Rule Of Law Research Articles

Money Talks? The Effectiveness of Sanctions in the ‘Rule of Law’ Conflict in the European Union

Money Talks? The Effectiveness of Sanctions in the ‘Rule of Law’ Conflict in the European Union

The role of administrative courts in ensuring legal security for marriage and family: comments in the context of article 18 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland

The article is devoted to the role of administrative courts in ensuring the legal security of an individual in the area of family law. The aim of the analysis is to demonstrate the guarantee of the preservation by the Polish constitutional legislator of the traditional form of marriage as a union of a woman and a man and the family created on this basis (Article 18 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland). The article discusses the essence of legal security and the role of administrative courts in ensuring it, as well as the guarantee nature of the regulations of Article 18 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Against this outlined background, the thesis on the inadmissibility of institutionalization of same-sex unions is argued. Problems resulting from the judicial practice of administrative courts related to the transcription of a child's birth certificate are also discussed. The scientific research was conducted by using traditional methods of jurisprudence, primarily the formal-dogmatic method. The linguistic, systemic and teleological interpretation of Article 18 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland was applied. The directions of operational interpretation resulting from the case law of administrative courts were discussed. The views found in the literature on the subject (doctrinal interpretation) were taken into account, too. According to the author, the perspective of legal security strengthens the arguments stemming from the linguistic and historical interpretation of Article 18 of the Constitution and allows for a better justification of the inadmissibility of institutionalizing same-sex unions by means of a statute. Such a procedure seems particularly useful in the face of the growing tendencies in the law of other countries to eliminate the traditional form of marriage as a union of a woman and a man.

Political stability in authoritarian regimes: the case of Central Asia

ABSTRACT Existing research indicates that political stability is a prerequisite for good governance and economic development in Central Asia. All five countries in the region are authoritarian regimes but it is unclear which factors impact on political stability. Using data for the period 2002–2022, this paper examines the variables which make a significant contribution to political stability and finds that the rule of law, personalist rule, a free media, freedom of assembly, political polarization and gross domestic product (GDP) growth, respectively have a positive effect on political stability while government accountability, exclusions by social group and civil society participation have a negative effect. Some of the findings are at odds with other studies on autocratic regimes, illustrating the importance of geo-political context.

In Defense of ‘Surveillance Capitalism’

Critics of Big Tech often describe ‘surveillance capitalism’ in grim terms, blaming it for all kinds of political and social ills. This article counters this pessimistic narrative, offering a more favorable take on companies like Google, YouTube, and Twitter/X. It argues that the downsides of surveillance capitalism are overstated, while the benefits are largely overlooked. Specifically, the article examines six critical areas: i) targeted advertising, ii) the influence of surveillance capitalism on politics, iii) its impact on mental health, iv) its connection with government surveillance, v) its effects on the rule of law and social trust, and vi) privacy concerns. For each area, it will be argued that concerns about surveillance capitalism are unfounded or exaggerated. The article also explores some benefits of the services provided by these technology companies and concludes with a discussion of the practical implications. Throughout, the article draws on empirical evidence relating to the societal and political impact of digital technologies.

Cooperation between national courts and EU institutions in competition law cases

The article explores the interplay between national courts and European Union institutions in the context of competition law enforcement of rules enshrined in Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. Cooperation between national competition authorities and national courts on one hand and EU institutions on the other hand is crucial for ensuring the effective and consistent application of competition rules. The article deals with the mechanisms of this cooperation. It examines the role of the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in providing guidance to national competition authorities and national courts. The article underscores the importance of a cohesive approach to competition law enforcement that is applied by national institutions of the EU member states. The concept and meaning of legal security in criminal law is well defined by Professor Jadwiga Potrzeszcz who states that "legal security is a state achieved by law established in general, and in particular by means of criminal law, in which human life’s goods and interests are protected in the most comprehensive and effective possible manner (and) harmonizes properly with the most important functions of criminal law, namely with a protective function and a guarantee function." (Potrzeszcz, 2018, p. 301) In accordance with the aforementioned definition, the author aims to introduce Criminal Codes that were in effect in the territory of present-day Slovakia, shedding light on whether they were guarantees of legal security in the state or not, i.e., whether they protected "human life’s goods and interests in the most comprehensive and effective possible manner."

Abusive constitutionalism in Poland - on the self-delegitimisation of the judiciary

The concept of abusive constitutionalism became widespread in legal scholarship after David Landau's famous publication. The author defines abusive constitutionalism as "the use of constitutional amendment mechanisms to make a state significantly less democratic than it was before" . He refers to actions that make a particular regime "significantly less democratic" . The result, he points out, is to move away from democracy . He pointed to 2013 as examples of this trend - Honduras, Venezuela or Hungary. "De-democratisation" of constitutional mechanisms is also, in my view, relevant from the perspective of the Polish experience, though viewed differently than usually presented in the political debates. It turns out that democratic mechanisms and their implementation are undermined by those judiciary representatives who, simultaneuosly, accuse the authorities introducing solutions in line with democratic principles of violating the rule of law.

Climate change and economic growth: Evidence for European countries

AbstractClimate change may affect economies and the welfare of people around the world. To design appropriate policy responses, the economic effects of climate change should be known. One strand in the literature empirically estimates the growth effects of climatic variations. However, those studies often neglect economic variables that have proven to be robust in explaining economic growth. Further, often they fail to check for the robustness of their results. The main aim of this study is to detect whether there exists a statistically significant robust relation between climate change and economic growth by estimating different model specifications. To do so panel estimation techniques for 24 European economies for the period from 2002 to 2019 are applied whereby panel fixed effects estimations and dynamic Generalized Methods of Moments estimations are resorted to. No statistically significant robust relationship between the temperature change and economic growth is found just as for precipitation that does not exert a significant effect on growth. As regards the institutional and macroeconomic control variables the rule of law, the fiscal variable, and the output gap are statistically significant and robust. It is argued that far‐reaching policy measures, such as the net zero goal of the European Union, should be given only based on robust results. Otherwise, economic policy may turn out to be inadequate and can lead to welfare losses. Hence, the conclusion is that the net zero goal of the European Green Deal is to be seen skeptical.

The role of natural resources rent, trade openness and technological innovations on environmental sustainability – Evidence from resource-rich african nations

Environmental sustainability is fundamental in ensuring the needs of current generation are not met through exhausting the resources available to meet the needs of the future generations. Nature provides key resources required as factors of production in the production of goods and services. Therefore, it is important to maintain and protect the environment, ensuring that these resources do not deplete. This study investigates the role of technological innovations, trade openness, economic growth and natural resource rents in maintaining environmental sustainability. The data of the top ten natural resource-rich African countries are used for the time ranging from 1996 to 2023. The main novelty of the research is that it considers countries with abundance natural resources in ascertaining the influence of natural resources on environmental sustainability; hence, ascertaining the existence of resource curse in developing nations with abundance natural resources. Data is analysed with the Methods of Moments Quantile Regression that present robust results when heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependency are present. We present that technological innovations, trade openness, renewable energy and governance promote environmental sustainability in these resource-rich nations of Africa. Technological innovations fosters environmental sustainability in the long and short term. We also present that economic growth and natural resource rents worsen the quality of the environment, through raising the emission of carbon. Specifically, natural resource rents significantly raises the emission of carbon in the long term. Policies proposed advocates for the advancement in the rule of law of nations and the promotion of technological innovations.

The Political Uses of the Covid Pandemic in the Rise of Greek Neo-Authoritarianism

ABSTRACT Post-2010 economic and more recently pandemic shocks opened the path for re-invigorating Greek authoritarianism while undermining democratic institutions. This paper examines the ways in which the authoritarian conundrum reshapes progressively, on the ashes of the socio-economic and health crises, the cultural and political foundations of the rule of law in Greece. The paper consists of the following sections. First, it tries to discuss critically patterns on authoritarian rule by, first, drawing on its socio-historical origins and analyses in theoretical terms the rise of Greek neo-authoritarianism with an emphasis on COVID-19. Second, it discusses how pandemic laws and subsequent policy processes opened the path for controversial repressive law fostering neoliberal policies. Third, it sheds light on the institutional dimensions of the public health crisis, declared in March 2020 that required public authorities to establish a restrictive and mainly preventive state of emergency, while discussing the political and social consequences of the exacerbation of executive dominance. Fourth, it shows that in moving from a provisional state of emergency—which in principle is not constitutionally unconditional—to a state of (permanent) exception that defies the legal order, Greece has progressively developed an authoritarian apparatus of legal permissiveness, a new form of authoritarian legality.

Legal Security of Parties in the Aspect of Dispute Settlement in the World Trade Organization

One of the basic elements of world order is properly functioning legal systems of individual states. The Sars-Covid pandemic and armed conflicts around the world, including those involving Europe, have strained the certainty of legal transactions in the countries of the UN system and the need to seek new supranational solutions, especially in the field of international trade. The pillar of security is therefore becoming instruments of international law, with the World Trade Organization in mind. A special tool of this organization are the dispute settlement mechanisms to which member states must adhere. In the conducted research, the thesis was put forward that one of the guarantors of the security of legal transactions is the resolution of disputes using the basic legal tools of this organization. It was proved that disputes between states themselves become solvable if they are transferred to the WTO.

Historical and Current Perspectives on the Criminal Codes as Guarantees of Legal Security in Slovakia

The author describes two crucial periods in Slovak legal history from the perspective of the principle of legal security in criminal law. Firstly, the 19th-century Criminal Code, known as the Csemegi Code, is at the center of attention as it ended the centuries-long legal insecurity resulting from the lack of criminal law codification. The author analyses its leading principles as the safeguard of legal security. In contrast, the second part of the article focuses on the second codification of criminal law in Slovak legal history, the Criminal Code of 1950. The author demonstrates how the totalitarian regime destroyed the principle of legal security in criminal law in Slovakia, only slowly rebuilding it after the death of Joseph Stalin through amendments in 1956 and new legislation in 1961. The current Slovak Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code have been in effect since 2006. In conclusion, the author draws attention to how the latest changes in criminal law codes caused turbulences and worries over the principle of legal security in Slovakia.

A review of the knowledge structure and trends in research on the interlinkages between the rule of law and environmental sustainability

AbstractThe interplay between nature and human activities is important for both human well‐being and the health of our planet. The rule of law is central to maintaining harmony between environmental needs and human endeavors. Since the early 1990s, particularly after the Earth Summit in 1992, there has been an increased interest in the relationship between environmental sustainability and legal frameworks. This has led to a significant expansion in the field, encompassing a wide array of research. Despite the field's growth, there is still a lack of review papers that explore its knowledge structure and evolution. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the literature by employing the Visualization of Similarities (VOS) viewer software. We identify key thematic areas within the field, highlight influential authors and journals, and specify major contributing countries and institutions. The findings show that the initial focus was on limited themes, which later gave way to an acknowledgment of the multidimensional nature of the subject. Certain themes, such as environmental emissions and governance, retain prominence. Among the focal themes, sustainability, climate change, and democracy are particularly influential in shaping the field's trajectory. Despite this evolution, certain aspects of both concepts, such as waste and water management, fundamental rights and justice system, and the importance of socio‐economic factors, remain underrepresented. This study offers valuable insights into the linkage between the rule of law and environmental sustainability themes and the associated themes.

REPRESENTATION OF THE STATE’S INTERESTS IN COURT AS A FUNCTION OF THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE: FEATURES OF LEGISLATIVE REGULATIONS

The article highlights some features of the legislative regulation the representation of the state’s interests in court by the public prosecutor’s office, the peculiarity of which periodically become the objects of review by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, initiated by interested parties, who in current conditions demand revision of such regulation for its compliance with the principles of the rule of law. The purpose of the article is to highlight the peculiarities of the legislative regulation of the representative function of the prosecutor’s office through the prism of establishing its compliance with European standards of the prosecutor’s office activities in the researched field, the method of legislative determination of the scope of the representation of the state’s interests by the prosecutor’s office, the legitimate purpose of adopting legislative provisions on prosecutorial representation, ensuring the implementation of the representation of state’s interests in court by the prosecutor’s office in exceptional cases, the expediency of introducing changes to the legally defined mechanism of implementation of the representative function by the prosecutor’s office regarding the substantiation by the prosecutor of the grounds for such activities, as well as highlighting one’s own vision regarding its further development. It is stated that the constitutional and legal regulation of the prosecutor’s office function of representing the interests of the State in court is characterized by a number of legal categories which are evaluative in nature, and which, given the lack of their legislative definition, are understood in the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and in the practice of the relevant entities applying law, mainly, judicial and prosecutorial practice. It is established that the updated constitutional and legal status of the prosecutor’s office in Ukraine in terms of determining the scope of its powers in activities outside the criminal justice sphere through the prism of the function of representing the State’s interests in court in exceptional cases and in accordance with the procedure established by law embodies the European standards of the prosecutor’s office, whose defining mission in this area is to represent general or public interests, protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, and ensure the rule of law, which corresponds to the legally defined purpose of public prosecutor’s office in Ukraine. It is proved that the method of constitutional definition of exceptional cases of the prosecutor’s office’s function of representation of the State’s interests in court indicates that the legislator does not intend to limit their legislative consolidation to the limits of a specific special law and does not exclude the possibility of their consolidation in the provisions of other laws, since the list of these cases cannot be determined in advance, but should be determined in accordance with the interests which require protection in a particular historical period. It is proposed to apply a balanced approach to introducing changes to the legislatively defined mechanism for exercising the representative function by the prosecutor’s office with due regard for the achievements of judicial and prosecutorial practice of its application, so as not to make it impossible to protect the interests of the State by means of prosecutorial representation.

The Rule of Law: A Conceptual Dynamics in Constitutional Discourse.

The Rule of Law: A Conceptual Dynamics in Constitutional Discourse.

Tinjauan Yuridis terhadap Penyelesaian Sengketa Tanah di Jakarta Barat

T Land dispute resolution is a complex issue in Indonesia, especially in urban areas such as West Jakarta. These disputes often involve the sale and purchase of the land in question, as in case Number 59/Pdt.G/2023/PN Jkt.Brt. This study aims to analyze juridically the settlement of land disputes and how they are implemented in the Indonesian legal system. The method used in this study is normative legal research that focuses on literature review. The results of the study show that the implementation of mediation as one of the dispute resolution methods provides equal justice for both parties, and can result in a peace agreement that has legal force. The conclusion of this study is that the mediation mechanism has great potential in resolving land disputes more effectively than the litigation route.

Child custody after a divorce in Islam and in Russian legislation (comparative analysis)

The article describes the negative consequences that result from the lack of a competent approach to solving the problem associated with determining the right to care for minor children after parental divorce. The main focus is on explaining the most important norms of Islamic family law, and Russian legislation in matters of the right to care for the children in the event of parental divorce. A comparative analysis is carried out between these norms, indicating points of contact and differences. The purpose of the study is to reveal the problem related to the right to care for the minor children that Muslims in the Russian Federation face during the divorce proceedings. The author, in this article, draws attention to the fact that due to some differences in these legal norms, Muslims may have difficulties associated with the desire to simultaneously comply with the rules of their religion in the legal field and not violate the provisions of Russian law. The author also discloses the ways out of the current situation, combining, where possible, the rules of law of the both approaches. The scientific novelty of the paper lies in the very study of the key problems that Muslims in Russia face in the matters related to the divorce process, in particular, regarding the right to care for the children after their parents’ divorce. The research provides the comparative analysis between the norms of Islam and the rules of the Family Code of the Russian Federation on the matter. As a result, it was determined that the Muslim community needs to know and study both the norms of Islamic Law regarding the right to care for the minor children after a divorce, and the position of Russian legislation. It is very important to learn how to combine these norms. Also, in case of a dispute, such issues should be addressed to the qadi. It will help you avoid mistakes and determine who has the priority right to care for the children.

Features of the methodological views of Rizaetdin Fakhretdinov (1859-1936) on the concept of ijma‘

This article is devoted to the study of the nature and essence of one of the fundamental sources of Islamic Law - ijma‘ in the methodological views of the Qadi and the Mufti of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia Rizaetdin Fakhretdinov (1859-1936). The conceptual features of Fakhretdinov’s characteristic views on the nature of ijma‘, its essence, the conditions of its emergence and the specifics of its practical adaptation allowed him to raise important questions regarding the competence of participants making a consolidated decision, the categoricalness and duration of the legal force of such decisions. His views on the institutionalization of ijma‘ may indicate the presence of regional competence of ijma‘ representatives. The study of ijma‘ was carried out on the basis of an analysis of Fakhretdinov’s views with the views of classical methodologists (usuliyyun), during which the author attempts to substantiate them within the framework of Hanafi methodological thought. The article is intended to make a modest contribution to the study of the nature of ijma‘ and its role in the religious and legal life of Muslims. The nature of the article is also on rethinking the assessment of the classical heritage of fiqh, the development of a critical and practice-oriented approach in individual and collegial forms of the methodology of fatwa creation. Moreover, the paper means to attract the attention of modern researchers in the field of methodology to these issues within the Islamic Law.

Analysis of the Effeectiveness of the Integrated Law Enforcement Center (Gakkumdu) in Criminal Enforcement of the 2024 Election in Central Java based on the Principle of Legal Certainty

This study aims to analyze and examine the effectiveness of the Integrated Law Enforcement Center (Gakkumdu) in criminal enforcement of the 2024 Election in Central Java. This type of research is empirical or non-doctrinal law, the nature of analytical descriptive research. Using a qualitative approach with primary data from interviews and observations. Secondary data from books, scientific journal articles and legislative review. The results of the study show that the Central Java Gakkumdu Center has carried out its functions and authorities as a center for criminal law enforcement activities in accordance with the Election Law and Perbawaslu, but it has not been effective and legally certain. Because in handling election crime cases in 35 districts/cities as many as 110 cases, only 5 cases have permanent legal force, 2 cases stopped at the Police investigation, and 103 cases stopped at the discussion of the Gakkumdu Center. The causal factors are not in accordance with the theory of the legal system of law: (1) Legal substance: (a) the time to handle the case of election crimes is short (Speedy trial), (b) the legal subject of the perpetrator of the election crime is not fulfilled, (c) lack of evidence in the investigation of election crimes, and (d) difficulties in finding witnesses in the investigation of election crimes. (2) Legal structure: (a) many institutions in the Gakkumdu Center make coordination difficult, (b) different perceptions between institutions in the Gakkumdu Center make it difficult to determine election crimes, (c) the Gakkumdu Center is a non-institutional coordination forum in election crime enforcement, (d) the election crime enforcement coordinator Bawaslu only forwards reports and not as an election crime investigator. (3) Legal culture: (a) lack of understanding of election crime violations, (b) lack of public awareness of reporting election crimes to the gakkumdu center, (c) lack of public willingness to witness election crime cases, and (d) weak legal awareness of election participants to comply with the election law. The solutions to overcome the ineffectiveness of the Gakkumdu Center in election crime enforcement in the future: (a) the need for a single institution in election crime enforcement, and (b) the strengthening of Bawaslu's authority in election crime enforcement

The Law or the Career? Autocratic Judiciaries, Strategic Sentencing, and Political Repression

Why do judges sometimes act against autocrats’ will, even without judicial independence and tenure security? Contrary to the theory of strategic defection under weak governments, we argue that this behavior can also emerge under strong governments with lax monitoring. When autocrats primarily monitor severe political cases, judges can strategically downplay case severity to avoid oversight, thereby increasing judicial autonomy and the rule of law. Yet, these adjustments will be carefully calibrated–sufficient to evade scrutiny but not too drastic to trigger autocrats’ suspicions and incur sanctions against judges. We test this expectation with new data on Taiwan’s military trials during authoritarian rule, finding that judges tend not to issue sentences above a review threshold after its introduction. Sentence reductions are mostly moderate, affecting cases where sentences can fall slightly above or below the threshold under judges’ discretion. These findings have implications for understanding state repression and judicial agency in nondemocracies.

A Look at Challenges to the Effective Implementation of Safeguard to Fair Trial and Justice under the Cameroonian Criminal Justice System

Fair trial as a principle which ensures the administration of justice is guaranteed in the constitutions of every democratic society. The right to fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the rule of law. Fair trial and justice constitute the back bone of all applicable procedures and substantial laws almost in every legal culture. This means that fair trial should be perceived as a “human right” issue and therefore an international concern which should comply and be measured by international norms. This paper aims at analyzing the challenges faced in the effective implementation of the safeguard to fair trial and Justice in Cameroon. The Cameroon criminal justice system has all necessary provisions aimed at safeguarding fair trial and ensuring a horizontal playing field where justice is been maintained. However, the question remains how effective does these laws safeguard the right to fair trial and Justice. The mechanisms put in place to ensure the safeguard to fair trial and justice is insufficient, ineffective and unsuitable in guaranteeing the safeguard to fair trial and justice. In the absence of fair trial and justice, the rule of law, human rights and consequently the idea of justice becomes illusionary.