Legal Responses Research Articles

The Role of Perpetrator Attractiveness and Relationship Dynamics on Perceptions of Adolescent Sexual Grooming

ABSTRACT Sexual grooming, exacerbated by increased internet and social media usage , is a growing concern. Past researchers have found differences in perceptions of sexual grooming based on gender-pairing, perpetrator attractiveness, as well as perpetrator and victim age and gender. Our study extends this research by exploring how the attractiveness of the perpetrator and their relationship to the victim – specifically, whether they are a teacher, religious leader, or family friend – affects perceived grooming severity and recommended legal response. Contrary to expectations, relationship type, but not attractiveness, impacted perceptions. Vignettes involving family friends were perceived as less harmful compared to those involving teachers or religious leaders, highlighting nuanced responses based on the perpetrator’s role. These findings suggest that grooming perceptions are heavily influenced by the nature of the relationship rather than the attractiveness of the perpetrator, indicating a need for policies and educational initiatives that address these complexities to enhance the detection and prevention of sexual grooming.

‘On a knife's edge’: medical, police, and legal responses to self‐harming protesters

AbstractTraditional liberal democratic theories of protest can readily account for protest violence against others or their property, and are quick to denounce and criminalize such actions. However, protests that involve self‐harm are harder to frame; they neither engage the harm principle, nor threaten a sovereign state of ostensible peace. Under liberal legalism, capacitous and consenting protesters should not have their rights of expression interfered with in such cases. However, in England and Wales, legal responses to self‐harming violence nevertheless emerge, not necessarily within a public order framework, but through a risk‐averse, medicalized lens. Co‐authored by a legal academic and a practising psychiatrist, this article argues that mental health practitioners, the police, and the courts engage in a ‘paternalistic pivot’ in self‐harming protest cases, which undermines human rights protections that are ordinarily afforded to protesters who are not causing a threat to others or their property.

Research on the transmission of the Open University of Japan courses via multi-device apps oriented to the learning ecosystem

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose the need for an integrated system for the production, authoring, addition and revision of webcast content and a multi-device apps mechanism with rights management for Internet transmission in the perspective of the OUJ course reuse.Design/methodology/approachThis paper designs systems that reuse the existing OUJ courses from the viewpoint of effective utilization, combine broadcasting lectures and online lectures of the OUJ courses and seamlessly link them as media-mix contents. In contrast to content development methodologies that assume embedded content production, this paper’s methodology takes an approach to producing and authoring webcasting content, flexibly adding and revising the content and transmitting that content over the internet via multi-device apps, taking rights management into account.FindingsThere is concern about the ELSI arising from the use of generative AI. It is directed at web content. This paper can contribute to resolving the ELSI surrounding the use of generative AI because it discusses a method of learning content development that clarifies the attribution of rights to content.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper lies in the fact that it is oriented to reuse existing lectures of the OUJ courses and simplify the rights clearance for them, from the perspective of the learning ecosystem. The value of this paper is that it can also serve as a technical and legal response to the production, authoring and Internet transmission of open university courses in the era of generative AI.

Legal Response to Discriminatory Issues in Citizenship of Women and Participation in Nigerian Politics

Legal Response to Discriminatory Issues in Citizenship of Women and Participation in Nigerian Politics

International Law and Regulation of Marine Microplastics: Current Situation, Problems, and Development

The severe global hazards posed by marine microplastics must be given attention. This study evaluated the current international legal framework, and offers forward-looking recommendations for enhancing international law. The analysis began by examining the unique characteristics and profound impacts of marine microplastics, underscoring the necessity of a corresponding international regulatory regime. Through a thorough review of the existing global and regional legal instruments—both soft and hard laws—we identified key issues and challenges in the international legal response to marine microplastics, particularly in terms of legislation and enforcement mechanisms. The study emphasizes the urgent need for strengthened international legislation, including the potential development of a specialized international treaty, and calls for the enhancement of compliance mechanisms to effectively combat marine microplastic pollution and support the broader goal of sustainable development.

Comparative Legal Responses to Illicit Wildlife Trade in Bangladesh and India: Indigenous vs. Extraneous Approaches

This research examined the legal responses to illicit wildlife trade in Bangladesh and India, focusing on how these countries harmonized their domestic laws with international obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). It assessed the effectiveness of Bangladesh's legal framework against wildlife trafficking and compared it to India’s advancements, particularly the Indian Wildlife Protection Amendment Act of 2022. Utilizing qualitative and doctrinal methods, the research reviewed primary and secondary sources, including statutes and international agreements. While Bangladesh faced significant challenges in enforcement and effectiveness, India strengthened its wildlife protection through stricter penalties and enhanced compliance with CITES. The research advocated for Bangladesh to adopt similar legislative reforms and improve enforcement mechanisms to better protect biodiversity and fulfill international obligations.

Risk Profile of Stalking in South Korea: Analyzing the First Year of Court Decisions Following Initial Legal Responses.

South Korea implemented specific legislation titled the Act on Punishment of Crimes of Stalking (APCS) on October 21, 2021, to address the issue of stalking. This study evaluated the risks associated with stalking incidents in South Korea by reviewing and analyzing legal cases with finalized judgments within the first year of the APCS. Data were collected through a systematic search of the Korean Supreme Court's Written Judgment Management System database. We identified 193 stalking-related cases between October 21, 2021, and October 14, 2022. These cases were analyzed based on four risk profile criteria: profiles of stalkers and victims, the nature of stalker-victim relationships, motivations behind stalking, and patterns of stalking behavior. Further, we reviewed cases to which the APCS and the Criminal Act applied by analyzing stalker-victim relationships and the stalkers' underlying motivations to assess the risks associated with stalking. Approximately 16.6% of stalkers were diagnosed with mental disorders, the most common disorder being psychosis. The average age of the victims was 42.84 years, with a higher prevalence of female victims compared to male ones. Predominantly, stalkers were former intimate partners of the victims, with most cases motivated by rejection. Direct contact methods, such as physical approaches, have been observed more frequently than indirect methods, such as repeated unwanted messages, or non-contact behaviors, including surveillance and loitering. The findings provide an up-to-date overview of the under-examined criminal stalking issue in South Korea.

Clinical nurses’ legal roles, challenges, and responses to enabling legislation in China: a qualitative study

BackgroundWith the surge in China’s registered nurse population, defining their rights and responsibilities is crucial for ensuring the quality of medical services. However, challenges such as unresolved medical disputes and unclear duties persist due to the inadequacy and lack of transparency in current nursing laws and policies. This study evaluated nurses’ legal awareness, legislative needs, and views on laws and policies affecting their practice, providing insights for future improvements in nursing legislation.MethodsThis study employed a descriptive qualitative approach, utilizing purposive sampling to select 16 nurses for in-depth exploration of their experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between December 2023 and March 2024. Data analysis was performed using directed content analysis.ResultsA total of 16 nurses with various positions and titles were interviewed. The analysis revealed three main themes and nine sub-themes, focusing on existing issues in the nursing environment, legal training needs, and attitudes towards legislative empowerment.ConclusionsIn China, there is a gap in legal knowledge and training among nurses. Enhancing their legal literacy is crucial for elevating their professional status and the quality of their work. Our findings underscore strong support for the enactment of the Nurse Act with a focus on practice conditions, rights protection, and career development. National authorities and experts must expedite this legislation to safeguard the rights of nurses, bolster their professional confidence.

DETERMINING THE LEGAL NATURE OF GAPS IN THE LAW: ROLE AND SIGNIFICANCE FOR EFFICIENT STUDY OF THIS PHENOMENON

The article is devoted to the issues of determining the role and significance of gaps in the law, in particular, stating the views on this issue set forth in scientific literature. To this end, the publication first analyzes the doctrinal works of national scholars. As a result, the author has established that when studying the issue of gaps in the law, most scholars answer the question of what causes this phenomenon (diversity of life situations, errors in the contents of the law when it is developed, etc.), but there is no focus and clear indication of legal nature of gaps in the law. The author considers the above to be a fact which does not contribute to the efficiency of further studies in this area, since clear determination by the researchers of the “abnormality”, “normality”, “inherent nature” of gaps in the law or their “negative” or “positive”, “stimulating” nature is a substance for determining the quality and properties of this phenomenon of legal reality. Instead, the author expresses her own scientific view that gaps in the law are an objective phenomenon of legal reality which cannot be characterized as negative, and which patterns should be studied. In addition, the article contains thesis that gaps in the law are “situational”, which is one of characteristics and signs of the described phenomenon. In view of this, the author argues that solutions to the problem of gaps in the law are of a one-time nature, and after a legal response is gained thereto, it exhausts itself as a legal problem. At the same time, the author emphasizes that there is a correlation between the role and significance of determining the legal nature of gaps in the law and the processes and circle of entities addressing the issue of gaps in the law in each particular case. Namely, when it comes to the lawmaking body, it “fills” gaps in the law, and accordingly, this happens in the course of a lawmaking process, i.e., adoption of laws, and the enforcement officer is able to promptly “eliminate” gaps in the law, while resolving a specific legal situation, but not to overcome the gap, as this will happen in the course of law enforcement. In turn, the term “filling” gaps in the law is a generalized category and correlates with two above-mentioned terms as “part” and the “whole”. Despite this, the judicial literature completely ignores this correlation of categories and concepts with each other, which has profound substantive consequences, since adequate use thereof determines quality of the study and quality of conclusions of scientific research on legal nature of gaps in the law.

Applying Evidential Pluralism to Justify Legal Responses to Online Fake News

Applying Evidential Pluralism to Justify Legal Responses to Online Fake News

Gender and ethnolinguistic lawfare

This article treats the concept of lawfare in relation to gender and ethnolinguistic identities, examining how legal systems are employed to perpetuate power imbalances and suppress marginalized communities. By focusing on various case studies and theoretical frameworks, the study explores the role of ideologies and how moral panic and moral injury manifest in legal responses to gender nonconforming individuals, women, and ethnolinguistic minorities. The article critiques how the law is weaponized as a tool of oppression, particularizing in areas such as language rights, gender equality, and access to justice. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the authors demonstrate how legal frameworks and institutional actions often reinforce societal norms that exclude vulnerable groups, rather than protecting them. As a framework to the special issue Gender and Ethnolinguistic Lawfare, this article offers a critical perspective on the relationship between law, identity, and power, contributing to a deeper understanding of how the rule of law perpetuates or challenges social hierarchies.

Gender-Affirming Medical Treatment for Minors: International Legal Responses to an Evolving Debate

Throughout the West, there has been a surge in clinical diagnoses among people aged under 18 of ‘gender dysphoria’ or ‘gender incongruence’. Those individuals have sought treatment for distress and/or impaired functioning associated with a discrepancy between their sex assigned at birth and their experienced and/or expressed gender identity. A principal medical model for treating minors who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria or gender incongruence is controversial. Described as ‘gender-affirming’ or ‘gender- affirmative’ ‘care’, it can entail puberty blockers, hormone treatment, and sometimes surgical procedures. This article examines various arguments posited in the evolving debate in medical and lay communities about this intervention, and then explores examples of the wide diversity and mutability of legal responses to it in different jurisdictions in the West. The article analyses key issues that are pertinent to developing laws regarding this area of medicine and matters that might be taken into account in doing so.

A TIPIFICAÇÃO PENAL DOS CRIMES CIBERNÉTICOS NO DIREITO BRASILEIRO

This article, a descriptive and qualitative bibliographic research, based on authors such as Delgado (2017), Prado (2019), Souza and Ramalho (2022) among others, aims to discuss the way in which the Brazilian legal system has acted in the prevention and classification of cyber crimes. The work was structured in topics which correspond to its specific objectives as follows: bringing concepts of crime and criminal offenses and the way in which they are configured in Brazilian law; elucidate what would be a cyber crime and what are the requirements for its configuration; argue about the three dimensional theory of law (fact, value and norm) to justify governmental actions that lead to the classification of cyber crime. The conclusion reached was that Brazilian Criminal Law has been adapting to new situations and social facts that give rise to a legal response in defense of society.

Modern Applications of Fiqh in Hajj: Analyzing Islamic Legal Responses to Contemporary Issues

This study analyzes the adaptation of Hajj Fiqh to technological developments and social changes in the modern context. By looking at recent developments, including the use of technologies such as mobile applications, information systems, and communication technologies, as well as updates in Hajj procedures and protocols, this study highlights the response of scholars and fatwa institutions to the demands of the times. Recent data shows that there has been an increase in the number of fatwas relevant to the use of technology, health, and the environment in the performance of Hajj. By analyzing the role of clerics, governments, and technologists in addressing the challenges of modern Hajj, this study offers suggestions for further encouraging technological innovation, increasing health and environmental awareness, fostering collaboration among stakeholders, and strengthening the role of religious authorities. It is hoped that the results of this study will help guide decision makers in improving the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of the Hajj in the future.

Online safety and social media regulation in Australia: eSafety Commissioner v X Corp

ABSTRACT This article discusses the issue of online safety and the regulation of social media, examining first, some key theoretical perspectives on social media regulation, transparency, legitimacy and corporate regulation; second, Australian legal responses to the issue of online safety, including the Online Safety Act, legislation to curb abhorrent violent material and violent extremist material, and the eSafety Commissioner v X Corp case; and third, evolving technology-based strategies to regulation: self-regulation systems and user verification. The challenges and complexities that arise in the context of social media are emblematic of the much wider challenges facing both technology regulation and society around the world.

Challenges and Legal Response to Human Rights Protection: A Case Study of Foxconn

This essay is a discussion of human rights issues based on the Foxconn suicide jump and the judicial system in China today regarding the protection of human rights of workers. This essay will analyze the reasons behind the Foxconn incident, and at the same time, it will deeply study the factors that human rights protection laws and regulations are not well enforced from different perspectives, as well as give feasible solutions. This essay uses both case study method and literature analysis method. Using the Foxconn incident as a case study, this paper enters into an in-depth analysis of the societal problems that existed within the company and offers solutions. By collating and studying the existing literature, drawing on the research ideas and findings of scholars, and analyzing the omissions and shortcomings of their research logic and methodology, this essay aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the Foxconn incident. This paper finds that even though there are existing laws in China on the protection of workers' human rights, the judicial system does not adequately regulate this area, and the enforcement of existing laws is also inadequate, which can be attributed to the attitudes of enterprises, the actions of the government, and the development trends in society.

The Intersection of Law and Public Health: Legal Responses to Pandemics

The Intersection of Law and Public Health: Legal Responses to Pandemics

Temporary Protection for Ukrainian Refugees in the Czech Republic and Poland

Abstract One of the most immediate effects of the Russian war against Ukraine was the unprecedented influx of Ukrainian refugees in some countries. This article analyzes temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees in two countries—the Czech Republic and Poland, which represent the countries most exposed to immigration from Ukraine. The authors compare the political and legal response of both countries to the institute of temporary protection to reveal similarities and differences in the scope, tools, and nature of temporary protection, including causes and consequences. Both countries go beyond the minimum standards set in the EU Temporary Protection Directive and differ in their approach to its implementation. The authors claim that although the concept of temporary protection has expanded with the current situation, it allows significant benefits in allowing fast-track integration into the labor market, which aligns with the concept of refugees’ “deservingness.” However, the duration of temporary protection is a major limitation to refugees’ integration due to the emphasis on voluntary return to the country of origin.

Legal responses to drug offences and drink-driving: The potential of court-imposed care to prevent reconvictions

Legal responses to drug offences and drink-driving: The potential of court-imposed care to prevent reconvictions

The need for cybercrime regulation on a global scale by the international law and cyber convention

This study highlights the necessity of controlling the issue of Cybercrime with International Law Principles and treaties, the legal foundation of international cybercrime legislation. The paper pursued normative behavior relying on the legislation of the European Union and countries outside of Europe. The implications of Cybercrime in cyberattack events establish a legal foundation for preventing and punishing cyber criminals wherever they occur. The perceived threats arising from cyberattack activities are grounded in known cyberattack behaviors and literature, underscoring the imminent nature of these threats. The Convention on Cybercrime, inaugurated in Budapest, Hungary, in November 2001, is recognized as a pivotal international agreement addressing Cybercrime and electronic evidence. The negotiation process included the Council of Europe, United States, Japan, Canada, and South African participants. Significantly, nations across Africa, the Americas, and the Asia/Pacific are harnessing this agreement to implement robust strategies against cybercrime. Cybercrime is a new area of international law, namely, International Criminal Law. The international community handles it because no convention has identified Cybercrime globally. It is urgent to govern Cybercrime globally, and statistics imply that the need to regulate Cybercrime under international criminal law is critical. The paper adopts a method designed to deeply understand the global legal structures related to cybercrime. The study employs a comprehensive approach, merging normative legal research to meticulously examine and interpret key legal documents such as the Budapest Convention, with a comparative legal analysis both within the European Union and globally. This analysis scrutinizes various jurisdictions, identifying best practices and discrepancies to inform a holistic understanding of cybercrime regulation. Policy analysis is conducted to critically assess existing strategies and propose innovative solutions, while technological insights are integrated to ensure legal frameworks are attuned to the rapidly evolving landscape of cyber threats. Involving a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including legal scholars and cybersecurity experts, the research offers a diverse perspective. This multifaceted approach aims to balance thorough legal scrutiny with actionable solutions, promoting robust and flexible strategies for international cybercrime regulation. The results of this comprehensive study underscore the urgent need for a global, unified legal response to combat cybercrime effectively. It concludes that the Budapest Convention marks a significant turning point, offering a foundation for international cooperation and legal harmonization in tackling cybercrimes. However, the rapid technological advancements and the evolving sophistication of cyber threats demand that this convention and other international legal instruments adapt and expand accordingly. The study highlights the importance of harmonizing legal definitions and practices across different jurisdictions, both in common law and civil law countries, cybercrime address the borderless nature of cybercrime. The necessity for enhanced collaboration between public and private sectors in cybercrime investigations is emphasized, alongside the importance of establishing ethical data collection and sharing standards.