towards change. The outbreak of the revolution accelerated this process. This study focuses on the previously little-studied moments of Barras’s biography, such as his military career and social life in Paris before the revolution. The work is based on the memoirs of Barras, parliamentary materials, as well as on domestic and foreign scientific literature.

Theories of the state, its functions, limits, and legitimacy have been overwhelmingly “liberal” in the past few decades, in a very broad sense of the term. Such theories are inherently open to a diversity of genders, sexual orientations, and ways of living together because they place equal freedom and the right to prosper according to one’s own ideas front and centre. Illiberal political thinking is of a completely different stock. This article focuses on the role of gender and sexuality in such approaches. Both gender and sexuality are pivotal for illiberalism’s defence of an order that is supposed to overcome Western‐style liberal democracy. In contrast to the liberals’ and their like‐minded critics’ quest for social justice in societies that are traversed by structures of oppression and domination, illiberal political thinking offers an utterly different brand of autocratic rule that keeps conventional hierarchies intact. It only takes note of advanced gender theories to either ridicule them or condemn them as a supposed threat to social cohesion. This article exposes illiberal approaches to gender and sexuality, considering the roots and focus of the former on the dichotomy of public/private and illiberals’ aversion to equality and human rights.

Les conventions de droit matériel ont, dans les domaines où elles interviennent, un effet décisif d'unification. Il en résulte que le droit commercial international de la matière devient commun à tous les Etats contractants. Le seul facteur de diversité devient alors les éventuelles divergences d'interprétation entre les juridictions étatiques ou arbitrales qui auront à connaître de l'application de la convention.

Le principe du non-refoulement qui permet de garantir un accès effectif aux procédures d’asile est consacré par la Convention de Genève relative au statut des réfugiés de 1951, repris par le Protocole de New York de 1967 et par d’autres instruments régionaux. Ce dernier interdit aux États de renvoyer une personne dans un État « où sa vie ou sa liberté serait menacée en raison de sa race, de sa religion, de sa nationalité, de son appartenance à un certain groupe social ou de ses opinions politiques ». Cette étude fait voir que malgré cette protection juridique, le principe de non-refoulement est désormais de plus en plus menacé par d’autres pratiques administratives et aussi par des impératifs d’ordre sécuritaire. Comme conséquence, le demandeur de protection se voit opposer l’irrecevabilité de sa demande et renvoyer vers son pays d’origine ou de transit.

La loi modifiant et complétant le Code de la famille, promulguée le 15 juillet 2016, et entrée en vigueur juste une année après sa promulgation, est venue organiser l’adoption internationale. Les rédacteurs ont sans doute été placés devant une réalité, celle de la lutte contre la traite et l’enlèvement des enfants. Le droit devait donc évoluer. Et dans cette perspective, l’Etat congolais va ratifier la Convention de la Haye de 1993 sur l’adoption internationale, le 18 décembre 2019, entrée en vigueur le 01 avril 2020. L’adoption internationale existe selon cette Convention à partir du moment où les deux parties (l’enfant et les futurs parents) ont établi leur résidence dans les pays différents, même si elles détiennent la même nationalité. Il faut dès lors rechercher la loi applicable et connaître les effets de cette adoption ou sa mise en œuvre, selon les règles du droit congolais, et dans le respect de la convention sur l’adoption internationale ratifiée.

The subject of study. The article examines certain aspects to realize freedom of thought and expression, as well as the acceptable limits. Freedom of thought, speech and expression issues are considered separately in the context of the religious component, its characteristics in the Islamic religion. The provisions of the main sources in the Muslim system of law – the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet and Messenger of Muhammad (May Allah bless him) have been studied in sufficient details. The legal analysis on the issues under consideration was carried out based on doctrinal opinions, the current Russian and international legal acts, judicial practice, including the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. The article describes extremism through the prism of freedom of thought, speech and expression. It is noted that extremist activity is one of the consequences of misinterpretation, true awareness and perception of freedom of thought, speech and expression.The purpose of the study. The main purpose of the study is to clarify the origins of conflicts in the process of realizing freedom of thought, speech and expression, and substantiate the hypothesis that freedom of thought, speech and expression should have certain boundaries, especially in context of the influence of the religious factor.The methodology of the study. The study is based on a dialectical approach to the disclosure of legal phenomena and processes using general scientific methods (systemic method, logical method, method of analysis and synthesis) and special scientific methods. Among the latter there are formal legal method, linguistic method, comparative legal method, which have found their application in the legal analysis to realize freedom of thought, speech and expression.Conclusions. As a result, it is emphasized that freedom of thought, speech and expression is the achievement of modern mankind, one of the foundations of a democratic system and an element of civil society. The state-guaranteed opportunity for individuals to exercise these freedoms in society is a guarantee of a "healthy" society in the legal sense. However, as practice shows, unlimited freedom leads to its abuse, thereby infringing on the freedoms of other individuals and therefore, freedom of speech and its expression presupposes the existence of boundaries outlined by the state in the interests of society. The specifics of freedom of thought, speech and expression in the Muslim system of law based on the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet (May Allah bless him), is that this freedom ends where the border line begins, designated by the law of the Most High.

Introduction “Tradition” is one of the widely used concepts in different fields of human sciences and has its specific use and special idiomatic meaning in diverse subcategories including philosophy, theology, sociology and literature. That is why this concept is closely connected to an extended range of concepts in different fields of human sciences. Even though there are common elements in the definition of tradition in these fields, its accurate and distinctive definition in each has exclusive elements and meaningful differences. In all these diverse semantic fields, literary tradition is quite remarkable as one of the most notable components leading to the creation of literary works. Regarding the outstanding role of the two concepts of literary tradition and innovation, in the present study, first, the views of Iranian authorities and their offered definitions of these terms are examined and criticized; then, their views are compared to those of non-Iranian theorists to offer an opportunity to the readers to critically compare these concepts from different views. That is due to the fact that when these terms are explained in detail, it is much easier to know features rooted in tradition as well as turn-points of innovation and making changes in tradition; So it becomes clear how important a role the writers and poets had owing to their literary innovation and their choice to deviate from or follow the tradition. Methodology In the present paper, first, the views of Iranian critics, authorities and writers regarding the definition of tradition and innovation, elements leading to them and the correlation between the two concepts are expressed and some examples are mentioned for each. Then, these definitions are compared to those of Western and Arabian writers and their common and different points are highlighted. Discussion The definitions of literary tradition offered are diverse regarding the composing elements and the conditions leading to tradition. Most of the definitions, including the ones offered by Sima Dad, Ehsan Yarshater and Fatemeh Sayyah, consider literary tradition something like literary norms, principles and rules, and diverse elements including subject matters, themes, forms of prose and poetry, figures of speech and the like as composing elements of literary tradition. Nevertheless, in some definitions, including the ones offered by Jamal Mirsadeghi and Meimanat Zolghadr among the Iranian thinkers and T. S. Eliot among the Western ones, literary tradition is regarded much more extended and includes every sign of literary past and heritage left from past generations in a literary work which makes literary tradition a complicated and at the same time expanded term. On one hand, when it makes elements of tradition, there is usually an emphasis on repetition. In most definitions of literary tradition, repetition and continuance in a long period is the necessary condition to form a literary tradition. In the definitions offered by Sima Dad, Fatemeh Sayyah, Jamal Mirsadeghi and meimanat Zolghadr, there is an emphasis on repetition. On the other hand, in some definitions, there is no necessity for repetition and all of the literary history in a language, literary heritage of any kind, even the most exceptional ones, are considered as literary tradition. Among the Iranian writers, Taghi Poornamdairan, and among the Westerns, Eliot and Gadamer affirm this definition of tradition. This difference is much more significant when we have in mind the fact that there are some features in the works of literary geniuses and pioneering people which, due to this aspect of genius and forward-lookingness, have not been imitated nor repeated after them and have remained unique and exceptional. In such a circumstance, if the condition of repetition is extremely emphasized, some of the most significant and outstanding literary works do not find a way to the circle of literary tradition. To find a way out, the two concepts of the style of the age and individual style might be helpful, the two paradoxical views which can be reconciled by the fact that these unique features were not repeated at the time and even at the close periods following the time of their being created, which made them unable to form a literary tradition, but in many cases, they have been found worthy and significant after a period of time, imitated, repeated and considered as literary tradition as well. Regarding the definition of innovation, it is worth mentioning that contrary to the concept of tradition, innovation by itself has not been much attractive and its correlation with tradition has been of more importance. In other words, innovation has mostly been meaningful in contrast to tradition and not independently. However, the most important point in present definitions by many Iranian and non-Iranian thinkers, including Mashallah Ajoudani and Ali Ahmad Said (Adunis), is the emphasis on accompaniment of innovation with identity, nobility and independence in every literary work. While discussing the correlation between tradition and innovation, the main part of diverse definitions, the issue emphasized by many Iranian, Arabian and Western authorities, including Taghi Poornamdarian and Ali Mohammad Haghshenas among the Iranian thinkers and Eliot and Roman Jakobson among the Western ones, is the emphasis on their accompaniment, and it is tried to exposit and explain the dynamic and dialectic relation of the two concepts. So, innovation can only be durable and acceptable while based on tradition and tradition can only survive and pull through while opening the way for innovation to be revealed and acknowledged. That is why there are two kinds of innovation, one based on tradition and born out of traditional heritage and the other not rooted in tradition, isolated and separated. It is based on the first kind of innovation that some Iranian and Arabian authorities, including Abbas Milani and Adunis, hope to find the roots of the contemporary modernity and innovation in historical periods and deep in the pioneering and developed movements of eastern traditional thinking. Conclusion Tradition and innovation are two important and functional concepts in different fields of human sciences. Although the definitions of the two offered by Iranian and non-Iranian critics are different, they have many significant similarities. Analysis and examination of diverse definitions from a general view leads to the fact that they are different from two aspects: the extendedness of the composing elements of tradition and the necessity of repetition to form it. The definitions which consider more extended features of form and content seem to offer a more accurate definition of tradition. Moreover, apparently, despite the affirmation of the condition of repetition in forming a tradition, the condition is applicable not only in immediate imitation but also in further imitation in later periods and centuries. Therefore all features related to the form and content of past literary works, which have been repeated, continued and circulated after a short or long period, form a literary tradition. Regarding innovation, it is worth mentioning that its dynamic and complicated relationship with tradition, is the main essence of literary works which is, on the one hand, the guarantor of the durability and success of literary innovations and on the other, the main cause of revival and renaissance of tradition. e constituent elements and the presence or absence of repetition among the conditions of the formation of tradition. Accordingly, all the formal and content features that exist in literary works and are repeated, and survived after short or long periods of time, form the literary tradition. In the case of innovation, its dynamic relationship with tradition is the main essence of literary works and is the guarantor of the success of innovations and will lead to a continuous renaissance of tradition.

The subject of this study is confiscation of unlawfully acquired assets’, with special focus on Kosovo. The study centers in handling of the notion and types of confiscation, purpose of confiscation, confiscation decision making authorities’, confiscation procedure and administration of confiscated assets. Moreover, this study presents and elaborates few pertinent data on confiscation of assets and highlights some challenges, problems, and advantages of the confiscation institute. The results of this study confirm that confiscation of assets in Kosovo impacted directly in fighting and dismantling of few organized criminal groups and activities, however, there are yet multiple tasks to be completed, few of which are rather challenging. Further in this study are prescribed the activities of Courts and other relevant institutions in Kosovo related with confiscation of unlawfully acquired assets, in addition there are specific measures prescribed to promote their effectivity in this matter while addressing the requirements of the law and Kosovo society in overall. For purposes of this paper were used legal, comparative, descriptive, case study and statistical methods.

In this paper, we focus on terrorism through the criminal legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the existing scientific fund, professional literature, various organizations, institutions, political entities, there is not a sufficient degree of agreement to be able to form a court that there is, in general, a generally accepted definition of terrorism. On the other hand, given the various activities and actions, results, effects and consequences of terrorist organizations and terrorists, we must state that there is a very high degree of agreement, that terrorism is one of the biggest security and security threats today. The growing increase in terrorist actions and threats has led to the implementation of new legislative norms in order to better counter terrorism. Organized crime at the international level and terrorist activities increasingly require the connection of states, international organizations through Conventions, Resolutions or Laws. Terrorism acts ambivalently and as a threat to the stability of society, states and their development on a global level. The expansion of terrorism over time has surprised many organizations, institutions, whose goal is to preserve security, where the need for reforms has arisen. Through the laws in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we will see how the legislator has solved the issue of terrorism and what are the consequences for those who do not adhere to them.

PURPOSE This study aims to show that the ground for moral condemnation for an act, including cheating, is too vague and ambiguous in sports. Further, in sports, such condemnation and moral assessment must be found in ethical conventions within sports communities. METHODS I discuss how to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable conduct in sports—what exactly is a moral action in sports, and on what basis moral condemnation or praise can be imposed on an action. These are discussed to understand the complexity and ambiguity of sports norms. Next, by examining the concept of cheating offered by prominent moral philosophers and sports philosophers, I argue that the concept of cheating does not have a useful moral compass for identifying cheating in sports. Finally, I show that the practical reasons used by sports communities to justify the normative qualification of actions in a specific way cannot be separated from the practical reasons produced by sports practices. RESULTS I argue that, since cheating in sports does not have the status or qualification of a concept, the evaluation of ethical behavior in sports should be based on the conventional norms instituted within the realm of sport as its starting point and moral basis. CONCLUSIONS Therefore, the normative evaluation of whether an action in sports has been ethically justified should be undertaken from a conventional evaluative perspective operating within the sports community rather than relying on a philosophical verification based on independent reason outside sports.

This article aims to analyze images from using makeup for meaning through news announcers and interpretation of makeup via visual methodologies. The study showed that makeup communication by news announcers uses social code, culture code, elaborated code, broadcast code, and representation code to define the meaning of makeup. In addition, the interpretation required 5 basic requirements including, 1) content resulting in makeup structure and artistic elements 2) color using natural light colors for makeup 3) spatial organization positioning makeup in systems using the dominance of makeup 4) light applying for prominence and face concealment and removal and 5) expression content using the emotional expression in codes and acting as metalingual for beauty and reliabilit.

Vienna Convention is one of the most important conventions on trade of goods. It is one of the unified conventions on transport of goods from a country to the other. This convention had a unification effect towards unifying the obligatory law in the entire world. It has directly influenced the international trade and the transport of goods as well as the relationships between countries on the trade and the transport. It had influenced a lot the interstate relationships related to the free market and the customs and their unification, especially those between neighboring states that aspire membership in various international organizations. Hence it has achieved to unify the civil law in the entire world which was not achieved by drafting a Civil Code in Europe even though it was an attempt. Vienna Convention has its structure which is divided into several articles that are part of most of the domestic legislations in the countries of Europe. The author using methods of comparison analysis, systemic analysis and the historical analysis tries to analyze the impact of Vienna convention in the Kosovo positive domestic legislation.

The Great Dictionary of Taoism, published by Huaxia Publishing House in 1994 and compiled by the Chinese Taoist Association and Suzhou Taoist Association, is the first comprehensive reference book on Taoism in the world. The dictionary has provided invaluable assistance for scholars of Taoism. However, in the last three decades, with the flourishing research on the language of Taoist literature, the inadequacies in the Great Dictionary of Taoism have gradually become apparent. Therefore, a systematic revision of this dictionary is necessary. Based on a selection of 700 typical entries with obvious problems from the Great Dictionary of Taoism, this paper conducts a detailed study of their errors from five key areas: entries, meanings, definitions, documentary evidence, and convention. By providing examples and proposing correctional suggestions, the paper aims to provide a necessary reference for the revision of the Great Dictionary of Taoism. The Great Dictionary of Taoism serves as a vital link between the sacred world and the secular society in Taoism, and this study will help Taoist priests, believers, and researchers accurately understand complex Taoist ideologies and practice patterns. It is significant for the inheritance and promotion of Taoist culture.

The aim of this article is to present the concept of administration, showing the features of this legal institution, and the types of administration, and to identify the specificity for each administration type and the legal regime for each type of administration, as well as the manager’s obligations.

Bu yazıda, Kavram Atlası Projesi’nin bir ürünü olan Kelam I ve Kelam II kitaplarının kritiği yapılmaktadır. Kelam I cildi, başlangıç düzeyindeki; Kelam II cildi ise ilk cildin tamamlayıcısı olarak orta ve ileri düzey okuyucu ve araştırmacılara yönelik olarak hazırlanmıştır. Söz konusu iki ciltlik eser, Kelam literatürünü oluşturan eserlerin kavramsal düzeyde genel çerçevesini ortaya koymayı ve bu sayede Kelam’ın gelişim seyrini takip edebilmeyi amaçlamaktadır.

The aim of the article is to propose a new way of perceiving and researching meetings and events, which in turn will contribute to our understanding of how to stimulate the development of this sector more effectively. Thus far, researchers have tended to emphasize the economic importance of meetings. The article presents an innovative research approach concerning one specific type of meetings, namely “congresses”. This new paradigm focuses on the institutional role of congresses. The analysis has identified the functions that congresses perform in relation to market stakeholders and the relationships between them that create cooperation. Convention Bureaus and Congress Ambassadors were identified as new institutions that have added to the development of the entire congress market. As the most important for the development of Meeting Industry, the article indicates the synergy between the stakeholders of the sector and the activation of the demand side by strengthening the role of associations.

This article seeks to explore the symbolical relevance of love links and locks present in the pastoral drama Flori, published Maddalena Campiglia in 1588. I demonstrate how theatre enabled a woman writer of the Italian Renaissance to express herself on marital conventions and female freedom, whatever her social status and her desires for artistic and personal self-affirmation might have been.

The suggestions outlined here include the following. Money is a bundle of institutionally sustained causal powers. Money is an institutional universal instantiated in generic currencies and particular money tokens. John Searle’s account of institutional facts is not helpful for understanding the nature of money as an institution (while it may help to illuminate aspects of the nature of currencies and money particulars). The money universal is not a social convention in David Lewis’s sense (while currencies and money particulars are characterized by high degrees of conventionality). The existence of the money universal is dependent on a larger institutional structure and cannot be understood in terms of collective belief or acceptance or agreement separately focusing on money. These claims have important implications for realism about money.

The article examines the theoretical and legal foundations of economic crimes of a transnational nature formed under the influence of globalisation processes in the world, the growth of international crime and other factors. The author provides a conceptual description of transnational crime as the main category of transnational criminal law, including economic crimes. Scientific views of domestic and foreign scientists on the nature of crimes of an international nature, including criminal acts in the economic sphere are analysed; the most dangerous and widespread economic crimes are characterised. Attention is paid to the legal regulation of these relations, universal and regional conventions, other sources. The authors justify the need to criminalise transnational economic crimes in national law, regardless of whether a particular state is a party to international conventions adopted by international organisations. The authors pay special attention to the characteristics of the subjects of the crime and reveals the debatable nature of their definition, in particular, analyse the problematic nature of the recognition of a legal entity as a subject of crime. The authors use a conceptual approach to clarifying the subject of study, which determines the reasonability of theoretical research, and modern principles of scientific methodology: the principle of scientific pluralism, impartiality, comprehensiveness of research, historicism, complexity and others. A modern requirement in the methodology of science is the rejection of methodological monism, which has long been dominant in theoretical and historical studies of social (including legal) phenomena and the rejection of the ideology of scientific knowledge, which provides an objective, unbiased attitude to any legal phenomena, legal systems, etc. The purpose of the article is to provide theoretical and legal characteristics of international crime in the economic sphere, identify the transnational nature of these crimes, clarify the state of legal regulation of these relations at the international level, as well as international cooperation to combat these crimes. Based on the study and theoretical generalisation of the research topic, the authors emphasise the following conclusions: modern world problems are global in nature; economic crime transcends borders and becomes international; economic crimes of a transnational nature are recognised as socially dangerous acts that encroach on the system of social relations in the field of financial and credit, investment, information, trade, etc. activities, and have a transnational nature, i.e. go beyond one state; countering economic crimes of a transnational nature is within the internal competence of states, but international cooperation in this area also has an objective basis; the legal basis of international cooperation of states are international legal anti-criminal conventions, which define the criminal acts and obligations of states to criminalise economic crimes and provide legal assistance in criminal proceedings, in particular in extradition and transfer of accused and convicted persons, disposal of confiscated property, joint investigation and other issues.

The article is focused on a diplomatic, legal, and institutional analysis of the situation of older persons and people with disabilities in the view of the United Nations in the context of the unprecedented circumstances generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It critically examines the current situation caused by this pandemic and the way in which it is the subject of diplomatic debates in the UN General Assembly, the Security Council, and the World Health Organisation from the perspective of the most severely affected persons. The article presents the main resolutions adopted in this field, highlighting, at the same time, the regional efforts to win the battle against COVID-19. Moreover, it emphasises the need for joint action at global level to promote global solidarity in order to identify realistic solutions, acceptable to all the countries in the world. The article cites the most important international documents that will guide the cooperation of states in preventing and combating pandemics, with special reference to older persons and people with disabilities.

Humanity today is facing a series of changes. These changes concern the human habitat in general, cities and urban complexes in particular. The globalization, markets and production methods cause population movements between regions and towards cities, mainly to bigger cities. It is necessary to reconsider internationally the place of cultural heritage and its role in the future of countries and peoples, due to the changes in the political governance, economic development and globalization, the danger of marginalization and the extinction faced by many communities, as well as the gradual erosion of traditional beliefs and convictions. The loss of the valuable patrimonial fund represents a cultural, scientific, economic loss, but, first of all, an identity loss: the disregard of history leads to the dilution of the feeling of belonging to the national community. The lack of a patrimonial conscience of decision-makers and the population must be remedied by a set of complex legislative and operational measures, whose public awareness component is essential. Thus, in order to outline policies, programs and projects in the field of cultural heritage, which would consolidate the territorial development of our country, this study aims to make a diagnosis of the international regulatory framework in terms of both its historical evolution (because it will allow us to better understand its origins and further evolution), as well as the strengths and gaps that exist at this time. However, the state institutions and organizations responsible for the protection, conservation and improvement of cultural heritage must develop their skills, tools, attitudes and, in many cases, their role in the process of creating and implementing regulations in this field, taking into account the international and national legislation.

The article examines, in a comparative perspective, both legal framework of the European Union and Council of Europe and case law of the Court of Justice of European Union and European Court of Human Rights in order to highlight superior level of the right to a healthy environment European protection. The multitude of concepts related to the environmental protection and their connections require compulsory conceptual delimitations. As other international and regional organizations, the European Union expresses interest in environmental protection, consecrating to it numerous legal instruments, the most relevant of these, in terms of human rights, being the Charter of Fundamental Rights, in which (Article 37) is provided expressly that environmental protection is a fundamental right, unlike the Council of Europe where this right is recognized only as an indirect right. Affiliation of this right to a certain category of rights – global rights, solidarity rights or individual or collective rights – has been a source of both doctrinal and jurisprudential disputes. Genuine interdependence with other fundamental rights such as the right to life, the right to private and family life, right to property and right to information ensues from the substance of the right to protection of the environment. The presentation of the principles which outline the content of the right in discussion emphasizes that the Charter text was drafted in accordance with the latest developments in the field of normative and jurisprudential environment established at international, regional and national levels, respectively, in interaction with the principle of sustainable development. Finally, an analysis of the most frequent modalities of environmental degradation contributes to find proper mechanisms for a better guarantee of the respect of environmental protection as a fundamental right.

Year 1956 was an important year for international road and freight transport. By this year Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR) was made. The basic purpose of the Convention was to unify the rules in the international carriage of goods and thereby promote development of international trade. From the practical point of view, this was very important for both carriers and transporters. This Convention also describes the most important document in the international carriage of goods, which includes the consignment note of CMR as well. Recently this document is often associated with the term neutralization. Objective of this article was to clarify the meaning of this phrase in transport. In addition, the aim was to find out in what range carriers have real experience with neutralization of the consignment note of the CMR during the transport, for what types of goods and on what types of routes is the neutralization being used the most.

The suggestions outlined here include the following. Money is a bundle of institutionally sustained causal powers. Money is an institutional universal instantiated in generic currencies and particular money tokens. John Searle’s account of institutional facts is not helpful for understanding the nature of money as an institution (while it may help to illuminate aspects of the nature of currencies and money particulars). The money universal is not a social convention in David Lewis’s sense (while currencies and money particulars are characterized by high degrees of conventionality). The existence of the money universal is dependent on a larger institutional structure and cannot be understood in terms of collective belief or acceptance or agreement separately focusing on money. These claims have important implications for realism about money.

The imbalance between the number of labor force and the number of jobs makes employment opportunities abroad one of solution to reduce unemployment. Indonesia has established regulations relating to the placement of Indonesian Migrant Workers through Law Number 18 of 2017 concerning Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers. Meanwhile, long before the formation of this law, an international agreement was made regarding the protection of migrant workers and their families through the International Convention On The Protection Of The Rights Of All Migrant Workers And Members Of Their Families which was initiated on 18 December 1990 in New York, United States. In this research, an assessment of Law no. 18 of 2017 concerning the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers against compliance with the principles contained in the International Convention On The Protection Of The Rights Of All Migrant Workers And Members Of Their Families was carried out. From the research, it is found that the Convention has been able to influence the legal norms in Law no. 18 of 2017 with the strengthening of human values through the principles and the existence of Indonesian Migrant Workers rights which do not only regulate Indonesian Migrant Workers themselves but also related to their family rights.

The international conventions for high seas had provided that each ship must have one flag only and must not change its flag during the voyage or for any reason. However, in the last years many ships have infringed this rule and had registered with other states that had allowed any foreign ships to register in their ports. These states are an open registry states, which are known as 'Flag of Convenience' states. This change of the flag during the voyage, which caused a lot of problems, was for a political and economic reasons either to make their own profit or to avoid their flag state fees. Notably, such phenomenon is considered as a maritime fraud, which will impact the maritime world and disseminate chaos on the high seas. For these reasons, this paper will highlight the duplication of the nationality for the ships issue and analyse the effects of this negative behaviour.

In the first half of the twentieth century, the European continent was devastated by two wars and the human rights have been trampled to an unprecedented degree. The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is directly inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). It safeguards a list of rights and freedoms that the Western European governments in the postwar period accepted without hesitation, being fundamental to such an extent that it deserves international recognition. The Convention ensures, among other things, the right to judicial protection, freedom of expression, assembly and association and freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Additional protocols include property rights, the right to education, to free elections and the abolition of the death penalty, and others.

In this paper, has been proposed Algorithm for standard JPEG2000 part one for image compression. The proposed Algorithm was executed by using MATLAB7.11 environment, applied these algorithm on the gray and color images for type of the images natural, medical, Graphics images and remote sensing. Dependence on the Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) for comparing the result of the proposed Algorithm by using the Daubechies filters 5/3 tap filter and 9/7 tap filter Biothogonal , Another comparison is held concerning the obtained results of the algorithm of ModJPEG and Color-SPECK. Proved the processing results Efficiency performance of proposed Algorithm.

Relevance. In September, 2017 the International Convention on Control of Ships’ Ballast Waters and sediments, in which the Russian Federation takes part, came into effect.Aim of article is to cover the results of implementation of the Convention in Russia, regarding selection and analysis of ballast waters tests for compliance with the international standard.Material and methods. The materials for work were data on ship arrivals at the international seaports of the Russian Federation, provided by sanitary and quarantine departments of the Russian ports, and monitoring researches of ballast waters in seaports of some regions of the Russian Federation. Analytical, bacteriological, molecular methods were applied.Results. The studies of ballast waters in the Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions have been conducted for the first time in 2018, and in the Rostov region the study lasts since 2010. The laboratory researches of ships’ ballast showed that E. coli, Enterococcus spp. were in norm, V. cholerae O1 and O139 in ballast were absent. 12 of 21 ballast water tests investigated by specialists of the Rostov region laboratories contained V. cholerae non-O1/non-O139, ballast was taken on the ships which arrived from Romania and Turkey.Сonclusion. The results of the molecular and genetic researches suggest that there is a probability of V. сholeraе introduction brougth with ship ballast. Management decisions are demanded to ensure biological safety of shipping and to decrease intestinal infections incidence in residents of the seaside cities.

This study aims to analyze the narrative structure or formula in several soccer-themed movies; namely Garuda di Dadaku, Shaolin Soccer, Bend it Like Beckham, Barefoot Dreams, and Air Bud 3: World Pup. The writers try to see the convention in the entire movies and show up the invention that makes the movie different from each other. In analyzing, the writers use the descriptive method and structuralism theory as the approach of popular literature. The result shows that there are six conventions; the introduction of the main character that have problems, the main character’s initiative to solve problems, the problem is slightly solved, the suspense of success, the increasingly complex problem in the climax, and happy ending. Meanwhile, the inventions contained in the movies are more about culture. The producers try to combine this ball theme with a culture that is prevalent in the community so that it feels more familiar with the audience being the target market.

Prior to the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982, fisheries played only a minor role in the economies of most developing countries. Fisheries resources in waters adjacent to the coasts of many developing countries were largely exploited by fishers from the developed nations of the world who had the requisite technologies for deep-sea fishing. These technologies were lacking in developing countries, resulting in sub-optimal marine fishing. However, the adoption of UNLCOS in 1982 introduced novel principles for the governance of marine fisheries. It was widely believed that these innovations would enhance and stabilise fishing rights, redistribute income from marine fisheries to the advantage of developing countries and reduce the incidents of international conflicts concerning fishing rights. This paper critically examines the various ways through which UNCLOS has enhanced and stabilised fishing rights for the benefit of all States, especially developing countries. It asserts that due to various challenges that continue to confront developing countries with respect to the utilisation of marine fisheries, the benefits anticipated to accrue to them under UNCLOS have remained elusive throughout the thirty years since the Convention was adopted. The paper makes suggestions for the improvement of fisheries resources utilisation among developing countries.

Resumen: Tras la aprobación de la Constitución ha habido importantes avances en el estatuto jurídico del paciente en general y del paciente mental en particular. Sin embargo, la regulación de los derechos del paciente mental ha sido menos detallada y más incompleta. Existen en esta materia importantes carencias, al ser la regulación existente mínima, sin tener en cuenta los más relevantes instrumentos internacionales de referencia. Con la aprobación de la Convención de Nueva York se han producido importantes reformas legales respecto a las personas con discapacidad. No ha sucedido lo mismo con los enfermos mentales. En esta materia existe un considerable retraso en la adaptación de nuestro ordenamiento jurídico a la Convención. Y además se plantean importantes problemas para su implementación, al cambiar el modelo asistencial tradicional (rehabilitador) por el modelo social y al utilizarse en la Convención conceptos (así, capacidad jurídica) no coincidentes con otros propios de la tradición legislativa española. La interpretación que de la Convención ha llevado a cabo el Comité de Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad añade dificultades para la homologación de nuestro ordenamiento a la Convención. Con este panorama es evidente que quedan pendientes muchos retos para abordar en el futuro, y para ello es preciso el establecimiento de un previo diálogo racional. Abstract: After the approval of the Constitution there have been major improvements on the juridical status of the patient in general and specifically of the mental kind. Nevertheless the regulation of the rights regarding the mental patients has been less thorough. Consequently there are significant deficiencies regarding this matter, being the existing regulations minimal, those which do not take on account the most relevant international reference tools. With the approval of the New York Convention major legal reforms have been introduced regarding the sensory and physically handicapped. However not the same has happened with the case of those with mental conditions. On this subject exists a sizable delay on the adaptation of our juridical application to this Convention. Furthermore major problems arise for its implementation. This changes the traditional assistance model (towards rehabilitation) for the social model and uses new concepts brought by the Convention (legal capacity) which do not coincide with other ones characteristic of the Spanish legislative tradition. The interpretation of the Convention done by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adds difficulties to validate our regulation to the Convention. With all this in mind it is clear to see that there are many challenges to take on the future, being necessary for this the implementation of a previous rational dialogue.

Metaphor, as is known, has been considered an expression of the creative approach of a subject to language and thinking. Metaphor enables the subject of cognition and action to establish meaning – the subject exercises semiosis not only by referring to the former convention and the situational context, but also by transforming it due to the distinct act of turning the metaphor into an instrument of expression. The innovative character of metaphor allows one to consider it in the context of performative theory, whereas its receptive, evocative character requires interpretation from the recipient. In both cases, metaphor in acts of communication, opens their participants towards specific expressions – performative expression in the case of individual semantic innovation, and receptive expression in the case of the interpretation of former metaphors. The specific example of silence, considered as a kind of metaphor within the frameworks of the performative theory, is the subject-matter of the paper. The basic question of the paper, referring to John L. Austin’s speech act theory and to his followers, is related to the source of the aforementioned metaphorization – to what degree is it an intention of language users, and to what degree is it a language convention which allows one to combine words and establish new associations metaphorically? In his pragmatic concept of meaning, Austin stresses the role of the context of an utterance – the situational context may also enable the establishment of metaphor as a figure of speech that dynamizes and moves our thinking.

Constitutions are fundamental documents having political, as well as legal functions. In this respect, one of the most prominent functions of constitutions is their (political) integrative function. As such, constitutions help to develop an overarching identity that would remain above the plurality of opinions and interests that exist within a society and develop a communal spirit and a collective identity which, in return, would develop a minimum social cohesion that is required to maintain a functioning social order. Modern constitutions, being products of the nation-state era, have thus far delivered such function at the national level. The biggest exception to this rule is the “Constitution of the European Union”, being an initiative at the supranational level. In this study, the emergence and the failure of such initiative is examined, followed by an explanation of the underlying dynamics with reference to the integrative function of constitutions. The article concludes with the prediction that, under the continuing pressure coming from several crisis at the subnational, national and supranational levels, integrative function of the constitutions will remain its place at the top of the agenda in all those respective domains.

While Aristotle’s and St. Thomas’s teachings about economics are often ridiculed today, this article argues that actually what they had to say about this issue, especially about the nature of sound currency, backed up by force of law, is quite profound. According to both of them, sound money plays an essential role in the preserving commutative justice within States. By so doing, it preserves communication between talented people who make qualitatively unequal contributions to a State’s continued existence and welfare.