Legal Sector Research Articles

Legal Empowerment and The Role of Digital Technologies in The Development of Legal Services in Ukraine

Purpose: This research article aims to investigate the intersection of legal empowerment and the use of innovative tools to enhance the development of legal services in Ukraine, with a particular emphasis on the role of digital technologies in reshaping the legal landscape. Methods: The study employs a comprehensive approach, utilizing a combination of literature review, case studies, and empirical research to examine the current state of legal services in Ukraine and assess the impact of digital technologies on access to justice, legal service delivery, and legal innovation. Results and discussion: The findings highlight the potential benefits and challenges associated with the adoption and integration of digital tools in various facets of the legal profession in Ukraine, such as case management, legal research, client communication, and document automation. The discussion delves into the implications of these results for the future of legal services in the country. Implications of the research: The research offers insights that can guide policymakers, legal practitioners, and stakeholders in leveraging digital innovation to enhance the accessibility, efficiency, and effectiveness of legal services in Ukraine. It also underscores the importance of embracing technological advancements to address the evolving needs of legal service users. Originality/value: This article contributes to the existing literature by providing a nuanced exploration of the transformative potential of digital technologies in advancing legal services within the Ukrainian context. The research offers valuable perspectives on harnessing innovation to drive positive changes in the legal sector, ultimately benefiting both service providers and recipients.

Balancing Justice in Pixels: Legal and Constitutional Implications of Virtual Court Sessions in Ghana

The legal sector is experiencing a transformative shift towards the adoption of virtual court sessions to enhance efficiency, accessibility, and transparency within judicial systems. However, this paradigm shift is not without its challenges. This research examined the implementation of virtual court sessions in Ghana, focusing on the legal and constitutional implications of the Practice Direction issued by the Chief Justice. While digitalization of court proceedings holds promise, concerns regarding privacy, technological disparities, and the preservation of due process rights loom large. The research drew on a recent case of Law to affirm that administrative/practice directives fall outside the purview of Laws of Ghana. The study employed the Innovation Diffusion Theory as the lens for analyzing and proposing a solution framework to sustain virtual court systems in Ghana. The findings of the study included the implementation strategy incompatibility of virtual court hearing with the existing legal framework for observing due process and the fundamental rights of citizens. The solutions require a balanced approach that acknowledges the strengths of both the traditional court system and technology. To sustain virtual court hearing, strategies for addressing implementation and legitimacy concerns, enhancing the compatibility of virtual court technology security with existing legal framework and practices, and ensuring long-term adherence to constitutional requirements should be paramount. Substantive law and regulation including relevant constitutional amendments may be necessary to ensure smooth implementation. Keywords: e-Justice system, Implementation, Virtual Court Sessions, Practice Direction, Due Process, Proceedings, Ghana.

Artificial intelligence in crime counteraction: From legal regulation to implementation

The research relevance is determined by artificial intelligence (AI) as one of the ways to guarantee public safety and increase the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies. The study aims to investigate whether AI can be used in the legal system, with a particular focus on forensics and crime fighting. To achieve the research goal, the following methods were used: comparative legal, formal legal, historical legal, systemic and structural, and theoretical and prognostic. The article examines the use of AI in the legal sector from different perspectives and identifies “high- risk” AI systems. These systems should be used with caution and following specific criteria to ensure their safe and ethical use. In the context of criminal justice, it also examines how conventional digital technologies are connected to sophisticated AI capabilities, with a particular focus on the use of AI in the investigation of war crimes committed by Russia against Ukraine. While it is recognised that these materials must comply with applicable legal norms, AI is being used with great attention to collect and analyse data relevant to war crimes investigations. The results of the study show that although the use of AI in law enforcement operations can significantly increase the effectiveness of investigations, strict rules are still necessary to protect human rights and freedoms. It highlights how important AI is for war crimes investigations, especially considering Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While it is recognised that these materials must comply with applicable legal norms, AI is being used with great attention to collect and analyse data relevant to war crimes investigations. The results of the study show that although the use of AI in law enforcement operations can significantly increase the effectiveness of investigations, strict rules are still necessary to protect human rights and freedoms. It emphasises how important AI is for war crimes investigations, especially considering Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine

A Neural Network model for Indian Supreme Court legal judgment prediction

Industry experts are motivated to collect, collate, and analyse historical data in the legal sector in attempt to predict court case outcomes as the amount of historical data available in this field has increased over time. But using judicial data to predict and defend court judgements is no simple undertaking. Using Machine Learning (ML) models and traditional approaches for categorical feature encoding, previous research on predicting court outcomes using limited experimental datasets produced a number of unexpected predictions. The paper proposes an ensemble model combining Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), attention mechanism and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) algorithm. This model is primarily based on a self-attention network, which could simultaneously capture linguistic relationships over lengthy sequences like RNN (Recurrent Neural Network) and is nevertheless speedy to train like CNN. C-XGB can obtain accuracy that surpasses the state-of-art model on numerous classification/prediction tasks simultaneously as being twice as speedy to train. The proposed C-XGB model is designed to process the documents hierarchically and calculates the attention weights. Two convolutional layers are used to calculate the attention weights, one at the word level and another at the sentence level. And finally, at the last layer, the XGB algorithm predicts the input case file’s outcome. The experimental results shows that the proposed model outperforms the existing model with 4.67% improvement in accuracy value.

PENGARUH KEMAJUAN TEKNOLOGI TERHADAP HUKUM DAN PERUBAHAN SOSIAL

PENGARUH KEMAJUAN TEKNOLOGI TERHADAP HUKUM DAN PERUBAHAN SOSIAL

Towards human-centred standards for legal help AI.

As more groups consider how AI may be used in the legal sector, this paper envisions how companies and policymakers can prioritize the perspective of community members as they design AI and policies around it. It presents findings of structured interviews and design sessions with community members, in which they were asked about whether, how, and why they would use AI tools powered by large language models to respond to legal problems like receiving an eviction notice. The respondents reviewed options for simple versus complex interfaces for AI tools, and expressed how they would want to engage with an AI tool to resolve a legal problem. These empirical findings provide directions that can counterbalance legal domain experts' proposals about the public interest around AI, as expressed by attorneys, court officials, advocates and regulators. By hearing directly from community members about how they want to use AI for civil justice tasks, what risks concern them, and the value they would find in different kinds of AI tools, this research can ensure that people's points of view are understood and prioritized, rather than only domain experts' assertions about people's needs and preferences around legal help AI. This article is part of the theme issue 'A complexity science approach to law and governance'.

Technological Innovations in India’s Legal Sector for Access to Justice During and Post Pandemic

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the legal landscape in India, particularly in the context of technological innovations during pandemic. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in various sectors, including the legal sector. The Indian government and the judiciary have introduced several measures to promote digitalisation and technology, including the introduction of online courts and the development of digital infrastructure for the legal system. The measures to promote the use of digital technologies and improve access to justice were the key developments. The introduction of e-courts and virtual hearings using video conferencing technology in the Supreme Court and several High Courts in India were the landmark steps towards justice delivery system during pandemic. Even subordinate courts have also introduced e-filing in which the litigants were required to file their documents electronically, and the court clerk reviews the documents and verifies them. Once the documents were verified, they were uploaded to the court’s electronic case management system. With the use of technology, the virtual hearing conducted using video conferencing and the litigants participated from their homes or offices. During the hearing, the judge, lawyers and litigants saw and heard each other through their respective screens. After the hearing for record-keeping, the courts prepare a transcript of the proceedings and save it in the electronic case management system. The litigants could access the transcript and other documents related to the case through the online portal. Further, the government has introduced several measures to improve the digital infrastructure and platforms for the legal sector. National Judicial Data Grid, a database of orders, judgements and case details of 18,735 District & Subordinate Courts and High Courts created as an online platform under the e-Courts Project. The government has also launched several legal information portals that provide access to legal resources and information, such as case law, legal databases and law journals. The adoption of digital technologies is likely to continue to play an important role in improving access to justice in India in the post-pandemic era that has several advantages in saving time and costs associated with physical travel to the court. It also reduces the backlog of cases and improves access to justice for litigants who live in remote areas. Additionally, virtual hearings provide greater flexibility to litigants and lawyers, who can participate in court proceedings from anywhere in the world. The pandemic has highlighted the potential of online dispute resolution (ODR) to provide an efficient and cost-effective alternative to traditional dispute resolution mechanisms. The Indian government has introduced a draft policy on ODR to promote the use of technology in dispute resolution. So in this background, how these courts worked during pandemic time, what changes made and are made in the legal sector will all be explored with the role of technology in access to justice and dispute resolution during and after pandemic.

Antonín Švehla a pozapomenuté diskuze, osnovy a návrhy realizovaných i nerealizovaných zákonodárných projektů jeho doby

The article deals with selected forgotten discussions on legal and sub-legal projects in period 1918–1929 when Antonín Švehla held important state executive positions. It draws attention to the importance of Antonín Švehla for the legislation and interpretation of law, and also tries to highlight specific significant projects from that period that are important for the trends in the development of legal sectors, especially in the sectors of labour law and social security in Czechoslovakia. The article provides some new insights into the history of law in the Czech lands in the first half of the 20th century, e.g., the considerations on the creation of the Labour Code as early as in the 1920s, the public law aspects of labour law and their abandonment, efforts to unify social security legislation, etc. It refers to the important institutions that were to influence the shape of commercial and trade law, as well as labour relations, at the beginning of the Czechoslovak Republic. The efforts to abolish the death penalty are also mentioned in the article. The article does not limit itself to normativity, but also considers interest, socio-economic and other extra-legal influences on the shape of the legal order.

Regulatory impact assessment for law reform: A comparison of the parliament role

Regulatory impact assessment (RIA) is a pivotal tool for shaping and enhancing the quality and effectiveness of laws (Davidson et al., 2021). This research focuses on comparing RIA mechanisms in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries and Thailand. It involves analyzing RIA criteria, methodologies, impact assessment report preparation, and quality assurance for legislation. Employing qualitative research methods, the study employs document analysis, in-depth interviews with key informants from legislative, administrative, and legal sectors, individuals impacted by laws, and experts in various fields. Content analysis was employed. The study emphasizes the crucial roles of the government and Parliament in RIA development. Delegating RIA responsibilities to independent organizations aims to reduce legislation volume and improve its quality, contributing to a “good parliament” and an “effective government” following democratic principles and the Thai Constitution of 2017. The research underscores Parliament’s crucial role in standardizing law impact assessment. This promises better legislation quality, transparency, and accountability, aligning with global standards and encouraging public participation for improved governance and societal well-being.

СТРАТЕГИИ ПРЕОДОЛЕНИЯ СТРЕССОВЫХ СИТУАЦИЙ ЮРИСТАМИ ЗРЕЛОГО ВОЗРАСТА

The article deals with a comparative analysis of professional stress coping strategies used by mature-aged lawyers of a legal sector and those working in private organizations providing services. Situations generating stress in respondents have been organized and prioritized. It is demonstrated that matureaged lawyers of the legal sector mainly use such non-constructive strategies as “avoidance behavior”, “aggression” and “antisocial behavior” to cope with stress. It has been proved that the contradiction between moral and ethic issues and professional achievements in the legal sector is a key factor for fixation of nonconstructive strategies to cope with professional stress in respondents. The ways to deal with the current negative situation are proposed in the article.

AI Adoption in Colombian Legal Practice: Challenges and Opportunities.

The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies has the potential to revolutionize legal practice and judicial systems globally. In Colombia, the adoption of AI in the legal sector is still in its early stages, presenting both opportunities and challenges. This article investigates the emergence of AI in legal contexts, its diverse applications, and the specific hurdles Colombia must overcome to successfully integrate AI into its judicial system. By examining case studies from other jurisdictions and analyzing Colombia's ongoing legislative efforts, we underscore the potential benefits of AI, such as optimizing case management and enhancing the decision-making process, which could significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Colombian legal system. However, significant obstacles remain, including underdeveloped technological infrastructure, the digital divide, the risk of algorithmic bias, and concerns regarding data privacy. Despite these challenges, Colombia's proactive approach to addressing them through comprehensive legislation and targeted training initiatives for legal professionals demonstrates the country's commitment to the responsible and ethical implementation of AI. These efforts lay the groundwork for the successful integration of AI within the Colombian legal framework, fostering public trust and confidence in the system.

Ethics Governance of AI for the Legal Sector:

Ethics Governance of AI for the Legal Sector:

THE ROLE OF LAW IN TRANSFORMING INDUSTRY 4.0: HOW DATA ANALYSTS ARE SHAPING THE LEGAL FUTURE

The advent of Industry 4.0 is bringing profound transformations to the legal sector, and the role of law is reinventing itself in response to these changes. Data analysts play a key role in this transformation, shaping the future of the legal field. Industry 4.0, characterized by the interconnection of machines and systems, generates a massive amount of data. Law, in turn, needs to deal with complex and vast information to meet legal demands. Here, data analysts come into play, applying data analysis, artificial intelligence, and machine learning techniques to optimize legal research, predict trends, and identify critical insights. This not only saves time but also increases the accuracy of legal analyses. Furthermore, regulatory compliance in the Industry 4.0 era is challenging. Data analysts help constantly monitor evolving regulations and ensure companies are compliant. They also play a crucial role in dispute resolution by offering forensic data analysis for court cases. In short, law in the era of Industry 4.0 is becoming highly dependent on data analytics and technology. Data analysts play a vital role, enabling lawyers to provide more effective, accurate and efficient legal services while shaping the future of the legal profession.

OMNIBUS LAW IN INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHT LAW PERSPECTIVE (FOCUS ON LABOR RIGHT IN INDONESIA)

There is a Bill titled All Lawis one of the government's progressive steps in the legal sector. This is allegedly due to President Joko Widodo's anger at Indonesia's sluggish progress in the investment sector. Based on reports Ease Of Doing Business 2019, Indonesia is ranked 73rd out of 190 countries. Formation All Law especially in the economic sector, it is hoped that it will be able to improve the investment climate in Indonesia, Rosan Roeslani said that one of the objectives of the law to all This is to improve Indonesia's ranking in Ease od doing Business. In legal research, there are two research approaches, namely a normative approach and a sociological juridical approach. Meanwhile, what is used to examine the data are theories commonly known in doctrinal legal theory such as legal rules, legal principles, legal definitions and so on. In this case, law to all What is meant in the Indonesian legal system is a form of law that regulates various objects in one legal instrument. so that there is a spread of discourse regarding the omnibus law which is equated with the Umbrella Law, namely a law that is the parent of other laws that are still in the same sector. However, if law to all narrated as an Umbrella Law, the law to all is not regulated in Law Number 12 of 2011 concerning the Formation of Legislative Regulations, therefore law to all in the Indonesian context, it is narrated as a law. The protection of human rights (HAM) was originally known in the social contract theory put forward by Rousseau. Based on social contract theory, the rights owned by everyone are handed over to the state based on free will. The state's duty is to provide protection to every citizen if there is a violation of the rights of citizens to achieve order and justice. Keywords : Human Right, International, Labor

Effectiveness of the Administration of Justice in Nigeria Under the Development of Digital Technologies

Objective: the traditional Nigerian judicial system has long been associated with a conservative approach and traditional methodologies of justice administration. As a developing country, Nigeria has benefited immensely from the advancement of digital technology, especially in the legal field. This is due to the fact that modern digital technologies are being rapidly adopted in Nigeria's judicial processes for effective justice administration. However, despite the promise of digital technology, there are legal and socioeconomic challenges in Nigeria that may affect its successful utilization in legal proceedings. This justifies the focus of the study - to identify the legal and socio-economic challenges of digitalization of court proceedings in Nigeria.Methods: the study combines doctrinal and non-doctrinal approaches. The former ensures theoretical understanding of the conceptual issues and prospects of court proceedings virtualization. It also allows exploring, based on primary and secondary sources (laws, monographs, research articles and internet resources), the legal and socio-economic challenges of the use of digital technologies in court proceedings. The non-doctrinal approach consists in polling, describing and analyzing the results of a sociological survey. The survey was conducted among Nigeria residents to reveal their attitudes towards innovations in digitalization and virtualization of court proceedings as well as the challenges posed by these processes.Results: the study revealed that the use of digital technologies in court proceedings in Nigeria has several prospects of ensuring effective justice administration and accurate recording and storage of information. Along with the benefits, challenges are shown that may reduce the effectiveness of court proceedings digitalization.Scientific novelty: consists in investigating the use of digital technology in Nigerian court proceedings and identifying the prospects of improving the efficiency of justice administration in Nigeria under digitalization, as well as the challenges arising from this trend.Practical significance: the study will enable stakeholders in the Nigerian legal sector to identify legal and socio-economic challenges that may adversely affect and render ineffective the use of digital technologies in legal proceedings. In addition, the article offers practical recommendations to address these challenges.

Developing the Legal Regulation of Online Dispute Resolution

Online dispute resolution has the potential to challenge long-established stereotypes across various facets of society, including culture, politics, the economy, social perspectives, and existence. It’s evident that as our mutual understanding becomes increasingly intertwined with communication, the rapid and efficient resolution of issues in this realm is only a matter of time. In the 21st century, the Internet has revolutionized various aspects of life, serving as a ubiquitous source of information, a vital means of communication, and a global platform for commerce. It has acted as a catalyst for integrating modern technological solutions into established operations. Consequently, the legal domain is poised to exert a substantial influence on public life, especially in mediation and arbitration. In the future, the definition of “Written form” should be expanded to include “letters, e-mails, and telegrams,” and legal regulations should be simplified accordingly. The international implementation of this practice, including telegraphic forms, offers numerous advantages, facilitating the transmission of requests, petitions, and complaints over long distances while preserving their content. The need for electronic dispute resolution is underscored by the global expansion of digital buyers, which was expected to reach 2.05 billion in 2020. E-commerce companies have been instrumental in promoting the healthy growth of online commerce, including the establishment of efficient and prompt dispute resolution mechanisms to safeguard the rights of stakeholders and enforce obligations. This trend of choice is gaining prominence. The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic has expedited the transition to online dispute resolution in the legal sector. Whether implemented at the international or domestic level, there are universal principles that must be adhered to in digital mediation.

Staffing in the legal sector: current issues

The article offers a study of current problems in jurisprudence, namely, the problems of higher legal education (methods and quality of education), the problem of employment of the younger generation, and the problem of uncontrolled corruption, which is the basis for all of the above. The study identifies alternative solutions to the problematic issues and ways to improve the current state of jurisprudence so that it could be in line with European standards. The author also highlights the weaknesses of this field that require attention from society and immediate action by the authorities.
 The article points out that under modern conditions, the place of public service staffing in the legal field is becoming fundamentally important and is studied through the prism of recent changes in Ukrainian legislation. It is shown that the organization of public service in modern conditions involves a significant number of interrelated forms and procedures of staffing. The relevant forms include: determination of the strategy of organizational work and staffing; training and preparation work; recruitment and selection of personnel; appointment and filling of positions, placement of personnel; and ensuring the service. It is established that the forms of personnel support outline the boundaries of the relevant personnel procedures. The author identifies and characterizes the specifics of personnel procedures implemented within the framework of these forms of personnel support (for example, within the framework of strategic organizational work and staffing, procedures for calculating the number of public service personnel, positive incentives for this service, etc.) It is theorized that the correct combination of available forms and procedures of staffing contributes to a real increase in the efficiency of the jurisprudence as a whole based on the qualitative use of employees' potential without increasing the time and resources required for staff maintenance.
 The article explains the needs of the modern labor market, and emphasizes that a university degree is not an indicator of the future employee's intelligence and qualifications, as statistics show that 80% of the unemployed are people with higher education.
 In this context, staffing is a preventive tool and a means of preventing corruption, an additional means for compliance with ethical behavior standards and an extra measure for strengthening the institution of responsibility, as well as the basis for the rational use of human resources in public.

From later to sooner: exploring compliance with the global regime of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing in the legal profession

PurposeThe legal profession is vulnerable to abuse for the purposes of money laundering and terrorist financing. According to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), that vulnerability justified updated global recommendations that urge countries to require lawyers, notaries and other independent legal professionals – including sole practitioners, partners and employed professionals within law firms – to identify, assess and manage the money laundering and terrorist financing risks associated with their services and to ensure that they have appropriate mechanisms in place to provide risk assessment information to competent authorities. Those recommendations proved contentious, with concerns raised by both legal academics and legal professional bodies about the implications of certain aspects of the requirements for the principle of lawyer–client confidentiality. Despite those concerns, many countries have introduced or amended regulatory regimes to extend their application to the legal sector to comply with the FATF’s standards. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate surrounding the extension of AML/CTF obligations to the legal profession.Design/methodology/approachThis paper considers three jurisdictions – the UK, Israel and Australia – at different stages in their journey towards compliance with the FATF’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) standards for the legal profession. While the UK has a long-established and well-embedded AML regulatory framework for legal professionals, Australia remains non-compliant with the FATF standards. Israel occupies a position between these two ends of the spectrum: following criticism of the omission of lawyers from its AML/CTF regime, Israel implemented due diligence rules for the profession. In 2018, Israel was found to be partially compliant with the relevant FATF recommendations.FindingsIt argues that although there are challenges involved, there are also important benefits. Therefore, Australia should act to implement its proposed changes sooner rather than later. Its persistent failure to appropriately address globally recognised areas of vulnerability leaves Australia open to integrity abuse. In addition, if the government delays addressing this issue until pressure from the FATF (such as deadlines for compliance and, if necessary, a finding of non-compliance) forces it to comply, this may tarnish Australia’s reputation, threaten its access to international financial markets and adversely affect the legitimacy and effectiveness of its AML/CTF regime.Originality/valueOriginality in this context refers to the distinctiveness and uniqueness of a paper’s content and approach. In this case, the originality lies in the fact that there is no other existing paper that addresses the topic of three common-law jurisdictions at various stages of their progression towards aligning with the FATF AML/CTF standards, specifically within the context of the legal profession. Furthermore, the timeliness of this paper is underscored by the fact that multiple jurisdictions are currently deliberating their positions on the focus of this paper. This adds to its originality and relevance, as it addresses a gap in the literature while also contributing to the ongoing discourse surrounding compliance with FATF’s standards.

Impact of social Media usage on technostress and cyber incivility

Social media has become omnipresent in our personal and work lives; it is addictive and distracting. Its distractive nature can have adverse effects on an individual's behavior. To provide more insight into how technology influences various aspects of our social lives, this article draws on Social Exchange and Cognitive Theories as well as the Transactional Theory of Stress to investigate the potential impact of social media usage on technostress and cyber incivility, and the mediating role of technostress. The study adopted Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) on survey data obtained from (n = 324) lawyers. Results revealed that social media usage is a strong predictor for both technostress and cyber incivility of others (observed by the lawyers). Technostress also emerges as a key predictor for cyber incivility, and technostress mediates the link between social media usage and cyber incivility. The take home message for managers in the legal sector is the necessity of promoting awareness of excessive and uncontrolled usage of social media, as greater level of awareness will help to desensitize lawyers’ susceptibility to technostress and perception of cyber incivility of others. Implications for theory and practice alongside limitations are discussed.

PUBLIC INTEREST IN THE ENFORCEABILITY OF LABOUR LAW WITH AN ACCENT ON THE REMUNERATION OF DEPENDENT WORK

The presented article focuses on the protection of employees’ income, one of the many public interests the state pursues. Legislation creates several levels of employee income protection, from which the public interest of the state in this area of regulation can be induced. The article describes the substantive and procedural instruments of employee protection and compares specific forms of regulation in different legal systems. Based on these findings, appropriate de lege ferenda changes to regulation are presented, proposed, and argued. Finally, the article draws attention to the close connection between the world of work, labour regulation, financial (tax) law and economics, and hopes to instigate discussions between experts across the different legal sectors.