There are two systems of corporate governance typically employed worldwide: monistic and dualistic. Traditionally, in some Central and Eastern European countries, the dualistic approach has been dominant, requiring a strict separation of the executive and supervisory bodies. In the last few years, in a movement that can be considered an intra-European legal convergence, there have been various corporate legislation reforms. This article is devoted to analyzing the results of those reforms, and they have, in fact, created in hitherto traditionally dualistic systems the legal possibility of transitioning to a monistic system. While the dualist system has not been totally abandoned, an alternative option of organ formation has been introduced in selected companies, modelled on certain case law jurisdictions. The article thus shows the evolution and reasons for such a process and assess its effectiveness. The article does not, in principle, analyse the traditional Western European legal systems, where the issues in question have been discussed for years in a theoretical context. Instead, it focuses on new legislation in Poland and Ukraine, two countries which have recently made very significant changes to their legal frameworks. This approach makes it possible to highlight the latest European trends. In the article, reference is made to a number of arguments supporting the introduced mixed system, while simultaneously rejecting the previous view that legislation must adopt either a single-tier or a two-tier system. This therefore relates to the private nature of companies, the freedom to shape their internal relations, and the experiences of European companies.

In recent years, the concept of ghosting has gained attention in both every day and academic communication. Scholars define it as the interruption of communication initiated by one person (temporary or permanent), with the intention of limiting or completely severing contact with individuals who negatively impact the relationship, often accomplished using one or more technological channels (LeFebvre et al., 2019). This paper analyzes scientific articles on the phenomenon of ghosting, published in full on Google Scholar between 2017 and 2024. The corpus was narrowed to 50 freely available full-text articles from humanities fields, including psychology, communication, and language studies, and categorized into four thematic groups: articles focusing on personality traits, articles centered on individual characteristics, studies examining motivation, and research addressing the consequences of ghosting. Research indicates that ghosting is driven by personal characteristics, coping styles, and the ease of ending contact in digital environments, while at the same time producing a range of negative emotional reactions, especially in long-term relationships and friendships. The research findings indicate that ghosting is a multidimensional phenomenon that can be explained only when all relevant factors are considered, including individual traits, motivation, consequences, and contextual influences. Furthermore, the study highlights the need for a more precise definition of the phenomenon itself, as it manifests differently depending on the goals of individuals who employ this abrupt communication-termination style and on the victim’s perception.

The paper presents the results of a study on the experiences of practitioners with the right to information in misdemeanour proceedings in the Republic of Croatia. The research was conducted in the form of semi-structured interviews with three groups of practitioners: prosecutors, adjudicators and defence attorneys. The research focused on three groups of rights that substantively constitute the right to information in accordance with the Directive on the right to information in criminal proceedings and the practice of the ECtHR: the right to information concerning procedural rights, the right to information concerning accusations and the right of access to the case file. Following the previously conducted theoretical-normative research, which pointed out certain inconsistencies in the current legislation on misdemeanours, the empirical research aimed to verify the results of the theoretical research and to determine the compliance of the legal framework and practice with the Directive on the right to information in criminal proceedings. The study of practitioners' experiences in misdemeanour proceedings revealed the weaknesses of the current legislation and paved the way for future research and the creation of a comprehensive and coherent legal framework.

Family companies constitute an essential type of company in national and global economies, yet their long-term survival depends on effective succession planning. If the intergenerational transfer is not arranged in advance, the company faces the risk of fragmentation and even dissolution. Rather than comparing an identical legal tool in both jurisdictions, the article investigates two different instruments: one for advance and timely planning, and the other for the prevention of fragmentation through succession when no prior planning exists. Each tool is analyzed within its national framework, with the aim of demonstrating how such instruments may serve as role models not only for Slovenia and Hungary, but also for other jurisdictions. From the perspective of Slovenian law, the article considers whether special protective succession rules, similar to those preventing the fragmentation of protected farms, could be introduced to preserve family companies in cases where no prior transfer arrangements exist. From the perspective of Hungarian law, the paper analyses the asset management foundation, a private-law mechanism that allows founders to determine conditions for the governance and transfer of family wealth across multiple generations. The comparison reveals two contrasting approaches: a statutory framework aimed at preventing fragmentation of family companies, and a flexible private-law tool reserved primarily for families with substantial assets. Despite their differences in scope and accessibility, both instruments may coexist within a national framework: one facilitating advance succession planning, the other preventing fragmentation in its absence.

Although anautonomous legal institute of international contract law, the seeds of the doctrine of fundamental breachof contract may be followedtothe seriousness requirement present incomparative contract law.This article examines the role of debtor’s conduct in finding a case of fundamental breach.Comparative, international and European legal rules and practicesare analyzedby emphasingthe role of the debtor’sconduct.In terms of current legal rules, one may certainlydraw a conclusion that the debtor’s conduct, especiallywhere it amountsto a fault of a greater degree, makesthe findingof a case of fundamental breach of contractmore probable.Availablecase lawdemonstrates the continuous relevancy ofdebtor’s fault for findingthatfundamental breachhas occurred. Such a relevancy, in the view of the authors, is inherent to the morality of promising and cannot be bypassed by introducing a neutral concept of fundamental breach of contract. Analyzedcase law shows that courts and arbitrators do consider debtor’s fault;although by omitting its express mentioning.The authors contend that debtor’s fault does and should play a role for the purposes of establishing a uniform notion of fundamental breach of contract.At the end of the day, thisisaninevitable consequence of the inherent morality of contractual obligations.

This study examines how the organization of daily activities and leisure time in women's penitentiary institutions can enhance their rehabilitation and preparation for reintegration into family and societal life. The research argues that structured time management in correctional facilities, when properly implemented by institutional staff, serves as a crucial factor in successful resocialization of female inmates.Through qualitative methods including open-ended interviews with 31 incarcerated women and expert evaluations with 40 correctional professionals, the study identifies five primary activity domains: vocational work (weight coefficient 0.39), peer socialization (0.26), educational programming (0.17), family communication (0.11), and sports/skill development (0.07).The analysis reveals significant institutional barriers to effective rehabilitation, particularly inadequate recreational facilities (identified as the most pressing issue with 0.41 weight), insufficient health considerations (0.28), and poor compliance with rehabilitation-focused legislation (0.19).The findings demonstrate that current penitentiary practices in Kazakhstan frequently fail to meet international standards for female offender rehabilitation, particularly regarding proximity to family locations and implementation of vocational training programs.The study concludes with specific recommendations for improving correctional programming, emphasizing the need for enhanced educational opportunities, family visitation policies, and structured leisure activities that collectively support post-release social integration.

This paper explores the performance and efficiency of first instance courts in North Macedonia by assessing the key performance indicators: clearance rate and disposition time. Our workcontributes to a better understanding of court efficiency in North Macedonia by analyzing geographical disparities between first-instance courts. The study encompasses data for 27 first-instance courts organized into four groups based on which appellate area they belong to. The analysis covers the period from 2015 to 2023. The primary goal of our study is to ascertain whether a disparity exists in the efficiency of courts. Our empirical strategy includes the utilization of the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test; thus, we do not aim toexplore which courts exhibit superior or inferior performance. The results suggest that both clearance rates and disposition time did not differ substantially from 2015 to 2022 in civil cases. However, in 2023, there were statistically significant differences among the observed indicators. Concerning criminal cases, until 2021, the clearing rates and disposition times did not significantly differ among various court groups; however, findings from 2022 and 2023 revealed statistically significant disparities. We propose conducting further research at a first-instance court level to evaluate individual courts’ efficacy and determine the underlying reasons for divergence of the key performance indicators between the different appellate areas.

Resolving a criminal case within a reasonable time is an important element of the right to a fair trial. The need to respect the reasonable term is succinctly expressed both in a frequently quoted British adage of justice delayed, justice denied, and in aFrench saying with a similar content, justice rétive, justice fautive. The purpose of the criminal process is not achieved by merely punishing the guilty. The prosecution must be carried out within a timeframe that proves that the state is taking prompt action to to ensure compliance with the law. Only in this way can the preventive purpose of the punishment be achieved and the confidence of the citizens in the ability of the state to protect them can be preserved. Legislatures are frequently choosing to introduce elements of negotiated justice in order to solve the problem of the length of criminal proceedings. The plea agreement procedure is thus seen in more and more countries as an important means of achieving this objective. The plea agreement was introduced into Romanian law as of January 1, 2014. Previously, court proceedings had become overly formalistic, cumbersome, costly and not expeditious. At the same time, the strict application of the principles of establishing the truth and the direct administration of evidence by the court often led to an unjustified prolongation of the criminal proceedings and an unnecessary waste of state resources in some cases where the guilt of the defendant was obvious.In this study we will try to see whether these objectives have been achieved in any way. To this end, we examined the existing situation in the municipality of Bucharest within the six sector courts and the Bucharest Tribunal from January 1 to September 3,2024. We verified the number of criminal cases that were resolved by these courts during this period of time. We also researched how many of these cases were solved on the basis of a plea agreement. In the cases where plea agreements were reached, we wanted to find out which offenses were targeted and how long the prosecution lasted. In terms of the time taken to solve the case, we took into consideration the time elapsed between the moment when the prosecution had evidence that the defendant had committed the crime and the time when the plea agreement was concluded.Based on these data, we tried to establish whether the introduction of the plea agreement in the Romanian legislation has really contributed in ensuring a reasonable timeframe and what are the reasons why the institution does not generate the same results as in other countries.The conclusion we have reached is that the institution of the plea agreement did not have the desired effects at the time of its regulation. The time taken to resolve cases has not been reduced, with many cases taking years to resolve, even though their complexity would allow a final solution to be pronounced in a few months.

The increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in financial markets has brought both opportunities and risks. While AI-driven tools enhance efficiency and profitability, they also introduce potential threats, particularly in the realm of financial crimes. This paper explores the role of AI in financial markets, focusing on its potential to facilitate fraudulent activities such as market manipulation, price fixing, and collusion. The unpredictability of AI, coupled with its ability to autonomously make trading decisions, raises complex legal and regulatory challenges.A key issue discussed is the difficulty in attributing criminal liability when AI autonomously engages in illicit financial activities. Traditional legal frameworks rely on human intent (mens rea) as a cornerstone of financial crime prosecution. However, AI-driven misconduct challenges this notion, as existing laws are often inadequate in addressing cases where no clear human perpetrator can be identified. Through a comparative legal analysis of the US, UK, and European legal systems, this paper highlights the limitations of current regulations in holding AI developers, financial institutions, or corporate entities accountable for AI-induced financial crimes.