Constitutional Issues Research Articles

Constitutional and legal principles of ensuring the independence of judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine

The independence of judges constitutes one of the fundamental components of the legal system in any democratic country. Within the legal framework of Ukraine, the constitutional and legal principles guaranteeing the independence of judges, specifically those of the Constitutional Court, represent a key element of the legal structure ensuring the stability of the rule of law, the protection of human rights, and the development of the rule-of-law state.
 It is emphasized that the guarantees of the independence of courts of general jurisdiction and bodies of constitutional justice play a critical role in ensuring legal stability and protecting judges from political or external influences. The independence of judges in performing their functions is crucial in upholding the principles of the rule of law and justice. Therefore, it is vital to ensure an effective mechanism to safeguard this independence from any external pressure or influence, regardless of the sphere of jurisdiction.
 It has been identified that one potential drawback associated with expressing a separate opinion of a judge of the Constitutional Court could be the blurring of the clarity of the adopted decision. Separate opinions generate significant interest among scholars and practicing lawyers, with the texts of such opinions often utilized in the educational process of legal institutions and drawing attention from judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine during the consideration of similar cases. As these documents contain doctrinal views on various aspects of cases reviewed by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, they become the subject of additional analysis and consideration.
 It is noted that ensuring the independence of judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is based on a comprehensive system of constitutional and legal guarantees aimed at ensuring their independence in resolving important constitutional issues and preserving the principles of the rule-of-law state in Ukraine.
 Moreover, Ukraine, as a participant in international treaties and organizations, is obliged to adhere to international standards in the field of justice and guaranteeing judicial independence. Consequently, means of protecting the rights of judges of the Constitutional Court are developed and adapted to international normative documents.

Impacts to address sexual violence in Canada and internationally

Impacts to address sexual violence in Canada and internationally Shaheen Shariff, Ph.D. is James McGill Professor and Project Director of iMPACTS, which focuses on addressing sexual violence in Canada and internationally. Led by Professor Shaheen Shariff, Ph.D., iMPACTS is a multi-year, multi-million dollar Partnership Grant funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The overarching goal of iMPACTS is to unearth, dismantle, and prevent sexual violence within universities and, ultimately, in society, through evidence- based research that informs sustainable curriculum and policy change. Professor Shariff is James McGill Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at the Faculty of Education at McGill University, and she is the Project Director of this SSHRC Partnership Grant. Professor Shariff grounds her work in the intersection of law and education, focusing on human rights and constitutional issues, diversity, legal pluralism, and civil society.

SperMD: the expression atlas of sperm maturation

The impairment of sperm maturation is one of the major pathogenic factors in male subfertility, a serious medical and social problem affecting millions of global couples. Regrettably, the existing research on sperm maturation is slow, limited, and fragmented, largely attributable to the lack of a global molecular view. To fill the data gap, we newly established a database, namely the Sperm Maturation Database (SperMD, http://bio-add.org/SperMD). SperMD integrates heterogeneous multi-omics data (170 transcriptomes, 91 proteomes, and five human metabolomes) to illustrate the transcriptional, translational, and metabolic manifestations during the entire lifespan of sperm maturation. These data involve almost all crucial scenarios related to sperm maturation, including the tissue components of the epididymal microenvironment, cell constituents of tissues, different pathological states, and so on. To the best of our knowledge, SperMD could be one of the limited repositories that provide focused and comprehensive information on sperm maturation. Easy-to-use web services are also implemented to enhance the experience of data retrieval and molecular comparison between humans and mice. Furthermore, the manuscript illustrates an example application demonstrated to systematically characterize novel gene functions in sperm maturation. Nevertheless, SperMD undertakes the endeavor to integrate the islanding omics data, offering a panoramic molecular view of how the spermatozoa gain full reproductive abilities. It will serve as a valuable resource for the systematic exploration of sperm maturation and for prioritizing the biomarkers and targets for precise diagnosis and therapy of male subfertility.

Decomposition Technique for Bio-Transmittance Imaging Based on Attenuation Coefficient Matrix Inverse.

Human body tissue disease diagnosis will become more accurate if transmittance images, such as X-ray images, are separated according to each constituent tissue. This research proposes a new image decomposition technique based on the matrix inverse method for biological tissue images. The fundamental idea of this research is based on the fact that when k different monochromatic lights penetrate a biological tissue, they will experience different attenuation coefficients. Furthermore, the same happens when monochromatic light penetrates k different biological tissues, as they will also experience different attenuation coefficients. The various attenuation coefficients are arranged into a unique k×k-dimensional square matrix. k-many images taken by k-many different monochromatic lights are then merged into an image vector entity; further, a matrix inverse operation is performed on the merged image, producing N-many tissue thickness images of the constituent tissues. This research demonstrates that the proposed method effectively decomposes images of biological objects into separate images, each showing the thickness distributions of different constituent tissues. In the future, this proposed new technique is expected to contribute to supporting medical imaging analysis.

Quantifying the Influence of X-Ray Irradiation on Cell-Size-Scale Viscoelasticity of Collagen Type 1.

X-rays are widely used in mammography and radiotherapy of breast cancer. The research has focused on the effects of X-rays on cells in breast tissues, instead of the tissues' nonliving material, extracellular matrix. It is unclear what the influence of X-ray irradiation is on the matrix's mechanical cues, known to regulate malignant cancer-cell behaviors. Here, we developed a technique based on magnetic microrheology that can quantify the influence of X-ray irradiation on matrix viscoelasticity--or (solid-like) elastic and (liquid-like) viscous characteristics--at cell-size scales. To model breast-tissue extracellular matrix, we used the primary component of the tissue matrix, collagen type 1, as it is for control, and as irradiated by X-rays (tube voltage 50 kV). We used a magnetic microrheometer to measure collagen matrices using 10-μm-diameter magnetic probes. In each matrix, the probes were nanomanipulated using controlled magnetic forces by the microrheometer while the probes' displacements were detected to measure the viscoelasticity. The collagen-matrix data involve with a typical spatial variation in viscoelasticity. We find that higher irradiation doses (320 Gy) locally reduce stiffness (soften) collagen matrices and increase their loss tangent, indicating an elevated liquid-like nature. For lower, clinically relevant irradiation doses (54 Gy), we find insignificant matrix-viscoelasticity changes. We provide this irradiation-related technique for detection, and modification, of matrix viscoelastic cues at cell-size scales. The technique enables enhanced characterization of irradiated tissue constituents in a variety of breast-cancer radiotherapy types.

Labour, the Unions and Proportional Representation

AbstractThe Labour Party's support will likely be crucial to any major change of the voting system in the UK. While Labour has supported first past the post for most of its existence, a resolution was passed at the 2022 party conference calling for Labour to include in its manifesto a commitment to change the voting system to proportional representation after the next election. This resulted from an effective campaign by activists to change the party's policy on electoral reform. The position of the trade unions, often perceived to be conservative on constitutional issues, was particularly important. This article focusses on the campaign to change the opinion of the British trade union movement. It outlines the British trade union movement's historic reservations about electoral reform and then analyses the grassroots effort behind this movement, focussing on the organisation of Make Votes Matter, Labour for a New Democracy, and Politics for the Many. The article concludes by offering insights into the potential long‐term consequences of this campaign and its potential impact on the ideological direction of the Labour Party.

Synthesis of pure and doped nano-calcium phosphates using different conventional methods for biomedical applications: a review.

The applications of calcium phosphates (hydroxyapatite, tetracalcium phosphate, tricalcium phosphate (alpha and beta), fluorapatite, di-calcium phosphate anhydrous, and amorphous calcium-phosphate) are increasing day by day. Calcium hydroxyapatite, commonly known as hydroxyapatite (HAp), represents a mineral form of calcium apatite. Owing to its close molecular resemblance to the mineral constituents of bones, teeth, and hard tissues, HAp is often employed in the biomedical domain. In addition, it is extensively employed in various sectors such as the remediation of water, air, and soil pollution. The key advantage of HAp lies in its potential to accommodate a wide variety of anionic and cationic substitutions. Nevertheless, HAp and tricalcium phosphate (TCP) syntheses typically involve the use of chemical precursors containing calcium and phosphorus sources and employ diverse techniques, such as solid-state, wet, and thermal methods or a combination of these processes. Researchers are increasingly favoring natural sources such as bio-waste (eggshells, oyster shells, animal bones, fish scales, etc.) as viable options for synthesizing HAp. Interestingly, the synthesis route significantly influences the morphology, size, and crystalline phase of calcium phosphates. In this review paper, we highlight both dry and wet methods, which include six commonly used synthesis methods (i.e. solid-state, mechano-chemical, wet-chemical precipitation, hydrolysis, sol-gel, and hydrothermal methods) coupled with the variation in source materials and their influence in modifying the structural morphology from a bulky state to nanoscale to explore the applications of multifunctional calcium phosphates in different formats.

Adipose Tissue Macrophages.

In obesity, adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) are abundant immune cells in the adipose tissue and are known as inducers of metabolic inflammation that may lead to insulin resistance and immune disorders associated with obesity. However, much less is known about the ontogeny and physiological functions of ATMs in lean adipose tissue. ATMs are present at birth and actively participate in the synthesis of mediators that induce lipolysis, mitobiogenesis, and thermogenesis in adipocytes. Later in life ATMs limit the thermogenic competence of the adipocytes and favor lipid storage. ATMs respond to lipid overload of adipocytes in obesity with a sequence of pro-inflammatory events, including inflammasome activation and pyroptosis, as well as stimulation of nuclear factor kappa B and interferon regulatory factors that evoke an uncontrolled inflammation. ATMs are life-long constituents of the adipose tissue and hence signals that control ATM development and ATM-adipocyte interactions determine adipose tissue health.

NextGenerationEU and the Future of European Integration: Foreseeing the Unforeseeable

Public revenues, who decides on them, and their justification and legitimation are among the oldest constitutional issues of all. In the EU, member states ultimately control the scope of European policy and the independence of the European level via the EU's budget. This can be interpreted either as a bug or as a feature. The European Parliament reflects representation without taxation, as it has no taxation powers, and the EU does not have budgetary autonomy.

Supreme Court Impacts in Public Health Law: 2023-2024.

In a "mixed bag" 2023-2024 session, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a series of decisions both favorable and antithetical to public health and safety. Taking on tough constitutional issues implicating gun control, misinformation, and homelessness, the Court also avoided substantive reviews in favor of procedural dismissals in key cases involving reproductive rights and government censorship.

시민불복종의 법적 정당화 고찰

The general view is that civil disobedience cannot be ‘legally justified’ because it is ‘an act that violates the law’, and that the disobedient must be willing to accept the legal consequences of his or her disobedience. However, as long as the value of civil disobedience is needed to resolve the partial breakdown of the system that the representative system cannot properly handle, is it impossible to recognize the legal justification beyond acknowledging moral justification for civil disobedience that fully accepts the entire legal order? This paper starts from this question and seeks to explore the possibility of legal justification of civil disobedience in relation to positive law. This is because acknowledging the role of civil disobedience in supplementing the blind spots of the representative system and seeking ways to legalize it to a certain extent is rather a way to expand the realm of the rule of law.
 The concept of legal justification for civil disobedience is being used vaguely, with its specific relationship to positive law unclear. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to confirm the concept of legal justification of civil disobedience in relation to the Constitution and positive laws. This must begin with distinguishing between direct and indirect civil disobedience. That’s because the legal justification of civil disobedience itself or individual acts of disobedience varies depending on whether the target rule violated by civil disobedience is consistent with or inconsistent with the target law or policy that civil disobedience aims to protest.
 Jury nullification in the US jury system is an exceptional system in which a jury acknowledges that the accused is guilty of a crime charged in a criminal trial, but finds him innocent for various reasons. As long as jury nullification, which is an important part of the jury system, is understood as a constitutional issue, the implications of jury nullification on the legal justification of civil disobedience are relevant. The device of jury nullification, which sometimes grants legal immunity to civil disobedience, provides an implication in interpreting the social rule provisions(Article 20) of our criminal law.
 As a result of a large-scale protest against the installation of nuclear missiles in Germany in the 1980s, the German Federal Constitutional Court finally discussed civil disobedience. In particular, in the 1986 decision, some Constitutional Court judges put forward a theory referred to as the constitutional influence of civil disobedience. The majority opinion in the 1995 decision, which followed over time, also presented an interpretation that respond implicitly to the theory presented by the dissenting opinion in 1986. Therefore, we will examine this theory, which provides important implications for the interpretation of the social rule.

가짜뉴스에 대한 합헌적 규제를 위한 고찰

In a technological society where macro technologies, generative artificial intelligence, and platforms have accelerated by leaps and bounds, the risks and concerns of so-called fake news are intensifying. The Internet is a forum for expression, “the most participatory medium of expression”, as Constitutional Court has affirmed. Fake news is intentionally manipulated false information that has the appearance of a journalistic article. The rapid spread of fake news through social networking services (SNS) and personal media can lead to societal and structural problems by adversely affecting the judgment of individuals, threatening the freedom of expression on the Internet, which is rooted in freedom of thought. For this reason, it is necessary to regulate the creation and dissemination of fake news on the Internet. However, regulation in response to fake news eventually leads to restrictions on freedom of expression. Against this backdrop, the constitutional issues surrounding fake news and the response to it today are clear. It is a question of balancing the public interest protected by regulating fake news against the freedom of expression restricted by doing so. Regardless of the amount of money involved, it is difficult to determine whether information is true or false, and even false information can fall under the protection of free speech and expression. For this reason, legal regulation of fake news needs to be limited to those that objectively threaten people's basic rights and the basic order of liberal democracy, and whose danger or harm is obvious and requires urgency. As the issue of the regulation of fake news has become a hot topic in Korean society, this paper reviews the existing debate from a constitutional perspective and critically examines the dangers of fake news and the need for a constitutional legislative response, especially in the current era of changing technologies and platforms. To this end, we examined the legislative bills introduced in the 20th and 21st National Assemblies from the perspectives of the constitutional principles of clarity, proportionality, and pre-censorship funding, and examined the possibilities of responding to fake news in the current legislation, suggesting social science tools and self-regulation as complements to legislative regulation.

Actual Problems of the Theory of State and Law in the Works of German Lawyers of the Late XX – Early XXI Century

The importance of the theory of state and law as a basic fundamental legal science is generally recognized in European jurisprudence. This is especially true for the countries of the Romano-German legal family. The article shows the points of view of famous German jurists, philosophers, sociologists on topical issues of the theory of state and law. It is important to study the basic theoretical and legal views of representatives of the German law school, since they, along with scientists from other countries, have made a significant contribution to the development of theoretical and legal science. The purpose of the article is to draw the attention of the Russian legal community to the works of German lawyers that have not been fully translated into Russian. The article begins with a description of the problems of methodology and justification of the chosen comparative legal research method. In relation to the theory of the state, the issues of global constitutionalism, problems of state sovereignty, changes in the role of the state in modern society, the emergence of new functions for the state, the theory of the liberal state and its criticism are considered. The problems of the theory of law raised in the article relate to the issues of the system and self-production of law, legal interpretation and non-legal interpretations, the limits of legal regulation, legal positivism, concretization in law, judicial lawmaking, the views of the Frankfurt School. Attention is paid to the problem of the value justification of law and sociocultural factors in law, the relationship between law and culture. The article may be of interest to specialists in the field of theory of state and law and comparative law.

The Effect of Arbitration on the Islamic Political System

The current research aims to elucidate the concept of arbitration, its legitimacy, scope, significance, the extent of obligation, and its impact on the internal political system of the state, particularly constitutional issues related to assuming power and resolving internal political disputes within the administration of the Muslim state. The study examines the influence of arbitration on foreign policy matters involving wars or international conflicts over land or water, providing real life examples from the time of the Prophet, his companions, and his followers. The current study concluded that arbitration could have a significance impact on resolving both internal and external political disputes if employed appropriately and optimally. The study emphasizes the risk associated with failing to arbitrate political issues, which may result in adverse consequences such as widening the conflict gap among the opponents.

Quantitative Analysis of NKX2-3 Expression in Human Colon: An Immunohistochemical Study.

In mice, Nkx2-3 homeodomain transcription factor defines the vascular specification of secondary and tertiary lymphoid tissues of the intestines. In human studies, polymorphisms in NKX2-3 have been identified as a susceptibility factor in inflammatory bowel diseases, whereas in mice, its absence is associated with protection against experimental colitis and enhanced intestinal epithelial proliferation. Here, we investigated the expression of NKX2-3 in normal, polyp, and adenocarcinoma human colon samples using immunohistochemistry and quantitative morphometry, correlating its expression with endothelial and mesenchymal stromal markers. Our results revealed that the expression of NKX2-3 is regionally confined to the lamina propria and lamina muscularis mucosae, and its production is restricted mostly to endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells with variable co-expression of CD34, alpha smooth muscle antigen (αSMA), and vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1). The frequency of NKX2-3-positive cells and intensity of expression correlated inversely with aging. Furthermore, in most colorectal carcinoma samples, we observed a significant reduction of NKX2-3 expression. These findings indicate that the NKX2-3 transcription factor is produced by both endothelial and non-endothelial tissue constituents in the colon, and its expression changes during aging and in colorectal malignancies. (J Histochem Cytochem XX: XXX-XXX, XXXX).

Environmental chemicals change extracellular lipidome of mature human white adipocytes

Certain environmental chemicals affect the body's energy balance and are known as metabolism disrupting chemicals (MDCs). MDCs have been implicated in the development of metabolic diseases, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. In contrast to their well-known impact on developing adipocytes, MDC effects leading to altered energy balance and development of insulin resistance in mature white adipocytes, constituents of adult adipose tissue, are largely unclear.Here, we investigated the effects of six well-established environmental MDCs (bisphenol A (BPA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), triclosan (TCS), p,p-dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethylene (ppDDE), tributyltin chloride (TBT) and triphenyl phosphate (TPP)) on mature human white adipocytes derived from mesenchymal stem cells in vitro. We aimed to identify biomarkers and sensitive endpoints of their metabolism disrupting effects. While most of the tested exposures had no effect on adipocyte glucose consumption, lipid storage and assessed gene expression endpoints, the highest concentration of triclosan affected the total lipid storage and adipocyte size, as well as glucose consumption and mRNA expression of the glucose transporter GLUT1, leptin and adiponectin. Additionally, an increased expression of adiponectin was observed with TPP and the positive control PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone.In contrast, the lipidomic analysis of the cell culture medium after a 3-day exposure was extremely sensitive and revealed concentration-dependent changes in the extracellular lipidome of adipocytes exposed to nearly all studied chemicals. While some of the extracellular lipidome changes were specific for the MDC used, some effects were found common to several tested chemicals and included increases in lysophosphatidylcholines, glycerophospholipids and ceramides and a decrease in fatty acids, with possible implications in inflammation, lipid and glucose uptake.This study points to early signs of metabolic disruption and likely systemic effects of mature adipocyte exposure to environmental chemicals, as well as to the need to include lipidomic endpoints in the assessment of adverse effects of MDCs.

Disregarding the Constitutional Court Decision Concerning the Prohibition of Concurrent Deputy Minister Positions

The presence of the deputy minister position in the Indonesian government system has been a constitutional issue, both in its appointment and the issue of the prohibition of holding multiple positions. This article discusses Constitutional Court Decision Number 80/PUU-XVII/2019, which provides clarity on the constitutionality of the appointment of deputy ministers and the prohibition of holding multiple positions, including as commissioners or directors in state-owned or private companies. Despite this decision, the analysis indicates that the prohibition of holding multiple positions for deputy ministers is still disregarded, as some deputy ministers currently serve as Commissioners in State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). This research uses a normative approach by analyzing secondary data. The result is that the Constitution is ignored because the Constitutional Court Decision regarding the prohibition of holding multiple positions for deputy ministers is not implemented. To address this non-compliance, if deputy ministers continue to hold positions as commissioners, the President should be able to dismiss them based on the State Ministry Law and Constitutional Court Decision, and impose sanctions in the form of an obligation to compensate the state’s financial loss incurred during the concurrent positions.

The Possibility of Establishing the Ombudsman of the Republic of Poland as a Body for the Protection of Whistleblowers Reporting Violations of European Union Law. Constitutional Issues

Abstract The purpose of this article is to analyze the constitutional considerations of the possibility of establishing the Ombudsman as a body to receive reports of violations of the law under the authority of Directive Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 23, 2019 on the protection of whistleblowers. The results of the research lead to the conclusion of the possible admissibility of such a solution, but with the need for appropriate system changes. However, the author recommends entrusting this competence to a newly created body.

The Law of Urgency in Choosing Leaders in The Qur'an According to Al-Mawardi

This article explains the mechanism for selecting government and state leaders according to Abu Hassan al-Mawardi's benefit theory. According to al-Mawardi, Islamic teachings require legal norms that are closely related to political and constitutional issues. Based on the interpretation of QS Ali Imran verse 59, al-Mawardi reconstructs the meaning of Ulil Amri as the political representation of the people in the state power system. According to him, Ulil Amri is a group of selected people from various circles, namely soldiers, ulama, scientists, and so on who have an important key in the political decision-making process. The interesting thing about al-Mawardi's thinking is that he emphasizes the political consensus side (ijma fi fiqh al-siyasi) in the process of making political decisions, one of which is used in choosing government and state leaders.

Hydrogel-Loaded Exosomes: A Promising Therapeutic Strategy for Musculoskeletal Disorders

Clinical treatment strategies for musculoskeletal disorders have been a hot research topic. Accumulating evidence suggests that hydrogels loaded with MSC-derived EVs show great potential in improving musculoskeletal injuries. The ideal hydrogels should be capable of promoting the development of new tissues and simulating the characteristics of target tissues, with the properties matching the cell-matrix constituents of autologous tissues. Although there have been numerous reports of hydrogels loaded with MSC-derived EVs for the repair of musculoskeletal injuries, such as intervertebral disc injury, tendinopathy, bone fractures, and cartilage injuries, there are still many hurdles to overcome before the clinical application of modified hydrogels. In this review, we focus on the advantages of the isolation technique of EVs in combination with different types of hydrogels. In this context, the efficacy of hydrogels loaded with MSC-derived EVs in different musculoskeletal injuries is discussed in detail to provide a reference for the future application of hydrogels loaded with MSC-derived EVs in the clinical treatment of musculoskeletal injuries.