ABSTRACT Practitioners’ preparedness for working with technology-facilitated child sexual abuse (TF-CSEA) has attracted limited attention in Australia. This study maps the capacity of the Australian sexual assault sector to support victims of TF-CSEA, including victims of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and online child sexual extortion. A national survey of 124 practitioners was conducted to assess individual, organisational, and systemic dimensions of sector capacity. Practitioners’ self-reported experiences were treated as indicators of the sector’s collective readiness. Quantitative data from closed questions were analysed descriptively, and qualitative responses were coded thematically. Most practitioners reported only moderate preparedness to support victims, and few had access to specialist training or TF-CSEA-specific resources. Services predominantly relied on traditional “in-person” child sexual abuse (CSA) frameworks that offer limited guidance for managing digital evidence, online harms, and cross-jurisdictional issues. Practitioners identified systemic barriers, including fragmented interagency coordination, unclear referral pathways, and insufficient policy support. The findings highlight that sector capacity limitations reflect structural and policy constraints rather than practitioner deficits. This underscores the need for investment in specialist training, national coordination frameworks, and updated service systems that address online forms of abuse in Australia. IMPLICATIONS Advanced, accredited training can help social workers and related professionals keep pace with effective supports for children and adults who have experienced technology-facilitated child sexual abuse. Extending existing child sexual abuse practice frameworks to include online harms can strengthen social work and allied practice in responding to legal, digital, and psychological complexities. Clearer collaboration between social workers, law enforcement, and online safety agencies can improve referral pathways and reduce uncertainty for victims seeking support.

Identifying static and dynamic risk factors for child sexual offending is essential for risk assessment and the guidance of therapeutic interventions. However, individuals who commit offences involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM) offenders, especially those that are unknown to law enforcement agencies, have been less extensively studied. This study investigated static and dynamic risk factors for undetected CSAM offending. A sample of n = 102 men who are diagnosed with paedophilic disorder and had voluntarily participated in a German prevention project focusing on individuals at risk of offending were examined. A binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore the associations between risk factors and CSAM-offending (CSAM offenders: n = 72; non-CSAM offenders: n = 30). Hypersexuality as measured by the subscale ‘consequences’ of the HBI-19 and offence-supportive cognitions significantly increased the odds of CSAM offending. The present study underscores the importance of examining the generalisability of static and dynamic risk factors for CSA to the group of CSAM offenders. A major strength of this study is that it investigates a group of offenders that is difficult to approach: men with a paedophilic and/or hebephilic sexual preference disorder who are unknown to law enforcement agencies.

ABSTRACT This article interrogates how the U.S. driver's license achieved its central status in the governance and criminalization of non-citizens. It identifies the means through which it was used to construct a dichotomy between verifiable citizens and unverifiable non-citizens by tracing the license's historical development. Such a historical approach, in combination with ethnographic engagement, allows for an analysis that does not treat the REAL ID as merely a novel border technology, but as an extension of an older technology of racial containment centered around the photographic portrait. The article examines the two-decade-long implementation of the REAL ID, and its function as a technology of containment targeting non-citizens-especially those without status. It draws on archival and ethnographic research on driver's license discourse, attitudes, and laws in Massachusetts, including a campaign seeking to expand eligibility to all drivers regardless of status. The article advances a two-part argument. First, the post-9/11 call for interoperable identification systems formally extended the role of the driver's license from an infrastructure largely used to regulate the mobility of Black citizens into one meant to detect, immobilize, and deter non-citizens. Second, the implementation of this identity infrastructure, which was expected to ensure the smooth circulation of information (Chaar-López, I., 2019. Sensing intruders: race and the automation of border control. American quarterly, 71 (2), 495-518) contributed to the production of conditions of viscous mobility for illegalized non-citizens. Under conditions of viscous mobility, illegalized residents do not fully lose their right to mobility, but experience mobility as highly contained and risk-laden; circulating increases the potential opportunities to be ID'd, detained, and deported. Viscous mobility is produced through state and law enforcement agencies' advancement of centralized identity technologies and interoperable databases, cooperative agreements between police and immigration enforcement agencies, multi-sited enforcement patterns, and bureaucratic delay.

There is a dearth of data on "successful" criminal offenders who escape detection and no research on emotion processes characterizing this group. This study examines whether autonomic fear conditioning at age 3 years is associated with adult successful and unsuccessful (caught) criminal offending. Participants (N = 940) were drawn from a birth cohort on the island of Mauritius. Autonomic fear conditioning was assessed at age 3, with skin conductance recorded to reinforced (CS+) and unreinforced (CS-) auditory stimuli. Self-report criminal offending was assessed at age 39. Offenders were divided into successful and unsuccessful groups based on detection/conviction at ages 23 and 39 and compared with noncriminal controls. There was a significant Group × Conditional Stimulus interaction (p = .019). A breakdown of this interaction indicated that successful criminals showed significantly greater responding to the CS+ than both unsuccessful criminals (p = .003) and controls (p < .001), with no group differences on CS-, indicating superior conditioning in successful criminals. Three sensitivity analyses confirmed these findings. We hypothesize that enhanced fear conditioning in successful offenders results in an enhanced ability to detect environmental cues associated with punishment, resulting in escape from law enforcement agencies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Illegal logging is a serious environmental problem in Indonesia due to its direct impact on forest destruction, biodiversity loss, and increased carbon emissions. The Indonesian government has established various public policies and legal instruments to address illegal logging practices, such as the Forestry Law, the licensing system, and strengthening law enforcement agencies. However, the effectiveness of these policies remains a concern, given that illegal logging cases continue to occur in various regions. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of public policies in enforcing environmental law, focusing on illegal logging cases in Indonesia. The method used in this study is a normative juridical approach by examining regulations, government policies, and secondary data from reports from relevant institutions and previous research results. Analysis shows that despite comprehensive public policy design, its implementation still faces various obstacles, such as weak oversight, poor coordination between institutions, limited human resources, and corrupt practices. Furthermore, social and economic factors in communities surrounding forests also influence the success of environmental law enforcement. Therefore, strengthening law enforcement agencies, transparency and accountability, and active community involvement in forest management are essential. With these improvements, public policy is expected to be more effective in preventing and combating illegal logging for the sake of environmental sustainability in Indonesia.

The pathology of contemporary wildlife governance in Africa stems from the Convention Relative to the Preservation of Fauna and Flora in their Natural State, 1933. The Convention established a legal framework that led to the development of wildlife laws and regulations (WLRs) that are inconsistent with the socio-ecological conditions and livelihood practices of African communities. A systematic comparison of national WLRs across African jurisdictions reveals similarities and path dependency in the legal framework, demonstrating an enduring colonial legacy. This framework relies on protected areas (PAs) as a principal tool for wildlife governance. The establishment of PAs led to the dispossession and erasure of the custodianship of the African people of their land. PAs also created a distinction between the ‘wild’ and the ‘people,’ a departure from most African communities’ relational approach to human–nature interactions. This PA governance model employs two primary methods to preserve wildlife One focuses on preventing threats, and the other on controlling property rights. These methods of preserving wildlife require a law enforcement agency, often a militarized institution, to guard the boundaries of the PAs and prevent surrounding communities from accessing and using resources without conferred property rights. The resulting governance systems alienate African communities, furthering human–wildlife separation. Moreover, this governance model is not responsive to the challenges facing wildlife, which are exacerbated by rapid urbanization resulting from population growth. Effective wildlife governance requires breaking free from this legal approach established by preservationists in the early 20th century and centering the customary rights and livelihood needs of African communities.

Toxicological testing for drugs of abuse (DOAs) is an essential tool for healthcare practitioners and law enforcement agencies. Oral fluid (OF) is an alternative biological fluid for detecting recent DOA intake and is widely employed in forensic investigations. In the current study, a relatively novel and “green” fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) procedure for sample preparation was coupled to liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) to provide simplicity, cost-effectiveness, rapidity, low solvent consumption, and high analytical performance for the quantitative determination of ten commonly encountered DOAs and metabolites: amphetamine, benzoylecgonine, cocaine, codeine, ecgonine methyl ester, methadone, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, 6-monoacetylmorphine, and morphine. The FPSE procedure was optimized by testing different filters, pH, extraction time, and solvents. The validated method demonstrated excellent linearity for all analytes, selectivity, acceptable precision, and high sensitivity (ranges for limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) were 0.01–2 ng/mL and 0.03–6 ng/mL, respectively). Autosampler and short-term freeze stability exceeded 95% and 90% for all analytes, respectively. Overall, the combination of FPSE with LC–MS/MS provided a sensitive, selective, and environmentally friendly innovative analytical approach for the determination of DOA in OF and is suitable for both screening and confirmatory forensic and clinical applications.

Since the 1980s, quality management mechanisms gradually emerged in forensic science as a response to the challenges faced by the discipline across the globe. However, in recent years, there has been debates about whether current quality assurance and accreditation frameworks are fit-for-purpose, in particular regarding crime scene examination. Therefore, this proof-of-concept study aims to provide some preliminary empirical insights into this question and explore some of the challenges associated with the assessment of the impact of accreditation of crime scene units under both ISO/IEC 17025 and the AS 5388 quality standards. To do so, open-sourced data drawn from the Report on Government Services (RoGS) were analysed using an exploratory difference-in-difference framework and multiple linear regression models to compare pre- and post-accreditation finalisation rates for various offences, in unaccredited and accredited Australian law enforcement agencies. The findings suggest that, based on the data available and within the methodological limitations of this study, accreditation under the ISO/IEC 17025 quality standard had mostly no significant improvement or decline in finalisation rates. In contrast, accreditation under the AS 5388 quality standard was consistently associated with significantly higher finalisation rates among accredited agencies compared to their non-accredited counterparts. While these results echo ongoing debates and uncertainties regarding the positive and/or negative impacts of accreditation and quality assurance in forensic science (if any), above all, they underscore the challenges of defining clear objectives, developing appropriate metrics, and designing robust methodological approaches for a more comprehensive empirical assessment of their effects. Although finalisation rates alone provide a limited indicator, this study represents a valuable first step toward a systematic evaluation of the impact of quality assurance and accreditation in forensic science.

Sudden cardiac death remains a major clinical and social challenge. The number of cases still remains higher in Italy, both involving patients suffering from overt heart disease and those otherwise healthy. The heterogeneous mechanisms leading to cardiac arrest call for a comprehensive preventive strategy plan that combines clinical assessment, advanced diagnostic tools, and public health initiatives. The need for counteracting a transient period of elevated risk - as in post-infarction - forces to the use of a wearable cardioverter-defibrillator as it provides temporary protection while awaiting definitive reassessment. On the contrary, when cardiac arrest affects young and apparently healthy individuals, preventive efforts necessarily extend to their families to identify inherited conditions that would otherwise remain unrecognized. In the out-of-hospital setting, survival largely depends on the actions taken within the first few minutes. Therefore accessible defibrillators, widespread community training, and the active involvement of law enforcement agencies and schools can significantly enhance the response to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. This paper ultimately outlines a roadmap that integrates clinical risk stratification, the expansion of territorial networks, broad training initiatives, and consistent institutional coordination. The goal is to establish a coherent national framework that can reduce regional disparities, enhance the early identification of at-risk individuals, and improve survival rates after cardiac arrest.

Recent decisions by the Trump administration to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents to American cities have raised significant questions about the role of local law enforcement agencies in immigration enforcement. The partnership between immigration enforcement and local police, such as the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), has a long and contested history. Beginning in 1979, LAPD’s Special Order 40 ostensibly prevented police officers from collaborating with federal immigration agents. However, the LAPD often found ways to circumvent the policy during periods of crisis, including the 1992 Los Angeles unrest and the war on gangs in the 1990s. Collaboration between ICE and local police, this article suggests, threatens to weaken trust in law enforcement and undermine public safety.

Malaysia’s relations with Africa have conventionally been framed through the discourse of South–South cooperation, Bandung-era solidarities, and postcolonial affinity. However, the lived experiences of Africans in Malaysia—particularly among Nigerian and Sudanese communities—reveal a more complex and ethically charged reality. Drawing on documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews conducted between February 2023 and November 2025, this article examines how African migrants interpret Malaysia’s diplomatic identity through everyday encounters with immigration authorities, law enforcement agencies, educational institutions, and Malaysian society at large. While many participants reported experiences shaped by racialised perceptions, administrative inconsistency, and episodic prejudice, others highlighted forms of safety, hospitality, and religious solidarity. Situating these narratives within the Ubuntu–Madani Partnership Framework (UMPF), this article argues that meaningful Malaysia–Africa relations must extend beyond rhetorical solidarity to encompass institutional fairness and ethically grounded relational practices. The findings illuminate both the tensions and the ethical potential embedded in Malaysia’s aspiration to position itself as a moral actor within the Global South.

The statutes of limitations are an essential aspect of criminal law because they help balance the certainty, rationality, and efficiency of the field. However, legal rules concerning time, the complexity of crimes, and changing expectations for victims have come into question. This paper analyzes the new Indonesian criminal code (often called Law No. 1 of 2023), its limitations and regulations, and its contribution to the Modernization of the criminal justice system. The primary question this research seeks to answer is to what extent the justice system’s modernity adequately addresses the challenges of modernizing criminal justice. This study aims to integrate the reasoning, justification, and impact of the regulation of limitations in the new Indonesian criminal code. Employing a normative legal approach, this study is based on the Statute, Conceptual, and systematic and structured analyses, and comparative in nature, to examine the unification, direction, and legal policy of the limitations regulation in the new Indonesian criminal code. Statutes of limitations constitute an essential element of criminal law as they balance legal certainty, fairness, and efficiency in criminal prosecution. However, rapid social change, increasingly complex crimes, and evolving expectations regarding victims’ rights have challenged traditional approaches to limitation periods. This study examines the regulation of statutes of limitations in Indonesia’s New Criminal Code (Law No. 1 of 2023) and evaluates their role in modernizing the criminal justice system. Using normative legal research, this study analyzes the legal policy underpinning the reform of limitation periods through statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches. The findings indicate that the new Criminal Code introduces a differentiated limitation system based on the seriousness of offenses, reflecting a shift from purely procedural justice toward substantive justice. The reform strengthens legal certainty, supports the effective prosecution of complex crimes, and enhances victim protection. Nevertheless, the success of this reform will depend on consistent judicial interpretation and the institutional capacity of law enforcement agencies.

The problem of quantifying information security risks for a specific class of systems ‒ geographically distributed information systems of law enforcement agencies is considered. The key methodological difficulty in applying traditional approaches in this subject area is associated with a systemic lack of reliable incident statistics, caused by both the confidential nature of operations and the uniqueness of many threats. As a solution, a mathematical model based on the apparatus of fuzzy set theory and fuzzy logic inference, adapted to operate under conditions of high uncertainty, is proposed. The model operates with qualitative expert judgments, formalized through the linguistic variables “Asset value”, “Threat probability”, and “Vulnerability degree”. The inference mechanism is implemented based on a complete knowledge base of twenty-seven production rules and the Mamdani algorithm, the output of which is a quantitative assessment of the integral “Risk level”. Model verification was conducted through a computational experiment simulating three characteristic system operation scenarios: mobile access through potentially hostile networks, secure data exchange via dedicated channels, and an internal insider threat. The experiment results demonstrate the model's adequate and logically consistent response, correctly identifying critical and acceptable states. Visualization in the form of a response surface confirms the nonlinear nature of the dependence of the resulting risk on the input parameters. The practical significance of the research, lies in the possibility of integrating the developed model into decision support systems for well-founded planning of protective measures and optimal resource allocation under conditions of incomplete initial data.

Children as a vulnerable group require special protection, especially when they become victims of sexual violence. In practice, child victims often experience various obstacles in obtaining justice, including limited access to legal aid, psychological trauma, and suboptimal assistance during the criminal justice process. This study aims to analyze the forms of advocacy and legal assistance provided to child victims of sexual violence, the role of law enforcement agencies and child protection agencies in providing legal protection, and the obstacles encountered in its implementation. This study uses a normative legal research method with a legislative and conceptual approach. The results show that advocacy and legal assistance for child victims of sexual violence include legal assistance, protection of the victim's identity, psychological recovery, and fulfillment of the victim's rights during the judicial process. The role of institutions such as law enforcement officers, legal aid agencies, and child protection agencies is crucial in ensuring the comprehensive fulfillment of the rights of child victims.

Women constitute half of our population and play a vital role in the development of the family, the community and the nation. It has been widely recognized that unless women’s potential is properly developed,, no transformation and economic development is possible. Therefore, to accelerate the growth and prosperity of the nation, it is very important to create opportunities for socio- economic development of women in rural India. In fact, since independence, it has been felt that women experience poverty to a great extent than men do. The benefits of poverty eradication intervention programmes targeted towards the head of the household have failed to trickle down and reached the women. Since then, the Government of India (GOI) has been emphasizing the need for designing separate development programmes for women and to earmark a specific percentage for women beneficiaries in other rural development programmes. However, it was only in the year 1975, the year declared by the UN as International Year of the Women that the situation began to improve significantly. The Government of India’s policy on women development has undertaken various shift of emphasis independence. The most significant change occurred in the mid-1980s with the seventh Five Year Plan, which started a move towards equality and empowerment rather than development. This included the evolution of Department of Women and Child Development under the Ministry of Human Resource Development and its counterparts in the states. In addition, Women’s Development Corporations were set up in most states to implement the new strategy of economic development by facilitating access to training, entrepreneurship development, credit, technical consultancy services and marketing facilities. The Eighth Five Year Plan marks a further shift towards empowerment of women, emphasizing women as equal partners in the development process. The Government continued advocacy for sustained equitable growth opportunities for women in the subsequent five year pal ns including the Tenth Five Year Plan period which all are reflected below in its mandate. 1. Increased participation by women in local government and decision making process. 2. Greater spread of community- based organizations, including women’s group. 3. An increasing focus of poverty alleviation programmes for women; a mandate to eliminate discrimination against girl children and adolescents in matters of food, health, education, and child labour. 4. Recognition of the need to sensitize all levels of bureaucracy, legislators, and law enforcement agencies to gender issues. The promotion of income activities and thrift and credit through self help groups for women.

Abstract Research Summary Over time, the evidence on the impact of police body‐worn cameras (BWCs) has become increasingly mixed. Though there are numerous contributors to the inconsistent findings (e.g., context, policy, training, culture), one pressing issue involves the failure of law enforcement agencies to review any more than a fraction of the BWC footage generated by their officers. This footage review problem violates a central precondition for the hypothesized civilizing effect of BWCs on officers: their belief that footage will be reviewed. AI‐driven BWC analytics has emerged as a solution that may overcome the footage review problem, but there has been virtually no research on such AI‐based platforms. The current study fills this gap through an evaluation of Truleo in the Apache Junction and Casa Grande Police Departments (AJPD, CGPD). Officers were randomized to Treatment (Truleo) and Control (non‐Truleo) conditions for a 6‐month period, and we compared study groups across a range of measures including Truleo‐generated professionalism, use of force, complaints, stops, arrests, and citations. Treatment officers in both departments were more likely to generate High Professionalism ratings, but group differences fell short of statistical significance. Use of force decreased significantly in AJPD and in some of the pooled models, though the pooled models were sensitive to multiple‐comparisons corrections. The Bayesian probabilities paradigm offers an additional lens for considering the mixed effects with High Professionalism and use of force. Policy Implications Taken together, results suggest Truleo may hold promise for promoting positive behavior change among officers consistent with a civilizing effect. Law enforcement agencies should explore whether AI‐driven BWC analytics can enhance their BWC program, expand their review of footage, and positively shape their officers’ behavior. Additional research is needed in other settings to test the durability of these findings and the value of AI‐generated metrics of police performance (e.g., professionalism). Researchers should consider the significance of research findings from a broader lens that accounts for practitioner perspectives on the meaningful impact of an innovation. Lastly, the results presented here inform the ongoing dialogue over the role of AI in policing.

Human trafficking constitutes one of the most serious and systematic forms of transnational crime in the era of globalization. Indonesia, as a country of origin, transit, and destination for human trafficking, faces complex challenges in enforcing international criminal law. This study aims to normatively analyze the legal position of human trafficking as a transnational crime from the perspective of international criminal law, while evaluating the effectiveness of the implementation of Law Number 21 of 2007 on the Eradication of the Crime of Trafficking in Persons in Indonesia. Employing a statute approach and a conceptual approach, this study finds a significant gap between international legal norms as stipulated in the Palermo Protocol 2000 and Indonesia's domestic regulations, particularly regarding the definition of victims, recovery mechanisms, and inter-agency coordination. The novelty of this research lies in the identification of three structural weaknesses in the implementation of the Anti-Trafficking Law: (1) normative ambiguity in defining exploitation; (2) weak restitution and compensation mechanisms for victims; and (3) institutional misalignment between central and regional Anti-Trafficking Task Forces. This study recommends a partial revision of the Anti-Trafficking Law and strengthening of vertical-horizontal coordination among law enforcement agencies.

The article examines the role of the National Police of Ukraine in ensuring the stability of territorial communities in the face of modern security challenges and full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine. It is substantiated that the stability of territorial communities is an important component of the national security of the state, since it is at the local level that the vital activity of the population, maintenance of public security, response to crisis situations and protection of critical infrastructure are ensured. Scientific approaches to understanding the categories of “territorial community”, “community capacity” and “stability” are analyzed, and modern research devoted to the functioning of territorial communities and the role of law enforcement agencies in ensuring public security is considered. It is established that the effectiveness of the functioning of communities largely depends on the interaction of local government bodies, military administrations, state institutions and law enforcement agencies. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the regulatory and legal principles for ensuring the stability of territorial communities under martial law, in particular legislative changes aimed at increasing the efficiency of management decisions and coordination between public administration entities. It is proven that the National Police of Ukraine is an important entity for ensuring the internal stability of the state and plays a key role in forming a safe environment at the local level. The article reveals the main areas of police activity during martial law, including maintaining public order, combating crime and looting, protecting critical infrastructure, participating in evacuation and humanitarian measures, combating information threats and cybercrime. It is substantiated that an important element of ensuring the stability of communities is the partnership between the police and local governments, public organizations and the population. A special role in this process is played by the development of the “Community Police Officer” project, which contributes to increasing the level of trust in law enforcement agencies and strengthening preventive activities. It has been established that the role of the National Police in ensuring the stability of territorial communities is implemented through a system of interrelated functions: preventive, security, coordination, communication and partnership, and reactive in crisis conditions.

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the administrative and legal status of military administrations as subjects of public authority operating under martial law in Ukraine. It examines the constitutional and legal foundations of their functioning, legal nature, key features, competence, procedure of establishment, and organizational structure. Particular attention is paid to the interaction of military administrations with other public authorities, including executive bodies, local self-government bodies, law enforcement agencies, and military command. The study analyzes the scope of competence of military administrations, which covers maintaining public order and security, restoring critical infrastructure, organizing social services, coordinating humanitarian assistance, managing communal property, and regulating certain economic activities. Problematic issues of legal regulation are identified, including the insufficient definition of specific powers, the lack of clear mechanisms for interaction with local self-government bodies after the restoration of their activities, issues of accountability and control, as well as challenges related to transparency and staffing. The article outlines prospects for the development of the institution of military administrations in the context of Ukraine's post-war reconstruction, emphasizing the need to improve the legislative framework, develop unified standards of activity, establish an effective personnel training system, and create clear mechanisms for transferring powers to restored local self-government bodies. The role of military administrations in ensuring a gradual transition from military to civilian governance, restoring democratic institutions, and supporting the development of civil society is substantiated. It is concluded that military administrations represent a special, temporary, hybrid civil-military form of public authority with specific competence and a distinct procedure of formation and subordination, making them a crucial instrument of public administration under martial law and during post-war recovery. Keywords: military administrations, martial law, public authority, administrative and legal status, competence, interaction of authorities, post-war reconstruction, Ukraine.

The purpose of the article is to identify ways and options for discussion to find more effective mechanisms for ensuring the independence of the judicial system, highlighting vulnerable points in ensuring the independence of the judicial system during the practical activities of judges and their interaction with parties to cases and other branches of government in Ukraine. To achieve this goal, a number of tasks were set during the research process: the legislative consolidation of guarantees ensuring the independence of the judiciary at the national level and in a number of international legal acts was identified, and attention was focused on the importance of understanding the concept of independence of the judicial system as an integral part of the principle of the rule of law. The authenticity and effectiveness of the mechanisms introduced to ensure independence were analysed. integral element of the principle of the rule of law, analysed the authenticity and effectiveness of the mechanisms introduced to ensure the independence of the judicial system and discussed some vulnerable aspects of this mechanism, in particular in terms of the distribution of the workload among judges throughout Ukraine, the existence of hidden forms of influence on judges through the use of disciplinary complaints, statements to law enforcement agencies, and the publication of negative information about judges in the media. The practical significance of the study lies in improving the mechanisms for securing guarantees of the independence of the judiciary and its interaction with other branches of government in order to promote the strengthening of the rule of law, increase the level of democracy and protect the rights of citizens in Ukraine. Keywords: judicial system, rule of law, supremacy of law, participants in the process, guarantees of independence, reports of interference, disciplinary complaints, abuse, trust, respect, negative information, media, manipulation of public opinion.