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Themis procedural decisions have a huge impact on legal practice. Scientists, professors of law faculties, investigators, lawyers, prosecutors, judges, participants in criminal proceedings and society in general should have access to court decisions within the framework of the principle of publicity and openness of judicial proceedings (Clause 20, Part 1, Article 7, Article 27 of the Criminal Procedure Code). In this direction, two trends are present in modem conditions: the increase in the number of documents and the digitization of documents. The openness of judicial practice is slowly moving from a paper form to a digital form. Taking into account this dynamic, the importance of studying information and analytical tools for the court decisions analysis made in criminal proceedings is increasing. An overview of these tools became the purpose of this publication. It is emphasized that the analysis of judicial practice data makes it possible to evaluate not only the functioning of separate legal norms and institutions of substantive and procedural law, but also to consider the activity of the justice system in a broader context from the point of view of system-creating potential, the lever for the implementation of the rule of law and the approval of the model of due legal procedure, implementation of international standards and legal policy in the state. The article discusses digital platforms: «Unified State Register of Court Decisions», «Base of Legal Positions of the Supreme Court», «Analysis of Judicial Practice», «Court Statistics», HUDOC, «Protection of State Interests in the European Court». Special attention is paid to the web application «Combating crime in Ukraine: infographics», as well as open databases of judicial practice in Belgium, Great Britain, Spain, Lithuania and Germany. The study confirmed the pluralism of information and analytical tools for judicial practice research. Information and analytical resources are important for educational and scientific purposes, for sharing experience in the practical field, for identifying problems and for developing unified approaches to their solution, as well as for making strategic decisions regarding the reform of the justice system in Ukraine. The national database of the Unified State Register of Court Decisions in terms of informativeness and interface is no worse than foreign counterparts, although there are obvious directions for improving the functionality of the system taking into account modem challenges and needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the role of informal or customary governance in post-conflict settings, where formal governance structures are often ineffective. Topics include theoretical frameworks for analyzing post-conflict institutions, the success of customary governance in Afghanistan and Rwanda, and the application of Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments and Boettke's framework to understand institutional change in such contexts.

This article analyses the impact of the digital acquis on the regulation of market relations governed by private law. The hypothesis is that a new EU digital private law is emerging that deconstructs the existing EU private law acquis and paves the way for an emergent constitutional order of digital private law, which has three distinct levels. The three levels of the EU digital order broaden the scope of digital private law to ever more addressees and establish distinct modes of private law and models of justice. While on the constitutional level, no particular mode of private law is established, at the levels of market ordering and horizontal transactions respectively we find contracts and advertisements on the one hand and contract law on the other as the specific modes of private law. There are also differences with regard to the model of justice they establish, reaching from access justice and non-discrimination to freedom from manipulation and substantive fairness. As a result of this three-levelled analysis, it becomes possible to identify breakdowns and extensions of concepts, as well as the emergence of and interactions between different modes of private law governance and justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the study of the right to file a constitutional complaint as a component of ensuring access to constitutional justice. Based on the analysis of Ukraine’s legal doctrine and legislation, it has been established that the institution of constitutional complaint became a novelty within the framework of the institutional judicial reform regarding justice in 2016, which was accompanied by amendments to the Constitution, and the practical implementation of these provisions, as well as the consideration of constitutional complaints by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine began in 2018. The article establishes that the peculiarities of the constitutional complaint in Ukraine allow it to be characterized as individual, direct, and «partially normative,» since its subject matter only covers «the law of Ukraine,» with the object of the constitutional complaint being limited exclusively to laws of Ukraine. The Ukrainian model of the constitutional complaint, by its potential, serves as an effective tool for protecting constitutionally guaranteed human rights, with the condition of its effectiveness being the productive activity of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. At the same time, the author draws attention to the debatable nature of limiting the object of the constitutional complaint exclusively to laws of Ukraine in view of the needs and realities of Ukrainian society in terms of guaranteeing human and citizen rights and freedoms. It is proposed to expand the range of legal acts that can be challenged through a constitutional complaint to verify their constitutionality, including other normative legal acts of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, acts of the President of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and legal acts of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in cases where the application of these acts in a specific case led to a violation of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine. It has been established that the introduction of the institution of individual constitutional complaint is a valuable step in the context of ensuring an individual’s access to constitutional justice in Ukraine and a guarantee of the effectiveness of the right to judicial protection. It is concluded that the right to file an individual constitutional complaint is an important guarantee of access to justice, as it ensures the nonillusory nature of democratic values, the principle of the rule of law, and contributes to the development of a judicial system that guarantees equality before the law and a fair trial [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to study of a procedural mechanism for protection of the constitutional right to property in criminal proceedings in the context of the right to access to justice. It is stated that the European Court of Human Rights, in the light of its judgments, has repeatedly emphasized that “interference with the right to peaceful enjoyment of property must be carried out in compliance with a ‘fair balance’ between the requirements of the general interest of society and the requirements of protection of fundamental rights of an individual.” It is determined that the inviolability of property rights is one of the basic principles of criminal proceeding. The procedural mechanism of initiation or implementation of other appropriate action by an individual (an owner or a legal user of property) whose property has been temporarily seized (unless this person is a suspect) is analysed in order to protect his or her rights and freedoms, to protect his or her property. In particular, it is argued that an owner or legal user of property, who is not endowed with a different procedural status in criminal proceedings, is another individual whose rights or legitimate interests are restricted during the pre-trial investigation, and who has the right to appeal against inaction, which consists in the failure to return temporarily seized property. The author supports the view that, given the normative content of the adversarial principle, a participant in criminal proceedings, who has filed a complaint, must prove each circumstance set forth in it, and an investigator, a detective, and a prosecutor have the right, since it is not their duty to participate in the court hearing, to refute the arguments of the complaint and justify the legitimacy of their procedural behaviour, and the parties are not deprived of the right to present additional arguments in favour of their position that are not set forth in the complaint or in the contested decision. It is noted that the legislator’s restriction of a person’s right to appeal against an investigating judge’s decision may be justified only in respect of appeals against rulings which do not restrict the fundamental rights defined by the Constitution of Ukraine and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and do not impede access to justice. In other cases, individuals should have the right to appeal the relevant ruling of an investigating judge, as ensuring judicial control over all actions and decisions in criminal proceedings that in any way restrict the rights of a person is essential for the compliance of legislation with European standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resolving disputes over election results between candidates within the same party currently does not guarantee access to justice for prospective members of the Indonesian House of Representatives (IHR). To file a lawsuit, candidates must obtain a written permission letter from the leader of the supporting party. Since the implementation of the open proportional system from 2009 to 2019, 27 candidates' applications for disputes over election results were rejected by the Indonesian Constitutional Court due to the absence of such written permission, which is a formal requirement. This research focuses on resolving election result disputes between legislative candidates and explores the opportunities for using Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Employing a normative juridical research method, the study proposes the institutionalization of ADR for IHR election result disputes. It advocates the use of facilitative mediation, evaluative mediation, and arbitration conducted by the Party Court. These methods would complement and support the existing formal mechanisms at the Constitutional Court, providing a more accessible and just avenue for candidates to resolve their disputes. The findings of this research highlight the necessity of integrating ADR into the dispute resolution framework to enhance the fairness and effectiveness of the electoral process for legislative candidates in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers women’s access to justice as an invisible problem, the existence of which is overlooked or denied. Cases where women in similar situations experience more adverse legal consequences are not perceived as linked to gender inequality. The reasons for the invisibility of the problem are rooted in the Soviet past, in the patriarchal traditions of Ukrainian society, as well as in the reluctance to abandon myths and stereotypes, the lack of proper reflection on the past and the lack of a culture of public discussion of important social problems, the marginalization of “women’s” topics. To illustrate the invisibility of the problem, results of the questioning of training participants (judges, court staff and law enforcement officers) has been used, i.e. the discussion regarding manifestations of gender inequality, acknowledged in the Concept Paper of the State Programme for Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities of Women and Men, approved by the order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated November 21, 2012, No. 1002. The author noted, that during many years of delivering gender equality trainings only those participants who de facto contribute to caregiving/family responsibilities admitted that inadequate level of providing conditions for “a harmonious combination of family and professional responsibilities” is an actual problem; the same is observed in relation to other manifestations of inequality between women and men, which confirms the opinion that the perception of relevance or irrelevance of specific manifestations of gender inequality is determined by the individual’s own experience. The trend of reducing gender gap is perceived as the irrelevance of a certain manifestation of gender inequality, since “the situation has been improved significantly”, even if the gap remains large. In addition to the experience of delivering trainings, “stories from life” were also used to demonstrate the invisibility of the problem, particularly cases that illustrate the superior, prejudiced and sexist attitude towards women in high level (deputy minister) positions, especially when compared with the attitude towards men of the same age and status. Since a problem that is invisible has no chance of being solved, the ability to “notice”, “see”, “make visible”, “name”, “qualify”, etc. are the first steps towards its solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the right to make requests and complaints (RCs) inside Spanish prisons. It discusses the European Prison Rules and the principles set forward by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), examining how the Spanish system respects these. It then introduces the RCs system in Spain. Through research carried out in four prisons, interviews with the directors and with 21 inmates and taking as an example one prison, we were able to discover that the number of requests in one year is 55,000. This result reveals the formalised character of Spanish prisons and raises the question as to how to respond to RCs inside prison. The last part of the article draws on interviews with three Penitentiary Judges and discusses their role in reviewing RCs. In our analysis of 626 of the final decisions we found that 98.6% were denied. Finally, the article provides some explanations for this result and questions whether judges can be said to provide an effective remedy in such cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines access to justice as an element of the rule of law in a modern democratic state. The issue of securing access to justice in the legislative practice of countries is detailed. Practice is analyzed, where access to justice is considered as an opportunity for any interested person to go to court without hindrance and participate in the legal process at all its stages. At the same time, it is emphasized that such access implies access to national and international justice systems. This significantly contributes to a person’s ability to defend himself against encroachments on his rights, compensation for damage caused by offenses and self-defense in criminal proceedings. It is proven that access to justice is increasingly included in the international and national practice of states and begins to occupy an important place in the organization and functioning of the judiciary. It is noted that today the concept of access to justice does not have a unified approach to its understanding in the circles of the scientific community. The development of this issue continues for a considerable period of time. Long-standing discussions give reasons to testify that access to justice is an extremely broad concept that can be distinguished as a separate concept, principle or right. It is emphasized that in this context it is extremely important to emphasize the mechanisms of human rights protection, that is, its application to those categories of the population that do not have the opportunity and resources to go to court. In view of this, it is extremely important to apply the principle of equality before the court in practice. This will make it possible to ensure equal access to the trial for all participants in the process. The international experience of access to justice and its generalization in legal practice is analyzed. It is noted that international law has singled out an important component of access to justice, which is the right to access international mechanisms for ensuring the protection of human rights. It is emphasized that the justice system can use the norms of international law, including anti-discrimination norms. The key in this process is ensuring access to justice, which is an important basis for the conclusion of international treaties and the effective functioning of international human rights organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Democratic Republic of Congo hosts the longest-running and largest United Nations peacekeeping mission in history. The United Nations also has reckoned with sexual exploitation and abuse in its own ranks and, in 2003, recognized its importance with a Bulletin which became known as the 'zero tolerance policy'. Policymakers and researchers have paid little sustained attention, however, to children fathered by peacekeepers. In this article, we share the results of our mixed-methods SenseMaker® research with community members who interact with peacekeeping personnel and interviews with 58 women who are raising children fathered by peacekeepers. Despite the United Nations policies in place, most women did not report children fathered by peacekeepers and did not receive systematic support. The analysis reveals a large gap between the aspirations of the 'zero tolerance policy' and its operationalization in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We uncovered deep poverty and insecurity as both driving and resulting from women's sexual encounters with peacekeepers, with support needs largely unmet. We argue that there is a lack of enforcement of the United Nations policies, jurisdictional complexity and inaccessible justice, as well as significant gaps between the United Nations' approach to investigating and supporting children fathered by peacekeepers and the expectations of mothers, resulting in worsened life conditions for mothers and their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper investigates the dichotomy between public and private law in terms of access to justice, especially the distribution of competences between various courts and tribunals. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study employs juridical analysis of normative texts and legal comparison. Findings: The continuous expansion of administrative justice calls for a more differentiated yet generalised regulation of access to justice. Academic Contribution to the Field: The analysis addresses policy options regarding the distribution of competences between civil and administrative courts, as well as the potential establishment of specialised courts. Originality/Significance/Value: The analysis of regulatory approaches helps legislators meet the requirements of both timeliness and effectiveness of judicial protection, as well as handle the challenges of blending public and private law instruments to create a regulation that is able to provide effective judicial protection and consistency in case-law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to provide efficient access to justice has presented challenges for civilised society since such societies came into being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the implementation of the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case "Polyakh and Others v. Ukraine", which concerns the dismissal of civil servants in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Purification (Lustration) of Power" of September 16, 2014. It is noted that this decision had a large public impact resonance. To fulfill it, Ukraine must pay the debt collectors compensation and take additional measures of an individual nature; take measures of a general nature. The application of the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case "Polyakh and Others v. Ukraine" to the implementation of the compensation payment did not cause obstacles, just as there are no obstacles for the payment of compensation to debt collectors, since the funds for such payments are in a special budget program. The most difficult is the implementation of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in terms of taking measures of a general nature: making changes to the current legislation and the practice of its application; making changes to administrative practice; provision of legal examination of draft laws; provision of professional training on the study of the Convention and the practice of the Court of prosecutors, lawyers, law enforcement officers, workers of immigration services, other categories of workers whose professional activity is related to law enforcement, as well as to keeping people in conditions of deprivation of liberty; other measures to be determined - subject to supervision bythe Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The general measures taken by Ukraine to implement the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case "Polyakh and others v. Ukraine" have been analyzed. Attention is focused on the fact that, unlike the lustration laws of other Council of Europe member states, the Law of Ukraine "On Purification (Lustration) of Power" has a wider scope of application and is aimed at achieving two different goals - the protection of society from persons who, due to their behavior in the past can harm the newly created democratic regime and the cleansing of state authorities from persons who were involved in large-scale corruption. A legal assessment of the approach used by the state - preservation of automatic lustration - is given and a conclusion is drawn regarding its compliance with the norms of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Supreme Council of Justice, which replaced the Supreme Council of Justice, plays a rather serious and important role in the formation of the judicial corps, the appointment and dismissal of judges, as well as in their disciplinary responsibility. Accordingly, it can be argued that ensuring the independence of the judicial branch of government and expanding access to fair justice for everyone is closely related to the effective functioning of the Supreme Council of Justice, or the Supreme Council of Justice. If we turn to the history, the history of the creation of such a body in Ukraine, then we should start from 1998, since it was then that the High Council of Justice was formed, which determined the path of development of the judicial system. The creation of such a step was quite a powerful jerk of our judicial system. However, despite a rather positive goal, there were a number of shortcomings in the High Council of Justice, which led to the need for reform, which began in 2015, as part of a large-scale judicial reform, which in turn was aimed at improving Ukraine's compliance, especially in the field of justice, to European standards. The changes that occurred in the Constitution of Ukraine, introduced back in 2015, made it possible to foresee the creation of the High Council of Justice, which precisely increased the requirements for judges and the optimization of the judicial system. The purpose of this organization was aimed at strengthening the independence of the judicial branch of government, thereby making it more transparent and accessible to citizens, increasing their trust. Therefore, it can be argued that the Supreme Council of Justice acts as a key body responsible for reforming and proper functioning of the renewed judicial system of Ukraine. Further efforts should be aimed at strengthening independence and increasing the efficiency of its activities, both in the interests of Ukrainian society and the state. Only in the presence of institutional capacity and public trust will the High Council of Justice be able to properly ensure the formation of an independent and professional judicial corps, guarantee the independence of judges by supervising them, observe rights and freedoms, help reform the judicial system (improve the judiciary), overcoming various gaps in it, and also strengthen international cooperation and European integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Rechtssoziologie is the property of De Gruyter 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.)

Purpose: The 2030 Agenda represents a unique and historic opportunity to achieve sustainable development by establishing high-priority issues to be addressed, such as the eradication of extreme poverty, the reduction of inequalities, and inclusive economic growth with decent work for all. This study aims to analyze the commitment of the world's leading companies to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) set out in this roadmap. Design/methodology/approach: To provide a dynamic and global view of corporate commitment to the 2030 Agenda, the authors identified the 3,910 companies that have reported on various initiatives related to the SDGs over the period 2019–2022 (15,640 observations), based on the Refinitiv database. The companies that make up the sample are located in 71 countries across eight geographic regions. Findings: The results show a positive evolution in the actions and initiatives that companies are developing to contribute to the protection of people, the planet, prosperity, universal peace, and access to justice. However, there are differences between regions and countries and between the 17 objectives. Originality/value: The authors' approach allows for a detailed understanding of business preferences, how these sustainable business practices contribute to achieving the SDGs in different regions and what contextual factors influence this contribution. In this sense, the analysis of the regional distribution of corporate commitments to the SDGs provides valuable information on the priority areas of focus in different regions of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Professional Business Review (JPBReview) is the property of Open Access Publications LLC 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.)

An atypical situation, rarely encountered in the area of offenders who exercise the means of appeal of the contraventional complaint in the field of traffic on public roads, has generated controversies regarding the interpretation of Article 118 of the Government Emergency Ordinance No 195/2002, including of the rules of application contained in the Order No 141/2014, to which there are added other problems of interpretation and suspicions of unconstitutionality of Article 103 (2) of the Government Emergency Ordinance No 195/2002, which regulate extension of the duration of the suspension of exercising the right to drive vehicles on public roads by another 30 days, if, within a period of 6 months from committing a contravention, a driver commits another contravention to the traffic rules. Although it is well known that the overwhelming majority of offenders who are subject to the complementary sanction of suspension of the right to drive motor vehicles, agricultural or forestry tractors or trams, this being the full name of this complementary sanction, file a complaint in order to benefit from the suspension of the execution of this complementary sanction, the judicial practice has revealed that there are also cases in which such offenders, for well-justified reasons, renounce this benefit and begin the execution of the complementary contraventional sanction, even if they have exercised the mentioned means of appeal. As the practice of the police units that manage the IT application for keeping records of withheld licenses and sanctions applied to the drivers of motor vehicles or trams is to register ex officio that they are operating the suspension of execution of the complementary sanction, when they receive the alert that the contraventional complaint has been filed, although Article 118 (3) of the Government Emergency Ordinance No 195/2002 establishes that the offender applicant is the one who must submit/send to the police unit of which the fact-finding agent is a part the document certifying the situation of filing the complaint and only after this step it will be made the corresponding mention of the suspension of the execution of this sanction, the question of violation of the right of access to justice arises. Such a violation derives from the situation that the offender in question faces the situation to waive the right to exercise the means of appeal of the contraventional complaint, in order to „immediately" execute the sanction, due to the uncertainty of the duration of the related judicial proceedings as well. If such offenders will take the risk and will file a complaint, also formulating a request with the aim of obtaining in due time a court decision ordering the entry of the mention that they started the execution simultaneously with the filing of the complaint, as it will result from the court decisions used as judicial practice, they will face the exception of inadmissibility. Finally, the text of Article 103 (2) of the Government Emergency Ordinance No 195/2002, which regulates the extension of the duration of the suspension of the right to drive vehicles on public roads by another 30 days in the case of committing a new contravention, evokes the institution of „contraventional recidivism" and it must be analyzed whether this institution finds its place in the matter of contraventions, under the conditions in which the institution in question has applicability only in the field of traffic on public roads, raising discussions as to whether such regulation is constitutional. Controversial is also the nature of the 15-day term established by the legislator for the communication of the extension provision implied by this text in the context in which the legislator did not regulate the consequences of its non-compliance, as it did in the case of the communication of the contraventional fact-finding report, for the latter establishing the prescription for the execution of contraventional sanctions. Last but not least, it arouses interest to what extent the principle of loyalty of evidence finds its place in the context of traffic contraventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, the international community has become increasingly aware that some negative impacts of climate change cannot be prevented. During the COP19 in Warsaw in 2013, the parties who agreed to the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) acknowledged that there were already greater climate impacts than could be reduced by adaptation (UNFCCC, 2014). These impacts have been called "loss and damage", and the policies and measures that deal with them are usually referred to as L&D, or L&D measures or policies. Since then, examples of loss and damage have unfortunately become abundant, but we lack a systematic approach to the ethical issues surrounding loss and damage. This article provides an overview of some of the ethical issues surrounding loss and damage in the context of climate change. We discuss what should count as loss and damage, how access to justice for loss and damage should be granted and their different rationale, as well as issues of noneconomic and nonanthropocentric loss and damage. This article is categorized under:Climate, Nature, and Ethics > Ethics and Climate Change [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International and regional human rights mechanisms are essential tools for ensuring access to justice for human rights violations and advancing measures of non-repetition, such as domestic law and policy reform. Scholarship on the impacts of these mechanisms have largely centred on the resulting domestic law and policy reform in the countries at issue in these cases and the resulting normative standards human rights bodies have established. The cross-fertilization of these cases among other international and regional human rights mechanisms and domestic courts remains an important but underexplored aspect of how such cases influence progress towards the realization of human rights. Through the lens of four landmark cases on sexual and reproductive health and rights, this article examines the influence of these cases in jurisprudence from across the globe, demonstrating how such decisions have reverberated across borders. These rippling effects of strategic litigation constitute an important impact that should be taken into account when evaluating the influence and efficacy of these mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe effect of child marriage and bridewealth payment on women’s agency is significant for access to justice and development programming, especially in the context of the goal of peaceful and inclusive societies. As prevalent practices in sub-Saharan Africa, child marriage and bridewealth payment hugely influence the ability of women and girls to exercise their agency. Indeed, these issues stand at the intersection of an intense cultural struggle between the custodians of culture and change agents. Based on field data collected in 10 countries in Africa, notably in eastern Nigeria, this paper argues that the exercise of agency by women and girls is not a self-enforcing activity. Rather, it is shaped by factors ranging from deficient and poorly implemented legal structures to lack of resources, entrenched cultural norms, and social pressure for normative conformity. By exposing culture and law as enablers and contributors to development, the article urges policy attention to needs-based factors that motivate and constrain women’s agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article in the magazine "Environmental Legal News" compiles several articles from periodical publications on topics such as access to justice, agriculture, water, food, among others. It highlights the protection of agricultural lands, the recognition of water as a subject of rights in Peru, and the distribution of food in local food systems. It also addresses topics such as green public procurement, environmental taxation, and food security. [Extracted from the article]

The regulation of administrative transparency, already with Law 19/2013, of December 9, on transparency, access to public information and good governance, regional regulations or sectoral legislation such as law 27006, of July 18, by which regulates the rights of access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters, imposes obligations of active publicity in environmental matters. This information is also found in public records or administrative files and is generated in the preparation of plans, studies, reports, administrative authorizations with a significant effect on the environment. But also in the active advertising derived from public sector contracting, in the non-financial information of companies, all of which in turn represents a huge accumulation of data that has (or can) have intrinsic value, but that is also an instrument for better environmental protection. This work only aims to identify some of these sources of obtaining information, in relation to access to environmental information, highlighting that it is made up of the set of documents or contents, whatever their format or support, that are in power of any of the subjects to whom these transparency obligations apply, whether it has been developed or acquired in the exercise of their functions. Information from which data of high environmental value is obtained or generated, all of which has a clear vocation to protect the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the role of preventive legal advocacy in promoting justice for families and redefining child welfare to focus on family and community‐based systems which prioritize community‐based support and to forego government oversight, regulation and punishment? Given the timeline for systemic reforms and the necessity of providing access to justice for families presently struggling to protect their family autonomy, preventive legal advocacy is a critical piece of reform efforts and scholarly attention. This article advocates for the expansion of existing preventive legal advocacy models and legislation codifying early access to counsel with the goal of disrupting the traditional pathways into the child welfare and family regulation system, enforcing the rights of parents and children to their family autonomy and meaningfully supporting families to thrive. Key points for the family court community: Preventive legal advocacy can interrupt the traditional path of a child neglect or maltreatment report and investigation by identifying legal issues and providing civil legal support.Programs such as medical‐legal partnerships and early family defense provide a model for addressing the unmet legal needs and underlying issues which traditionally bring families into contact with the child welfare system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractSince the implementation of China’s Mental Health Law, there has been a notable increase in involuntary hospitalisation cases involving individuals with mental health conditions across many provinces, leading to significant social controversy. Moreover, in the process of involuntary hospitalisation litigation, patients with mental health conditions have experienced difficulty initiating legal proceedings, presenting their cases effectively, and prevailing in court, to name a few of the many challenges they face. These obstacles, by impeding them in safeguarding their lawful rights and interests against this legal measure, substantially restrict their personal freedom. To establish a more accessible judicial relief mechanism, a number of steps need to be taken: enhancing the relevant provisions governing the acceptance of involuntary hospitalisation cases, ensuring a balanced distribution of the burden of proof between both parties, and strengthening judicial scrutiny of the legality of involuntary hospitalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of digital tools that enhance communications, security and decision making have caught the attention of international development agencies, national governments, civil society organizations, and the private sector. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has highlighted the importance of digital tools as a means "to improve justice sector efficiency, transparency and access to justicel, 1-1 while the European Commission has aligned them with "a new push for European democracy in line with the political priority of a Europe fit for the digital aget." With these observations in mind, this article focuses on the unique advantages and challenges presented by the ongoing efforts of digitalization as they pertain to litigation. I provide examples drawn from dilferent jurisdictions, policies, strategies, and success stories regarding this important phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the consumer justice system in the European Union (EU). Topics discussed include European federalism and the impact of sectoral lawmaking on consumer justice, consumer protection policies, laws and justice systems, elements of and changes to public law enforcement in Europe, the ombudsman model as a public and private approach to consumer justice, consumer justice in the U.S., and benefits of a European-style systemic design.

An introduction is presented in which the author discusses articles within the issue, on topics including class actions and the European Union's (EU) Representative Actions Directive, consumer justice in Europe, and third party litigation funding under the compensatory collective action procedure in the Netherlands.

The article examines the complex relationship between civil and criminal legal systems and their joint impact on individuals. Topics discussed include the pervasive challenges of civil and criminal justice overlap, the systemic inequalities affecting marginalized groups, and the need for integrative approaches to enhance justice outcomes across both systems.

What can access to justice look like in an authoritarian setting? In Russia, the law allows ordinary citizens who do not have a legal education to act as so-called citizen legal advocates (CLAs) in both criminal cases and cases on administrative offenses (non-criminal infractions). Drawing on qualitative fieldwork among CLAs in training sessions and in court, we show that lay people can enhance access to justice by impacting defendants' experiences of the legal process itself despite the likely negative legal outcome. Through their multiple roles from legal advisors and coaches to guardians of prisoner welfare, we demonstrate the ways that lay people can contribute to access to justice at every stage of a defendant's journey through the system. Examining the case of lay lawyering in a repressive setting enables us to elicit and zoom in on practices—often obscured in the existing outcome-oriented scholarship—that are meaningful for access to justice in courts and prisons across the democratic/authoritarian divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Race-and-class-subjugated communities continue to experience disproportionate police violence despite increased attention to this longstanding problem. This study examines how residents make sense of the legal issues that arise from these encounters and turn to civil law for assistance. I do so by unifying scholarship on police encounters, legal consciousness, and access to justice to consider the obstacles everyday people encounter when they consider filing a civil legal claim in the aftermath of police violence. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with 24 residents and two attorneys specializing in police brutality, I find that all residents, but especially those who sought civil legal justice, experienced what this study calls a legal mirage—which occurs when a knowable legal process exists to pursue one's rights, but a variety of barriers (e.g., structural, human, financial) make that process unreachable. Three obstacles reinforced this mirage: difficulties obtaining competent representation, unresponsiveness when securing evidence, and frustration navigating municipal indemnification. I conclude by outlining the practical implications of this research for advocates looking to increase access to civil legal services and reduce police violence. Without these interventions, civil legal justice may remain elusive and beyond the reach of everyday people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unique among marginalized groups, American Indians are both citizens of the United States and citizens of sovereign tribal nations, as recognized (but not granted) by federal Indian law. However, even as tribal nations exert increasing economic and political power, criminal legal outcomes for tribal members—who interface with an array of tribal, local, state, and federal law enforcement and justice systems—remain detrimental or are worsened. These outcomes also include increased contact with state courts and the delegitimization of tribal courts, which uniquely implicate the civil justice context. We use the settler colonial framework to investigate how tools of state criminal law, such as heavy policing and disparate punishment, may impact the civil justice needs of Indigenous people, and more broadly, the very sovereignty these policies aim to protect. Drawing on interviews and observations in tribal and county-level courts, we examine the experiences of American Indians and other stakeholders in Indian country. We identify how enforcement practices, surveillance of space, and the complexities of layered policing within a "jurisdictional maze" contribute to the deterioration of tribal sovereignty. We contextualize our findings by considering the historical, cultural, and socio-economic factors that influence the experiences of American Indians in the criminal justice system, and by examining the civil justice implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers working across a variety of contexts have documented a common phenomenon: the tendency for one legal liability or entanglement in people's lives to beget another. In this article, I label such phenomena liability chains and provide a framework for analyzing them as an access to justice issue. To do so, I draw on my original research on welfare fraud investigation, which included a review of documentary evidence and interviews with fraud workers in five politically and socioeconomically diverse U.S. states. Building on previous research, these data reveal three primary ways that liability chains contribute to the access to justice crisis. First, liability chains facilitate the origination of new legal problems, often in ways that are biased and systematically unequal. Second, liability chains involve processes that allow authorities to sidestep procedural protections when building criminal cases. Third, and most importantly from the access to justice perspective, liability chains produce outcomes that are unfair, with likelihoods of new legal liabilities contingent on the presence of existing liabilities and entanglements. Moving forward, this framework offers researchers a resource to test and refine in considering the access to justice implications of liability chains in various sociolegal settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is limited access to Justice system services in rural communities of Namibia, stemming from inadequate infrastructure and resources which contributes to a concerning escalation in poverty and crime rates within these communities. The study examines the factors that influence the Namibian Ministry of Justice's services to rural areas. The qualitative methods were employed, and actor-network theory (ANT) was applied as a lens for analysis. The study reveals that a mobile-enabled platform can be used to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Ministry of Justice service delivery. It highlights the factors that can influence the development of the platform. The findings have significant implications for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the Justice system services, from both technology and the Ministry of Justice's perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rich literature uses law and social science methods to better understand household financial distress and overindebtedness both inside and outside of bankruptcy. This scholarship contributes to several ongoing scholarly conversations, such as those on income and wealth disparities across race and class, how people live in circumstances of financial precarity, why people turn to the legal system to solve their problems, and how to improve access to justice so people can get the help they need. We first review the current literature about who files bankruptcy, the contributors to people's need to file bankruptcy, what happens to them in bankruptcy court, and what happens after their bankruptcy cases conclude. We then outline a research agenda of low-hanging fruit that will contribute to broader sociological and sociolegal research agendas, including economic mobility, aging, gender studies, health studies, family studies, social psychology, and policy work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the Minnesota State Bar Association's (MSBA) initiatives to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into the legal field. Topics include the establishment of the AI Working Group and AI Standing Committee, the creation of an AI Sandbox to facilitate the safe use of LLMs in legal practice, and the potential of these technologies to address access-to-justice issues for low-income individuals.

The article presents an interview with five retiring leaders in access to justice such as Jean Lastine; Justice Margaret Chutich and Pam Wandzel reflecting on their careers and the future of legal aid and pro bono work. Topics include their motivations for pursuing public interest law, the evolution of pro bono services and technology in legal aid, and the challenges in ensuring access to justice, particularly in rural areas.

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.)

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.)

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.)

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 IDP: Revista de Internet, Derecho y Politica is the property of Universitat Oberta de Catalunya 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.)

Through the 2030 Agenda, international bodies have set out 17 highly interconnected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to set course for the equitable and just development of society. SDG5 seeks to empower women and girls as a way of guaranteeing their fundamental rights, which are sometimes violated by the physical superiority of men who exercise their power by undermining women's freedoms. This study aims to analyse the connection between SDG1, SDG3, SDG8 and SDG11, and the protection of women, identifying the lines of action needed to favour access to justice for victims of gender‐based violence. The study was carried out on a panel sample of the 17 Spanish Autonomous Regions over a decade (2012–2021), using the generalised method of moments, specifically the xtabond2 estimator. Development was carried out in two stages: (1) the measures implemented by the Spanish authorities and the quality of life of the population were analysed, (2) six representative dimensions of quality of life associated with different targets of the SDGs were studied. Both scenarios were designed with the common objective of determining their impact on reporting to the police. The results show the need to reinforce protection orders, as well as to put in place the necessary measures to improve women's quality of life in order to attain a violence‐free society. Specifically, education, economic stability, mental and physical health, and work must be enhanced. In short, socio‐economic policies should be oriented towards the creation of a climate of security that favours access to justice for battered women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Neue Kriminalpolitik is the property of Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG 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.)

Land is a constitutional issue in Ethiopia. Article 40 of the FDRE constitution enshrines governing provisions about rural and urban land. Legislation power is given to the federal government (Article 51(5) of the constitution) although this power can be delegated to regions (Article 50(9) of the same constitution). In contrast, administration power is allocated to regions (Article 52 (2(d)) of the constitution). The federal government has enacted the Rural Land Administration and Use Proclamation 456/2005. Both federal and regional land laws have Alternative Dispute Resolution clauses. However, the opportunities and challenges of these clauses from the access to justice perspective are not studied very well. The main objective of this paper is to assess the legal framework and practice of ADR mechanisms in the rural land administration system from the access to justice perspective and come up with a policy option. Doctrinal type of legal research is applied where it involves theory testing which deals with studying existing laws (both federal and regional laws). In addition, both primary and secondary sources have been used. Primary qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The study found that there are legal constraints. One significant legal constraint is the requirement for mandatory mediation in certain regional states before seeking recourse in a court of law. Mediation is not clearly and uniformly applied per the law and in practice (often the practice and legal framework confuse mediation with arbitration, inappropriately giving decision-making powers to mediators, and turning them into arbiters). Women and Vulnerable Groups are generally more negatively affected by the overreaching of mediators into decision-making, because the mediators are more easily influenced by the party opposing women and Vulnerable Groups, and/or the mediators are culturally biased. This study recommends that mediation should be made optional, where mediators are chosen by the parties and the legal framework is clear that the role of the mediators does not involve imposing decisions. For Oromia and SNNPR, the legal regime of mediation should be clarified to avoid confusion with the arbitration. It is necessary to train community-level mediators in the law and the protection of land rights of Vulnerable Groups against gender discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legal interpreter assistance has a direct impact on the outcomes of legal cases. This paper examines the availability of legal interpreters in Bali as one of the two provinces in Indonesia with the highest demand for legal interpreters and its impact on non-Indonesian speakers. This paper adopts a qualitative research method and draws data from collaborative research conducted between RMIT University and the University of Warmadewa, Bali. It draws data from legal practitioners in Bali with experience working with interpreters. The data was obtained through interviews using semi-structured questions in Indonesian. Subsequently, the responses were translated into English, and the emerging themes were analysed using both inductive and deductive processes. Data collected reveals a concerning shortage of legal interpreters in Bali and a notable disparity between the availability of English-speaking interpreters versus non-English languages. It also exposes the practice of using English-Indonesian language pair interpreters for non-English-speaking individuals due to the unavailability of interpreters in certain languages. This practice negatively impacts fair access to justice in Bali and at the same time increases the potential for future appeals