Constitutional Research Articles

Act of Grace Payments and the Constitution

This article focuses on a hitherto underexplored but increasingly important area of public expenditure: act of grace payments. Act of grace payments are voluntary, highly discretionary gifts of money made by the executive in the absence of any legal duty to do so. The expenditure on such payments in Australia has been significant, and a lack of transparency creates serious risks to integrity. Further, the cases of Pape v Federal Commissioner of Taxation, Williams v Commonwealth and Williams v Commonwealth [No 2] have transformed the constitutional framework for public expenditure. Accordingly, this article conducts a fine-grained analysis of the constitutional legality of act of grace payments at the Commonwealth, state and territory levels. The authors argue that there are significant constitutional issues with act of grace payments at the Commonwealth level, and that many state-based act of grace payments are likely to be illegal. To address these issues, and to reduce the risk that payments will be made illegally, the authors recommend several legislative and soft law changes.

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS AND PRINCIPLES OF LEGAL REGULATION OF DECENTRALISATION IN SELECTED EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND UKRAINE

Background: This research paper aims to enhance theoretical understanding and explore the conceptual foundations and principles of legal regulation of decentralisation. Establishing a well-defined categorical apparatus is an important prerequisite for drafting effective legal regulation, and decentralisation is no exception. A precise understanding of this concept allows for the development of clear stages of its implementation in national legislation. No less important is the proper formulation of the principles of legal regulation of decentralisation. These principles allow further development of a system of legal regulation that will ensure the autonomy of local self-government. Methods: The study provides a comparative analysis of the principle of decentralisation implementation experience in such countries as Belgium, Italy, France, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, which have chosen both centralised and decentralised forms of public administration. The paper employs a multi-faceted methodology to analyse legal aspects of decentralisation in countries under study, focusing on the observance of the European Charter of Local Self-government standards and the evolution of constitutional frameworks of decentralisation. This approach includes a comparative analysis of constitutional models of decentralisation and their historical backgrounds, as well as an analysis of the practical application of decentralisation and recentralisation as phenomena in modern national policy. Particular attention is given to the influence of the martial law regime on these processes in certain countries. Results and Conclusions: The main research findings clarify the primary problems of European standards of local-self-government implementation in studied countries. They highlight the distinction of specific approaches to decentralisation, including its combination with deconcentration, devolution or even centralisation of power. Additionally, the research provides an analysis of the historical aspect of the development of the constitutional framework for decentralisation. Lawyers and legislators can use these insights to improve the effectiveness of legislation regarding local self-government development in the studied countries.

"Prototypic personality disorder" and the social issue: The category of psychopathy in Polish psychiatry in the interwar period.

The category of psychopathy has a long history, and its meaning has undergone a notable evolution since its conception in the 19th century. The history of psychopathy has been concentrating mainly on English- and German-speaking psychopathology. This article investigates definitions of psychopathy, its classification, and social issues associated with this category in Polish psychiatry in the interwar period. Polish definitions of psychopathy were influenced predominantly by Ernst Kretschmer's constitutional theory as well as by Eugen Kahn's, William Stern's, and Kurt Schneider's ideas. The term was generally understood as a borderline category denoting states between health and mental illness. As those states could manifest differently, it was thought to be many psychopathies. Two Polish psychiatrists, Maurycy Bornsztajn and Jakub Frostig, presented comprehensive classifications of psychopathies. Social issues associated with the category of psychopathy concentrated on three topics: psychopathy in children as a problem of the prevention of mental disorders; psychopathy as a problem of the justice system, the penitentiary, and military systems; and psychopathy as an issue of eugenics and social usefulness. Polish psychiatrists highlighted the need for the development of national institutions for the care of psychopathic children. Issues of accountability and insanity of psychopaths from the point of view of forensic psychiatry were also discussed. In conclusion, psychopathy in interwar Polish psychiatry was not just one of the personality disorders-it denoted the whole spectrum of characterological disturbances; thus, it rather corresponds to the modern category of personality disorders than to the contemporary understanding of psychopathy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

National Constitutions and EU Integration, Edited by Stefan Griller, Lina Papadopoulou and Roman Puff. (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2022.)

National Constitutions and EU Integration, Edited by Stefan Griller, Lina Papadopoulou and Roman Puff. (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2022.)

Reforming Marriage Law in Indonesia: A Critical Examination of Islamic Law on the Ban of Interfaith Marriages

Interfaith marriage is a widely debated issue in Indonesia, particularly within the context of Islamic law. The prohibition of interfaith marriages has frequently been the subject of substantial criticism from an Islamic legal perspective. This article aims to critically examine the enforcement of this prohibition within Indonesia's marriage legal system. Employing a normative legal approach and literature analysis, the research explores various Islamic law perspectives on the prohibition of interfaith marriages. Additionally, this study analyzes the social, cultural, and legal impacts of this prohibition on Indonesian society. The findings indicate that the prohibition of interfaith marriages often conflicts with principles of justice, religious freedom, and human rights. In the context of Islamic law, several scholars and legal experts advocate for a more inclusive interpretation, emphasizing the importance of considering social context and justice in marital regulations. It is essential to formalize Islamic law by incorporating sociological and cultural aspects and aligning it with the national constitution. Therefore, the development of Indonesia's marriage legal system must consider universal values that evolve sociologically and culturally. In conclusion, this research underscores the need for reform in Indonesia's marriage legal system to accommodate individual needs and rights while respecting religious and cultural values. These changes are expected to provide legal recognition for interfaith marriages and promote a more inclusive and harmonious society.

Ideological Constitutionalism

A renewed interest in the concept of ideology is evident in recent constitutional theory. Ideology has featured prominently not only in restatements of traditional Marxist positions and attempted retrievals of the material conception of the constitution, but also in democratic critiques of liberal constitutionalism and theories of constitutional identity. The intention of this article is twofold. Firstly, the article defends the explanatory power of a conception of constitutional ideology that is centred on political domination and the ‘universalisation’ of contingent power relations, rather than more diffuse notions like the symbolic construction of reality or worldviews. Secondly, the article considers distinctive ideological dimensions of modern constitutionalism. An analysis of these dimensions, I contend, confirms modern constitutionalism's strong ideological ‘potential’.

Environmental Protection In National Constitutions - Article 20a Of The German Grundgesetz (Constitution) As An Example

Since the so-called environmental crisis came to the attention of the general public and politicians at the beginning of the 1970s, there have been repeated calls for the protection of the environment to be „enshrined” in national constitutions. For a long time, the demand for a special environmental constitutional right was met with unanimous rejection. But proposals for a so-called national objective of „environmental protection” were also heavily criticised. Today, however, everyone agrees that environmental protection is an extremely important task of the state. With its Article 20a, the German Grundgesetz (GG) has raised this to constitutional level. Article 20a of the Grundgesetz can serve as an example for other national constitutions.

Theistic Democracy Studies Hadith Analysis Deliberations in Contemporary Islamic Political Ethics

Islam is a religion that exists as a religion today, where many universal questions are discussed, one of the main topics of today's big questions is democracy in politics. Although Islam talks about democracy, ironically, Islam itself does not specifically mention the ideal form of a political system. In this context, the discussion about the ideal political formula becomes clearly important among Muslims in modern times, especially against the backdrop of Western civilization which can be said to have destroyed Muslims with its culture. In the midst of this chaotic situation, contemporary Muslim intellectuals present as Muslim thinkers who seek to present the "ideal" concept of modern Islamic politics. In this study, the author tries to emphasize that the substantive principles of Islam must be applied in the country's political system, in this case theistic democracy exists as a legacy from the problematic modern state. Democracy, or deliberation in Islamic nomenclature, is one of the ethical values ​​of constitutional politics in current political life.

Конституционно-правовая природа уголовного преследования, осуществляемого прокуратурой Российской Федерации: концептуальный подход

In the article, from the standpoint of a comparative analysis of constitutional and criminal procedure norms, taking into account historical experience, the signs characterizing the constitutional and legal nature of the prosecutor's office's function for criminal prosecution, which has been constitutionally consolidated since July 4, 2020, are formulated. The two-stage construction of criminal prosecution in modern Russian criminal proceedings is substantiated, including preliminary and final, of which the constitutional and legal nature of criminal prosecution carried out by the prosecutor's office is manifested in the final one.

Analysis of the difference of the legally relevant facts of the indicator facts

Current jurisprudential positions have exposed a series of errors incurred within the new accusatory criminal system led by the Attorney General's Office, specifically in the construction of the Legally Relevant Facts, since it does not conform to the expected and indicated assumptions. by law and other rules of criminal procedure. These failures are directly related to effects on due process, in such a way that it is the responsibility of all levels of society and especially the judicial branch to deal with mistakes. That is why, through a general analysis of all the aspects that frame the criminal technique of the Legally Relevant Facts found in the Political Constitution of Colombia, in the jurisprudence and other laws, it was possible to identify such failures, their consequences, but also formulated a series of recommendations that are expected to serve to reduce the risk of the duration of rights and become a point of reference for similar investigations

Sound as a bell: a deep learning approach for health status classification through speech acoustic biomarkers

BackgroundHuman health is a complex, dynamic concept encompassing a spectrum of states influenced by genetic, environmental, physiological, and psychological factors. Traditional Chinese Medicine categorizes health into nine body constitutional types, each reflecting unique balances or imbalances in vital energies, influencing physical, mental, and emotional states. Advances in machine learning models offer promising avenues for diagnosing conditions like Alzheimer's, dementia, and respiratory diseases by analyzing speech patterns, enabling complementary non-invasive disease diagnosis. The study aims to use speech audio to identify subhealth populations characterized by unbalanced constitution types.MethodsParticipants, aged 18–45, were selected from the Acoustic Study of Health. Audio recordings were collected using ATR2500X-USB microphones and Praat software. Exclusion criteria included recent illness, dental issues, and specific medical histories. The audio data were preprocessed to Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) for model training. Three deep learning models—1-Dimensional Convolution Network (Conv1D), 2-Dimensional Convolution Network (Conv2D), and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM)—were implemented using Python to classify health status. Saliency maps were generated to provide model explainability.ResultsThe study used 1,378 recordings from balanced (healthy) and 1,413 from unbalanced (subhealth) types. The Conv1D model achieved a training accuracy of 91.91% and validation accuracy of 84.19%. The Conv2D model had 96.19% training accuracy and 84.93% validation accuracy. The LSTM model showed 92.79% training accuracy and 87.13% validation accuracy, with early signs of overfitting. AUC scores were 0.92 and 0.94 (Conv1D), 0.99 (Conv2D), and 0.97 (LSTM). All models demonstrated robust performance, with Conv2D excelling in discrimination accuracy.ConclusionsThe deep learning classification of human speech audio for health status using body constitution types showed promising results with Conv1D, Conv2D, and LSTM models. Analysis of ROC curves, training accuracy, and validation accuracy showed all models robustly distinguished between balanced and unbalanced constitution types. Conv2D excelled with good accuracy, while Conv1D and LSTM also performed well, affirming their reliability. The study integrates constitution theory and deep learning technologies to classify subhealth populations using noninvasive approach, thereby promoting personalized medicine and early intervention strategies.

Traditional Chinese medicine constitution and sarcopenia: a cross-sectional study.

Sarcopenia is a gradually advancing systemic disorder affecting skeletal muscles, primarily distinguished by diminished muscle mass and functional decline. As of present, a universally accepted diagnostic criterion for sarcopenia has yet to be established. From the perspective of the constitution theory in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the Yin-deficiency constitution is believed to have a significant correlation with the development of sarcopenia. The primary objective of this study was to examine the potential association between sarcopenia and Yin-deficiency constitution. The present study is a cross-sectional analysis. The Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) recommended a diagnostic criterion for sarcopenia. A total of 141 participants over 50 years of age were diagnosed with sarcopenia. To determine the constitution of each patient, classification and determination standards were used in traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, a combination of logistic regression and propensity score matching (PSM) was employed to analyze a dataset comprising 1,372 eligible observations. The diagnostic efficacy of the test in distinguishing sarcopenia was assessed through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The relationship between Yin-deficiency constitution and sarcopenia was examined using logistic regression analysis. In the crude model, the odds ratio (OR) was found to be 3.20 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.70-6.03). After adjusting for various confounding factors, including gender, sex, 6 m walking test/(m/s), SMI, and maximum grip strength/kg, the OR increased to 9.70 (95% CI: 3.20-69.38). The associations between seven other biased traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitutions and sarcopenia were not found to be statistically significant in the fully adjusted model. The propensity score matching (PSM) analysis yielded consistent results with the logistic regression analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the AUC of the Yin-deficiency constitution combined with age and gender reached 0.707. Among the nine TCM constitutions examined, the Yin-deficiency constitution demonstrates an independent association with sarcopenia. Yin-deficiency constitution may serve as a potential risk factor for the development of sarcopenia. To establish a causal relationship, further experimental investigations are warranted. The diagnostic performance of sarcopenia is effectively demonstrated by the Yin-deficiency constitution combined with age and gender.

The principle of legality and sustainable development goals (SDGs): Impact and practices in UAE constitution

The principle of legality constitutes one of the basic principles of the government’s rule of law, and as a result, it has been recognized as one of the most essential guarantees of human rights. The goals of sustainable development have a strong link with the principle of legality, and achievements in accomplishing a goal can frequently contribute to the accomplishment of other goals in addition. The United Arab Emirates’ constitutional framework, regulations, and rules, along with the goals for sustainable development (SDGs), were profoundly affected by the principle of legality. The method in which international standards and laws have been integrated into the UAE’s national legal framework provides definitive proof of this effect. The research concluded that all published and unofficial legal regulations have to be respected in order for public authorities to use within the limits of the principle of legality. These involve adhering to the standards of positive legitimacy and the fundamental regulations the community agrees on.

Artificial Intelligence and Its Challenges To Elections In Indonesia: A Legal Analysis

The improper utilization of AI technology poses difficulties to democracy, particularly the growing threat of unjust elections, exemplified by the deployment of bot accounts and deep fakes during electoral processes. Hence, it is crucial to build a strong and comprehensive framework to regulate the utilization of AI technology in Indonesia's political process. This article analyzes four main topics: (a) the advancement of AI technology and its connection to elections; (b) the influence of AI technology on election principles; (c) the pressing need for regulating AI in elections; and (d) the possibilities and difficulties of regulating AI technology within Indonesia's legal framework. The paper employs doctrinal legal research to examine the necessity of regulating AI technology in the context of conducting elections, taking into account the constitutional framework, established principles, and democratic election norms. The result shows that irresponsible use of AI technology remains a menace to democratic election ideals, and Indonesia must establish adequate legal mechanisms to tackle the problems stemming from the improper use of AI technology in the political process. The regulation of AI technology can be initiated by introducing a bill specifically focused on artificial intelligence (AI). This process should also involve the synchronization and harmonization of election rules, including election laws, laws governing the election of governors, regents, and mayors, laws concerning political parties, and other implementing regulations such as those established by the General Election Commission and the Election Supervisory Board.

Impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) on foreign institutional investments in India: a machine learning perspective

PurposeThis study thoroughly examines the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores and their subcategories with the investment decisions made by foreign institutional investors (FII). These subcategories include resource use, emission reduction and innovation under the environmental pillar, workforce, human rights, community and product responsibility under the social pillar and management, shareholders and CSR strategy under the governance pillar.Design/methodology/approachA machine learning technique known as “topic modeling” is used to analyse the current literature on ESG. To investigate the correlation between ESG scores and their subcategories with the investment decisions made by FII and to address concerns regarding multicollinearity and overfitting, a penalty-based regression model is employed.FindingsThe findings indicate that FIIs invest in firms with higher emission reduction and innovation scores under the environmental indicator. Additionally, firms with high human rights, community and product responsibility scores under the social indicator category have a positive relationship with FII investors. All subcategories of governance indicators, such as corporate social responsibility (CSR), strategy, shareholders and management scores, also positively impact FII investment. Of the three indicators, i.e. ESG, non-promoter FIIs give maximum weightage to governance indicators.Research limitations/implicationsSince ESG is a contemporary topic, the findings on the relationship between different categories of ESG on FII investment will support managers in their FII investment. Also, the study will help the government frame policy decisions on ESG.Originality/valuePrevious studies have explored the impact of the overall ESG indicators on FII investments, but they have not specifically studied the influence of sub-indicators within these categories on investment decisions. By addressing this gap, the study enhances stakeholder theory by identifying and prioritizing the various subcategories of ESG indicators that impact FII investment decisions.

Justice as a requirement for the effectiveness of law-enforcement acts

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of the understanding of the category «justice» in the context of understanding the latter as a requirement for the effectiveness of law enforcement acts. It has been established that justice at the level of legislation literally permeates the basic Ukrainian legislation. This concerns, first of all, numerous regulatory legal acts of a constitutional nature and basic codifications in various branches of the legal system. The principles of justice are enshrined in the current legislation of Ukraine, in particular in the following legislative acts: Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, Economic Code of Ukraine, Criminal Code of Ukraine, Criminal Executive Code of Ukraine, etc. In practice, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine implements the principle of justice in its decisions. It is proven that the requirements of justice cannot be absorbed by the concepts of good faith and reasonableness, but have an independent meaning. It is impossible to agree with the fact that the requirements of justice of a law-enforcement act exist in a «hidden form», because its concept and content can be defined by a specific term. A decision that violates the principles of good faith and reasonableness cannot be recognized as fair. At the same time, a good faith and reasonable decision may theoretically contradict the principle of justice. It was concluded that justice as a requirement for the effectiveness of law-enforcement acts must be perceived in a broad sense - in relation to the entire process of establishing facts, their research, qualification and, ultimately, the law­enforcement act itself. This makes it possible to follow the influence of all stages of law enforcement activities on the adoption of fair law enforcement acts, to evaluate their effectiveness, based on the fact that such decisions acquire not only legal, but also moral force. The legal criteria for the fairness of a law-enforcement act are: the fairness of the law itself (as a general criterion) and the fairness of the normative legal acts that were used during the adoption of the law-enforcement act (as a direct criterion). The justice of a law-enforcement act depends not only on its legality and reasonableness, but also on its compliance with the principles of social justice and moral norms.

Setting the Argument

This article details an assignment that provides students opportunities to develop critical thinking skills native to the process of what it means to “think like a lawyer.” By asking students to map and compose a narrative about a contested public issue that describes the issue’s various dimensions (social, cultural, political, legal, economic) and how they interact to animate the issue as a matter of public concern, the assignment invites students to reimagine their roles as authors and see themselves as having the capacity to assemble and set a problem for analysis and deliberation rather than accept a problem as pre-structured. While completing the assignment, students witness firsthand the constitutive nature of the structure of legal discourse and the intra-operations of the distinct facets of legal critical thinking. Through explaining the assignment’s design and rationale, this article demonstrates how writing assignments that emphasize problem setting prepares students well to navigate the transition to law school and ultimately begin laying the grounds for successful professional careers.

Tokoh-Tokoh Utsmani Muda dan Ide-Ide Modern dalam Islam

This article aims to find out a brief history of the birth of the Ottoman Empire, young Ottoman figures and modern ideas in the Islamic world. This research method is a literature review using a qualitative approach. Data is obtained from articles published through google scholar. Data from selected articles were then analyzed using a descriptive approach to describe key findings, identify patterns and trends, and summarize key conclusions from the reviewed literature. The data analysis technique uses qualitative data analysis consisting of data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. The main finding of this article is that the Ottoman Empire was founded by the Oghuz Turkish tribe, with Ertugrul as its original founder, and then continued and strengthened by his son, Uthman bin Ertugrul, who is considered the main founder of the Ottoman Empire. The ideas put forward by the Young Ottoman leaders were influential in the period of renewal after the Tanzimat period. The Young Ottomans were originally a secret group founded in 1865 with the aim of overthrowing the absolute rule of the Ottoman Empire and pushing for a constitutional government. The Young Ottoman figures were active in carrying out secret movements. Their interactions with liberal thinkers from France and England exerted a significant influence on the Young Ottoman movement. Therefore, some of the changes they propose tend to be liberal in nature

LEGITIMACY OF THE COERCIVE MEASURE OF CIVIL DETENTION IN THE EXECUTION OF SENTENCES WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF CIVIL PROCEEDINGS

Article 53 of the Code of Civil Procedure regulates coercive measures, specifically, numeral 2 of said article empowers the judge to order the detention for 24 hours of anyone who resists his order without justification. This regulation generates controversy as it is considered unconstitutional because it would violate article 2 numeral 24 literal c) of the Political Constitution of the State, in the understanding that there is no imprisonment for debt, even the terminology of detention would correspond to be used in criminal matters. Furthermore, it is questioned whether the civil judge can order detention. In this context, this article analyzes the positions against and in favor of civil detention, concluding that several Latin American countries maintain its application specifically for certain cases, whether in civil or criminal normative bodies, as a sanction for non-compliance with a civil obligation, therefore it is necessary to regulate in the Code of Civil Procedure as an express power of the judge, the civil arrest, to enforce its decisions. Emphasizing that the appropriate terminology is that of arrest for up to 24 hours, which can be dictated by the civil judge.

A 2-D fabric anisotropic hyperelastic constitutive model based on micromechanics analysis

The analysis of the large deformation process of two-dimensional (2-D) fabrics helps to obtain the new distribution of yarns’ orientation and fiber in-plane density, which exert a considerable influence on the mechanical properties of the 2-D fabric composite component. By examining the underlying micromechanics involved in the shearing process, we developed a shear constitutive law within an anisotropic hyperelastic constitutive model framework, which is capable of capturing the large deformation of 2-D fabrics precisely. The constitutive law introduces parameters with specific physical meanings, facilitating their acquisition and modification. The proposed model was implemented in ABAQUS using a dedicated subroutine, UANISOHYPER_INV, for defining anisotropic hyperelastic material behavior through invariant formulation. The shear properties of 2/2 twill fabric were examined, and the parameters of the shear constitutive model were determined via bias-extension tests and corresponding finite element computations. The accuracy and reliability of the proposed model were validated through a hemispherical stamping test on the 2-D fabric and frame shear experiments performed by other researchers. This work contributes to the field by providing a robust method for characterizing and predicting the shear behavior of textile composites, thus enhancing the design and optimization of advanced fabric materials.