Efficiency Of Proceedings Research Articles

Rights of Complainants Before the European Commission—a Critical Analysis

Third-party complainants play a crucial role in the enforcement of competition rules.1 As the European Commission itself noted, ‘[t]he complainant can help the Commission in supplying evidence of the anticompetitive practice and thus in establishing the infringement’.2 Given the authority’s limited resources, which result in a limited ability to conduct an ongoing screening of several markets, complaints are the most important source of information for the Commission. Unsurprisingly, the landmark decisions issued in recent years, e.g. Google Shopping, were driven by complaints filed by several market participants.3 ... Against this background, one should expect the legal position of complainants during antitrust proceedings before the Commission to be effectively protected. A lack of such protection can result in reduced incentive to file a complaint. This is even more relevant for less affluent victims for whom it is sometimes difficult to obtain specialised legal support or to make successful private enforcement claims and who are therefore even more dependent on the enforcement by the Commission. On the other hand, there are arguments for limiting the procedural rights of complainants, which are focused on the efficiency of proceedings and good management of resources.4 In theory, a balance is struck between incentivising complaints and the usage of the Commission’s resources through prioritising cases or choosing criteria to reject specific complaints.5 We would like to take a critical view of this balance through the lens of effective judicial protection of complainants’ rights.6

Editorial of dossier “Admissibility of Evidence in Criminal Process. Between the Establishment of the Truth, Human Rights and the Efficiency of Proceedings”

The rules on the admissibility of evidence secure accurate fact-finding as a prerequisite for the correct application of substantive criminal law and proper operation of the criminal justice system in society. But the search for the truth must be limited in order to take into account other important values, among which human rights hold a central place. The quest for a fair balance between the effective fight against crime and respect for individual rights constantly remains in the center of heated discussion. However, there are two other factors that strongly influence the evidentiary rules, creating an environment where finding the truth becomes more complicated than ever before. The popularity of the disposition of cases out of trial and the impact of technology and science, both interrelated and focused on the efficiency of the criminal justice system, paradoxically make the quest for the truth easier and faster, but also more prone to errors. Moreover, the new technologies allowing evidence gathering have become a vital threat to the right to privacy. Finding solutions to these challenges necessitates dialogue including various stakeholders and free of the penal populism that has recently dominated the legal discourse.

Rzymska przysięga procesowa jako prototyp umowy dowodowej

The recent amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure for the first time in the Polish legal system enabled the parties of proceedings to conclude a contract of evidence. This novelty concerns only special proceedings in commercial matters. By concluding a contract of evidence, the parties may avoid adducing a specific type of evidence in court. Such an agreement is also binding on the court. The introduction of contract of evidence is aimed at accelerating civil proceedings. However, doubts may arise as to whether the contract of evidence does not pose a significant hindrance to the court in learning about the actual facts of the case and whether that does not undermine the principle of material truth. The experience of Roman law brings to mind the institution of trial oath. When one of the parties suggested that the other one took an oath with a specific content, and the other immediately took that oath, the content of that oath was protected by the praetor as unquestionable. The oath could concern some factual circumstances or the very legitimacy of the plaintiff’s claim. In the latter case, the praetor immediately denied the plaintiff’s claim or issued a judgment against the defendant without any evidentiary proceedings. Therefore the Roman civil trial rules provided that the consensus of the parties could replace assertion of the truth by the judge. It turns out that the Polish evidence contract and the Roman trial oath, despite structural differences, were motivated by the same value: the economy of proceedings. They are also similar in that they give rise axiological doubts. The Roman example shows that material truth has an intuitively essential meaning in a civil trial. Formal truth, on the other hand, comes into play when specific values, such as the efficiency of proceedings or the sacredness of a word given, have to be protected in a particular way.

A comparative analysis of limitations in administrative appeals in Europe: the case of Poland and Slovakia

The article focuses on the issue of administrative appeals and possible limitations in Poland and in Slovakia. The authors provide information on the efficiency requirements in administrative remedies and on the nature of administrative appeal. All these aspects are subsequently examined from a comparative perspective. The aim of the research is to analyse existing limitations in appeal systems and their impact on parties' rights and the efficiency of proceedings. These limitations discussed in appeals procedure are divided into three stages: at the initiation stage, in the course of the proceeding and at the termination stage. They further present other proposals for limitations to administrative appeals which have been taken into consideration in Polish and Slovak scholarship.

Basic Characteristics of Practical Application the Simplified Forms of Procedures in Criminal Cases of the Republic of Srpska // Osnovne karakteristike praktične primjene pojednostavljenih formi postupanja u krivičnim stvarima Republike Srpske

In the context of numerous measures taken to increase the efficiency of criminal proceedings, a special place belongs to the simplified forms of criminal cases proceedings. Inspired by the desire for saving time, costs and labour and avoiding formalities which seem unnecessary in routine cases, the simplified procedural forms are proposed to traditional criminal proceedings. In this context, the systematic reform of criminal procedural legislation has been executed, both at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina and in its entities and the Brcko District BiH which has opened a completely new approach to criminal proceedings, in which the emphasis is not only on enhancing the protection of basic human rights and freedom but also the efficiency of the proceedings. The range of simplified and shortened procedures, the new criminal proceedings legislation in the Republic of Srpska is known through the following forms: witness immunity (Article 149 of the Law on the Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Srpska), plea of guilty (Article 244 of the Law on the Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Srpska), plea bargaining (Article 246 of the Law on the Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Srpska), procedure for issuing penal order (Article 358 of the Law on the Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Srpska). In this paper it will be discussed about practical application of the institutes from the aspect of the efficiency of criminal proceedings of the Republic of Srpska. The basic method that will be used in the theoretical part of the paper is a dogmatic and normative method, while in the second part of the paper the statistical method will be used.

Strengthening the Role of Defence at the International Criminal Court: Reflections on How Defence is and Can Be Supported for Greater Effectiveness and Efficiencies

Noting the absence of institutional status for defence in the structure of the International Criminal Court, the present article discusses the means by which the work of defence is supported for enhanced effectiveness and efficiency in proceedings. The article surveys the regime of legal assistance available to indigent defendants, the privileges and immunities granted to defence as well as the cooperation framework, and the support provided by the Registry of the Court and the Office of Public Counsel for the defence. The article then examines how defence can itself contribute to greater effectiveness and efficiency in the Court’s proceedings and activities, with a particular focus on the establishment of the International Criminal Court Bar Association and the involvement of defence in the amendment procedures to the Court’s texts.

Networking activities of general judiciary - from theory to practice

Over the last three decades, networks - as a field of research - have acquired a significant place among sciences. Unfortunately, in the judiciary they have become a subject of more careful analyses only recently, which resulted in a large discrepancy of knowledge - both in theory and in its practical adaptation for the needs of the courts. In order to fill this cognitive gap, an attempt was made to identify levels of organizational maturity of common courts in applying a network form of coordination to auxiliary activity. The basis material for the research was provided in 72 interviews with presidents and court heads, and observations of a non-standardized process of information exchange and knowledge sharing within the voluntary court network established during the implementation of the project hosted by the National School of Judiciary and Prosecutor's Office (Krajowa Szkola Sądownictwa i Prokuratury) Education in time and court proceedings costs - case management (Edukacja w dziedzinie zarządzania czasem i kosztami postepowan sądowych - case management). 60 regional, district and appeal courts from different appeals cooperated horizontally within the scope of this network. During the project, organizational and solutions were implemented, such as: improvement of case flow and efficiency of proceedings, development of effective information policy of courts and of internal and external communication. As part of the exchange of information and knowledge sharing, the courts used the network form of coordination. The procedure proposed in this article designates five levels of organizational maturity of courts in the implementation of the network form of coordination. The developed procedure can be used to track the progress in the common courts' networking and to inspire the courts to use this form of coordination in practice.

Civil Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights: Public Consultation on the Efficiency of Proceedings and Accessibility of Measures. CEIPI's Comments on the Public Consultation, with a Focus on Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms

As a part of a consultation with stakeholders in order to evaluate the overall functioning of the civil enforcement mechanism for intellectual property rights, the European Commission has opened a survey on “the efficiency of proceedings and accessibility of measures” to gather specific information about the enforcement of intellectual property rights through contracts, litigation, or other means. The Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI) submits a certain number of observations to the European legislature from the perspective of ADR (alternative dispute resolution). Although ADR has been recognized as an important means of dispute resolution and much effort - primarily on the national level - has been made, its use in the field of intellectual property rights remains modest. The CEIPI provides an analysis on the current state of affairs and advances proposals on how best the European Commission could make use of ADR in order to achieve effective enforcement of intellectual property rights.

An Empirical analysis of firms Emerging from SICA filings

The legal and regulatory framework in India provide for reorganization of sick (defined as accumulated losses exceed net worth) but potentially viable firms. We examine stock returns and operating performance of the 101 firms that emerged as „no longer sick‟ from the proceedings during the period 1992 to 2006. Our short run as well as long run analysis of market performance using various expected return models and estimators show that market is not considering the event of from bankruptcy as a positive surprise. In contrast to the results from US market, our analysis of stock returns around the following four quarters‟ earnings announcements indicates that the market for these stocks is informationally efficient. It is evident from the analysis of operating performance that sample firms are neither making superior operating margin nor utilizing the assets efficiently after emerging from bankruptcy. Hence, our study raises doubts over the efficiency of proceedings and it may be possible that the proceedings may allow inefficient firms to reorganize and survive.

Improving Bankruptcy Proceedings or Strengthening Sanctions? An Assessment on Anti-Usury Policies

We explore the combined effects of increasing both the efficiency of bankruptcy proceedings and the severity of expected sanctions on the probability that credit agreements involve usu-rious interest rates. Depending upon the institutional setup, we find that that either: a) marginal improvements in the efficiency of proceedings are likely to curb usury, while strengthening sanctions is in effective; or b) marginal improvements in the efficiency of proceedings are likely to foster usury, while more severe sanctions have deterrence effects. The main policy implication is the convenience of polarizing the allocation of public resources in either bankruptcy laws or criminal law enforcement in case of reforms. Likewise, transition from severe repression to depenalization associated to more active prevention requires massively shifting resources since marginal interventions could end up with adverse outcome. Furthermore, in a dynamic setting, policy interventions may fail when borrowers' higher wealth (collateral endowment) implies increasing inequality in its distribution. There-fore, countries undertaking judicial reforms should be aware of the growth path they choose during transition.