Law Reform Research Articles (Page 1)

Abstract This paper examines the impact of Sunday blue law reforms on small-scale wineries in the United States. Using establishment-level data from 2000 to 2020, we employ an event-study framework to analyze the impact of changes in Sunday alcohol sales regulations across states on the performance of small wineries. We find that deregulation is associated with substantial declines in the performance of small wineries. On average, sales fell by 25.5%, employment declined by 7.8%, and survival rates dropped by 5.2% following the repeal of Sunday sales restrictions. These adverse effects are particularly pronounced among the smallest wineries and those located in metropolitan counties. The results suggest that while deregulation increased consumer access to alcohol on Sundays, it also intensified competition from large-scale retail outlets, thereby undermining the direct-to-consumer sales channels that are critical to small wine producers.

Whistleblowers play a central role in exposing organisational wrongdoing. However, many potential whistleblowers stay silent for fear of the risks involved in speaking up. To encourage whistleblowing, governments and authorities have enacted whistleblower protection laws and created whistleblower support and incentive schemes. The potential utility of these mechanisms in sporting contexts has been insufficiently considered by researchers and policymakers. Given increased national and international attention on integrity in sport, including in Australia following the establishment of Sport Integrity Australia in 2020, consideration of the application and limitations of whistleblower protections in sport is timely. In this article, I identify critical gaps in Australia’s whistleblowing framework as it applies to sport and offer recommendations for reform to ensure sport-related whistleblowers can speak up safely and lawfully. The sporting context also offers a valuable case study to consider wider limitations of Australian whistleblowing law amid an active federal law reform agenda. Whistleblowers make a meaningful contribution to integrity in sport and elsewhere, and it is vital they are empowered to expose wrongdoing and protected when they do.

This study examines the juridical implications of amending Law No. 13 of 2003 to Law No. 6 of 2023 (Job Creation Law) on termination of employment in Indonesia. As a rechtsstaat country, Indonesia prioritizes the protection of constitutional rights, including workers' rights. However, the Job Creation Law has raised concerns regarding potential violations of workers' constitutional rights, particularly in termination of employment provisions. Using a normative juridical method with statutory, conceptual, and analytical approaches, this research analyzes problematic articles in the Job Creation Law that may contradict constitutional principles. The study finds that several provisions, including those on wages, working hours, employment contracts, and severance pay, have reduced workers' protections compared to the previous labor law. These changes potentially violate constitutional guarantees under Article 27(2) and Article 28D(2) of the 1945 Constitution. The research concludes that the Job Creation Law requires comprehensive evaluation and revision to ensure alignment with constitutional principles and adequate protection of workers' rights. This study contributes to the discourse on labor law reform and provides policy recommendations for strengthening constitutional protections in employment relations.

Civil inheritance disputes in Indonesia continue to rise in both frequency and complexity, driven by evolving family structures, the emergence of digital assets, and the misalignment between colonial-era legal norms and contemporary justice principles. This study aims to identify the legal basis of civil inheritance disputes under Book II of the Indonesian Civil Code (KUH Perdata) and analyze its implications for the protection of testators’ rights. Employing a normative juridical approach, the research examines primary legal sources including Articles 830–1054 of the Civil Code, Law No. 1/1974 on Marriage, and relevant Supreme Court rulings, as well as secondary sources such as SINTA-indexed journal articles and authoritative legal literature. The findings reveal that the current inheritance provisions remain rigid, discriminatory against children born out of wedlock and women, and fail to accommodate modern assets such as cryptocurrency and digital property. Moreover, weak will-validation mechanisms and the absence of judicial specialization contribute to inconsistent rulings and the vulnerability of testators particularly the elderly or ill to manipulation by heirs. The study recommends a normative reform of the Civil Code, including mandatory mental capacity assessments for testators, enhanced notarial oversight, the establishment of specialized inheritance courts, harmonization of civil, customary, and religious inheritance laws, and the legal recognition of digital inheritance. The conclusion underscores that inheritance law reform prioritizes substantive justice, gender equality, and human rights protection, in alignment with Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution.

This article explores the reform of cyber law in Indonesia from the perspective of Pancasila, emphasizing the tension between legal certainty and social justice. As information technology evolves rapidly, legal challenges in the digital space become increasingly complex, demanding a legal system that is both adaptive and grounded in national foundational values. In this context, Pancasila serves as a normative paradigm guiding legal reform, ensuring that it does not solely prioritize legal certainty but also guarantees the fair protection of citizens' rights. The article analyses various policies and regulations concerning cyber law and examines the extent to which Pancasila principles are reflected in the legislative and implementation processes. Using a normative and conceptual approach, this study aims to contribute to the development of a cyber law framework that is not only responsive to technological change but also embodies social justice for all Indonesians

The enforcement of criminal law concerning electronic transaction crimes in Indonesia faces multifaceted challenges, including normative, structural, and technological obstacles. Although legal frameworks such as the Electronic Information and Transactions Law (Law No. 11 of 2008, as amended) and the new Indonesian Penal Code (Law No. 1 of 2023) address certain aspects of cybercrime, these regulations fall short in responding to the evolving complexity and transnational nature of digital offenses. This paper argues that a comprehensive and systemic reform of the criminal justice system is urgently needed. Such reform must include the development of adaptive legal norms, enhancement of law enforcement digital capacities, improvement of inter-agency coordination, and the digital transformation of criminal judicial procedures. By adopting retributive, restorative, and distributive justice approaches, Indonesia can strengthen its legal resilience and ensure equitable access to justice in the digital era.

Marital rape is a form of sexual violence that is often not explicitly recognized in legal systems, especially in countries with strong patriarchal cultures. This article provides a comparative analysis of the regulation and enforcement of marital rape as a criminal offense in Indonesia and Singapore. In Indonesia, the recognition of marital rape as a criminal offense has been strengthened through the new Criminal Code (Law No. 1 of 2023), the PKDRT Law, and the TPKS Law, although its implementation still faces challenges in the form of complaint offenses, social stigma, and a lack of understanding of gender issues among officials. Meanwhile, Singapore has removed legal immunity for husbands since the enactment of the Criminal Law Reform Act 2019, and provides civil protection through Personal Protection Orders (PPOs) and an integrated reporting system. This study uses a normative legal and comparative law approach to examine the differences in the legal systems, regulations, and cultures of the two countries. The results of the study show that Singapore is more progressive in handling cases of marital rape, both in terms of regulations and victim protection mechanisms. This article recommends that Indonesia strengthen inter-agency synergy, reform the reporting system, and improve public legal literacy as strategic steps in combating domestic sexual violence. With a comprehensive approach, it is hoped that the Indonesian legal system can be more responsive to the needs of victims and ensure gender sensitive justice.

Indigenous groups across Canada continue to regain sovereignty over their traditional territories and this research focuses on their involvement in Manitoba’s forest sector. A large proportion of First Nations in Manitoba are forest-based, and there is a revitalized opportunity and vigor for these communities to build successful and sustainable forestry initiatives. This paper identifies the barriers and enablers that Indigenous groups can experience with respect to federal and provincial forest policies. A policy scan was employed to determine impactful federal and provincial policies, address gaps in the policy framework and provide recommendations for future policy makers and users. Semi-structured interviews with members of three First Nations and Indigenous forestry experts shed light on the enablers of and barriers to Indigenous forestry prospects in Manitoba. Given the historical lack of Indigenous inclusion in Manitoba’s forest policy regime, the success of Indigenous involvement in the forest sector will hinge on increased collaboration with governments and industry, enhanced sharing of revenue from forest resources, provincial reform of forestry law and policy that do not explicitly address Indigenous rights and interests, and funding programs that address the economic and logistical barriers associated with developing Indigenous forestry initiatives.

The United States withdraws from the Paris Climate Agreement again: Influences and challenges of sustainable development in Chinese Taiwan.

Personality disorder, mental capacity and compulsory intervention.

The essay aims to illustrate the “ancient” friendship between Giovanni Rosadi and Giacomo Puccini, which began in their early teens and lasted uninterrupted until the year of Puccini’s death. Valuable evidence can be found in the correspondence between the two. In addition to distant memories, the two were also linked by their relationship with their hometown, from which they lived more or less distant. An exchange of correspondence from 1911 provides an opportunity to examine one of Rosadi’s many legislative initiatives, that of the reform of the copyright law. Rosadi had proposed a reduction of the period of protection on musical works to only ten years. Puccini had also publicly expressed his strong dissent on the matter, joining the choral reaction of composers that had found wide space in the press. The episode did not interrupt the correspondence or break the friendship: Puccini’s last letter to Rosadi, written on 30 October 1924, a few days before he departed for Brussels, bears witness to this.

BackgroundAs dementia progresses, individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related forms of dementia often lose decision-making capacity, raising complex ethical challenges related to autonomy, surrogate decision-making, dignity, privacy, and justice. This review examines the dilemmas in caring for patients who are no longer capable of providing informed consent, comparing Lebanon’s situation with those of countries across the Global North and South, and proposes practical, culturally grounded recommendations for improvement.ObjectiveTo conduct a comprehensive thematic review comparing international practices with Lebanon’s ethical, legal, and institutional approaches to caring for individuals with advanced dementia who lack capacity.MethodsA systematic yet flexible review approach, guided by the PRISMA framework, was applied. Studies focusing on Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias were retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library up to April 2025. A total of 121 studies, including 112 international and 9 from Lebanon, met the inclusion criteria. These included qualitative, quantitative, and policy sources. Studies were thematically analyzed for ethical relevance across five themes.ResultsFive major ethical themes emerged: surrogate decision-making, patient autonomy, surveillance and technology, legal frameworks, and cultural and economic factors. A clear North–South divide was observed, with countries in the Global North generally relying on formal legal safeguards, advance directives, and structured institutional ethics oversight. In contrast, Lebanon and comparable countries in the Global South often operated with informal, family-centered models, limited legal clarity, and minimal institutional ethics support.ConclusionLebanon reflects broader Global South patterns: strong familial caregiving traditions, but inadequate legal and institutional frameworks to ensure dignity-based, ethically consistent care. This review proposes culturally sensitive reforms in law, public education, and ethics infrastructure to better protect the rights and dignity of individuals with advanced dementia.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12910-025-01277-3.

The paradigm shift in the purpose of punishment based on Thomas Aquinas' views and the principle of the Law of Love marks a fundamental shift in modern criminal law thinking—from a retributive paradigm to a restorative and rehabilitative paradigm. In classical thinking derived from absolute theory, punishment is understood as a means of retribution against criminals alone. However, Thomas Aquinas, through the doctrines of Poena ut Poena and Poena ut Medicina, introduced moral and spiritual dimensions to punishment, namely that punishment is not only to inflict suffering, but also as a “medicine” that heals the perpetrator of their moral wrongdoing. Aquinas' thinking cannot be separated from the principle of the Law of Love (Lex Caritatis) which originates from the teachings of Jesus Christ, that every human being—including criminals—has the potential to repent and improve themselves. Therefore, punishment must be directed not only to punish, but also to restore human dignity and restore moral balance in society. In the context of Indonesian positive law, this spirit is in line with the values of Pancasila, especially the first principle, “Belief in One God,” which places law within a divine moral framework. The reform of criminal law through the National Criminal Code is an important moment to reorient the purpose of punishment from retribution to rehabilitation, protection of society, and repentance of offenders. Thus, changing the paradigm of the purpose of punishment based on Thomas Aquinas' views and the principle of the law of love is an effort to build a humanistic, theocentric, and substantively just criminal law system, in which the law is not only an instrument of retribution, but also a means to heal, love, and uphold true justice.

The iddah period constitutes a pivotal phase in Islamic family law, as delineated by the Quran and hadith. In Indonesia, processes of modernization and social change have significantly transformed both the understanding and implementation of the iddah period following divorce. The Circular Letter of the Director General of Islamic Community Guidance Number P-005/DJ.III/Hk.00.7/10/2021 exemplifies governmental efforts to provide contextually relevant guidelines for contemporary challenges. This study identifies changes in the post-divorce iddah period from the perspective of maslahah mursalah, employing qualitative methods and descriptive analysis. Data were collected through interviews and literature review, with primary data sourced from purposively selected interviews with the head of the Religious Affairs Office (KUA) in Banjarbaru City. The findings indicate substantial changes in the implementation of the iddah period, shaped by social, economic, cultural, technological, and gender equality factors. The iddah period is now applied to both women and men. Reforming Islamic family law through maslahah mursalah enables greater flexibility and justice, aligning legal practice with the realities of modern society to uphold honor (ḥifẓ al-‘ird), lineage (ḥifẓ al-nasl), and social order (ḥifẓ al-niẓām al-ijtimā‘ī)

Abstract This paper examines the implementation of a New Public Management reform aimed at reshaping the internal governance of Italian public universities. It applies a policy design framework to analyse how the reform (Law 240/2010) interacted with the organisational characteristics and the responses of universities during implementation. While the reform sought transform universities into corporate actors, the nature of the policy design allowed universities wide discretion in its implementation. Consequently, many institutions maintained traditional decision-making structures, leading to an imbalance in the distribution of authority and persistent internal fragmentation. The findings show that the incoherent design of the reform allowed for a variety of organisational responses beyond compliance, as selective coupling and manipulation. The study concludes that governance reforms in higher education can be effective only when policy goals are matched with clear, non-discretionary instruments, and when the design anticipates the historical resilient nature universities.

The principle of open court proceedings is a fundamental aspect of criminal procedural law to ensure a fair trial. However, there is a legal gap concerning the authority of judges to determine closed court sessions for cases containing elements of morality but not classified as morality-related cases. This study examines the legal issues and normative solutions to the ambiguity in the Indonesian Code of Criminal Procedure (KUHAP) regarding closed court proceedings in non-morality criminal cases. Using normative legal research methods and statutory, case, comparative, and conceptual approaches, this study compares the legal framework in Indonesia with the judicial system in Spain. The findings indicate that KUHAP does not provide clear guidelines for judges in determining closed court proceedings based on the substance of the evidence. Therefore, criminal procedural law reform is necessary to accommodate judicial flexibility in deciding closed trials while upholding the audi alteram partem principle. This reform aims to balance the principle of open court proceedings and the protection of parties' rights, ensuring that judicial decisions on the nature of court proceedings have a stronger legal foundation and can be consistently applied within Indonesia's criminal justice system.

This article explores the real-world impact of Directive (EU) 2021/2101 on Public Country-by-Country (CbC) Reporting, with particular attention to how external stakeholders engage with and interpret the published data. It argues that multinational enterprises (MNEs) must not only comply with the disclosure obligations but also actively manage the narrative and reputational implications that arise in an environment of heightened tax transparency. The analysis identifies three principal risks for MNEs resulting from the Directive’s application and demonstrates that these risks stem from its legislative design. In light of this, the article stresses the importance of precise regulatory drafting to ensure legal certainty and a balance between transparency and MNEs’ fundamental rights – such as the freedom to conduct a business and property rights. Five structural shortcomings in the Directive are examined in detail, and recommendations are put forward to address them. These suggestions rely on a combination of hard law reforms and soft law guidance at EU level to mitigate the identified risks and enhance the Directive’s effectiveness.

Abstract The Recovery and Resilience Facility reflects the generalisation of spending conditionality and the economisation of the rule of law in EU governance. The RRF performance-based approach also applies to measures related to rule of law protection, meaning that recovery funds can only be disbursed as long as the related conditions are met. While the academic literature has already highlighted the difficulty of applying performance frameworks to values, this article assesses how the RRF performance-based approach integrates the safeguard of the rule of law, based on a comparative study of the Slovak, Hungarian and Polish plans. Rule of law protection is set as a priority in the RRF. Yet, the economic and financial framing – in line with New Public Management and neoliberal governmentality – limits the potential impact of rule of law reforms. Overall, the effectiveness of rule-of-law spending conditionality depends more on the features of the performance regime and the attitude of political actors than the degree of financial pressure.

ABSTRACT This article seeks to demonstrate the need for further development of Australian law applicable to non-consensual collection and analysis of DNA. There is presently no recognition of proprietary rights or legal interests in DNA, anyone may take possession of an abandoned personal item and analyse DNA found on it. Once DNA becomes dissociated from a person’s body, there are no legal mechanisms which prevent it from being collected and submitted for genetic analysis such as the ancestry tests offered by Direct to Consumer (DTC) genetic testing services. This analysis can reveal sensitive information about a person, such as paternity or disease carrier status, and existing privacy law offers little protection. Further, non-forensic DNA samples such as medical samples that may be collected in a hospital setting can be repurposed by law enforcement for investigations. While there are legitimate reasons why law enforcement may utilize non-forensic DNA samples, this practice falls outside the scope of existing forensic procedures legislation. This article provides a detailed examination of this legal gap and its contemporary significance, providing a foundation for further law reform.

Abstract This article critically examines the persistence of property grabbing under South Africa’s customary law of succession, despite landmark legal reforms such as the judgment in Bhe v Magistrate, Khayelitsha; Shibi v Sithole 2005 (1) SA 580 (CC) and the Reform of Customary Law of Succession and Regulation of Related Matters Act 11 of 2009. Drawing on desktop research and empirical findings, the article explores key risk factors, including gender, the nature of the estate, the type of marriage, and the urban-rural divide, that exacerbate the vulnerability to property grabbing. The analysis reveals that legislative reforms alone are insufficient to secure inheritance rights, and calls for a holistic approach that includes strengthening matrimonial property rights, promoting legal literacy, community education, and enhancing oversight of estate administration. The findings underscore the limitations of current reforms in addressing systemic inequities and offer critical insights into the socio-legal challenges of balancing statutory and customary practices.