General Principles Research Articles

Inconsistency of Americans’ opinions on free speech: evidence from three survey experiments

ABSTRACT A conventional wisdom is that Americans strongly support freedom of speech. However, recent experimental studies show that opinions on specific controversial cases involving freedom of speech can be affected by ideology and partisanship. In this research note, we explore the consistency of Americans’ support for the general principles of free speech. In three survey-experimental studies that ask questions about different aspects of free speech, we show that Americans’ opinions on free speech are inconsistent. First, responses to the free speech questions are strongly affected by their polarity. Second, reliability of the resulting scale is surprisingly low. Third, employing double-barreled questions that contrast free speech to other values (social justice and patriotism) increases the scale’s reliability. Taken together, these findings suggest that, first, abstract free speech questions simply measure tolerance and, second, framing free speech measures around specific controversies better captures free speech attitudes.

La régulation des compétences juridictionnelles dans la CEMAC

Abstract On 23 December 2021, the Littoral Administrative Court, rendered Judgement No. 416/QD/2021 in the case of AYINDA Germain v Organe de Gestion de la Carte Rose CEMAC. By this decision, the national judge proceeds to a national recognition of a general principle of CEMAC Law, that of the separation of functions between the Community Court of Justice and the national jurisdictions. To do this, it mobilizes its community functionality subsequent to ontological jurisdictional subsidiarity to the CEMAC legal order. However, if this is an unprecedented decision in terms of the legal symbolism it contains, it also has the merit of highlighting the insufficient appropriation of CEMAC Law by community litigants.

The integration of the ecosystem approach in the BBNJ agreement—An initial assessment of limits and opportunities

AbstractThis paper carries out an initial assessment of the integration of the ecosystem approach in the recently adopted agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). The analysis seeks to assess whether or not such integration is likely to be effective. In this respect, this paper follows up on earlier analyses offered during the negotiating process and aims at offering some initial considerations on, and reactions to, the final text of the BBNJ agreement, in order to map the limits of this integration and the opportunities it may offer, for an effective implementation of the ecosystem approach in the context of the BBNJ agreement, focussing especially on article 7 (on general principles and approaches), on part III (on area‐based management tools, including marine protected areas) and part IV (on environmental impact assessments) with specific focus on strategic environmental assessment.

ARRANGING REGULATORY POLICIES TO SUPPORT ECONOMIC GROWTH, INVESTMENT, INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 4.0, SOCIETY 5.0, AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMY WITH OMNIBUS LAW

<p>Arranging regulatory policies to support economic growth, investment, the Industrial Revolution 4.0, Society 5.0, and the global economy using the omnibus law turned out to be problematic. Among the people, there are pros and cons because it is not following the Indonesian legal system, which follows the "civil law" tradition. It is necessary to research the pros and cons of this research. The purpose of this research is to analyze the effectiveness of the omnibus law policy in managing regulations to support economic growth, investment, Industrial Revolution 4.0, Society 5.0, and the global economy. The research method used is normative legal research with a literature study approach. This study concludes that implementing the omnibus law policy in managing regulations to support economic growth, investment, the Industrial Revolution 4.0, Society 5.0, and the global economy is very effective and efficient because the formation is cheaper, faster, and avoids various political conflicts. Law policies formed using the omnibus law method are part of the national legal system. Therefore, the omnibus law policy in managing regulations must refer to the provisions and principles regulated in Law Number 12 of 2011 on the Establishment of Legislation as amended by Law Number 15 of 2019 and Law Number 13 of 2022 and its implementing regulations, Presidential Regulation Number 87 of 2014 and Number 76 of 2021, as well as general and universal principles, the principles and concepts of customary law or, in some instances, the principles and concepts of Islamic law. Everything is elaborated in a direction based on the omnibus law method so that the law developed based on the omnibus law method can create happiness for the Indonesian people, as mandated in the fourth paragraph of the opening of the 1945 Constitution.</p>

The Ether Concept from Spanish Physics Textbooks (1840–1950)

AbstractThe presence of the ether concept in the contents of 73 Spanish physics textbooks (secondary and first course university level) published in the period 1840–1950 is studied. The textbooks are a specially interesting learning tool in the Spanish society of this period, due to the rural character of the country, the capacity of the textbooks for frequent and repeated use as well as for dissemination over the entire state. Particularly, the content about heat, light and electricity is investigated. Whether the concept of ether appears in the general principles of the textbooks or not is also studied. Moreover, the work considers the evolution of the concept of ether by decades, showing different examples of how the ether was used to explain different physics phenomena. Furthermore, the social and historical context in which the textbooks were developed is discussed in detail. Outstanding amongst the different conclusions that are drawn is the disappearance of the concept of the ether during the third and fourth decades of the twentieth century.

A methodology to assess indicators of technological development of the industry: The electronics industry case

Subject. The article deals with assessing the technological development of the industry. Objectives. The focus is on development and testing of a methodology for evaluating indicators of technological development of the industry. Methods. The study rests on general scientific principles and research methods, like abstraction, generalization of approaches to industry’s technological development assessment, analysis, synthesis, systematization, and generalization of obtained results. Results. The developed methodology includes five stages: (1) assessment of preconditions for technological level change; (2) analysis of intensity of modernization; (3) analysis of staff development, growth of labor productivity and remuneration level; (4) assessment of innovation activity; (5) analysis of consequences of changes in the technological level as an increase in value added, return on capital, and sustainable growth. Conclusions. I tested the methodology on data from a sample of electronic industry enterprises (OKVED 26 Manufacture of Computer, Electronic and Optical Products). Calculations show that there are evolutionary, but not large–scale changes. However, there are no signs of noticeable innovative development. At the same time, there are significant changes in individual companies, like PAO Element, controlled by State Corporation Rostec Group. The analysis of the company's consolidated financial statements showed a significant inflow of resources, an increase in investment and innovation activity, staff development, an increase in value added, return on capital, and accelerated growth.

Towards a probabilistic foundation of relativistic quantum theory: the one-body Born rule in curved spacetime

In this work, we establish a novel approach to the foundations of relativistic quantum theory, which is based on generalizing the quantum-mechanical Born rule for determining particle position probabilities to curved spacetime. A principal motivator for this research has been to overcome internal mathematical problems of relativistic quantum field theory (QFT) such as the ‘problem of infinities’ (renormalization), which axiomatic approaches to QFT have shown to be not only of mathematical but also of conceptual nature. The approach presented here is probabilistic by construction, can accommodate a wide array of dynamical models, does not rely on the symmetries of Minkowski spacetime, and respects the general principle of relativity. In the analytical part of this work, we consider the 1-body case under the assumption of smoothness of the mathematical quantities involved. This is identified as a special case of the theory of the general-relativistic continuity equation. While related approaches to the relativistic generalization of the Born rule assume the hypersurfaces of interest to be spacelike and the spacetime to be globally hyperbolic, we employ prior contributions by C. Eckart and J. Ehlers to show that the former condition is naturally replaced by a transversality condition and that the latter one is obsolete. We discuss two distinct formulations of the 1-body case, which, borrowing terminology from the non-relativistic analog, we term the Lagrangian and Eulerian pictures. We provide a comprehensive treatment of both. The main contribution of this work to the mathematical physics literature is the development of the Lagrangian picture. The Langrangian picture shows how one can address the ‘problem of time’ in this approach and, therefore, serves as a blueprint for the generalization to many bodies and the case that the number of bodies is not conserved. We also provide an example to illustrate how this approach can in principle be employed to model particle creation and annihilation.

Enforcement of the Principle of Legality to Living Law as Legal Basis in the Positivism of Displacement Customary Law

Living law is an inseparable part of the Indonesian criminal law system. However, in perspective of legality principle, living law causing pros and cons. The idea of regulating the living law in Indonesian, as the basis for criminal prosecution, for unregulated act is still debated. The issue that will be analysed in this article is how to apply living law/adat law as a basis for prosecuting criminals related to the existence of legality principle and, how to measure the enforcement of living law in criminal process. Based on the analysis using the principle of legality, it can be concluded that living law, as basis for prosecution, is contrary to principle of legality and protection of human rights. The enactment of living law can potentially create legal uncertainty and abuse of power by the government. Law enforcement against living law is also difficult to implement, because it is tied to the four indicators. Therefore, the living law provision better not be placed as part of general principles in the Indonesian Penal Code Bill. Keywords: Code Bill: Legality principle; Living law.

Time of Signing: Legal Requirements and Technical Options for Hand-written and Electronic Signatures

The article examines the legal and technical aspects of determining the time of signing for both hand-written and electronic signatures. Of particular relevance in light of the widespread utilisation of electronic signatures in Estonia, involving both government-issued and private-sector e-signatures, it explores how signatures are linked to the time of transactions and whether the time of signing affects the validity of signatures under Estonian and European Union law. The paper discusses the general principle of freedom of form in transactions, highlighting the formal requirements imposed by law for certain transactions and wills, with special focus on comparing the traditional analogue world with the digital environment. Additionally, a review of recent amendments to the eIDAS Regulation examines their impact on the union’s electronic-signature ecosystem. Discussion addresses technical challenges also, with specific regard to linking a signature to the time of the transaction and the legal implications of timestamping in the domain of electronic signatures. For broader context, the insight is informed by comparison with Norway, another member of the European Economic Area. The research reported upon contributes to awareness of the importance of understanding both the legislative framework and technical practices involved in identifying the time of signing for ensuring the legal validity and reliability of electronic signatures.

A Comparative Approach to Amendments to Constitutional Preambles: Questions of Amendability, Substance, and Reasons

Preambles of constitutions tend to express general principles, overarching values, and aspirational ideas that underpin the whole constitution. Whether they are deemed legally binding or not, their special character seems to suggest that constitutional preambles should be difficult to amend and that amendment of them should occur only rarely. Attention seldom extends beyond this, however: there is a distinct lack of comprehensive comparative analysis of amendments to constitutional preambles, with these preambles remaining the least researched part of constitutions. The paper represents an effort to fill this void by presenting a comparative empirical analysis of amendments to constitutional preambles around the world. After providing an overview of what sets constitutional preambles apart from the main body of constitutions and analysing their overall amendability, it reports specific results from empirical research into amendments to constitutional preambles, which identified 55 constitutional events occurring since 1949 that have resulted in some change in a constitutional preamble. The paper offers a typology of those amendments, from 42 countries, which involves 20 general characteristic elements of preambles, of which amendments related to political movements, ideology, or ideologues / political leaders were identified as most frequent. Lastly, it directs focus to the socio-political and other factors that lead to amendments in constitutional preambles.

Alternatives to Public Procurement: Free Choice in Marketised Social Services – Legal Challenges Illustrated via Long-Term Care

In light of Europe’s ageing population, the article explores the legal dimensions to freedom of choice within marketised social services, especially in the context of long-term care. It offers critical analysis of the implementation of the free-choice model in Estonia within the framework of European Union public-procurement law and Estonian law on administrative co-operation. The landscape has been a legal ‘no man’s land’ somewhat: this demand-based model with an unlimited number of providers falls outside the traditional public-procurement framework, and how the general principles for transfer of public tasks to the private sector might apply to a free-choice model, which does not entail explicit ‘transfer’, has remained unclear. Although the Estonian care reform of 2023 established a funding model, it did not resolve the legal uncertainties surrounding public–private co-operation and user rights. As care homes in Estonia are largely run by the private sector, vague legal regulation and weak state supervision pose a threat to access, the care services’ quality, and their economic efficiency. Drawing on international comparisons with the Nordic countries, the article warns against uncritical adoption of market-based models, stressing the need to balance the roles of public authorities and private providers. The paper underscores the crucial role of legal professionals in ensuring that public–private co-operation for social services upholds both individuals’ fundamental rights and public interests.

Life after Irgita (C-285/18) – More Questions Than Answers

The principles governing public procurement – equal treatment, non-discrimination, transparency, proportionality, etc. – serve upholding the fair use of public resources and ensuring compliance with EU‑level law. Sometimes, the open market is not the most efficient option, particularly when the public sector possesses the necessary resources. To address this, the EU’s procurement directives permit deviations from established public procurement rules for in-house transactions or horizontal co‑operation within the public sector. These involve determining whether to utilise internal resources or external ones, however, recent European Court of Justice cases have revealed uncertainties with regard to the process of this ‘make or buy?’ decision. While Member States retain freedom in evaluating how to meet their needs, that freedom is not unlimited and must be balanced with adherence to general principles of EU law. The article addresses the doubts that persist notwithstanding the Court’s analysis, most notably in Irgita (C-285/18). In light of a clear need for clarity related to the addressees of the key rule, its applicability, and the impact of general principles of EU law on the make-or-buy decision, the discussion tackles these matters as pressing questions.

On the Doctrine of the Direct Effect of European Provisions Regarding the Requirement of Enforceability

This paper analyses the interpretation of direct effect in terms of its contribution to the development of an efficient European legal system. A precondition for efficiency is the enforceability of provisions. The concept of direct effect, interpreted on the basis of a questionably adequate understanding of the concept of monism taken over from international law, should enhance enforceability by disabling national agents to interfere or to perform the “handover” of rights from the EU level to citizens. Such understanding leads to the national practice applying direct effect in a simplified, plain, and bureaucratic way, and distancing from the substance of provisions. In the cases where, intentionally or not, direct effect/direct applicability are sometimes denied and sometimes recognised to directives and regulations, the CJEU shows how to deal with such situations occurring in the activities of the European regulatory institutions. To fulfil its purpose, national agents applying European law should deploy the underutilised but demanding “shield and sword” approach regarding direct effect. Such an approach, which requires almost equally intense engagement as in the case of indirect effect (also insufficiently exercised at the national level), should defend individual rights from both national and supranational unfavourable influences. In doing so, fundamental rights and general principles encouraged and taken care of by the CJEU, which are and should be the cornerstone of the EU legal system, and which are ultimately a justification for the Member States to embrace the principle of supremacy of European law, should be taken into account.

Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors: A Systematic Review of Structure-Activity Relationship Studies

Context: Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) is a serine exopeptidase enzyme that hydrolyzes the amide bond at the N-terminal of peptides. This enzyme converts incretins, such as glucagon-like peptide I and glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide, into their inactive forms, thereby preventing them from stimulating insulin secretion. Numerous studies have confirmed the role of DPP-4 in the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes, leading to the development of various DPP-4 inhibitors. In recent years, research on DPP-4 inhibitors has expanded significantly, resulting in the creation of both non-peptidomimetic heterocyclic compounds and peptidomimetic scaffolds. Evidence Acquisition: This systematic review summarizes all recent advances related to DPP-4 inhibitors up to 2024. It begins by outlining the biochemical characteristics of DPP-4 and general pharmacological principles of DPP-4 inhibition, followed by an overview of the latest developments from recent publications. The review provides valuable insights into the pharmacophores necessary for ligand-protein interactions, aimed at understanding the structure-activity relationship of novel DPP-4 inhibitors. Data for this review was collected from sources including ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Scopus. Results: This review highlights various chemical scaffolds that have been explored in the development of novel DPP-4 inhibitors. It emphasizes scaffolds with significant DPP-4 inhibitory activity, including azoles, azines, sulfonamides, and quinolone motifs. The article also details the structure-activity relationships of newly developed analogs, providing a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in this area. Conclusions: Despite moderate progress in the development of novel DPP-4 inhibitors, emerging molecular aspects of DPP-4 intervention show great promise for future therapeutic developments.

Methanogenesis—General Principles and Application in Wastewater Remediation

The first discovery of methanogens led to the formation of a new domain of life known as Archaea. The Archaea domain exhibits properties vastly different from previously known Bacteria and Eucarya domains. However, for a certain multi-step process, a syntrophic relationship between organisms from all domains is needed. This process is called methanogenesis and is defined as the biological production of methane. Different methanogenic pathways prevail depending on substrate availability and the employed order of methanogenic Archaea. Most methanogens reduce carbon dioxide to methane with hydrogen through a hydrogenotrophic pathway. For hydrogen activation, a group of enzymes called hydrogenases is required. Regardless of the methanogenic pathway, electrons are carried between microorganisms by hydrogen. Naturally occurring processes, such as methanogenesis, can be engineered for industrial use. With the growth and emergence of new industries, the amount of produced industrial waste is an ever-growing environmental problem. For successful wastewater remediation, a syntrophic correlation between various microorganisms is needed. The composition of microorganisms depends on wastewater type, organic loading rates, anaerobic reactor design, pH, and temperature. The last step of anaerobic wastewater treatment is production of biomethane by methanogenesis, which is thought to be a cost-effective means of energy production for this renewable biogas.

Adaptive rewiring: a general principle for neural network development

The nervous system, especially the human brain, is characterized by its highly complex network topology. The neurodevelopment of some of its features has been described in terms of dynamic optimization rules. We discuss the principle of adaptive rewiring, i.e., the dynamic reorganization of a network according to the intensity of internal signal communication as measured by synchronization or diffusion, and its recent generalization for applications in directed networks. These have extended the principle of adaptive rewiring from highly oversimplified networks to more neurally plausible ones. Adaptive rewiring captures all the key features of the complex brain topology: it transforms initially random or regular networks into networks with a modular small-world structure and a rich-club core. This effect is specific in the sense that it can be tailored to computational needs, robust in the sense that it does not depend on a critical regime, and flexible in the sense that parametric variation generates a range of variant network configurations. Extreme variant networks can be associated at macroscopic level with disorders such as schizophrenia, autism, and dyslexia, and suggest a relationship between dyslexia and creativity. Adaptive rewiring cooperates with network growth and interacts constructively with spatial organization principles in the formation of topographically distinct modules and structures such as ganglia and chains. At the mesoscopic level, adaptive rewiring enables the development of functional architectures, such as convergent-divergent units, and sheds light on the early development of divergence and convergence in, for example, the visual system. Finally, we discuss future prospects for the principle of adaptive rewiring.

Подходы к изучению текстов культуры в работах В. В. Нарциссова

The aim of the research is to identify the peculiarities of perception of cultural texts by V. V. Narcissov, a prominent art historian, staff member of the House-Museum of P. D. Korin, lecturer whose approach helped to form several generations of scholars in the field of Russian culture and medieval Christian culture. The scientific novelty of the work is derived from the analysis of relevant biographic and academic papers on art history. Biographic material helped to identify the characteristics of the culture of Moscow intelligentsia in the second half of the 20th century. Papers on art history were central in uncovering the author’s approach to monument study. Likewise, general artistic principles of fine art have been considered. As a result of the conducted research, through consideration of the available scientific papers by V. V. Narcissov on Russian art it became possible to note specific research approaches and the overall continuity in the Russian art history tradition during the 20th and 21st centuries.

Gastrointestinal fistulae: conservative vs surgical management

Background: Gastrointestinal fistulae are abnormal connections between two hollow organs of the gastrointestinal tract or between the hollow organ and the skin. They remain a major clinical problem, especially if complicated by sepsis, bacteraemia or cancer. General Principles of fistula management consist of- Phase of Diagnosis, Stabilization and Management. Methods: The study was conducted in Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, Mumbai. A total of 34 patients with gastrointestinal fistulae were studied between January 2020 to January 2023. The patients were studied on the basis of presenting signs and symptoms, details of initial surgery performed, investigations pertaining to the condition and their management. Results: Out of the 34 cases, 44% of the cases were from the small intestine, 39% cases we]re from the large intestine, and the rest of the cases were from stomach, duodenum, gastrojejunostomy site and appendicular stump following appendicectomy. Conclusions: The database of our retrospective study regarding age and sex incidence, clinicopathological features and therapeutic outcome was comparable to other studies in various literatures.

Compensation for Losses in Latvian Groups of Companies Law

The main purpose of the legal regulation of groups of companies, i.e. the Groups of Companies Law of Latvia, is to protect rights and legitimate interests of the dependent company, its creditors and minority shareholders. A controlling enterprise is entitled to pursue its own economic interests by exerting the decisive influence on a dependent company. There is no general prohibition for a controlling enterprise to induce the dependent company into entering transactions or carrying out measures that are disadvantageous to the dependent company. Disadvantageous transactions have to be reflected in the yearly dependency report submitted by the board of the dependent company. As a general principle, the controlling enterprise shall compensate the dependent company for losses arising from disadvantageous transactions or undertakings. If a group contract between the controlling enterprise and the dependent company exists, legal representatives (board members) of the controlling company are jointly responsible for the losses of the dependent company. If a group contract has not been concluded and a de facto group of companies exists, the controlling enterprise itself has to compensate for the losses of the dependent company. Besides the controlling enterprise, the legal representatives of this enterprise are jointly responsible.

Redox-Neutral, Iron-Mediated Directed C-H Activation: General Principles and Mechanistic Insights.

Experimental and computational studies have been conducted and established the general principles for enabling redox-neutral C-H activation by iron(II) complexes. The idealized octahedral iron(II) dimethyl complex, (depe)2Fe(CH3)2 (depe = 1,2-bis(diethylphosphino)ethane) promoted the directed, regioselective ortho C(sp2)-H methylation of pivalophenone. The rate of the iron(II)-mediated C(sp2)-H functionalization depended on the lability of L-type phosphine ligands, the spin state of the iron center, and the size of the X-type ligands (halide, hydrocarbyl) in P4FeIIX2 complexes. The C(sp2)-H alkylation reaction proved general among multiple substrates with directing groups including carbonyl, imines and pyridines. Among these, ketones and aldehydes were identified as optimal and were compatible with various steric environments and presence of acidic α-hydrogens. With stronger nitrogen donors, higher barriers for product-forming reductive elimination were observed. The effect of orbital hybridization on the chemoselectivity of C-H activation through a σ-CAM pathway by dn>0 transition metals was also established by studying the stoichiometric reactivity of the differentially substituted (depe)2Fe(Me)R complexes (R = alkyl, aryl), where the Fe-R bond with greater s-character preferentially promoted selective C-H activation. Deuterium labeling and kinetic studies, coupled with computational analysis, supported a pathway involving phosphine dissociation and rate-determining C-H bond activation, leading to the observed products.