Leveraging textual content, citational aspects and dissenting opinions through a multi-view contrastive learning methodology for legal precedent analysis

This research is divided in two papers. The first paper explains how Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) have brought enormous advantages to farmers, as products can be more resistance to pests and droughts. Some countries have raised concerns regarding their use. Particularly, this paper analyses the import ban on GMO approved by Mexico (which applies only to GM corn) and Peru (which applies to all type of GM seeds and animals). These domestic measures affect international trade, as companies are unable to export certain types of GMO to Mexico and Peru. Hence, this first paper focuses on the emergence of GMO in human history and its relevance to guarantee food security and to boost international trade. Additionally, it explains some of the concerns GMO have brought. Thus, the loss of cultural heritage, the risk on food safety and the impact on biodiversity, arguments raised by Peru and Mexico to support their GMO regulation, are covered. Finally, Peru’s and Mexico’s regulation are explained as well as the current situation of these trade measures. The second paper focuses on the legal compatibility of the import bans on GMO approved by Peru and Mexico under the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO).div/div

Are ChatGPT and Midjourney tools or creators? Ownership of billions of AI-assisted creative outputs hangs in the balance. Copyright scholars have long debated whether an autonomous artificial intelligence could qualify as an author, but this remains a hypothetical question. Despite widespread application of the term “AI” to software products of the 2020s, autonomously creative artificial intelligence still does not exist. Today’s commercial AI products—such as ChatGPT, Midjourney, Dall-E, Copilot, Gemini, Claude, Suno, Perplexity, and Lumo—are simply the newest generation of computer software. They do not qualify as “artificial intelligence” in either the scientific or science fiction senses. They are mere computer programs, tools that act only upon instructions of human creators. Under basic principles of copyright law, long applied to computer software, the human user of the software program is entitled to protection of the output. Every “AI-generated” work has a human author. To prove that point, this Article’s centerpiece is a Socratic dialogue, presented as a conversation between myself and a large language model (LLM). Following long tradition, this dialogue is structured to lead readers to a logical conclusion; namely, that every “AI-generated” work has a human author. By design, the narrative presents as an encounter between two minds. In reality, there is only one intelligence at work—mine. This dialogue serves several purposes. Of interest to scholars in any discipline, it demonstrates how we can use digital dialectic to explore hard problems, identify related literature, develop theories, and achieve new insights. Thematically, it explains how LLM software works, contrasts this with common misconceptions about “artificial intelligence,” and reflects on the intellectual work we do when we use LLM software and what this means for the authorship question in copyright law. It also models how scholars—and lawyers—can leverage LLM AI tools to conduct more powerful research, thinking, and analysis. Finally, it offers copyright scholars a welldocumented specific instance of AI-assisted writing, so that we can move from hypothetical debate to empirical analysis of generative authorship. The dialogue thus serves as argument, methodology, and demonstration— piercing the illusion of artificial intelligence to offer a more realistic understanding of today’s generative software as tools, not creators. The Article also surveys over four decades of copyright scholarship about authorship and artificial intelligence, distinguishing between hypothetical and empirical AI scholarship. Copyright issues surrounding AI have long been explored hypothetically. In my view, there is now an urgent need for empirical AI scholarship. The new school of generative empiricists ground their legal analysis in real-world study of how artists, musicians, and writers use the new tools to explore, play, study, and create. The longhypothetical copyright debate presumed an autonomously-acting artificial intelligence. Empirical AI scholarship emphasizes that today’s generative technology does not fit this description. Midjourney and ChatGPT are software tools, subject to the same rules of copyright that govern Photoshop and Microsoft Word. Under the Supreme Court’s Feist standard of originality, software users are entitled to copyright ownership of the output whenever they contribute at least a minimal spark of creativity.

This study juridically analyzes the system of evidence in Indonesian and Thai criminal procedure law, focusing on the regulation and application of evidentiary instruments. It compares the formalistic and enumerative approach of Indonesia’s Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), particularly Articles 183–184, which require a minimum of two lawful pieces of evidence—namely witness testimony, expert testimony, documents, indications, and defendant statements—against Thailand’s more inclusive model under Sections 226–231 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), which classifies evidence into material, documentary, and personal evidence and grants broader judicial discretion. Both systems share similarities, including the exclusionary rule against illegally obtained evidence and the recognition of digital evidence in response to contemporary legal developments, particularly after Indonesia’s reform through Law No. 20 of 2025. However, structural differences significantly affect the effectiveness of justice: Indonesia emphasizes legal certainty to prevent judicial subjectivity, while Thailand promotes procedural flexibility and allows private prosecution to enhance efficiency and victim participation. Employing a normative-comparative method, this study concludes that ASEAN legal harmonization is necessary to develop a balanced hybrid evidentiary model capable of ensuring substantive truth while safeguarding the human rights of suspects and defendants in the era of transnational crime.

Non-consensual condom removal, or stealthing, is increasingly recognized as a distinct form of sexual harm with population health and legal implications. While empirical studies continue to document the psychological and physical consequences of this act, legal responses in the U.S. remain limited and inconsistent. This study applies a legal epidemiology framework to examine the statutory landscape of civil remedies for stealthing across four U.S. states. Through systematic policy surveillance and coding, the analysis reveals significant variation in terminology, consent standards, scope of prohibited conduct, and survivor protections. While California uniquely uses the term 'stealthing,' other states rely on descriptive language that may obscure public understanding or survivor resonance. Similarly, standards of consent and available remedies vary, with only Washington and Vermont including explicit privacy protections. Findings highlight the need for broader, standardized statutory definitions that align with survivor experiences, support trauma-informed legal processes, and promote equitable access to civil justice. These results underscore the importance of law as a structural determinant of population health and the need to address underrecognized forms of sexual consent violations.

The article aims to analyze the evolution of the legal status, appointment procedures, and social profile of the judicial corps of the Zhytomyr District Court in the pre-reform period in the context of imperial legislation and practices of administrative control over judicial power. The methodological framework of the study is based on the principles of historicism and scholarly objectivity, as well as on historical-legal and critical analysis of normative legal acts and clerical materials of judicial and administrative institutions. The research employs systemic, comparative-legal, and prosopographical approaches, which made it possible to reconstruct the career trajectories of judicial officials and to create a generalized sociological portrait of district court assessors. The scientific novelty of the study lies in a comprehensive historical-legal analysis of the legal status, mechanisms of formation, and social characteristics of the judicial corps of the Zhytomyr District Court in the pre-reform period, based on normative legal acts and service records, which allows for a new interpretation of the district court as an instrument of imperial personnel policy, administrative control, and bureaucratization of judicial power in Right-Bank Ukraine. Conclusions. The study demonstrates that the district court in Right-Bank Ukraine functioned not only as a judicial body but also as an administrative-integrative institution intended to ensure control over local elites and to implement imperial legal standards. Personnel policy in district courts was characterized by a combination of elected representatives of the local elite and officials appointed “from the Crown,” which enabled the authorities to balance the co-optation of loyal groups with administrative centralization. Analysis of service records indicates the predominance of nobles with experience in civil service, a lack of significant property holdings, and an orientation toward a bureaucratic career. In legal terms, this points to the gradual bureaucratization of the judicial system in the pre-reform period and the restriction of the autonomy of elective judicial institutions in favor of imperial administration.

Climate change poses escalating threats to coastal ecosystems through sea-level rise, intensified storms, and rising ocean acidification, placing global sustainability at risk. Mangrove ecosystems play a critical role in coastal protection, biodiversity conservation, and climate mitigation stabilizing shorelines, filtering pollutants, and acting as major carbon sinks. Sustainable mangrove management offers livelihood opportunities for local communities, such as fishing, shellfish gathering, and beekeeping. Despite their importance, mangroves have experienced significant decline, particularly in countries with extensive coastlines. This paper examines how legal frameworks and policy initiatives address mangrove protection in the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, with a focus on the role of law in mitigating coastal ecosystem degradation. Using a comparative legal analysis, the paper reviews mangrove-related legislation, regulatory approaches, and national initiatives in these three jurisdictions. The analysis finds that the United States employs more developed legal mechanisms for mangrove protection, including marine protected areas and scientific monitoring, while Saudi Arabia and Egypt rely more heavily on large-scale restoration initiatives and broader environmental laws rather than mangrove-specific legal frameworks. The paper concludes that strengthening targeted legal measures for mangrove protection, informed by comparative legal experience, can enhance coastal ecosystem resilience and support long-term environmental sustainability in regions vulnerable to climate change.

ABSTRACT Armed conflicts are accompanied by serious violations of children’s rights and legitimate interests, significantly increasing their vulnerability. Although international standards and national legal frameworks assign states the primary responsibility for protecting children from war-related violence, effective protection requires continuous coordination and adaptation to rapidly changing conditions. The aim of this study is to analyse international legal instruments and national legislation governing the protection of children during armed conflict, to assess their effectiveness in Ukraine, and to evaluate their compliance with international standards. The research employs methods of legal analysis, synthesis, deduction, and systematic evaluation of normative acts and enforcement mechanisms. The findings indicate that, despite the existence of comprehensive international norms and their partial incorporation into national law, significant gaps remain in implementation, coordination, and practical enforcement under wartime conditions. The study concludes that strengthening institutional cooperation, clarifying legal procedures, and improving national protective mechanisms are essential for ensuring effective child protection during armed conflict.

Access to legal information and professional assistance remains a significant challenge for a large segment of society. Legal consultations are often costly, legal language is complex, and awareness of procedures and rights is limited among ordinary citizens. As a result, many individuals delay or avoid seeking legal help, leading to unresolved disputes and preventable escalation of conflicts. Although digital transformation has revolutionized sectors such as healthcare, banking, and education, the legal industry continues to struggle with providing accessible, user-friendly, and technology-driven solutions. Most existing legal platforms function either as static informational websites or as lawyer directories, offering limited interaction and lacking intelligent, personalized assistance. This paper introduces LegalAI, an integrated platform designed to enhance access to justice through artificial intelligence and structured digital services. LegalAI combines AI-driven legal analysis, a verified lawyer marketplace, and case management tools within a single ecosystem. The platform leverages Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Large Language Models (LLMs) to analyze usersubmitted legal problems written in natural language. It identifies relevant legal domains, references applicable laws, and generates simplified explanations tailored for non-experts. Additionally, the system recommends practical next steps, including documentation requirements, procedural guidance, and options for professional consultation. The platform is developed using React.js and Tailwind CSS to create a responsive and intuitive frontend interface. Backend operations are implemented using Python-based frameworks such as FastAPI or Flask, ensuring scalable and efficient API services. MongoDB is utilized for flexible and scalable data storage, supporting diverse user records and case information. Security is maintained through JWT-based authentication, enabling secure, role-based access control for users, lawyers, and administrators. Experimental evaluation indicates that LegalAI improves users preliminary legal understanding, reduces confusion during early dispute stages, and streamlines the process of identifying suitable legal professionals. By integrating intelligent assistance with verified lawyer connections, the platform demonstrates strong potential to modernize legal service delivery and bridge the gap between citizens and the legal system.

Reliable internal communication and information systems (CISs) constitute a foundational yet often under-examined layer of contemporary digital government and organizational resilience. While existing research has predominantly focused on citizen-facing services and external platforms, comparatively limited attention has been devoted to how internal CIS user support structures function as governance mechanisms that sustain institutional continuity, authority, and operational control. This article reconceptualises CIS user support as a governance mechanism and empirically examines its implementation within a high-security public-sector organization, the Slovenian Armed Forces. The study integrates perspectives from information systems governance and IT service management with an in-depth case study based on legal and organizational framework analysis, structured user interviews (n = 24), and longitudinal operational data on CIS incidents and service performance (2022–2024). The findings demonstrate that a multi-tier CIS user support architecture, informed by IT service management principles and integrated with cybersecurity and cryptographic control functions, contributes to institutional reliability, process accountability, and operational resilience. Building on these results, the article develops a five-dimensional governance model of CIS user support encompassing organizational authority, process formalization, security integration, communication legitimacy, and data-driven oversight. By conceptualizing CIS user support as an embedded governance structure rather than merely an operational IT function, the study extends information systems governance and digital government scholarship and provides analytically transferable insights for high-security public organizations operating under conditions of elevated risk and institutional constraint.

Background/Objectives: Abortion legislation represents a complex intersection of medical practice, ethical considerations, and legal frameworks that demonstrate significant legal heterogeneity across Europe. This study undertakes a comprehensive comparative assessment of the statutory schemes governing abortion across the European continent, examining gestational limits, exceptional circumstances, and regulatory requirements. Methods: A comparative legal analysis was conducted across 31 European jurisdictions. Primary legislative instruments were identified and authenticated through official governmental sources, parliamentary databases, and legal repositories to ensure analysis of current consolidated legislation. Data extraction focused on gestational limits, exceptional circumstances, procedural requirements, and constitutional provisions to categorize jurisdictions into regulatory models. Additionally, a structured literature search was performed in PubMed and Scopus (2015–2025) using the keywords “abortion,” “law,” and “Europe.” From 297 screened records, 30 articles were selected to contextualize legislative evolution and scholarly discourse. Results: The comparative analysis identified substantial heterogeneity in European abortion legislation, revealing four distinct regulatory models. Most jurisdictions establish a legal limit for elective abortion of approximately 12 weeks of gestation, with variations ranging from 10 weeks to 24 weeks. Exceptions to gestational limits are widely recognized for maternal life-threatening conditions, severe fetal anomalies and pregnancies resulting from sexual violence. Conclusions: European abortion legislation reflects persistent regulatory pluralism rather than convergence toward a unified model. While commonality exists regarding early gestational limits for elective abortion, significant variation remains in exceptional circumstances, procedural requirements, and underlying regulatory philosophies. This heterogeneity impacts healthcare provision, cross-border reproductive care, and medico-legal practice. The identified regulatory models illustrate diverse balances between reproductive autonomy and state interests. Future research should examine the practical consequences of these diverse schemes on health outcomes and cross-border patient mobility.

Purpose This article explores the growing ambiguity in employment classification in the context of the gig economy and the rise in nonstandard work. It seeks to examine how employment status, a concept at the core of the welfare state, affects the interpretation and enforcement of employment and welfare rights and the pivotal role played by state institutions. Design/methodology/approach We use a case study approach drawing on a recent landmark case in Ireland (Karshan vs Revenue Commissioners). We analyse the role of state institutions in shaping individual employment and welfare rights while securing economic efficiency and income tax generation for the state. We draw on the body of work surrounding the Supreme Court judgement including policy documents and public communication from relevant state institutions in their responses to the judgement. Findings We find that through the interplay of institutions the state contributes further to labour market dualisation both in practical and conceptual terms maintaining a fragmented and two-tiered concept of what constitutes employment for tax purposes in one sphere and for social and employment rights in another. Our findings show that a worker can simultaneously occupy insider and outsider positions in this regard. Originality/value The article offers a novel perspective by moving beyond the legal analysis of employment status to examine the integration of economic and social domains, highlighting how state institutions contribute to and even exacerbate labour market dualisation.

Aim . The work aimed to substantiate the concept of applying international experience in legislative establishment of lottery revenue distribution standards in Russian lottery legislation. Objectives. The work seeks to substantiate approaches to analyzing lottery legislation in various jurisdictions in terms of establishment of lottery expense standards; to analyze international experience in legal regulation of lottery expenses based on the proposed approaches; and to identify the legal basis for the formation and distribution of lottery revenue as a set of factors determining lottery revenue distribution standards. Methods . Approaches to a comparative legal analysis of lottery legislation in a representative number of jurisdictions in continental Europe, the United Kingdom, North and South America, and Australia are substantiated in various aspects using general scientific cognition methods. Results . Applying the proposed substantiated approaches to a comparative legal analysis of lottery legislation in various jurisdictions enabled to refine the subject of analysis, namely, to select the laws of states most closely related to Russian lottery legislation, i.e., the laws of federal states belonging to the Romano-Germanic legal family, which are identical to similar Russian legislation in their legislative foundations (conceptual framework, objectives), the established procedure governing the generation and distribution of lottery revenues; and, most importantly, the legal mechanism for establishing lottery revenue distribution standards. Conclusions . The identified factors determining the establishment of lottery revenue distribution standards led to the following concept: the quantitative certainty (normativity) of the lottery revenue distribution structure cannot be reduced to establishing a numerical ratio between its main components, imposed by the dominant objective of financial authorities in a given period. Standards are determined by a system of objectively acting factors and, when established by law, must express in legal form the will of the state, aimed at ensuring that the mechanism for distributing lottery revenues corresponds to the purpose of lottery activities, the type of government structure, the social focus of lotteries, the accountability and auditability of the activities of all participants empowered to organize and conduct lotteries, the stability and predictability of lottery revenue receipts to the budget, and the transparency and legitimacy of state actions at all stages of lottery conducting. The concept presented, as the main idea behind the study of international legislation regulating the distribution of lottery revenues, can serve as an appropriate methodological basis for selecting successful international practices applicable to the Russian Federation.

ABSTRACT This study synthesizes peer-reviewed research on human trafficking linked to scam compounds in Southeast Asia (2020 to 2025) to understand their organizational, spatial, and coercive infrastructures. Applying a Qualitative Meta-Synthesis (QMS) protocol, it integrates findings from fifty publications. These outputs comprise forty-five journal articles, three conference papers, one book chapter, and one monograph. As a consolidated evidentiary base, this QMS constitutes the first systematic review to integrate scam-compound economies into broader research on trafficking and forced labor in Southeast Asia. The included studies employ qualitative, mixed-methods, and conceptual approaches, drawing on survivor interviews, NGO and law enforcement perspectives, and legal analyses. Results show that scam compounds function as industrialized socio-technical systems embedded within licit-illicit economies, exploiting digital infrastructures, deregulated Special Economic Zones, and migration precarity. Cross-study patterns highlight hierarchical divisions of labor, coercion, and liminal victim-offender roles. Divergences reflect local political economies and adaptive organizational forms. The synthesis situates scam compounds within the broader history of illicit economies. The study demonstrates the value of the QMS for advancing theoretical coherence in fragmented literatures on deviance.

Urban wetlands in coastal cities are under growing strain from urban growth, climate change, and governance that is often fragmented. This study evaluates the condition of the freshwater dune lakes located in the Veracruz–Boca del Río–Medellín conurbation in Mexico, a protected corridor made up of 33 dune lakes that is increasingly pressured by urban expansion. We used an interdisciplinary approach that combined ecological monitoring, legal analysis, and participatory management tools. Fieldwork included 24 h monitoring of dissolved oxygen, measurements of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5) in representative systems, a diachronic review of the legal evolution of five Natural Protected Areas (NPAs), and community workshops to jointly design interventions. The results showed strong day–night swings in oxygen (4.0–14.8 mg/L) linked to vegetation dynamics, with nighttime hypoxia posing risks for aquatic fauna. BOD5 ranged from 4.8 to 150.3 mg/L, pointing to severe organic pollution in the most degraded system. The legal review identified repeated patterns of environmental regression, expressed through reductions in protected polygons, the legalization of irregular settlements, and the fragmentation of protected areas through judicial processes. In response, we propose a hybrid management model that brings together riparian restoration, Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS), green infrastructure, and participatory monitoring, emphasizing a key 100 m buffer zone. This integrated strategy aims to improve flood regulation, reduce urban heat island effects, and enhance water quality, while also reinforcing community stewardship and legal protection. We conclude that conserving these urban wetlands effectively requires adaptive approaches that connect landscape-scale and local-scale actions, which are essential for climate adaptation in rapidly urbanizing coastal regions.

The Russian Federation’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine has shown significant shortcomings in the international legal regulation of security issues and criminal liability for crimes of aggression. In such conditions, even with the functioning of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and special tribunals, modern international justice faces limited jurisdiction, imperfect investigative procedures, and a tendency to political interference in the work of the prosecutor’s office. The purpose of writing a scientific article is to study the powers of the prosecutor of the special tribunal regarding the crime of aggression against Ukraine, as well as to determine the legal mechanisms for initiating an investigation and supporting the prosecution. The article aims to identify challenges in the functioning of the Office of the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine in order to improve the effectiveness of international prosecution of crimes of military aggression. The methodological basis includes a legal analysis of international and national regulatory legal acts; application of the comparative law method to analyze the powers of the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal and the experience of initiating ad hoc tribunals in Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Lebanon; the method of content analysis of scientific publications and reports of international organizations; the method of systematization to determine the issues of the Prosecutor’s activities; and the method of generalization to improve the system of powers and functions of the Office of the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal. The study showed that for effective international prosecution of the crime of aggression, it is necessary to clearly outline the powers of the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal, which include, first of all, independence from participating States or political structures in making decisions on initiating investigations and bringing charges; transparent rules and procedures for the nomination, dismissal and transfer of the Prosecutor and/or his deputies (enshrined in separate legislative acts and provisions of the Statute of the Tribunal); the prohibition of double jeopardy and external influence; and the right of the parties to the proceedings (the accused and the victims) to request the dismissal of the Prosecutor due to a possible conflict of interest or lack of independence (as provided for in the Statute of this tribunal). Promising areas of future research should include an assessment of the actual exercise of the powers of the Prosecutor’s Office, a comparative study of the effectiveness of the functions of the Prosecutor’s Office in different international regimes, and the development of methodologies for assessing the impact of the actions of the Office of the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal on the consolidation of international responsibility for acts of aggression. Such an approach will ensure the improvement of mechanisms for prosecuting crimes of aggression and the strengthening of the principles of international law.

We introduce a computational method for identifying delegating and constraining provisions in European Union (EU) laws. Leveraging the syntactic structures employed by legislators, we developed a set of extraction rules applied through a custom-built computational linguistics pipeline. We run through the pipeline more than 600,000 legal sentences that we extracted from 9319 laws adopted between 1958 and 2019. The application performs very well vis-á-vis human annotation and outperforms transformer models. The produced patterns of authority delegation and constraint resonate with our knowledge of the policymaking and history of the EU. Our approach provides valuable insights for designing transparent and adaptable rule-based computational linguistic methods of legal text analysis. We also release the comprehensively annotated dataset and the fine-tuned transformer models developed for this task.

This research is conducted to examine the juridical aspects construction of developers’ liability in the implementation of Sale and Purchase Binding Agreements (PPJB) for apartment units under Law Number 20 of 2011 on Flats, as well as the mechanisms for resolving consumer disputes. This research applies a doctrinal legal framework grounded in legislation, legal theory, and judicial decisions legislation, scholarly literature, and the Decision of the Yogyakarta High Court Number 91/PDT/2020/PTYYK as analytical materials. The findings indicate that developers’ liability forms a multi-layered liability system encompassing administrative, criminal, and civil responsibility. However, in practice, enforcement is predominantly pursued through breach of contract claims under the Civil Code, while administrative and criminal sanctions have not been optimally implemented. This reflects a gap between normative provisions and practical enforcement. The study concludes that developers’ liability demonstrates a hybrid liability character, combining contractual and public regulatory responsibility, thereby requiring stronger supervision and consistent law enforcement to ensure consumer protection and legal certainty.

It is indicated that in November 1995, Ukraine joined the Council of Europe. This fact should be recognized as a necessary and important episode in strengthening the positions of our state as a subject of international legal relations. But this event also had another important significance for Ukraine in positioning it as a full member of the family of democratic countries - upon accession, it undertook to comply with its general obligations under the Statute of the Council of Europe, namely pluralistic democracy, the rule of law and the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons under its jurisdiction. The article provides a comprehensive scholarly and legal analysis of free legal aid as one of the key institutional guarantees for ensuring the right to a fair trial and equal access to justice. The relevance of the study is обусловлена the persistence of systemic problems in the implementation of the right to defence, the high number of applications lodged against Ukraine before the European Court of Human Rights, as well as the need for further improvement of the national mechanism for providing free legal aid in the context of the transformation of the legal system and the growing social vulnerability of a significant part of the population. Based on the analysis of international legal instruments, the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, it is demonstrated that the State’s obligation to ensure effective legal assistance cannot be limited exclusively to criminal proceedings, but must also extend to other types of jurisdictional procedures in which an individual risks substantial restrictions of their rights and freedoms. On the basis of statistical data and the results of international and national monitoring studies, the authors substantiate the conclusion that negative trends persist in the sphere of observance of the right to defence and the principle of equality of arms, which confirms the necessity of further development and strengthening of the institutional and procedural foundations of the free legal aid system. The scientific novelty of the article lies in substantiating an approach to understanding free legal aid as a system-forming element of the state-legal, primarily administrative-law, mechanism for ensuring the right to a fair trial. The conclusions formulated in the article create a theoretical basis for further scholarly research aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the free legal aid system in Ukraine.

Rapid expansion of steel manufacturing in Odisha has intensified environmental risks despite an extensive regulatory framework, raising concerns about the effectiveness of corporate governance in ensuring accountability. This study examines how governance structures and operational practices shape environmental compliance in the steel sector. Using a mixed-methods design combining doctrinal legal analysis, empirical assessment of thirty steel plants, and a case study of the Angul industrial cluster, the study constructs a Composite Environmental Governance Index. Quantitative results show a strong positive relationship between plant size and compliance, while qualitative findings reveal persistent gaps in enforcement, transparency, and community engagement, yielding insights.