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In the modern legal system, legal structures play an important role in ensuring effective enforcement of both substantive and procedural law. That is why the author has selected an appropriate source (scientific and normative) base, and has formed the goal and objectives that fully reveal the subject matter of the study. The author emphasizes that substantive law regulates basic social relations by establishing the rights and obligations of subjects, while procedural law provides mechanisms for their actual implementation and protection. Legal constructions are a legal instrument which allows to organize legal provisions, ensuring their clarity, universality and unambiguous implementation. In addition, the author examines the internal construction of a legal provision and a legal prescription, and the correlation of these legal phenomena. The author emphasizes such an important characteristic of the legal construction of a legal provision as a genetic link, which is used to further form legal institutions, sub-branches and branches of substantive and procedural law. The article focuses on the analysis of the role of legal constructions of substantive and procedural rules of law in the process of law enforcement. The author separately considers the issues of their creation, application and impact on the efficiency of legal regulation. The author examines the interaction of substantive and procedural law through the prism of legal constructions of legal norms, which allows identifying key aspects of their systemic effect in the legal system. The work contains examples from the current legislation, in particular, the Civil, Civil Procedure Codes of Ukraine and other legal acts. The author examines the case law which demonstrates the practical value of the issue raised and the need for proper construction of legal provisions at the stage of law-making, which results in their further implementation. The author characterizes the impact of legal constructions on legal practice and their role in ensuring legal stability and predictability. Based on the study, the relevant conclusions were formed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the study of the legal category “witness immunity”, which is used in civil proceedings. The question of the legal nature of the immunity of a witness in civil proceedings and the practical application of the norms of the current civil procedural legislation, which creates the possibility of the existence of such a legal category, is relevant in the conditions of the focus of the current legislation on the observance of human rights and the provision of guarantees for the realization of the rights and legitimate interests of a person. Therefore, special attention in the article is devoted to clarifying the legal benefit of witness immunity and the role of this legal instrument in ensuring the legal rights and interests of a person during the consideration of a civil case in court. Тhe article analyzes the norms of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, which establish the legal status of a witness in civil proceedings. Particular attention was paid to the characteristic features of witness participation in civil proceedings. The author emphasizes the importance of protecting a person’s private interest during civil proceedings. During the research, it was established that the immunity of a witness in the scientific literature is interpreted both as the right of a person involved in the consideration of a civil case in court as a witness, and as a privilege that distinguishes a witness from other participants in the legal process. Based on the analysis of the norms of the current legislation and sources of scientific legal literature, conclusions were made that allow us to assert that the immunity of a witness in civil proceedings is a component of the procedural status of a witness. It was also concluded that the immunity of a witness is precisely the right of a person involved in the consideration of a court case as a witness, which is due to the need to observe the rights and freedoms of a person during civil proceedings, and is also a form of embodying the priority of a person’s private interests. And that is why it is not appropriate to consider the immunity of a witness as a privilege of a person and an advantage of the participation of a witness in civil proceedings in comparison with other participants in the judicial process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the formal and substantive interrelationship between the principle of proportionality and modern constitutionalism, elucidating the essence of the phenomenon of constitutionalism through its characteristics and the role of the principle of proportionality in its establishment and development. Based on the works of domestic and foreign researchers on constitutionalism, it has been assumed that the key value and feature of modern constitutionalism is the limitation of state arbitrariness, the inadmissibility of unjustified interference (restriction) of human rights and freedoms, and the partnership relations between the individual and the state. This, in turn, must be guaranteed, ensured, measured, and evaluated by specific legal instruments, one of the most important and applicable of which is the principle of proportionality. The impact of the principle of proportionality on the development of constitutionalism is analyzed through its function and purpose, demonstrating the direct dependence of the exercise of state power based on the constitution and in accordance with the principle of the rule of law on the adherence to the principle of proportionality by public administration. The provision that real constitutionalism can only be discussed when all its values are considered and protected in the process of law-making and law enforcement, not at an abstract-formal level, but in each specific case of interference (restriction) of human rights, subjected to a consistent and structured proportionality test, has received further development. It is concluded that the principle of proportionality plays a key role in the development of modern constitutionalism. Considering the contemporary challenges faced by human rights and freedoms, it has been concluded that the principle of proportionality is the safeguard intended to protect human rights and freedoms by addressing questions regarding the legitimate aim of certain state actions, the necessity of such actions, the adequacy and relevance of the means chosen by the state to achieve such an aim, the balance between the potential benefit for public interests and the extent of the restriction of rights, etc., which is a crucial factor not only in ensuring but also in developing modern constitutionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of livestock in riparian areas raises several questions about the conservation and sustainable use of water resources and biodiversity in Brazil. Although the Native Vegetation Protection Law (No. 12,651) focuses on riparian vegetation, protected as Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs), it does not exclude the presence of livestock in these fragile areas. Here, we provide an overview of APPs in Brazil and analyze the legal instruments that enable livestock in these areas, gathering the scientific evidence on associated environmental impacts. Currently, cattle in riparian areas represent a direct threat to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and services, especially because these animals promote trampling, loss of vegetation, soil erosion, siltation, and pollution through urine and feces. To avoid cattle in APPs, legislation should be revised to implement more stringent restrictions; in parallel, alternatives for watering the animals must be sought, such as, for example, the installation of artificial ponds and drinking fountains. It would be appropriate to propose legislation or create incentives to fence livestock in pasture areas to preventing it from accessing APPs. Increasing cattle confinement is an alternative measure to traditional ranching in open pasture. Riparian zones represent a critical environment for biodiversity and society, so the presence of cattle and its associated negative impacts should be seriously considered by authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Marine areas beyond national jurisdiction are a prime target for transnational maritime environmental crime due to a fragmented international legal framework and a lack of coordination and cooperation between governance and institutional structures. On 19 June 2023, member States of the United Nations adopted the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). As the third Implementing Agreement to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC), the BBNJ Agreement seeks to secure the long term protection and integratedmanagement of marine biodiversity through the effective implementation of relevant provisions of the LOSC and by strengthening and promoting cooperation and coordination between and among relevant legal instruments, frameworks and relevant global, regional, subregional and sectoral bodies. This article examines the relationship between the BBNJ Agreement and transnational maritime environmental crime and considersways the instrument could assist in efforts to combat such crime. As part of this analysis, this article explores how the BBNJ Agreement could provide an important platform for the formation of key partnerships and alliances by means of regional and bilateral dialogues, outreach and coalition-building to address transnational maritime environmental crime and mobilize and sustain the momentum for global action on this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peri-urban landscapes are transitional areas between urban and rural areas that are constantly changing. They are characterised by land use mixes and land cover changes, leading to significant changes in wildlife habitats. These changes, combined with an increasing anthropogenic presence, turn peri-urban landscapes into arenas of intensified human-wildlife interactions. In many scientifically documented cases, scientists are focusing on negative interactions. Furthermore, research about appropriate policy instruments for managing human-wildlife interactions is rare. This study focused on case studies and their characteristics from around the world on positive, neutral, or negative interactions between humans and wildlife at local level. In addition, influencing factors of human-wildlife interactions and policy instruments for managing human-wildlife interactions in peri-urban landscapes were addressed. A survey was conducted with an international group of scientists and practitioners working in this field. The results showed that various species were involved in human-wildlife interactions in peri-urban landscapes worldwide, with mammals as being the most common taxon. Contemporary changes in land use and land cover could be identified as a significant factor for increasing human-wildlife interactions in peri-urban landscapes. It can be highlighted that a policy mix consisting mainly of social and cultural instruments in combination with legal and regulatory instruments could be most suitable to address this situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New technological development in autonomous and unmanned vessels challenges the international legal framework prevailing at sea. Currently, the regulations applicable to international shipping constitute regulatory barriers preventing their operation on a worldwide scale. Hence, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), responsible for international shipping, has been working to accommodate these new types of vessels within the existing legal instruments. This paper traces the IMO's steps to establish a new regulatory framework for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Arqueologia is the property of Revista de Arqueologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The certificate of right to use on state land is a legal instrument that gives the holder the right to use state land for a certain period of time in accordance with the provisions of the applicable laws. This study examines the case of State Land intended for pangonan, which is located in Dukupace Block, Geyongan Village, Cirebon Regency, where the villagers use the abandoned Pangonan land, then they control it for various purposes such as agriculture and housing. Even though they have controlled the land for many years, the community does not have its ownership status. This will cause problems in the future if the status of the land is not yet owned by the people who occupy the land. The research method used is empirical juridical, with reference to various previous studies on state land ownership and land distribution justice. The results of the study show that there is a lack of public understanding of procedures and ownership conflicts. To overcome these obstacles, it is necessary to simplify the mechanism regarding rules and increase socialization. This study provides fair and inclusive policy recommendations, as well as concrete steps to improve the process of issuing use rights certificates and recognition of land rights based on long-standing physical tenure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aim: The article aims to examine how addiction-related crime is dealt with in German-speaking countries and what similarities and differences exist. Method: Comparative legal analysis of criminal sanctions law in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Results: The three legal systems show basic structural similarities (two-track system, specific measures for addiction-related delinquency, chronological order in the execution phase, and treatability prognosis as a requirement). However, there are also differences in terms of available legal instruments and enforcement (crediting to the sentence, diversionary options, outpatient vs. inpatient options, etc.). The stronger focus on custodial measures in Germany has led to a sharp increase in the number of orders. This development cannot be observed in Switzerland and Austria. Conclusions: The study suggests that there are interactions between the existence of diversionary/ambulatory options and the ordering of custodial measures. In addition, this analysis provides relevant insights into how criminal sanctions law relating to addiction-related delinquency could be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classic and new concepts of the separation of powers doctrine focus on the control of central political power. Institutional checks and balances are classic legal instruments of this control, especially the activity of independent state organs. In those countries where the political system is dominated by a populist government, the institutional checks and balances and independent institutions are under constant pressure. In a consolidated political system that has already departed from liberal constitutionalism and where constitutional institutions do function only in a formal sense (illiberal constitutionalism), institutional checks and balances lose their significance. However, in addition to the exercise of powers by independent branches of government, other legal institutions or actions can also have a significant impact on relations between branches of government, even informally. Therefore, the system of checks and balances can be described as a multi-layered structure with formal (classical) and informal elements. The article analyses in detail, how the use of informal constitutional amendments and national referendums—as additional institutions belonging to the complex system of separation of powers—instead of controlling the central political power, has contributed to the informal concentration of government power in Hungary in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Ecological Environment Code, as a significant legal instrument for the evolution of ecological civilization, possesses both substantive and formal dimensions. First, it aims to serve the national ecological civilization strategy. Second, it elucidates potential pathways for legal interpretation, development of legal rules, and promotion of judicial governance, restraining arbitrary behavior and disorder while facilitating systemic cohesion. The compilation of the Ecological Environment Code unfolds through the main threads of substantive and formal logic. By prioritizing conservation, protection, and restoring the natural environment, resource management, pollution prevention, and ecological protection are coordinated, integrating legislation on ecological protection with management of natural resources and pollution prevention to achieve both "harm avoidance" and "beneficial trends." Employing the formal logical main thread of the structure of the relationship between power and rights, we present four types of norms: ex post facto remedy, hazard prevention, risk prevention, and independent value selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 50 years have passed since the first proposal of a crime of ecocide under international criminal law. What seemed to be slow progress at first reached a peak of proliferation in public-legal discussion over the recent years. This paper is an effort to recapitulate the development of ecocide as a crime, analysing the different proposals from a critical point of view that will attempt to crystallise the challenges that they present. This analysis will be based on four main criteria: (a) the punishable conduct described, which will necessarily raise the discussion of the anthropocentric vis-à-vis an ecocentric vision; (b) the subjective element proposed and its compatibility with the Rome Statute; (c) the possible perpetrator; and (d) the legal instrument through which it is sought to be enshrined. Finally, we present certain guidelines regarding an International Criminal Court for the Environment and its compatibility with the International Criminal Court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One way to give recognition to and account for vulnerability in climate policymaking is enhanced public participation. This study examines national climate acts across the EU Member States from this perspective, paying particular attention to those members of the public who are considered most climate vulnerable. The analysis finds that few of the acts address public participation, and none of the acts examined directly provides for the participation of specified groups of people based on their presumed vulnerability to climate change impacts. There are, however, participation mechanisms that take into account climate vulnerable groups. Yet, many states have not regarded the national climate act as the legal instrument of choice for regulating public participation in climate policymaking. However, this paper argues that the institutionalization of public participation in the national climate acts would have added value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulating disinformation has presented a complicated task to European legislators. The legal instruments that played a part in the fight against disinformation, such as the DSA, the DMA, EMFA and the AI Act are all based on the internal market competence. Some instruments are criticised for their strong take on goals that are not directly related for the economic integration, like the freedom and pluralism of the media (EMFA), or the protection of human rights (DSA, AI Act). Even though the European Union is primarily an economic integration, disinformation was seen as threatening the political stability of the Union: democracy, the rule of law and human rights. Is there a connection with economic integration and these values? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) agendas converge in their priorities to reduce social vulnerability and enhance resilience in the face of climate change. However, they are often treated separately in practice and in local government plans. In South Africa, while municipalities are legally mandated to develop Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and Disaster Management Plans (DMPs), this is not the case for CCA. In this study, we assessed the engagement with, and linkages between, CCA and DRR in 20 local municipalities from contrasting socio-economic contexts in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa by conducting an analysis of their IDPs, DMPs and any plans or strategies pertaining to CCA. Our results show that none of the municipalities had separate CCA strategies, with only two municipalities complying with the mandate to have DMPs. While municipalities mostly included CCA- and DRR-related activities in their IDPs, there were no explicit linkages made between the two approaches. Apparent was the prioritisation of bolstering infrastructure with little attention towards addressing social vulnerability and building resilience. Overall, little has been done to prioritise or link CCA and DRR at the local government level, especially in the context of addressing social vulnerability and building resilience. These findings suggest the need for South Africa to implement and promulgate legal instruments, policies and resources to capacitate local municipalities in mainstreaming and integrating CCA and DRR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spanish prisoners deported to the Mauthausen Nazi concentration camp were treated and classified in an anomalous and problematic fashion that did not correspond to the real reasons for their detention. Thus, despite being prosecuted as Rotspaniers – 'red Spaniards' – a category initially employed to designate those Germans who had fought in the Spanish Civil War in support of the republican government, they were systematically forced to wear a blue badge that, according to the codes usually implemented in camps, classified them as 'emigrants', an equally strange category that was applied to all those Jews or political exiles who had fled Germany following the rise of Nazism but had been arrested upon their return to the country. This reality, however, was not shared by the other Spaniards distributed across the other camps in the system or by the other Rotspaniers present in Mauthausen, who were given the red badge that indicated they were political prisoners. This is the anomaly addressed by this article, which, based on study of the administrative sources at Mauthausen and thorough analysis of 'protective custody' as a legal instrument employed by the Nazi authorities to neutralize their enemies, enables us to revisit the debate and propose a new interpretative framework through which to re-evaluate the Spanish experience in the network of German camps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista E-mercatoria is the property of Universidad Externado de Colombia, Departamento de Derecho Comercial and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this article is to examine the legal vacuum regarding the status of environmental refugees which are deprived of legal existence and thus lack protection in international law. By describing the negative impact of climate change on this category of population, the article used the qualitative method to bring adequate responses to raised questions regarding the merit of the term "environmental refugee", the potential challenges it evokes, and the proposed solutions to address them. This article concluded that environmental refugee status has no legal existence, hence, public international law must build truly protective legal instruments for by adopting appropriate relevant conventions. The overview we have carried out showed that it will be more appropriate to use the term "environmentally displaced persons" instead of environmental refugee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios de la Gestión is the property of Universidad Andina Simon Bolivar, Sede Ecuador and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

It is indicated that changes in the approaches and principles of administrative law have affected almost all parts of this branch of law. And administrative contracts in this matter are no exception. Until recently, it was believed that the contractual instrument in legal relations is inherent mainly to private law, where the parties are equal and can negotiate accordingly, and the agreements reached are recorded in contracts. The sphere of public law, where parties are equal and contracts are traditionally concluded, is the sphere of international law and interstate relations. Subordinate administrative relations did not belong to such and were not considered as the scope of possible application of contractual instruments. The article examines important issues of the essence and characteristics of administrative contracts, the requirements that are put forward to them, which are important in the process of developing scientific positions for their proper regulatory regulation. It has been established that the following can be attributed to the signs of administrative contracts: at least one of the subjects of the conclusion of the administrative contract must be a subject of authority; the administrative contract is based on the agreement of the parties; the subject of the contract is the mutual rights and obligations of its participants in the public legal sphere; an administrative contract is concluded on the basis of the law, but there is no formal requirement for the name of the administrative contract, it can be a contract, agreement, protocol, memorandum or another name. The article also substantiates that administrative contracts can be both normative and individual in terms of legal properties. The insufficiency of regulatory regulation creates difficulties in distinguishing administrative contracts from other types. However, the main feature for distinguishing administrative contracts from other types of contracts is the nature of the legal relationship, that is, the subject of the contract itself. An administrative contract is a legal act that defines the mutual rights and obligations of its participants in the administrative-legal sphere, that is, the sphere regulated by the norms of the administrative, and not by other branches of law. It was determined that in the absence of special legislation on administrative contracts, the general requirements of private law and the requirements of administrative law regarding competence, form, content and procedure are applied to them. The requirements dictated by provisions of administrative law include the following: limited competence; written form, features of the choice of the contracting party. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of agrarian law in Indonesia, particularly land law, must adhere to the constitutional mandate of promoting the welfare of the populace. This subject is compelling because existing studies predominantly address the legal-formal dimensions of customary land law without adequately examining its practical implications for public welfare. This research investigates whether the development of Indonesian land law is in accordance with the Agrarian Law and explores how to formulate legal frameworks that mitigate land disputes and conflicts related to the utilisation of Ulayat Land for development purposes. The objective is to present alternative recommendations for resolving national agrarian law issues, often diverging from constitutional directives. Employing a normative research method, this study draws on both legal and non-legal materials through philosophical, legislative, historical, conceptual, comparative, and futuristic lenses. The findings reveal that the current development of national agrarian law does not fully align with the Agrarian Law's mandate to enhance the welfare of the Indonesian people. Therefore, this research offers alternative legislative methods aimed at producing agrarian legal instruments that more effectively promote the prosperity of the Indonesian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origins of legal aid are deeply rooted in Indian history and can be recited from old scriptures. From the extensive journey of the legal system from the Vedic era to the present, a codified legal framework of legal aid has grown to the myriad importance in India. Access to justice has been identified as a human right at the international level through Articles 8 and 10 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights. The General Assembly in 2012 adopted the 'UN Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice System', which is considered to be the first legal instrument for providing legal aid rights. At the national level, India is much ahead and considers legal aid as a basic right that flows from access to justice. The Constitution of India, through Articles 21 and 14, has identified fundamental rights through the active participation of judiciary. 2 Article 39A specifically states the state's duty towards providing legal aid. 3 On the same line, there are provisions in civil 4 and criminal law 5 for providing free legal aid, so that access to justice can be achieved. In addition, the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, also works towards this goal by providing National Legal services Authorities (NLSA), District Legal Services Authorities (DLSA) and establishing Lok Adalats. The Bar Council of India made it compulsory for all law colleges and universities to establish legal aid cell to spread awareness about basic laws and free legal aid through various programmes. The Ministry of Law and Justice has also come up with the scheme of Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice (DISHA) to achieve this constitutional mandate through the pro bono culture. In this article, Introduction gives a brief introduction to legal aid and its changing importance. In Development of the Concept of Legal Aid, historical development is traced to understand the need for legal aid in the early period. Analysis of Present Precise Legal Safeguard to Legal Aid focuses on the development of legal aid after the introduction of the Legal Aid Act and the efforts taken by the government and other educational institutions or contributing to promote to access to justice in the present era. In Legal Aid at an International Regime, some international efforts have been made to find legal aid in some developed countries. Way Forward provides the way forward for legal aid and discusses available best practices followed in this area with certain suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of ESTOA: Revista de la Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo de la Universidad de Cuenca is the property of ESTOA Revista de la Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo de la Universidad de Cuenca and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, we examine the issue of political speech in the EU legal context, with a particular focus on campaign periods. The paper can be divided into three main parts: (1) situating the conceptual foundations of political speech as a protected value; (2) discussing the general approach to political speech in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, especially in cases dealing specifically with the issue of political speech during campaign periods; and (3) exploring future polemics and challenges to political speech in the EU framework. The paper will also present relevant literature, orientations, and principles of political speech, case studies, and EU legal instruments on political speech and political advertising. It attempts to provide a comprehensive account of the diverse but not uncontroversial nature of political speech through a synthesis of theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seaports are critical for global trade and development but are at risk of climate change-driven damages, operational disruptions and delays with extensive related economic losses. The aim of the present contribution is to (a) provide an overview of the main impacts of climate variability and change (CV&C) on ports; (b) present recent research on trends and projections involving the main climatic factors/hazards affecting global ports; (c) provide an analytical overview of emerging international and regional policies and legislation relevant to port risk assessment and resilience-building under climate change; and (d) consider issues and areas for further action. As shown by projections under different climatic scenarios and timelines, many global ports will increasingly be exposed to significantly growing hazards under increasing CV&C, including extreme sea levels (ESLs), waves, and extreme heat events. Depending on scenario (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) by 2050, 55% to 59% of the 3630 global ports considered could face ESLs in excess of 2 m above the baseline mean sea levels (mean of the 1980–2014 period); by 2100, between 71% and 83% of ports could face ESLs of this magnitude. Ports in most tropical/sub-tropical settings will face the baseline (mean of the 1976 – 2005 period) 1-in-100 year extreme heat every 1 – 5 years, whereas with 3 oC global warming, most global ports (except some in higher latitudes) could experience the baseline 1-in-100 years extreme heat event every 1 – 2 years. A range of policy and legal instruments to support climate change adaptation, resilience-building and disaster risk reduction have been agreed internationally as well as at regional levels. At the EU level, relevant legal obligations and related normative technical guidance aimed at ensuring the climate proofing of new infrastructure are already in place as a matter of supra-national law for 27 EU Member States. These could significantly enhance levels of climate-resilience and preparedness for ports within the EU, as well as for EU funded port projects in other countries, and may serve as useful examples of good practices for other countries. However, further action is needed to advance and accelerate the implementation of effective adaptation measures for ports across regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Les instruments auxquels un État peut avoir recours pour atténuer les risques que font peser les inégalités économiques sur la démocratie sont nombreux et peuvent prendre différentes formes. Dans cet article, nous cherchons à mettre en lumière la dimension normative des trois principaux instruments auxquels on a généralement recours pour mitiger l'influence de l'argent dans la compétition électorale, ainsi que le contexte dans lequel ils furent institués, remodelés – et parfois démantelés – au Canada. Ces trois mécanismes sont la limitation des dépenses électorales, le plafonnement des contributions privées et le financement public des partis. Il ne s'agit toutefois pas uniquement de décrire ces instruments, mais de réfléchir aux justifications normatives spécifiques à chacun, et d'en comprendre leur complémentarité. Plus largement, il s'agit d'offrir un cadre pour penser les enjeux de financement électoral en philosophie politique, un sujet trop souvent laissé dans l'ombre par la théorie démocratique. The instruments that a state can use to mitigate the risks posed to democracy by economic inequality are numerous and can take different forms. In this article, we seek to highlight the normative dimension of the three main instruments generally used to mitigate the influence of money in electoral competition, as well as the context in which they were instituted, reshaped – and sometimes dismantled – in Canada. These three mechanisms are campaign spending limits, private funding limits, and public funding of political parties. Our aim is not simply to describe these instruments, but to reflect on the specific normative justifications for each, and to understand how they complement each other. More broadly, we seek to provide a framework for thinking about electoral financing issues in political philosophy, a subject too often ignored by democratic theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Are agreements between states and victims an effective way to achieve reparations for human rights violations? We identify and evaluate a legal instrument hitherto ignored in analyses of the Inter-American Human Rights System: compliance agreements. These agreements emerged as a tool to negotiate the implementation of recommendations made by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to states responsible for human rights violations. In the first part of the paper, we theorize the role of agreements in securing state compliance, and discuss the problem of self-selection in legal settlements. We then document the emergence of this legal instrument and its novel role in the Inter-American System. In the third part, we provide statistical evidence from event history, matching, difference-in-differences, and sensitivity analyses showing that agreements increase the probability of compliance and cut the expected time to compliance by more than half. Agreements thus contribute to a potential solution for the perceived crisis of compliance in the Inter-American Human Rights System. However, the Commission must offer greater transparency to facilitate the evaluation of this mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By zeroing in on the term 'heritage' in the most important international legal instrument on oceans – the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC), this article explores how the concept of the Common Heritage of [Hu]mankind and maritime heritage are produced and deployed in the global legal project of ocean-ordering and the implications thereof. The Common Heritage of [Hu]mankind concept embodies and enacts a dominant resource-centric framing of the ocean. This framing prioritises and valorises the material and economic value of the deep seabed, thereby transmuting it into an oceanless exploitable common. The LOSC, with minimal cultural preoccupation, also conceptualises and confines maritime heritage within a narrow land-based and material-centric understanding of heritage that often prioritises state control and claims. This is because the LOSC is constrained and shaped both by the metaphysical, geographical, and legal tendency of ocean parcelisation and by the authorised heritage discourse that conditions how heritage is understood and practiced. We conclude by suggesting taking the Middle Passage as an analytical provocation, that is to recognise the mutually constitutive and constituting relationship between the Middle Passage and the (Atlantic) Ocean, to enable critical reflections and alternative perspectives on heritage-making in ocean environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A principle of continuity was baked into the political and legal instruments underpinning the embryonic Irish state. At the same time, a process of evolutionary change we call 'administrative greening' was initiated, which we examine here and in Biggins, MacCarthaigh, and Scott ([2024b]. Greening the Irish State: Early Legislative and Administrative Dynamics. Irish Political Studies, XXX, XXX). In this first article, we highlight the extent to which these dynamics shaped the formative or 'priming' years of the new state and its politics. We interrogate this from both political and legal angles. The pre-existence of British administrative bodies and norms constrained the Irish revolutionary parliament (Dáil Éireann), the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 and the Constitution of Saorstát Éireann in 1922. The early leaders of the vulnerable state understood they would have fuelled instability and uncertainty had they chosen to dispense with the existing public administration en masse post-1921. But this inheritance did not preclude administrative evolution either. We explore the mechanisms through which objectives of continuity and change were framed. In so doing, we place our narrative within a broader literature on path-dependency and critical junctures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open Science (OS) – an emerging global trend driven by advances in digital technologies and government's commitment to greater transparency and value for money of publicly funded research – is at its early stages, even in countries with high R&D expenditures, such as South Korea. This study provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of Korea's national OS approach, with a focus on exploring the current OS regulatory and technological environments it operates under, and uncovering its SWOT – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It concludes that internal weaknesses, such as insufficient political will to promote OS, dominate other SWOT characteristics of Korea's national OS approach. Thus, the highest priority should be given to strategies attempting to minimise both internal weaknesses and external threats, such as reinforcing domestic Open Access publishing ecosystem to mitigate Korean researchers' dependency on large international commercial publishers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, ASEAN has an economic integration program that is stated in the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint. As is well known, the European Union is the only regional organization that has succeeded in creating economic integration in its region supported by a unified law. One of the legal unification that needs to be initiated by ASEAN in supporting its economic integration is cross-border insolvency regulation. Some international legal instruments that can be a reference for the establishment of the ASEAN Cross-border Insolvency Regulation include the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency and EU Regulation 848/2015 on Insolvency Proceedings. However, the comparison between ASEAN and the EU is not equivalent. ASEAN is a regional organization that is intergovernmental in nature, while the EU is a regional organization that is supranational in nature. Therefore, the comparative approach and statute approach are the right approaches in this article's writing. As for the research method used in this article writing is normative research. The objectives of this article are to describe the legal personality of ASEAN and the European Union in relation to the establishment of cross-border insolvency regulation and provide an overview of the substance of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency and EU Regulation 848/2015 to provide a reference for ASEAN to from cross-border insolvency regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the mechanisms by which companies can gain access to data necessary for automated decision-making in scenarios without direct contractual agreements, focusing on market-driven approaches. It introduces the concept of the essential facilities doctrine under EU competition law and examines its applicability to sets of data, alongside an examination of current ex-ante regulatory instruments which grant data access rights, such as the Type Approval Regulation, the Open Data Directive, the Electricity Directive, the Digital Markets Act, and the Data Act. These legal instruments are analysed in terms of their ability to facilitate access to data necessary for the automation of decision-making processes. In addition, the study looks at the challenges and opportunities presented by these legal instruments, including the nuances of applying the essential facilities doctrine to data. The article concludes that the most efficient way for a company to gain access to sets of data required for automated decision-making (in the absence of a contractual agreement) is to base its data access claim on an act of ex-ante regulation. If, however, such legal basis does not exist, a company could still base its data access claim on the essential facilities doctrine. The practical applicability of the doctrine to sets of data, however, remains unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few years, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have become embedded in various domains of social life, prompting legislative efforts at both national and international levels. In the European Union (EU), this drive for legislation has been reflected in various legal instruments, notably the proposed AI Act, which is expected to become a global standard through the "Brussels Effect." This Article argues that while the AI Act will likely produce a Brussels Effect of its own, such an outcome will be accompanied by a side effect that undermines the EU's ambition to spread legislative text and values in AI governance. Since the AI Act follows EU product safety legislation, its provisions supply limited protection to some of the values the EU policy intends to protect, such as the protection of fundamental rights. These shortcomings are compounded by the EU's active efforts to shape alternative instruments, such as the Council of Europe's proposed convention on AI along the lines of the AI Act. As a result, the diffusion of the AI Act as a global standard will have consequences for the EU policy agenda on AI and the conceptualization of the Brussels Effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Secure Data Enclave is a system that allows data owners, such as governments and private firms, to control data access and ensure data security while facilitating approved uses of data by other parties. This model of data use offers additional protections and technical controls for the data owner compared to the more commonly used approach of transferring data from the owner to another party through a data sharing agreement. Under the data use model, the data owner retains full transparency and auditing over the other party's access, which can be difficult to achieve in practice with even the best legal instrument for data sharing. We describe the key technical requirements for a Secure Data Enclave, provide a reference architecture for its implementation on Amazon Web Services using managed cloud services, and describe four use cases of this architecture in partnerships with state governments to control access to sensitive administrative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Judges have long wrestled with the gigantean task of defining religion, with some describing the task as being 'called upon to ponder the imponderable', an impossible task, and even misguided. Despite these sentiments, and comments in almost every legal definition expressing the impossibility of the task, judges have, in fact, been able to come up with numerous legal definitions for religion. These have been applied in myriad circumstances to define the outer limits of the rights and responsibilities of states, religious communities, organisations, and individuals. By contrast, the term secular has rarely been judicially defined. However, it is no-less important in defining the rights and responsibilities of states and their citizens and residents, particularly in light of the number of states that claim, implicitly or explicitly, to be secular. This paper, therefore, (re)examines the definition of the secular as it pertains to the concept of the secular state. It considers the need for a legal definition of the secular with particular reference to constitutional and other legal instruments that include the term. It then examines the difference between the terms secular, secularisation and secularism, noting the often erroneous conflation as well as the inevitable interaction and overlap between these key concepts. Finally, drawing on existing classifications of legal definitions of religion, the paper classifies definitions of the secular into three overarching classifications, namely 'historical', 'substantive' and 'characteristic'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family business owners are dependent on legal advice to control ownership changes and uphold a functional balance between owners. This advice spans both family law and business law. However, family business owners are found to underutilize the legal instruments available, especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises. We explore the market for legal advice provided to family business owners. Our findings describe specific ownership costs that decrease owners' willingness and ability to contract. This avoidance of ex ante costs puts the owners at risk of extensive ex post costs that could ultimately jeopardize the business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Groundwater is a strategic environmental resource due to its use to human consumption, and therefore requires special protection and monitoring in many databases. In Poland, groundwater data are included in different typical water-related databases such as Hydroportal, Portal of the State Hydrogeological Service and Portal of the Central Geological Database, which is linked to an integrated real estate information system (IREIS). This article aims to demonstrate how IREIS is used to manage groundwater in Poland. The analysis indicates that shortcomings and gaps are noticeable, e.g., duplication of data and significant lack of data necessary for the implementation of the legal instruments. It is therefore a priority to establish a harmonised permitting and sustainable management of resources by public authorities, supported by an appropriate information and resource system for the EU. There is a need for an increase in the amount of information in databases and a reduction in the number of databases with groundwater information. The results of the analysis of these information systems can provide guidance to other EU countries for more effective groundwater protection and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bali, one of the world’s tourism destinations, is now facing a paradoxical situation because the increasing number of tourists visiting Bali is going hand in hand with the gradual reduction in productive agricultural land due to land conversion. This paper analyzes the massive practice of converting productive farmland for tourism in Bali. It off ers a human rights law lens, particularly the rights to land, food, and tourism, to view the problem discussed in the paper. Legal research primarily reads international legal instruments, Indonesia’s laws and regulations, and some secondary materials. The paper suggested that although the Bali provincial government has issued rules and policies to prevent the practice of land conversion, the government cannot fully control it because many agricultural lands have ownership status. Therefore, there is an urgent need to increase awareness of local communities as landowners to prevent such a practice. This paper also proposes using subak, a traditional farming system, as the basis for ecotourism and agrotourism activities to tackle the problem of land conversion in Bali. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guatemala's 2023 was defined by the year's most stunning and tumultuous election in all Latin America. After his shocking second-place finish in the first round, little-known anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo of the young Movimiento Semilla party won the presidency. Following years of increasing democratic decline and a vicious lawfare campaign against regime opponents, the 2023 election, which was meant to further bolster authoritarianism, became a democratic breakthrough. This article takes stock of the 2023 electoral cycle, analyzing the social, political, and international factors favorable for authoritarian consolidation alongside the surprising dynamics of democratic resilience. Guatemala's recent anti-democratic slide was spurred not by executive aggrandizement but by prosecutorial and judicial entities on a political mission and intent on using legal instruments to criminalize dissent. However, through a combination of divisions in the ruling coalition, momentum from prior anti-corruption mobilization, and robust international backing, actors from below, namely indigenous communities and the broad-based opposition movement cultivated by Semilla, saved Guatemalan democracy. In so doing, they carved a path toward political renewal that few could have imagined a year earlier, though its promises remain fragile and uncertain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the evolution of ecological sensibilities in the Hague Academy's courses, examining their impact on international legal frameworks and market-based regulations. Topics include the historical development of ecological concerns in international law, the shift from public interventions to market mechanisms in resource management, and the debates between conservation and economic interests in different historical periods.

Multinationalism and the presence of many different religious groups in the country can be causes of inter-ethnic and inter-confessional conflicts. A tool to help avoid them is the implementation of an effective legislative mechanism. The research aims to investigate the legal foundations of confessional relations in Kazakhstan, including constitutional norms, norms of laws and bylaws, and the provisions of international acts in the sphere of relations between the state and religion. The system of methods of scientific knowledge of different levels – from the most general methods to special methods of legal science – was used to implement the goal. The study, the model of stateconfessional relations of the Republic of Kazakhstan, its basic principles, as well as the existing legal support of this model were analysed and conducted. The authors concluded that the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan regulating confessional relations partially corresponds to international normative legal instruments regulating freedom of religion. In addition, the study showed that the model of state-confessional relations in force in the Republic of Kazakhstan contributes to the observance of citizens’ rights to freedom of religion, the prevention of inter-confessional conflicts among religious groups within the country, and the establishment of peace. The practical significance of the results makes it possible to assess the effectiveness of the current mechanism of legislative regulation of confessional relations and to identify the main problems and ways to resolve them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]