Current Legal Standards Research Articles

Regulating corporate social responsibility practices of adopting codes of conduct through criminal law

PurposeThis paper explores different approaches to regulating corporate social responsibility (CSR) patterns of adopting codes of conduct, and discusses the approach that courts should embrace.Design/methodology/approachCase studies from various legal systems will be examined. The paper presents new typology relating to different patterns of the Corporate Social Performance (CSP) model, based on aspects of the CSR pyramid, namely, legislative CSR and ethical CSR. Legislative CSR includes adoption of thin codes which reflect compliance within current legal standards of the criminal code, while ethical CSR includes codes reflecting ethical norms and corporate social citizenship beyond mere compliance. The paper also includes the interplay of different patterns of CSR and three approaches to regulation regarding these patterns.FindingsBoth the Israeli negative CSR regulatory approach and the American legislative CSR regulatory approach present difficulties.Originality/valueThe paper introduces a theory for regulating CSR within criminal law, drawing on the pyramid of CSR. It presents an original discussion of distinct approaches to regulation of corporate liability, while further developing the institutional theory of CSR and the interplay of regulation and CSR. The paper suggests a novel solution regarding the regulation and acceptance of CSR: the granting of protection from criminal liability to corporations who adopt CSR.

Escherichia coli in Fruit Juice Dispensers

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the microbiological quality of juices kept in juice dispensers and sold in retail in canteens and snack bars.
 Study Design: The study was done with thirty samples of juice, collected in the morning and in the afternoon, obtained at commercial establishments near Uberaba University, whereas two samples were of cashew juice, two samples of tamarind juice, two samples of passion fruit with mango juice, four samples of guava with acerola juice, eight samples of grape juice and twelve samples of passion fruit juice.
 Place and Duration of Study: Food Microbiology Laboratory - University of Uberaba.
 Methodology: The temperature at the time of collection was measured. A microbiological analysis was performed. The samples that were positive for thermotolerant coliforms, the analysis was continued, reaching the isolation of Escherichia coli and its subsequent serological identification.
 Results: The results point to a contamination, over current legal standards, of 66.7% for the samples collected in the morning and of 73.34% for the samples collected in the afternoon. Conclusion: Greater care in good practices is suggested, especially regarding the personal hygiene of handlers, water quality, sanitation and correct temperature control of fruit juice dispensers.

Разработка системы управления безопасностью процесса производства макаронных изделий

Introduction. New food safety management systems (FSMS) can contribute to safe production of high quality products that meet the current legal and regulatory standards. The research objective was to develop requirements for a new FSMS, which would make it possible to produce quality pasta made from whole-grain flour and vegetable powders. Study objects and methods. The research featured a whole-grain pasta factory, a technological process of vegetable pasta production, and various elements of FSMS. Results and discussion. The article introduces product description and process flow chart for successful development, implementation, and maintenance of a new FSMS of pasta production. It describes potential physical, chemical, and biological hazards, as well as critical processes. The hazard analysis included probability level and severity of consequences. The study revealed the related unacceptable risks and critical control points, as well as their critical limits. Six critical control points were identified at the stages of kneading, pressing, drying, and stabilization. The paper contains a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan with a full description of the controlled parameters, their critical limits, monitoring systems, and corrective actions. Conclusion. The new HACCP-based safety management system reduces the response time and increases the responsibility of personnel. It reduces possible losses in case of failures or returns as it improves the product quality. The developed FSMS gives new market options and increases the loyalty of consumers and business partners. As a result, the company becomes more efficient in achieving its goals.

Legal and politological aspects of competition in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a paradigm of the European integration process

As a country in transition and development, committed to the path towards membership in the European Union, Bosnia and Herzegovina encounters many challenges and obstacles in terms of fulfilling the tasks set before it. Quite complicated governmental and legal arrangement determines the pace of achieving the tasks that are prerequisites for the European Union membership status. By signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, Bosnia and Herzegovina assumed the obligation to gradually harmonise the national legislation with the EU legislation in the most important areas related to the internal market. In this context, one of highly important ones is the area of competition law. This paper analyses the quality of solutions provided by the normative and institutional framework of the market competition protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina by using the normative, historical, comparative, and content analysis methods. Basic features of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU are presented through a chronological summary of the integration process of BiH into the EU. The primary hypothesis of the paper is that recent legal solutions in the area of competition do not follow the current legal standards of the competition regulations in the EU. Analytical overview of annual reports on the operation of the Council of Competition as regulatory body in Bosnia and Herzegovina shows that competition is a typical example of the ‘crawling’ integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the EU. It is quite obvious that the lack of political will of the ruling structures slows the integration processes down. This area requires an efficient enforcement of competition regulations whose implementation enables the companies to act in line with the law. Without adequate and prompt amending of the Law on Competition and related by-laws there can be no positive evaluation of the European Commission concerning the progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Katz and COVID-19: How a Pandemic Changed the Reasonable Expectation of Privacy

COVID-19 spread to 188 countries and infected tens of millions of people in the matter of months. Organizations, including governments and employers, turned to health surveillance technologies to slow the spread and combat the disease. Protected health information and personal information are required for the proper and effective functioning of the health surveillance technologies. The collection, use, and dissemination of protected health and personal information raised data privacy and security concerns. But under the current data privacy and security regime—based on the reasonable expectation of privacy standard—protected health and personal information is not protected to the extent that it needs to be. Unlike other scholarly work, this article presents deeper analysis into the technologies, the data that powers them, and the applicable legal standards. The objective is to provide a better understanding of (i) the data privacy and security risks, and (ii) whether the current data privacy and security regime in the United States provides sufficient protections for individuals. This article explores two health surveillance technologies (contact tracing applications and health monitoring platforms), presents three categories of data (user-inputted, queried, and autogenerated data), and describes the data supply chains that power technology and organizations. I discuss the benefits and risks of collecting the protected health and personal information in response to the pandemic. I explore the current legal standards and jurisprudence, and I propose the Privacy Continuum to explain how the pandemic shifted the reasonable expectation of privacy. I present a case study to synthesize the foregoing, and I conclude by proposing a new legal standard—the right to control—and other reforms to effectuate true data privacy and security protections. Only then can we reclaim our right to privacy.

Legal Aspects of Harmonization of Labor Legislation of Kazakhstan and the Eurasian Economic Union Countries (EAEU)

The issues of legal aspects of harmonization of labor legislation of Kazakhstan and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are investigated. The urgency of the issue under consideration is determined by the further necessity to bring into a harmonious combination the legal aspects of the legislation of Kazakhstan and the states that are members of the EAEU. Harmonization in the legal field involves the development of a unification of the laws of the above states in the field of labor relations. To maintain a coherent policy in the field of social and labor relations in Kazakhstan and the countries included in the EAEU, the foundations of labor legislations have been developed. But, at the moment, they are advisory in nature, while the harmonization of labor legislations in the legal field requires the approval of the adopted legislative acts of these states in this area. In this regard, a search is being made for recommendations on the harmonization of the legal aspects of the issue under study regarding Kazakhstan and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The leading approach to the study of this issue is to evaluate the current legal standards of these countries in the field of labor law and identify ways for their further integration in this direction. The prospects for research in this direction are determined by the possibility of assessing the realism of harmonizing the labor legislations of Kazakhstan and the countries, members (EAEU), which will favorably affect the further integration of Kazakhstan into the legal framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. The applied value of this study is to identify the prospects for the development of labor laws of Kazakhstan and the countries that are members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in order to determine specific measures for the integration of labor legislation of Kazakhstan in the legal field of the EAEU in the future.

Assessing incitement to hatred as a crime against humanity of persecution

ABSTRACTThe main issue this paper aims to tackle is whether incitement to hatred, independently of direct incitement to violence should amount to the actus reus of persecution as a crime against humanity. Before determining whether hate speech can be treated as an international crime, this article assesses theories and current international legal standards in the field of freedom of expression in order to identify the space for such a drastic intrusion into this freedom. The most significant justification for an international criminalisation of hate speech in certain contexts is that it enables large-scale discrimination and threatens basic human rights, including the right to life, of the targeted out-group. Current international criminalisation, as interpreted by the jurisprudence of the Yugoslavia and Rwanda tribunals, still shows an overly narrow approach, excluding much of the hate propaganda that plays a vital role in the enabling of mass crimes. This article concludes that systematic incitement to hatred should be treated as a form of persecution, regardless of a call to violence, when the inciter has knowledge of the fact that his words might contribute to the commission of grave crimes or large-scale discrimination against the targeted out-group and the denial of human rights of its members.

Humanitarian organizations' information practices: Procedures and privacy concerns for serving the undocumented

AbstractMany humanitarian organizations in the United States work with the information of undocumented migrants to help them secure services that might otherwise be unattainable to them. Information and communication technologies can help their work, but can also significantly exacerbate the risks that undocumented individuals are facing, and expose them to security breakages, leaks, hacks, inadvertent disclosure, and courts requests. This study aims to provide a preliminary understanding of the information practices and systems that US humanitarian organizations employ to protect the privacy of the undocumented individuals they serve. To do so, we conducted interviews and an analysis of organizations' working documents within humanitarian organizations on the US West Coast, including advocacy groups and organizations with ties to higher education. Our outcomes show gaps between current legal standards, technology best practices, and the day‐to‐day functioning of the organizations. We contend the necessity of support to humanitarian organizations in further developing standards and training for digital privacy.

How Algo Westlaw and Algo Google Scholar Failed the Rohrmoos Test, and How to Improve Case Law Citation With or Without Artificial Intelligence

How Algo Westlaw and Algo Google Scholar Failed the Rohrmoos Test, and How to Improve Case Law Citation With or Without Artificial Intelligence

Avaliação da concentração de nitrato em águas subterrâneas de poços das regiões de Assis e Marília, São Paulo

Introduction: Water is a natural resource of vital importance to all living beings, but when it is polluted it can be the cause of various diseases. A wide variety of pollutants have been found in groundwater and nitrate is the most frequent pollutant. Objective: The objective of this work was to determine nitrate concentration in well water samples from public supply systems and collective alternative solutions from 22 municipalities in the Marilia and Assis-Sao Paulo regions. Method: A total of 157 water samples from wells registered in municipal health surveillance were collected and the analyses were performed by spectrophotometric method in the UV region, according to physical-chemical methods for food analysis of the Adolfo Lutz Institute. Results: From the total of 157 samples analyzed, 141 samples (89.8%) were in agreement and 16 samples (10.2%) were in disagreement with the current legislation. Conclusions: It is concluded with the results of this study that the nitrate analysis is extremely important to evaluate the risks to human health andenvironment. It is suggested the annual monitoring of the wells that presented nitrate concentrations between 5 and 10 mg/L and the promotion of public policies that guarantee the population access to water in accordance with current legal standards.

Microbiological quality of water used in dairy production environments in the northern region of Mato Grosso

The water is of importance fundamental to health of humans and animals. In this respect, it is of great importance the water quality assessment offered to the animals, as well as used in production environments in order to prevent protential outbreaks of toxi-infections arising from comsuption of contaminated animal products. The presente study aims to assess the microbiological quality of the water used in milk production properties of the municipalies in the middle-northern Mato Grosso, including Sipop, Sorriso, Ipiranga do Norte e Guaranta do Norte, considering the current legal standards of drinking water. For such collections were held and microbiological analysis of water samples from 47 dairy properties through the technique of multiple tubes and confirmation of the presence of total coliforms and termotolerantes according to current standards, in additon the observation of conditions inherent in the catchment of the water and related aspects. All samples were collected from artesian wells, semi- artesians, conventional, rivers ou dams. Was first performed a presumptive analysis, by multiple tubes, making it possible to observe that (87,23%) of the samples collectted were some kind of contaminant and 13 (27,66%) Total Coliforms contamination presente propries and Termotolerantes. Of these, at 84,61% of samples with presence of coliforms tolerantes was isolated and identified biochemically the species Escherichia coli.

Liability and Prescribed Fire: Perception and Reality

Changing climate and fuel accumulation are increasing wildfire risks across the western United States. This has led to calls for fire management reform, including the systematic use of prescribed fire. Although use of prescribed fire by private landowners in the southern Great Plains has increased during the past 30 yr, studies have determined that liability concerns are a major reason why many landowners do not use or promote the use of prescribed fire. Generally, perceptions of prescribed fire−related liability are based on concerns over legal repercussions for escaped fire. This paper reviews the history and current legal liability standards used in the United States for prescribed fire, it examines how perceived and acceptable risk decisions about engagement in prescribed burning and other activities differ, and it presents unanticipated outcomes in two cases of prescribed fire insurance aimed at promoting the use of prescribed fire. We demonstrate that the empirical risk of liability from escaped fires is minimal (<1%) and that other underlying factors may be leading to landowners’ exaggerated concerns of risk of liability when applying prescribed fire. We conclude that providing liability insurance may not be the most effective approach for increasing the use of prescribed fire by private landowners. Clearly differentiating the risks of applying prescribed fire from those of catastrophic wildfire damages, changing state statutes to reduce legal liability for escaped fire, and expanding landowner membership in prescribed burn associations may be more effective alternatives for attaining this goal. Fear of liability is a major deterrent to the use of prescribed fire; however, an evaluation of the risks from escaped fire does not support perceptions that using prescribed fire as a land management tool is risky. Prescribed burning associations and agencies that support land management improvement have an important role to play in spreading this message.

Consent for post-operative visual loss in prone spinal surgery: aligning clinical practice with legal standards

In March 2015, the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on the common law case of Montgomery vs Lanarkshire Health Board established the doctrine of informed patient consent, setting the legal standards that doctors should abide by. In this review, our primary aim has been to establish whether, despite the well-publicised implications of the ruling in the legal community, the medical profession has altered its practice. To do this, we reviewed the consenting methods applied by surgeons within our field of neurosurgery. We chose the rare, but disabling, material risk of prone spinal surgery: post-operative visual loss (POVL), as our tool for assessment. Departmental and national surveys both identified a common theme – the vast majority of doctors consenting patients for prone spinal surgery either do not consider POVL to be a serious material risk, or alternatively are not aware that current legal standards require them to ensure that patients are made aware of ‘any’ material risk involved in their treatment. In light of this finding, we discuss the legal implications of the Montgomery ruling, the current regulatory guidance available to support doctors, suggest some strategies to align clinical practice with the legal standards advocated by the ruling, and highlight some of the challenges surrounding the consent process given the legal framework in which we now practice.

QUALIDADE DE SEMENTES DE MILHETO PARA A COMERCIALIZAÇÃO NO ESTADO DE SANTA CATARINA

Millet is one of the main grasses used for summer cultivation, however, one of the problemsinvolving pasture formation in Brazil is the variation in the quality of the seeds of commercial forage species, and this has compromised the establishment of pastures. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical and physiological characteristics of millet seeds commercialized in different regions of the State of Santa Catarina, in the 2014/2015 harvest. Seventeen lots of millet seeds of BRS 1501 from different commercial establishments and regions (Far West, West, Midwest, North and South) ofthe State of Santa Catarina were used. The physical and physiological quality of seed lots was evaluated. The germination of the analyzed lots, independently of the region, was in accordance with the current legal standards. Only the lots from the West region presented values below the legal standard of 95% for physical purity, but not differing from the others. No differences between the lots collected by region were verified for the vigor evaluations. However, it was observed that the lots presented highgermination and low emergence, being characterized a problem in the establishment of pastures in the field.

F141. DUTY TO WARN FOR POTENTIAL RISK OF PSYCHOLOGICAL HARM: A CASE REPORT

BackgroundUnder the current ethical and legal standards physicians are expected to breach confidentiality when a third party is at risk. However, the law has mainly focused on risk of bodily harm and there is no legal guidance on physicians’ responsibilty when it comes to risk of psychological harm to a potential targeted victimMethodsThis case report illustrates a clinical dilemma on duty to warn for mental health professionals.ResultsN/ADiscussionThis case report illustrates an unconventional perspective on a psychiatrist’s duty to warn: consideration of risk of psychological harm to the potential target of their patient. Psychological trauma can have a potential negative impact on victims, affecting their mental health and well being as well as their physical health. The ethicolegal dilemma discussed in this case has implications for policies related to the care of psychiatric patients.

Computer aided quantitative methods in machine safety

The paper present aspect of machine safety in addition to current legal regulations and international standards and computer aided method of risk analysis. Based on literate and international standards paper author presents most common factors and method of safety estimation. Next, based on author industry experience, computer aided risk analysis has been present. To proceed conformity assessment author used SISTEMA software developed by German institute IFA [10]. The example shown shows simplify calculation method of risk analysis and decrees level of mistake during to designee of machine safety component. Another advantages of computer aided method is simplify to scale it to the more complex system.

Lock, Stock and Icebergs: A History of Canada’s Arctic Maritime Sovereignty, by Adam Lajeunesse

Reviewed by: Peter Kikkert (), Sheridan CollegeIvan Head, a lawyer and civil servant who studied the evolution of Canada's Arctic maritime sovereignty policy and helped create the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act (AWPPA), once commented that, step by step, fiber by fiber, the Canadian government had weaved a fabric of sovereignty in the north (175). In this detailed and well-written study, historian Adam Lajeunesse assesses the twists and turns involved in Ottawa's construction of this fabric for the Arctic waters over the century between 1880 and the 1980s, and identifies some of the holes that remain. In particular, Lajeunesse focuses on the evolution of Canadian thinking on three interconnected issues: how to define Canada's Arctic waters, how to legally and politically justify a claim to those waters, and how to advance an official claim on the international stage. In exploring these themes, he takes the reader on a journey through the historic legal thinking of Canadian officials as they tried to build a case for Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic waters, and ably explains the key ideas that have defined Canadian policy: from the sector principle, to historic internal waters and straight baselines, to the AWPPA and Article 234 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In charting a course through these legal developments, Lajeunesse highlights the complex interplay between law, diplomacy, and state practice that has shaped Canada's Arctic policy.In an excellent introduction that engages with the rich body of historical scholarship on Canada's Arctic sovereignty, Lajeunesse effectively situates his study in the literature. He takes a position between the two main opposing schools of thought on the development of Canada's Arctic policy. On one side are those scholars who believe that the government has been reactive and ineffective in its policy-making, and who argue that Ottawa should have attained formal recognition of Canada's Arctic maritime sovereignty long ago. On other side are those who argue that External Affairs developed a clear and consistent policy to gradually strengthen Canada's claim while avoiding disastrous political and legal challenges. In his study, Lajeunesse adds nuance to the arguments of both schools by highlighting Ottawa's failure to unify thinking across the political and bureaucratic spheres, which resulted in several waves of inaccurate, inconsistent, and damaging public pronouncements by Canadian politicians, even as civil servants worked to construct a strong legal case behind the scenes.Much of the legal subject matter covered by Lajeunesse has been thoroughly explored by international lawyers, including eminent scholars Donat Pharand and Donald M. McRae. Nevertheless, the new archival material that Lajeunesse draws upon--much of it uncovered through access to information requests--affirms the important role that historians can play in unpacking legal developments as they unfolded over time. Rather than applying current legal standards, assumptions, and desires to analyze past practices, and assessing whether these support Canada's current position--as much legal scholarship does--Lajeunesse's study respects the state of maritime law at the time when decision-makers weighed options and chose their approach. He shows how the legal thinking of historical actors unfolded in response to contemporary legal and political developments, and highlights the different variables that shaped decision-making, whether it be Cold War politics or concerns over evolving maritime boundaries in Canada's southern waters. …

DISTINGUISHING LEGAL CONSEQUENCES IN AT-RISK TESTING FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: GENETICS VERSUS NON-GENETIC BIOMARKERS

The disclosure of results from genetic (e.g., APOE) and non-genetic (e.g., amyloid or tau) biomarker testing for Alzheimer's disease (AD) raise similar concerns regarding discrimination and stigmatization. Legal and ethical models to guide the attainment and disclosure of such AD biomarker information are needed to inform best practices in both research and clinical settings. Data on legal standards were collected and analyzed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia using empirical legal methods proposed by Tremper et al. These methods implement a four-step process of gathering, organizing, interpreting, and applying legal sources to a research question: Do current legal standards provide protections against discrimination based on genetic or non-genetic biomarker status? Additionally, Federal legislation, regulations, and case law data were collected and analyzed to evaluate whether Federal standards would provide privacy or anti-discrimination protections. Data collected in all 50 states reflect privacy or anti-discrimination protections specific to individuals who learn of genetic information. An analysis of this data, state by state, consistently revealed that genetic policies designed to provide privacy or anti-discrimination protections did so by applying a definition of genetic information. Amyloid and tau biomarkers are not, by definition, genetic information and not protected by genetic information policies. An additional analysis of state and federal law found that current legal standards do not provide protections to individuals who learn their non-biomarker information, with the potential exception of “preexisting condition” protections for health insurance within the Affordable Care Act (ACA). However, a review of recent proposals to repeal the ACA would challenge these results. Legal and ethical issues that arise in disclosing non-genetic and genetic biomarkers must be evaluated separately. Current legal standards limit protections to individuals who learn of their genetic risk for conditions like AD. These protections do not extend to non-genetic biomarkers of disease, and this distinction should be clearly explaining to individuals who are contemplating the pursuit of biomarker testing for AD. Additionally, the potential repeal of the ACA may have dramatic consequences for disclosure of biomarker information, whether genetic or non-genetic in nature.

Prawo do pomocy prawnej w świetle orzecznictwa Europejskiego Trybunału Praw Człowieka

This article is the summary of the current minimum legal standards on the right to legal aid from the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.

Off-label use of Misoprostol during childbirth, causing hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. Legal and ethical consequences

A recent decision of the Court of Appeal of Cluj from Romania intrigued the medical community as it sentenced a gynecologist to pay 450.000 Euro in damages after an off-label use of Misoprostol during childbirth, causing hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. The physician was also condemned to two years in prison for abuse of authority and work negligence, and had his right to practice medicine suspended for five years. This case has potentially significant consequences for the medical practitioners in general, and for physicians from the field of Obstetrics-Gynecology in particular. In this report, we will analyse it from a legal and ethical point of view, considering current legal regulations and standards of medical ethics. We will perform a comparative legal analysis of the case based on the previous versus actual Romanian Criminal Code, followed by a basic ethical, principialist analysis.