Rule Of Law Research Articles

Attracting Foreign Venture Capital Investment: The Institutions that Matter Most for Emerging Economies

This study explores the critical institutions and challenges influencing the attraction of international venture capital (VC) investment in emerging economies. By examining governance indicators such as "Voice and Accountability" and "The Rule of Law," the research highlights the importance of strong democratic institutions and robust legal frameworks in creating an attractive investment environment. It also identifies the complexities of regulatory frameworks, political stability, and corruption control in this context. The findings suggest that while effective governance fosters VC investment, over-reliance on government assistance can be counterproductive. The study emphasizes the need for collaboration among governments, regulatory bodies, and local organizations to create an investor-friendly climate, unlocking the potential for innovation and economic growth in emerging markets. Further research is recommended to understand the nuanced interactions between these factors and VC investments across diverse settings.

The Right of Trade Unions to Information in the Era of the Fourth and Fifth Industrial Revolutions

Abstract The dynamic technological transformations that are taking place in the third decade of the twenty-first century, described as the Fourth and even Fifth Industrial Revolutions, pose significant challenges for community partners who act in labour relationships. Transparency and the related right to information are some of the factors that define a democratic state under the rule of law. This also applies to labour relationships as widely understood. The regulations of collective employment law grant various rights in this respect to entities that represent staff, who may, among other things, demand information on the use of artificial intelligence by the employer in the work environment. In the Polish labour law system, the widest scope of competences in this regard is granted to trade unions. This article focuses on the legal and functional aspects that are related to the transfer of this type of data.

THE INTEGRAL ROLE OF THE ALBANIAN PARLIAMENT IN EU INTEGRATION THROUGH NATIONAL LAW APPROXIMATION (JANUARY 2018 – DECEMBER 2023)

Background: Albania negotiations for the country's EU membership formally began on 19 July 2022. The process will consist, among others, of approximating national legislation with the EU acquis, which is divided into six thematic clusters. Albania must achieve the country's legislation full compliance with the EU acquis and its successful implementation. Negotiations and subsequent membership in the European Union (EU) will support the democratisation and strengthening of the rule of law in Albania. This research examines the role of the Albanian Parliament in the EU integration process through the approximation of national laws. This desk research serves as a cornerstone for further research and academic studies regarding the Albanian Parliament's involvement in EU integration efforts through the process of national law approximation. Therefore, to better approximate national legislation with that of the EU, it is recommended that Parliament increases the trend of approving laws aimed at approximation. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the legislative activity of the Albanian Parliament (Parliament hereinafter) between 2018 and 2023 in terms of approximation of national laws with the EU acquis. The study used a desk review to analyse the annual number of laws adopted and approximated to EU law. Reliable sources from the Official Journals of the Republic of Albania (Albania hereinafter) were used to collect data on laws adopted and approximated during the study period providing an understanding of the total number of laws adopted and approximated for each year, the relevant EU act, and the clusters of the negotiation chapters. Results and Conclusions: Analysing the role of Parliament in EU integration through the approximation of national legislation from 2018 to 2023 highlights the multidimensional nature of the integration process and the important contribution made so far by the legislative power. During the period covered by the study, Parliament has made important efforts to approximate national legislation with EU legislation, which is proven by the study results. Based on the study data, a quantifiable difference was found between the total number of laws approved and those approximated by Parliament from 2018 to 2023. The study's conclusions and recommendations provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities in approximating Albanian legislation with the EU acquis and advancing the country's European integration agenda.

Rule of Law and the Criteria for Appointment of Judges: A Case for Judicial Virtues

AbstractThis article seeks to develop a case for a virtue-oriented (or aretaic) approach to the criteria for appointing judges. It will argue for the usefulness of judicial virtue by showing its theoretical relevance for describing and explaining the criteria for selecting judicial candidates and claiming its advantage over the currently used syncretic sets of criteria used in European jurisdictions. The analysis will explore the connection between the criteria of judicial selection and the Rule of Law. If the Rule of Law is to be understood at its core as a process of tempering the arbitrariness of power, it requires certain personality traits of character on the part of the judiciary. This article argues that virtue is a context-relevant concept well-entrenched in legal culture that amounts to a personality aspect of the Rule of Law. In support of this point, the article discusses the two possible methods of establishing judicial virtues – using a targeted approach to virtue and an Aristotelian-inspired method of uncovering a catalogue of judicial virtues from the insights into the legal culture. The article concludes with policy-oriented advice on incorporating a virtue-centred approach to judicial selection processes.

PROPERTY RIGHTS GUARANTEES AS PREREQUISITES FOR ECONOMIC COMPETITION: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Economic competition by definition implies a choice between competing alternatives. But can economic agents always protect their rights to make this choice? In order to protect property rights, they should have a guarantor who imposes sanctions on the violator. However, the guarantor must be able to use violence, since the imposition of sanctions is often not voluntary. This paper shows that the uneven distribution of violence in society, which is not monopolized by one decision-making center and/or applied outside the rule of law, hinders economic competition. In such a situation, i.e. in a limited access social order, part of property rights remains unprotected, which prevents the entrepreneur from performing his/her function. The reason for this effect is the desire of the elite to maintain the status quo in distribution of rents: they try to avoid changes caused by the market process that may lead to a violation of existing political balance. In this study, the stated theses are confirmed on microdata of the BEEPS industrial enterprises survey by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development - we test the hypotheses using stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and discrete choice models. Empirical analysis allows us to argue that in the limited access order, the obstacle to participation in economic competition is a weak property rights protection - it forces firms to compete for limited resources not by satisfying the needs of consumers, but by following the interests of the property rights guarantor. The results of the study can be useful in developing competition policy measures and explaining the phenomenon of «regulatory bias» in antitrust policy of developing countries.

Plus Ça Change: The Fate of the Commission’s Open Investigations

Ten years on from the Commission’s opening investigation into the tax rulings provided to Apple by Ireland, the relationship between State aid law and tax rulings has finally reached a level of equilibrium following the decisions of the ECJ in Amazon, Engie and FIAT. Looking at next steps, the Commission will be considering how these decisions impact its open investigations into rulings granted to Huhtamäki, IKEA and Nike. This article suggests that the Commission, if it wishes to continue its cases against Luxembourg and the Netherlands, should shift its approach away from looking at whether or not there has been a deviation from the arm’s length principle to whether there has been administrative impropriety, baseline abuse or selectivity (using the traditional approach).

Covid-19, State Effectiveness, and Core Values of Political Morality

Abstract There are three main failures that occurred during Covid-19 which relate to critical aspects of what Jeremy Waldron has referred to as the constellation of political values or ideals constituting the core of our political morality. These include questions of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. To analyze how these values were affected by Covid-19, this article begins with an overview of what occurred during the Covid-19 crisis. First, I focus on the deliberation and decision-making processes applied during the crisis. Second, I review key aspects of state effectiveness that the experience exposed. Third, I consider the ways government responses affected human rights protections. I then examine these themes through leading theoretical accounts about the critical components of political morality including rule of law, democracy, and human rights. Drawing on those theoretical perspectives, I seek to identify the broad causal story about the developmental process through which rule of law, democracy, and human rights emerge. A critical component of that story is the role of state effectiveness. In the final section, I confront these theoretical and empirical views with key takeaways from governments’ responses to Covid-19 from the standpoint of Waldron’s constellation of values of democracy, human rights, and rule of law. In conclusion I consider the implications of this understanding for the theory and practice of law and development.

The Rule of Law in Red and Blue: Affective Polarization and Support for Legal Institutions in the United States

A defining feature of democracies is an independent legal system, where elites and the public alike accept the broader legitimacy of its actions, even if they run counter to political preferences. Existing scholarship suggests that public support for rule of law institutions is rooted in perceptions of procedural fairness. However, amid increasing levels of affective polarization, we posit a partisan presidential heuristic wherein citizens’ views of legal institutions are influenced by their partisanship and signals from the president. Through multiple experiments, we demonstrate that support for two key institutions—the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice—is substantially derived from the intersection of one’s partisan identity and their partisan proximity to the president. These effects are strongest among respondents exhibiting high levels of affective partisanship. Our results suggest that in forming perceptions of the rule of law, partisan politics is increasingly competing with perceptions of procedural fairness, thereby subverting support for legal institutions in the United States.

Annulment of The Arbitration Decision Accordin to The Legislation and Practice

Objective: The study of the work has a comprehensive approach, based on current legislation and practice. Based on the fact that the arbitration procedure is an alternative procedure for the resolution of disputes, it is quite demanded, and that there are deficiencies in the literature as well as in the knowledge of the subjects of the law. Thus, when it came to the decisions made in the arbitration procedure, we say that they have the same legal force as the decisions made by the regular courts of the state, and also the annulment of the decision requires special clarification, since there are cases that the decision made in the arbitration proceedings are required to be set aside as the reason that the agreement to arbitrate is void. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to clarify in short points that it is possible to annul an arbitration decision in the event that the arbitration agreement was invalid. Method: The work is formulated on the basis of appropriate scientific methods. The methods that are included in the paper are scientific methods, historical methods, comparative methods, deduction methods, induction methods, and other methods without which the paper could not be formulated! Result: The decision made in the arbitration procedure must be made in accordance with the law on arbitration as well as with the principles defined in the law on arbitration, whether domestic or international. If it is found that the arbitration decision is illegal, or not based on evidence, then the same can be annulled. This annulment can be done by the regular state courts, but always in case the party that has a legal interest addresses the court and requests the annulment of the arbitration decision because it is contrary to the law on arbitration or contrary to the agreement on arbitration. or other reasons which the parties may present in the action for annulment of the arbitration award. We will talk more about the annulment of the arbitration decision in the content of this paper. Conclusion: As a conclusion of the paper, in the general sense of this paper, I have mentioned that the parties during the terms of the agreement must be careful not to conflict with any reason that leads to the invalidity of the arbitration agreement, since this invalidity will have consequences in in the event that an arbitration award has been given by this agreement, as from the regular courts this award will be annulled because the arbitration agreement has been invalid since the beginning of the criminal offense of this agreement or may become invalid and with the passage of time. So, during any action taken by the parties who claim to resolve their dispute through arbitration, they should be careful that everything is in order with the arbitration agreement, as the invalidity of the agreement may lead to the annulment of the award. of arbitration and this would be to the detriment of the party.

Judicial Review of the Application of Ultra Vires Doctrine in Malaysia and Indonesia: A Legal Comparison

The Ultra Vires Doctrine serves as a fundamental principle in corporate law, delineating the boundaries of governmental authority and ensuring adherence to legal framework. This comparative study explores the application of the Ultra Vires Doctrine in the judicial systems of Malaysia and Indonesia. Through an analysis of relevant case law, statutory provisions, and scholarly literature, the study highlights similarities and differences in the interpretation and implementation of the doctrine across these jurisdictions. While both countries recognize the importance of restraining government action within legal limits, variations emerge in the extent to which courts intervene and the factors considered in determining ultra vires acts. By shedding light on these legal frameworks, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of corporate law principles in Malaysia and Indonesia and provides insights for legal practitioners, policymakers, and scholars seeking to navigate and strengthen the rule of law.

CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF POLITICAL THUGGERY ON THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF OFU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

Thuggery is a destructive force that erodes the fabric of society and breeds fear and distrust. It fosters a disregard for the rule of law and the principles of justice even as it erodes the values of empathy, compassion and respect for others, leading to a breakdown of social order. Societies afflicted by thuggery suffer from increased crime rates, reduced quality of life and a general sense of unrest and anarchy. Thuggery, especially its political variant, is a form of social violence which poses immense challenge to the security of lives and property of Nigerians and undermines the socio-economic and political development of the nation. This study interrogated the causes and effects of political thuggery on the socio-economic and political development of Ofu Local Government Area, Kogi State, Nigeria. Data for the study were collected from 384 respondents who were selected using the purposive and systematic random sampling techniques. Questionnaire, In-depth Interview (IDI) and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) were used to elicit data from respondents while the resultant quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 22.0. The Frustration Aggression Theory was adopted to provide theoretical pathway for the study. Findings from the study attributed political thuggery in Ofu Local Government Area Kogi State Nigeria, to a plethora of factors, among which are: unemployment, frustration, and bad governance. The study recommends the initiation of aggressive skill acquisition and job creation programmes by the Kogi State Government to effectively engage the army of unemployed youth in the study area to divert them from political thuggery while law enforcement should be strengthened to prosecute state and non-state actors found to be the sponsors of thugs whom they deploy to snatch ballot papers and engage in mayhem before, during and after elections in the study area, to serve as deterrent to others.

Education and economic growth in Sub-Saharan African Countries: Does governance quality Matter?

This paper examines the dynamic relationship between education, governance and economic growth in 28 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries from 2002 to 2018 using the generalized method of moments (GMM) approach. The study first examines the effect of education on economic growth and, thereafter, examines the modulating effect of governance quality on the nexus between education and economic growth. Two proxies of education, namely primary and secondary education, and five proxies of governance quality, namely a) corruption control, b) government effectiveness, c) regulations, d) rule of law, and e) voice and accountability, have been used to examine this linkage. Overall, the study found that the impact of education on economic growth is largely insignificant in all the specifications, with the exception of secondary education, which has an unconditional positive effect on economic growth in one of the five specifications of governance quality (i.e., regulatory quality). The study also found that, although governance quality spurs economic growth in seven of the ten specifications, it interacts with education to foster growth in only one specification (i.e., regulatory quality in the case of secondary education). When primary education specifications are considered, governance does not interact with education to spur economic growth in any of the specifications. These findings, though contrary to some of the previous studies, are not surprising given the primary and secondary education landscape in some SSA countries. According to UNESCO, SSA has the highest rates of education exclusion in the world.

Revocation of Article 370; Restoration of Peace & Sharp Decline of Terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir

The focus of this research work is on the transformative impacts of the abrogation of article 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution and how for the peace has been restored by introducing political reforms and how far the sharp decline in militancy related incidents has witnessed after August 5, 2019. The political truth actualized by the Modi led central government, by abrogating the ingredients like article 370 and 35A and the way government architected the state into two union territories-Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh for bringing stability based on four components-modernity, rule of law, accountability and peace. With changing political scenario, new social and political thoughts are emerging under the umbrella of liberal democracy and the people’s positive political participation is showing huge improvement.

The People’s Captain: Understanding Police Officers as an Electoral Brand

In Brazil, police officers have increasingly competed in elections, mirroring expanded roles in government for coercive agents in cases such as the United States, the Philippines, and Mexico. In this paper, I develop a theory of how voters perceive these candidates. The symbol of the police officer represents the abstract idea of order and stability, more than just a crime fighter. Corruption scandals and insecurity in Brazil and Latin America have given rise to “order” in response to the chaos of politics as usual as a compelling electoral brand. I therefore expect that voters associate police officer candidates with strong, decisive leadership, social conservatism, a strong commitment to the rule of law, honesty in government, and a weak commitment to democracy. An image-based conjoint experiment fielded to a representative sample of Brazilian voters ( N = 3,098) finds support for the theoretical framework, but respondents did not perceive the police officer candidate as less democratic than other professional profiles. The results help to inform our understanding of electoral politics in post-transition democratic regimes, demonstrating how armed agents of the state might remain popular and influential within the context of a consolidated democracy.

Building on the EU’s unique strategy for Artificial Intelligence (AI): can an ethical foundation be successfully integrated into its design and deployment?

In this article, the Author investigates the ethical principles espoused by the European Union’s (EU) policies on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and discuss their effectiveness in providing an ethical foundation for the entire process of developing and deploying AI in Europe. To this end, the scope of the term “ethics” in the regulatory process is analysed, and the extent to which ambiguity about its meaning can contribute to inadequate policies, is considered. The Author also addresses the criticisms and suggestions that have been made regarding the use of certain concepts, such as ‘trustworthiness’ and ‘human-centric’, which are so often used in European AI guidelines. The aim of the article is to explore the ways in which ethical values have been applied and identify potential areas of improvement to further safeguard and advance the rule of law, human rights, and democracy in the EU. This quest proves to be relevant amidst the various challenges that arise from emerging technologies like AI, which are of an unknown magnitude to our contemporary democracies, constituting a complete paradigm shift. In exploring the issues set out here, the Author navigates some of the new developments that the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) introduces, as well as the pressing criticisms levelled at it in the context of the overarching theme of this article.

Tunneling motivation or legitimacy motivation? The impact of digital transformation on controlling shareholders' share pledging

With the profound integration of technology and finance, the governance impact of digital transformation has emerged as a prominent discussion in the realm of corporate governance. This study seeks to investigate whether corporate digital transformation, supported by digital governance models, influences controlling shareholders’ share pledging. Leveraging data from A-share listed companies spanning 2010 to 2021, we explore the effects of corporate digital transformation on controlling shareholders' share pledging from the perspectives of tunneling and legitimacy motivations. The findings reveal that corporate digital transformation acts as a deterrent to controlling shareholders' share pledging. Particularly, in cases where companies lack vertical integration in top management, encounter significant financing constraints, or operate in regions with lower levels of rule of law, the suppressive impact of digital transformation on controlling shareholders' share pledging is more pronounced. At a micro level, corporate digital transformation diminishes the tunneling motivation of controlling shareholders and curbs their equity pledge actions through mechanisms such as executive failure tolerance and external supervision. Furthermore, driven by legitimacy motives, it restrains controlling shareholders’ share pledging by enhancing short-term financing capabilities through the avenue of digital transformation. This study contributes to a deeper comprehension of how corporate digitalization bolsters corporate governance, offering novel governance insights to advance the high-quality evolution of the capital market.

Procurement Disputes Arbitration: Main Problems at the Present Stage

The relevance of the paper is predetermined by the study of the key problems of arbitration in the context of the specifics of public procurement at the present stage, namely, the problem of determining the appropriate criteria for the conclusion and validity of arbitration agreements. The purpose of the study is to critically evaluate the so-called non-arbitrability formula, established in contemporary court practice; to disclose the algorithm for the emergence of contractual relations as a result of competitive procurement procedures; to substantiate the legal force of arbitration clauses incorporated into contracts before arbitration rules are deposited by the arbitration institution. The author sees the objectives of the study in substantiating the fundamentally permissible arbitrability of contractual disputes in all segments of procurement relations (not only by direct order under the federal law, but also for the future, including contractual disputes in the field of state defense orders due to the variety of available transactions); in identifying factors contributing to the proper assessment of an arbitration agreement for its validity. Methodologically, the paper is based on a set of general scientific (analysis, modeling, analogy, hypothesis), private scientific (formal logical, systemic, functional) methods, and uses the formal legal method. The results of the study allowed the author to draw conclusions about sufficiency of existing legislative regulation for assessing the conclusion and validity of arbitration agreements included in draft contracts at the stage of competitive procurement procedure; about the lack of grounds for evaluating these agreements for their compliance with the principles of procurement; aboutthe legal force of dormant arbitration clauses necessary for business turnover in the short term. The author suggests directions for improving law enforcement practice aimed at curbing abuses in terms of challenging arbitration agreements on the grounds of their non-conclusion and (or) invalidity.

Problematic aspects of the implementation of legal guarantees of human and citizen rights in Ukraine

The article describes the basic rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen, which are inalienable rights and freedoms enjoyed by a person from birth. They form the basis of the legal status enshrined in the state constitution and enjoy the highest legal protection. The most important and complex relations between people and the relations between the state and the person in legal form are regulated by formulating the rights, freedoms and obligations underlying the legal status of a person, which is one of the most important not only legal, but also juridical. also political categories. The most important features of the rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen are: naturalness, continuity, equality, social justification, respect for international standards, state guarantee. The problem of guaranteeing the rights and freedoms of a person by giving them a real character is not only of a practical nature. In the modern context of the development of the rule of law and civil society, it is important to develop a holistic scientific concept of human rights and freedoms, which covers a wide range of theoretical provisions regarding the essence and content of rights and freedoms, their structure and mechanism. Local self-government bodies play an important role in ensuring constitutional rights and freedoms. A real environment for the existence of human rights is possible in the conditions of a democratic state governed by the rule of law. Democracy, rule of law and human rights are inseparable. The rule of law is a guarantee of the reality of human rights in terms of protection from violations by the authorities, and human rights are the main condition and characteristic of democracy, the humanistic and human dimension of the rule of law. The article concludes that the basis of democracy in the state is the guarantee of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen by the Constitution of the state, not only formally, but also in practice. Therefore, taking into account the individual shortcomings of state bodies in regulating the system of human and citizen rights, the number of human rights organizations is growing day by day, both at the national and international levels. At the same time, the article concludes that it is impossible to build a legal state in a society with developed legal nihilism. And respect for the rights of society can be caused only by concern for the same rights of people and citizens.

Theoretical and practical aspects of the influence of judicial law-making on judicial reform

The article summarizes, expands and substantiates scientific knowledge about the theoretical and practical aspects of the influence of judicial law-making on judicial reform. The legal nature of judicial law-making is characterized, taking into account modern contextual and conceptual approaches to understanding the law-making potential of the court. Judicial law-making is an important, integral and special type of law-making. The legal nature of judicial law-making is deep and multifaceted, in particular, it is a way of achieving the goal of justice and ensuring the rule of law; an important guarantee of the protection of human rights; a necessary element of implementing the rule of law in the mechanism of ensuring human rights and freedoms; a means of overcoming legislative gaps and exceptional legal problems in the course of law enforcement; a tool for supplementing the law; «insurance» agent of the legislator, etc. In the democratic countries of the world, judicial law-making has proven itself as an effective tool entrusted to the courts within the limits of their judicial activity, and they use this tool with an appropriate level of responsibility. The peculiarities and directions of influence of international and national judicial law-making on reforming the judicial system and legal reform are analyzed. The theoretical and practical value of the influence of judicial law-making on judicial and legal reforms lies in the fact that it is a conceptual basis for the qualitative transformation of the domestic judiciary, judiciary, justice and the legal system, in particular the field of judicial law. The state and trends of the introduction of judicial law-making into the national legal system of Ukraine based on the results of the last judicial reform are revealed. With each stage of judicial reform in Ukraine, the need for official recognition of judicial law-making becomes more relevant. The judicial reform of 2016 did not positively resolve this issue. Currently, the need to introduce judicial law-making is mostly recognized at the doctrinal level, but is rejected by the legislator.

The newest human rights: binary approaches to their definition

While for medical professionals, a scientific breakthrough in medicine the like of the ability for transplantation, cloning, and the active implementation of reproductive technologies for addressing infertility is a reason for celebration, then, for legal professionals, it primarily serves as a basis for fruitful work. The issue of newest human rights belongs to the realm of global theoretical and legal issues that can no longer be ignored. Specific constitutional decisions regarding the fourth-generation human rights should be preceded by their scientific contemplation within the framework of legal theory. We believe that such scientific research should be comprehensive, and specific legal conclusions, due to the specific nature of the rights under research, may be supplemented by arguments of philosophical, medical, or religious nature. On the one hand, progress in science and technology positively impacts the realization of already enshrined human rights, opening up new opportunities for their enforcement, protection, and the creation of new areas for international cooperation in this field, opens up new human needs and opportunities, and on the other hand, quite unexpectedly, it can also have a negative impact, creating new threats to the realization of the interests of individuals, society, or the state. Ensuring and protecting the fourth-generation human rights are essential tasks for all national governments, human rights organizations, and the international community as a whole. We emphasize the need to improve the legal framework for ensuring all the newest human rights. The level of recognition and enforcement of such rights indicates the essence of the state and can serve as one of the criteria for recognizing it as a rule of law and democracy. We stress that the research of the fourth-generation human rights is important for several reasons, as they are inextricably linked to other human rights, such as the right to life, health, personal integrity, the right to safe living conditions, etc. Understanding the specifics of newest rights will help ensure the physical, emotional and informational security of a person, and secure their freedom of action based on respect for the personalities of others. The article distinguishes somatic rights, defining them as those that provide a person with additional opportunities in the field of health care. We emphasize that somatic rights should be viewed as an independent group of human rights that meets the interests and needs of modern person. We characterize them as personal subjective human rights, which realize the freedom of action of a person in relation to his or her body.