Court Verdict Research Articles

Court Verdict: Procedure and Problems of the Decision

The features, procedure and problems of sentencing are considered. The court's verdict acts as the final decision in the proceedings on a criminal case. The special significance of this document is determined by the legal status of the judge, which is also considered in this article. The legality of the verdict is considered, since it must be legislatively established as a requirement for each verdict and contains the very essence of the court's verdict. Much attention is paid to the problem of issuing acquittals.

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Election Postponements: Trends, Socio-Economic Effects and the Future of Nigeria’s Electoral Process

Election postponement has gradually crept into the political lexicon and is fast becoming a tradition in Nigeria’s electoral process that has sequentially marred the conduct of elections in the country as evident in 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023 general elections among others. This has raised serious concerns as to the integrity of the electoral process and the preparedness of INEC to conduct free, fair and credible elections in the country. The essence of this paper was to assess the trends and socio-economic effects of election postponements and its impacts on Nigeria’s electoral process. The paper is historical and descriptive in nature and utilized relevant data obtained wholly from documentary sources which were analysed within the context of structural functional theory. From the analysis, it was gleaned that the electoral umpire has not learned from its previous sloppy preparations and mistakes, despite significant condemnation from Nigerians across political divides. Moreover, the paper established that security challenges, logistics inadequacies and court verdicts contributed to the postponement of elections, which resulted in severe socio-economic losses for the voting public, electoral commission, political parties, security agencies, election observers, and media outlets. Accordingly, the paper recommended, among others, that the government and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s electoral process should work to ensure that adequate pre-emptive measures are put in place in advance of future elections. Again, the Electoral Act 2022 should be amended to provide for electronic registration and voting, to accommodate Nigerians in diaspora.

On Procedural Safeguards of the Rights of the Accused and Suspect in Termination of Criminal Prosecution on Non-Rehabilitating Grounds

The institute of termination of criminal cases (criminal prosecution) on non-rehabilitating grounds has long raised questions in the theory of criminal procedure regarding its legitimacy. Many authors see a significant logical contradiction between this institute and the principle of presumption of innocence, which is essential for protecting human rights. However, this issue cannot be resolved by declaring the question of guilt in cases terminated on these grounds as “open”, or by simply replacing the term “finding of guilt” with the term “ascertaining of guilt”. It is proposed to address this issue within the framework of legal interpretation of the concept and essence of presumptions, including the presumption of innocence. By providing that the accused is considered innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the law and established by a court verdict that has entered into legal force, the presumption of innocence applies only to a specific situation where the criminal process ends with a guilty verdict. However, it operates more broadly outside of this situation – as a mechanism for distributing the burden of proof between the parties in the process, which is used only until it is no longer necessary, that is, when the process of proving guilt is not completed by any final decision in the criminal case (not just a guilty verdict), and only until that moment can it be stated that the accused is considered innocent. Among such decisions are procedural decisions to terminate a criminal case (prosecution) on non-rehabilitating grounds, in which the investigator, taking into account the above, ascertain the person’s guilt in committing a crime and informs them of this.

Developing a Geo-Spatial Database and Standard Queries for Election Management by Stakeholders within Jos South, Nigeria

One of the major set-backs of the 2023 general elections in Nigeria as highlighted by YIAGA Africa (2024) was the failure of the body saddled with election management which is Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), to deploy Geo-spatial Database (GSDB) as a repository in the efficient management processes which enable all election stakeholder participate seamlessly and interactively. The modus of oparandy for the geo-spatial database was hierarchical by dis-aggregating GSDB to the lowest geographical unit. The recent court verdict on re-delineation of electoral wards in Rivers State did not go down well with the political pundits prior to the forth coming local government election in the state. It surffices to say that, INEC from the on-set never had a geo-spatial database from which delineation and update of electoral wards, polling units can be carried out This will further build confidence and integrity, then reducing litigations that characterized the 2023 elections. The GSDB used was predicated on file geo-database of ArcGIS, where both spatial and attribute data of the study were stored; and standard query languages that are pertinent to elections were issued at prompt which generated maps and texts for decision making by all stakeholders.

Пробація в Україні: сучасний стан та особливості реалізації

It was found that the issue of probation is relevant for Ukraine in the context of harmonizing national practice with international standards of judicial proceedings and execution of punishments and improving the functioning of the legal mechanism of the state. The long period of probation in Ukraine is a confirmation of the humanization of the system of execution of punishments and is characterized by a positive experience, given the possibility of a person who has committed an offense to correct himself within the limits of social formation, and the legal restriction of certain rights of a person allows him to fully understand the consequences that deprivation will have for him will It was emphasized that in Ukraine, in 2018, the "Probation Center" was created, which belongs to the sphere of administration of the Ministry of Justice, whose duties include the implementation of tasks of probation supervision, also, a number of normative legal acts were adopted and changes were made to the existing ones, with the aimof prevention of a person’s loss of social significance and his full correction, outside the limits of the institution of execution of punishment. It is noted that Ukraine recognizes and supports international recommendations and standards in the field of execution of sentences regarding the correction of convicts, their resocialization without isolation from society in order to ensure a comprehensive approach to the prevention and fight against crime, as well as the use of alternatives to pre-trial detention and imprisonment on the basis of the court verdict, which proves the high level of development of criminal justice and civil society. Attention is focused on the fact that probation supervision is the main criminal punishment, which consists in limiting the rights and freedoms of the convict, with the use of supervision and socialeducational measures without isolation from society. Such a limitation is determined by law and established by a court verdict. The process of resocialization is important, during which a positive perception of work, social customs, and the convict’s personal culture is formed. For the implementation of probation programs, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine has developed methodological recommendations, which are divided into meaningful modules, within which thematic classes are held and tasks are performed that contribute to the development of certain social skills of convicts.

Analysis of interest expense deduction in transfer pricing dispute in Indonesia

This study provides a comprehensive examination of interest expense disputes within the context of transfer pricing in Indonesia. Multinational enterprises frequently employ transfer pricing mechanisms to reduce their tax obligations, often leading to legal challenges in tax courts. The research employs a qualitative methodology, focusing on a detailed analysis of several tax court verdicts related to interest expense disputes. The primary dataset comprises appellate verdicts available from the official tax court repository. The study identifies key factors influencing the outcomes of such disputes, including the strength of the evidence presented, the consistency between recorded contracts and actual economic conditions, coherence between transfer pricing documentation and real-world practices, the legitimacy and rationality of the loan arrangements, utilization of reliable comparability data, and substantive arguments concerning the applicability of the Debt-to-Equity Ratio (DER) for assessing interest expense reasonableness. Furthermore, the research underscores crucial considerations for taxpayers, such as the role of DER in determining expense reasonableness, the regulatory framework governing interest-free loans, methodologies for applying the arm’s length principle in interest expense transactions, and the importance of meticulous documentation in transfer pricing files (TP Documentation).

Against the Instrumentalization of Law: Justice for the Convicted in the Brześć Trial

The acquittal after ninety years of Prime Minister Wincenty Witos and others convicted in the Brześć trial is a landmark ruling. The author seeks to demonstrate the multifaceted nature of this Supreme Court verdict in the context of the implementation of transformational justice with regard to judicial crimes of the communist period. The gloss approvingly assesses the interpretation of the criminal law adopted by the Supreme Court including, in particular, Article 97 of the Criminal Code of 1932.

Quantifying species biases among multidata sources on illegal wildlife trade and its implications for conservation.

Unsustainable wildlife consumption and illegal wildlife trade (IWT) threaten biodiversity worldwide. Although publicly accessible data sets are increasingly used to generate insights into IWT, little is known about their potential bias. We compared three typical and temporally corresponding data sets (4204 court verdicts, 926 seizure news reports, and 219 bird market surveys) on traded birds native to China and evaluated their possible species biases. Specifically, we evaluated bias and completeness of sampling for species richness, phylogeny, conservation status, spatial distribution, and life-history characteristics among the three data sets when determining patterns of illegal trade. Court verdicts contained the largest species richness. In bird market surveys and seizure news reports, phylogenetic clustering was greater than that in court verdicts, where songbird species (i.e., Passeriformes) were detected in higher proportions in market surveys. The seizure news data set contained the highest proportion of species of high conservation priority but the lowest species coverage. Across the country, all data sets consistently reported relatively high species richness in south and southwest regions, but markets revealed a northern geographic bias. The species composition in court verdicts and markets also exhibited distinct geographical patterns. There was significant ecological trait bias when we modeled whether a bird species is traded in the market. Our regression model suggested that species with small body masses, large geographical ranges, and a preference for anthropogenic habitats and those that are not nationally protected were more likely to be traded illegally. The species biases we found emphasize the need to know the constraints of each data set so that they can optimally inform strategies to combat IWT.

Age differences in the prosecution of child abuse cases.

Evidence in child abuse cases can be scarce and is often centred around the child's testimony. However, child testimony varies with the child's development. Here, an overview of suspects, case decisions and court verdicts from a cohort of children is presented, stratified across children aged 0-3, 4-7, 8-11, and 12-15 years. Children seen at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark, in 2001-2013 were analysed, including all case files from the police, courts and healthcare services. A total of 647 cases were presented. The most frequent suspect was the child's parents. The police referred to the prosecutor in 69% of all cases, and 37% were tried in court. The lowest proportion of cases of tried cases was found among children aged 0-3 years (20%) and the highest among children aged 8-11 years (57%). Across ages, no corroborating evidence, the accused's refusal of guilt and no case to pursue (insufficient strong evidence) were the most frequent reasons for case closure. Cases relating to children aged 0-3 years were frequently dismissed because the fault could not be placed, whereas cases relating to children aged 12-15 were frequently rejected because of lacking evidence of compulsion (non-consent). Results show variations across ages regarding children tried in court and case dismissal. A dedicated child court may be considered to ensure equal access to justice. Questioning during the forensic examination and the use of psychologists may strengthen the available evidence. These materials have received financial support from the Danish Victims Fund. The execution, content and results of the materials are the sole responsibility of the authors. The analysis and viewpoints made evident from the materials belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Council of The Danish Victims Fund. Not relevant.

MENYINGKAP CINTA KASIH ALLAH PASCA TRAGEDI SITUBONDO 10 OKTOBER 1996 DALAM PERSPEKTIF TEKS NABI YOЁL 2:23-27

This research examines the efforts to capture God's love after the tragedy of the Situbondo riots, East Java, on October 10, 1996. The people of Situbondo and even the whole of Indonesia were shocked by the destruction and burning of 24 churches in the Situbondo area. The destruction and burning of churches in Situbondo began with the trial of Mohammad Soleh (Muslim). Soleh was a young man accused of spreading heresy and insulting the Islamic teachings of K.H. As'sad Syamsul Arifin, who is highly respected by the people of Situbondo. The court verdict that was too light for the masses caused Situbondo to become a sea of fire. This research uses a qualitative approach with a literature study. The theoretical framework used is the story of the Prophet Joel in his letter (Yl 2:23-27) about God's love for the Israelites after experiencing various disasters and other supporting sources. The results showed that the value of love was realized through the initiative of the Christian community (both Catholics and Protestants) by building dialogue between the two camps, both the majority group (Islam) and the minority group so as to create a tolerant situation between the two and thus, the relationship that had been tenuous could be restored.

Symposium 2: The potential for Networked Learning in Environmental Assessment teaching in Sweden

This paper explores the current teaching of Environmental assessment (EA) in Sweden. EA processes aim at identifying the potential advantages and disadvantages of a proposed action mainly applied in physical landuse planning and for the approval of projects. EA not achieving best practice has been an issue within research for a long period of time. At the same time, the competence requirements on EA practitioners are very high. Recent court verdicts have raised a concern about the competence status among Swedish practitioners in the field of EA. The aim of this paper is to explore and analyse the current teaching in EA in Sweden in order to develop this field through influence from other disciplines, in this case Network Learning (NL). The paper builds on two different analyses. The first being an analysis of Swedish EA courses. The second being a comparison of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) Best Practice Principles for Teaching, and the Design dimensions for NL. The analysis shows that most of the courses are leaning more towards practical training than integration of research contribution and research training. This means that there is a risk that the students will leave the university with a low absorptive capacity. The analysis has also identified that vital competences are lacking in current teaching. These are the awareness of EA being an interdisciplinary process and integrative and systems thinking. This despite, the ability to synthesize information from different sources to develop a holistic understanding is central to EA practise. The comparison with the design dimensions for NL experiences shows a clear correlation with the category pedagogy of the IAIA Principles an indirect correlation with content and skills. The social dimension in NL is not visible in the analysed course syllabuses, and notions of conflict management and reflective practice are weak. The backbone of EA teaching is the same in all countries and there are good opportunities, with technology, to build international teaching networks. This would enable more knowledge sharing in larger teaching communities in the field of EA teaching. Therefore, network learning offers a potential for EA teaching, bridging the gap between theory and practice.

Inheritance legal pluralism and gender justice: a court room study in Indonesia

One of the topics in the legendary legacy of legal pluralism from Keebet Benda-Beckmann was the issue of inheritance law. The study of inheritance is a window into the workings of legal pluralism, where contestation, negotiation among diverse laws takes place, which then gives birth to the new laws. This research reflects Keebet’s theoretical legacy, although her research was on matrilineal societies in West Sumatra, mine on bilateral societies in West Java. This study examines the position of women in inheritance cases through the eyes of judges as seen in court verdicts and empirical data. It illustrates how judges can think progressively and innovate the law through their decisions, but on the other hand they can’t because they are too limited by the black letter of the law. It also demonstrates that legal pluralism involves more than just selecting between Islamic or state inheritance laws and encompasses various methods of conflict resolution. Nevertheless, disputes regarding inheritance justice for women are greatly influenced by economic, social, cultural, and political factors that range from the familial and communal levels to the State

Justice for victims: a comparative analysis of victim representation in Ukraine and international standards

The issue of providing access to justice for every person is now topical worldwide. The problem of protecting the interests of crime victims needs improvement. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to clarify the issue of compliance of the legislation of European countries, including Ukraine, with international standards in the field of protection of victims' rights. Based on the analysis results, recommendations were proposed to improve regulatory provisions to bring them into line with international legal acts. An analysis of the court verdicts passed based on the results of criminal case consideration was carried out. The need to ensure professional representation of the victim's rights has been established. The need for mandatory representation of the elderly, people with disabilities, and representatives of other social categories is emphasized. Analyzing the legislation of countries such as Czechia, Bulgaria, and Georgia determined the peculiarities of victim representation in criminal proceedings. The fundamental principles to which the legal system of any legal and social state must comply have been determined based on international legal treaties. Considering the received conclusions, recommendations for improving Ukraine's legislation were formulated.

The Attempt to Fulfill Restitution for Victims of Domestic Abandonment Crimes

<p>This article aims to analyze the legal protection for victims of domestic abandonment through restitution fulfillment. It is because imprisonment in the case of domestic abandonment basically cannot accommodate the economic losses suffered by the victims. Legal protection for victims should also focus on restoring the economic losses incurred during the abandonment. Therefore, the urgency of this article is the attempt to fulfill restitution for victims as the manifestation of the victim’s right. This article is normative legal research. The novelty of this article is about the attempt to fulfill restitution, which is studied based on positive law in Indonesia and the problems were analyzed using Gustav Radburch's legal theory on the principle of priority in three legal objectives. The research results indicate that one of the challenges of restitution fulfillment in the current legal system is when the victims are not submitting the restitution request before or even after a court verdict. Hence, the judges in their verdict cannot accommodate this restitution for the victims and they cannot receive their rights of restitution. Because of that it is expected that the attempt of restitution fulfillment will accommodate the economic losses suffered by victims during abandonment.</p>

Sentiment analysis of Canadian maritime case law: a sentiment case law and deep learning approach

Historical information in the Canadian Maritime Judiciary increases with time because of the need to archive data to be utilized in case references and for later application when determining verdicts for similar cases. However, such data are typically stored in multiple systems, making its reachability technical. Utilizing technologies like deep learning and sentiment analysis provides chances to facilitate faster access to court records. Such practice enhances impartial verdicts, minimizing workloads for court employees, and decreases the time used in legal proceedings for claims during maritime contracts such as shipping disputes between parties. This paper seeks to develop a sentiment analysis framework that uses deep learning, distributed learning, and machine learning to improve access to statutes, laws, and cases used by maritime judges in making judgments to back their claims. The suggested approach uses deep learning models, including convolutional neural networks (CNNs), deep neural networks, long short-term memory (LSTM), and recurrent neural networks. It extracts court records having crucial sentiments or statements for maritime court verdicts. The suggested approach has been used successfully during sentiment analysis by emphasizing feature selection from a legal repository. The LSTM + CNN model has shown promising results in obtaining sentiments and records from multiple devices and sufficiently proposing practical guidance to judicial personnel regarding the regulations applicable to various situations.

Конфискация имущества как мера противодействия незаконному обороту наркотических средств, психотропных веществ или их аналогов

Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, LL.D., Professor, Honored Lawyer of the Russian Federation Purpose: to consider the institution of confiscation of property as another measure of a criminal law nature, and to show the practice of using this criminal law institution in cases of illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues. Research methods: comparative legal, dogmatic, analysis of judicial practice. Conclusions: based on the analysis of the provisions of Chapter 15.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Article 81 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, it is shown that the legal basis for confiscation of property in cases of illicit trafficking in narcotic, psychotropic substances or their analogues is interdisciplinary in nature. It is noted that if the property has the properties specified in paragraphs “a”-“d” of Article 104.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the court is obliged to make a decision on the confiscation of such property. When planning opera-tional search activities and investigative actions, it is necessary to pay special attention to providing evidence of the connection of the property subject to confiscation with a specific crime. Scientific and practical significance: the legal nature of confiscation of property as another measure of a criminal nature is revealed, its place in the system of similar institutions is indicated, the specifics of the implementation of the provisions of Chapter 15.1 of the Criminal Code are indicated by the example of court decisions on specific cases. Disputes about the ownership of confiscated property to persons not involved in crimes may be resolved at the stage of execution of a court verdict, including in court.

Human Rights Violation in India’s Hijab Ban and the Need for Community Advocacy

The Karnataka state government banned the hijab in schools on February 5, 2022, and several women petitioned the Karnataka High Court to overturn it. A panel of three judges concluded on March 15, 2022, that the hijab is not an important Islamic practice. By punishing females for their wardrobe choices, the court stressed conformity above girls' access to education. The hijab prohibition is part of a pattern of discrimination against Muslim women that violates their human rights. With the rise of authoritarianism, a new form of feminism is emerging in which Muslim girls in India are challenging the authorities and resisting asserting their identity and preferences. Previous research has described human rights violations experienced by Indian female students regarding court decisions. Therefore, the purpose of the research is to investigate the human rights violations that have been disclosed as a result of India's hijab ban which employs normative juridical research methodologies. The method refers to a legal research approach that involves the examination of written law from multiple perspectives. The High Court's verdict worsens Muslim girls and women's education-related harassment, trauma, and prejudice. Muslim students removing their hijabs and burqas before entering schools is a difficult topic that requires neutrality. The verdict would affect the Indian Constitution and the Muslim population, especially hijab-wearing women. United Nations (UN) Women has backed all initiatives of India's Ministry of Women and Child Development that seek to advocate for those affected by the hijab ban to promote gender equality and prevent discrimination against women.

The Legal Nature of the Institute for Recognition Assets Unfounded and Recover them into State Revenue

The Legal Nature of the Institute for Recognition Assets Unfounded and Recover them into State Revenue

GERMAN FEDERAL BUDGET: RESULTS OF 2022 AND BUDGET CRISIS OF 2023

The article examines the budget crisis that occurred in Germany at the end of 2023. The results of the execution of the federal budget in terms of expenditures and net borrowings in 2022 are analyzed in comparison with the indicators of the five-year financial plan for 2022–2026, and the main deviations of the fact from the plan are identified. It is shown how the results of the 2022 budget led to an increase in the load on the 2023 budget from the point of view of the implementation of the purpose of renewing the debt brake set in the 2021–2025 Coalition Agreement. Further the events are presented that occurred during the crisis of 2023, which was caused by the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court on the incompetence of transferring net government borrowings from one year to other years (this transfer has been carried out by the ruling coalition in February 2022). Measures regarding the additional budget for 2023 and the new budget for 2024 are listed, that have been adopted by the government to implement the court verdict and return to the debt brake policy. The impact of the budget crisis on the accuracy of budget planning for 2024 is analyzed. The author comes to the conclusion: the results of 2024 will show an interruption in the barely begun post-pandemic restoration of the budget planning’s reliability.

Homicide Patterns in Estonia During the 1994−2023 Period

This article describes patterns in the homicides committed in Estonia since the 1990s. The overall decreasing trend in mortality is first described using mortality statistics. Based on a dataset of court verdicts spanning the 2016−2023 period, we extend previous research in this domain by describing current homicide patterns. To reflect on changes, we compare the results yielded by our investigation with those obtained in prior key studies. According to our analyses, mortality due to homicide exhibited a relatively stable trend over the last decade, with alcohol as a major contributor to most of these incidents. At the same time, there has been a decrease in economically motivated cases, as well as in homicides committed with firearms. Guided by these results, we provide suggestions for future research aimed at contributing to the European Homicide Monitor (EHM) database.