Key Legal Issues Research Articles

Giving Effect to Freedom of Religion through the Advancement of Religion? A New Zealand Charity Law Perspective

Abstract The legal frameworks of the human right to freedom of religion and the charity law doctrine of the advancement of religion sit at opposite ends of the legal scale by virtue, inter alia, of the former being a right that protects against a social injustice and the latter being a discretionary benefit bestowed upon beneficiaries and even that discretionary benefit is governed by stringent charity law principles. Consequently, it may be seen that the discretionary benefits bestowed by the advancement of religion might be at odds to the right to freedom of religion. As a result, this article considers whether the advancement of religion can give effect to the freedom of religion, and if not, whether any such limitations may be justified in a democratic society. Thus, this article explores a number of key legal issues pertaining to religion through the charity law lens from a New Zealand perspective, and in doing so, sheds some light on the relationship between the freedom of religion and the advancement of religion.

Banking Law and Climate Change: Key Legal Issues

Banking Law and Climate Change: Key Legal Issues

Central Banks and Climate Change: Key Legal Issues

Central Banks and Climate Change: Key Legal Issues

Issues in the Adoption of Land Administration Domain Model in a Developing Country

Land administration systems globally are transitioning to the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) as a flexible, interoperable framework for standardizing procedures and strengthening land governance. However, developing countries face unique adoption challenges due to institutional deficiencies, outdated land laws, and lack of technical resources. This study empirically diagnoses barriers to LADM implementation in Anambra State, Nigeria through a mixed methods case study approach. A literature review and semi-structured questionnaires with 384 stakeholders were conducted to identify institutional, legal and technical issues. Quantitative data analysis was conducted using Kruskal-Wallis Test. Results indicate major institutional barriers include limited inter-agency coordination, inadequate funding and capacity constraints. Key legal issues are inconsistencies between statutory and customary land rights recognition. Foremost technical challenges are outdated paper records and lack of power and digitized infrastructure. The study offers empirically-grounded recommendations prioritizing legal harmonization, targeted capacity building, infrastructure upgrades and coordinated implementation. Findings advance theoretical understanding of LADM adoption in diverse contexts while informing land policy and targeted reforms. With strategic mitigation of barriers identified, Anambra can optimize capabilities applying flexible, rights-based international standards to strengthen land governance.

Disrupting MMORPGs gaming: Exploring and renegotiating end-user license agreements in the Metaverse

This paper explores key legal issues surrounding gaming platforms that provide/host Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games. Since we are entering the next epoch of the Internet, Web3.0 – and the emergence of Metaverses that operate within this space, this paper conducts an inquiry into the key facets of end-user license agreements (EULAs) used in the platforms that may likely need to be renegotiated. Firstly, how do we reconcile the legal regulatory status of gaming platforms in a decentralized Web3.0 Metaverse? Secondly, how can the rights of end users of gaming platforms be protected vis-à-vis the EULAs in this space? And thirdly, what specific aspects in existing EULAs are likely needed to be renegotiated in light of a decentralized Web3.0 Metaverse? This paper will utilize a case study using the EULAs of Blizzard Entertainment Inc. and provide a possible reformulation of specific terms and conditions of EULAs.

The WTO Condemns Trump’s Tariffs on Steel and Aluminium, but Biden Condemns the WTO

Recently World Trade Organization (WTO) panels declared the illegitimacy of the tariff increases imposed in 2018 by the US government, based on national security grounds, on imports of steel and aluminium products. This paper addresses some of the key legal issues raised in the four controversial panel decisions, leaving some final reflections on the future of multilateral trade system. Given the unsettled nature of the terrain, we firstly focus on the WTO rules that are relevant to the tariffs imposed by Trump in 2018, before dwelling on the complainants’ arguments and panels’ findings. Two indications or conclusion can be drawn from the paper. First, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Article XXI doesn’t constitute a self-judging or non-justiciable provision, differently from what argued by the US Government. Second, the controversial reports will not resolve the ongoing conflict initiated by US against the WTO. In fact Biden, far from distancing himself from Trump’s measures, openly condemned the panel’s decisions through an official statement widely disseminated by the media. The practical significance of the recent condemnation of the US tariffs is even less evident when considering the persistent issue of the appointment of members to the WTO Appellate Body. If multilateralism continues to falter, the US may no longer be the only country winking at bilateralism, as evidenced by the recent rules adopted by the EU. Security Exceptions, Dispute Settlement Understanding, Antidumping Duties, WTO, international economics, European Union, GATT, escape clauses, multilateral trade system

Voluntary assisted dying: A discussion of key legal issues for Australian nurses

Voluntary assisted dying: A discussion of key legal issues for Australian nurses

Integrating System Analysis, Information Management, and Decision-Making: Legal Perspectives and Challenges

This article examines a key legal issue related to the integration of system analysis, information management, and decision-making, focusing on data privacy. The study employs a literature review, comparative analysis, and policy analysis to investigate the current legal frameworks, approaches taken in different jurisdictions, and potential solutions. Our findings reveal that inconsistencies in data privacy regulations and challenges in compliance significantly impact stakeholders in these fields. We propose several potential solutions, including the harmonization of data privacy laws, the adoption of privacy-enhancing technologies, and the implementation of education and training programs. Policymakers and stakeholders should adopt a proactive approach and foster international cooperation to create an environment that enables innovation while safeguarding individual privacy rights. This article contributes to the understanding of the legal challenges and implications in the rapidly evolving fields of system analysis, information management, and decision-making.

Analyzing the Legal Labyrinth: Current Trends in Genetic Research and Their Legal Perspectives

Genetic research has experienced rapid advancements in recent years, giving rise to a host of legal challenges at the intersection of intellectual property rights, data privacy, and ethical concerns. This article aims to analyze a key legal issue related to genetic research and propose potential solutions. We conducted a literature review, comparative analysis, and policy evaluation to identify the shortcomings of existing legal frameworks and highlight best practices from different jurisdictions. Our findings indicate that current legal frameworks may not adequately address the challenges posed by genetic research. We propose potential solutions, such as developing a comprehensive legal framework for genetic research, encouraging international collaboration and harmonization of laws and regulations, and implementing strong oversight mechanisms. By addressing these legal challenges and implementing the proposed solutions, policymakers and stakeholders can create a stable and predictable environment for genetic research that maximizes its benefits while minimizing potential harms and inequities.

Knowledge of the abortion law and key legal issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights among recently arrived migrants in Sweden: a cross-sectional survey

BackgroundSexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including access and information on the laws and policies related to abortion, varies considerably between countries. Migrants may have limited knowledge of SRHR and related resources in their new country. This study investigates migrants’ knowledge of the right to safe and legal abortion and other associated factors including the recent law on sexual consent, the legal age for sexual consent and age to marry in Sweden.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study from 2018 to 2019 among recent migrants attending high schools or Swedish language schools. Descriptive statistics were computed on the knowledge of the Swedish abortion law and other legal aspects. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess if migrants’ socio-demographic characteristics were associated with knowledge (i.e. correct/incorrect) of the Swedish abortion law and other key SRHR-related legal issues.ResultsOf the total 6,263 participants, 3,557 (57%) responded about whether it is legal to have an induced abortion in Sweden, and of these, 2,632 (74%) answered incorrectly. While more than half (61%) of the respondents knew the sexual consent law, nearly half (48%) did not know that sexual consent is also required for married couples. About 90% correctly responded that it is illegal to have sex with a minor (under the age of 15) and were aware of the legal age (18 years) to marry in Sweden. Incorrect knowledge of the Swedish abortion law was associated with being religious (adjusted odds ratio (AOR), 2.12; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.42–3.15), not having previous sexual health education (AOR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.38–2.05), coming from a country with predominantly restrictive abortion laws (AOR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.16–1.84), low level of education (AOR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.04–1.61) and having a temporary residence permit (AOR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.02–1.57).ConclusionWe found a substantial lack of knowledge among migrants of reproductive age in Sweden regarding important laws and policies of SRHR, particularly the right to abortion. SRHR-related programmes and comprehensive sexual health education for recently arrived migrants could include components to increase knowledge of legal and safe abortions and other laws concerning SRHR.

Legal competence in Shari’a courts in Israel

ABSTRACT The activity of the Shari’a Court in Israel reflects a complex reality of ‘legal hybridity’. The Muslim tribunal serving the traditional Arab community is influenced by local circumstances and processes of internal change alongside the influence of Western modern culture. As a result, legal rulings and Shari’a terms that may sometimes express conservative perceptions operate alongside general state law that may sometimes reflect other perceptions. In this article, decisions of Shari’a courts in Israel are examined on questions of ‘legal competence’ in a sample of 24 cases from four Israeli local Shari’a courts as well as a couple of decisions from the Shari’a Court of Appeals (between 1993 and 2009). In view of competence being a key legal issue, examining the court decisions on this issue makes it possible to examine the complexity of the application of Israeli law and Shari’a law within a system of courts that on the one hand, are integral to the state’s formal legal system while on the other they see themselves as representatives of the Muslim minority and its culture.

Wine NFT cryptoassets: EU regulatory issues and market challenges

The present paper examines the concept, legal nature and key legal issues faced by non-fungible tokens (NFTs) representing wine bottles to be marketed in decentralized secondary platforms qualified as organized marketplaces in accordance with the provisions of the ongoing provisions of the EU Market in Cryptoaset Regulation (hereinafter MiCA). The analysis is extended to essential market challenges posed by the aforementioned rules within the context of the functioning of wine token platforms in DLT (blockchain) public-permissioned networks (PPDLs). Specific MiCA compliance for NFT wine trading and the relationship between the property of the underlying deliverable wine and the credit rights of the token holder are aksi discussed under the perspective of MiCA stablecoin regulation and particular consumer law rules and principles, in order to efficiently organize markets to protect NFT holders, wine buyers and related rights of producers, distributors and intermediaries along the wine chain of value.

Voluntary Assisted Dying: A Discussion of Key Legal Issues for Australian Nurses

Voluntary Assisted Dying: A Discussion of Key Legal Issues for Australian Nurses

HORECA MARKETPLACE: AN INNOVATIVE PLATFORM FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES

The article is devoted to the development of a conceptual business model of a marketplace focused on the restaurant business. Search for suppliers and potential consumers, along with the availability of information, remains one of the main issues of the market. Thus, the development of a marketplace model for HoReCa can be a solution to the search issues of both sides of business. Marketplaces are considered as a result of digitalization of economic society. Marketplaces act as an intermediary between the consumer and the seller, performs the functions of a market operator that processes consumer transactions and transmits information about orders to sellers. For certain marketplaces, the phenomenon of free or flexible pricing can be characteristic, when the prices of goods and services are determined directly by the interaction of suppliers and consumers. The article focuses on information availability and customer orientation of marketplaces. Marketplaces combine products and services from a wide range of suppliers, which is a key difference from an online store. It is worth noting that modern services provide a range of interaction models: business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-government (B2G), consumer-to-consumer (C2C) and others. Considering specifics of the market, the article proposes to apply a combined model of interaction: B2B with features of C2C. Using such a model will provide an opportunity to placing orders and offers both to suppliers and HoReCa representatives. The article analyzes the key legal issues of opening such an innovative platform. Due to existing financial restrictions, marketplaces do not participate in the payment processing of orders, as the activity of a payment intermediary is considered a financial service and can only be performed by a financial institution. Despite these limitations, the conceptual model of the marketplace proposed in the article offers solutions to most of the current problems and challenges. Keywords: restaurant marketplace, HoReCa, restaurant business, e-commerce, classifieds, small and medium businesses, innovative platform.

Refugees as Migrant Workers after the Global Compacts? Can Labour Migration Serve as a Complementary Pathway for People in Need of Protection into Sweden and Germany?

Both the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees commit states to diversify and expand on labour migration opportunities, in particular by facilitating work-based ‘complementary pathways’ for the admission of refugees. Yet, almost four years after their adoption, such pathways remain limited in many cases. It is the aim of this article to examine the constraints posed by existing immigration laws to serve as an admission ground for people in need of protection and the key legal, policy and political issues that need to be addressed to allow the commitments related to labour migration pathways contained in the Compacts to be implemented in national legal systems. In so doing, this article applies a legal and political feasibility lens to evaluate why these pathways for persons in need of protection are often small-scale, underutilized by employers and unwelcoming to potential refugees. It employs a comparative case study methodology drawing on more than 30 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders at the international and national levels in Germany and Sweden. The article concludes that the main challenge to the political feasibility of opening work-based complementary pathways for refugees is politicians’ and policy makers’ traditional thinking of migration and asylum as separate domains. When it comes to challenges to legal feasibility, these stem from entry requirements, lack of sufficient interest among employers who are a key stakeholder in the facilitation of such pathways, as well as issues related to the security of status of potential beneficiaries of such measures.

The New Italian Law Against Investment in Antipersonnel Mines and Cluster Munitions: Achievements and Loopholes

Abstract This contribution analyses the key legal issues raised by Law No. 220 of 9 December 2021, the new Italian law against investment in anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions and submunitions. Law No. 220 targets firms in any way involved in the production of these weapons with a total investment ban and provides effective means of enforcing the prohibition upon financial intermediaries. This signals that Italy subscribes to a broad and progressive interpretation of its international obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. At the same time, though, the resulting legal regime also presents some inexplicable gaps with regard to penalties for the financing of firms involved in anti-personnel mines. It is argued here that these gaps create problems of compatibility with the Mine Ban Treaty and raise concerns of constitutionality with respect to Articles 3 and 117(1) of the Italian Constitution. Such issues may not be resoved by the Constitutional Court and should therefore be promptly addressed by Parliament.

Building Information Modelling (BIM): insights from collaboration and legal perspectives

With the advent of the BIM technology, related guidelines have been formulated by project owners, governments and professional bodies. As an information sharing platform, BIM is applied to various kinds of construction projects for better management and collaboration. Yet, the existing off-the-shelf BIM application software does not fully consider the potential legal liabilities among the collaborating parties. In view of the above, we conducted a review of the relevant literature and legal cases to examine issues including ownership, liability and information reliance, and duty to warn from the perspectives of collaboration and laws. Common procurement initiatives were discussed in relation to BIM application. Drawn from the review and comparison, key legal issues of concern in BIM applications and the way forward for tackling the issues were identified. In conclusion, a collaborative approach under the BIM environment will work better under a project federated committee. Further research on the operation of this committee is recommended in order to make its authorities and liabilities clear.

Post-Pandemic Telehealth: An Unhealthy Privacy Prescription

The COVID-19 pandemic catapulted the use of telehealth services across the United States (US). In response to the public health emergency, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the US Department for Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notice relaxing privacy and security safeguards outlined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). During the past two years, several novel legal issues have arisen due to these lenient standards. The US government has not adequately considered standardizing rules for remote telehealth consultations and regulating the flow of sensitive patient data in a post-COVID world. This article addresses key legal issues associated with telehealth services while recommending national standards to mitigate physician liability while prioritizing patient care.

Challenges related to data protection in clinical research before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: An exploratory study.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic brought global disruption to health, society and economy, including to the conduct of clinical research. In the European Union (EU), the legal and ethical framework for research is complex and divergent. Many challenges exist in relation to the interplay of the various applicable rules, particularly with respect to compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This study aimed to gain insights into the experience of key clinical research stakeholders [investigators, ethics committees (ECs), and data protection officers (DPOs)/legal experts working with clinical research sponsors] across the EU and the UK on the main challenges related to data protection in clinical research before and during the pandemic.Materials and methodsThe study consisted of an online survey and follow-up semi-structured interviews. Data collection occurred between April and December 2021. Survey data was analyzed descriptively, and the interviews underwent a framework analysis.Results and conclusionIn total, 191 respondents filled in the survey, of whom fourteen participated in the follow-up interviews. Out of the targeted 28 countries (EU and UK), 25 were represented in the survey. The majority of stakeholders were based in Western Europe. This study empirically elucidated numerous key legal and ethical issues related to GDPR compliance in the context of (cross-border) clinical research. It showed that the lack of legal harmonization remains the biggest challenge in the field, and that it is present not only at the level of the interplay of key EU legislative acts and national implementation of the GDPR, but also when it comes to interpretation at local, regional and institutional levels. Moreover, the role of ECs in data protection was further explored and possible ways forward for its normative delineation were discussed. According to the participants, the pandemic did not bring additional legal challenges. Although practical challenges (for instance, mainly related to the provision of information to patients) were high due to the globally enacted crisis measures, the key problematic issues on (cross-border) health research, interpretations of the legal texts and compliance strategies remained largely the same.

The development of arbitration involving State Parties in Brazil: comparative remarks with Latin America

Arbitration involving state entities in Brazil has a long history. This paper analyses how this type of arbitration arose in Brazil, what were the strategies that Brazilian courts and legislative bodies employed to make it work and how do they compare to the rest of Latin America. This paper shows what were the key legal issues associated with resolving commercial conflicts with state parties in Brazil, how they were regulated and, most importantly, why arbitration became so relevant for state parties in Brazil, while other countries in Latin America avoid using the method. State entities; arbitration; Brazil; development; public.