Legislative Amendments Research Articles

How do patient and care experience data inform policy and practice? Insights from the Irish National Care Experience Programme

Abstract Issue Patient experiences are central to the delivery of quality, person-centred care and an important predictor of outcomes. Prior to 2017, there was no unified, national approach to the collection of care experience data in Ireland. Description of the problem The National Care Experience Programme is a partnership between a regulator, policy makers and the Irish public health service, with a suite of surveys of inpatient, maternity, nursing home and end of life care. The surveys aim to learn from people's feedback on health and social care services to identify areas of good experience and areas requiring improvement. Results Findings have informed national policies, including a healthcare communication programme to support staff to develop communication skills with patients and families. Survey data provide a key input to the Irish health quality indicator framework and the Health Systems Performance Assessment Framework, which assess the overall performance of the Irish health system. National Maternity Experience Survey results informed the allocation of funding for post-natal supports and new lactation consultant posts, and supported the implementation of a specialist perinatal mental health services model of care, leading to increased diagnosis and vigilance of mental health issues ante- and postnatally. National Nursing Home Experience Survey findings supported legislative amendments, including provision for the delivery of in-person advocacy awareness campaigns and the strengthening of complaints processes within nursing homes. Lessons In order to maximise the use of survey findings and ensure the voices of people using health and social care services are acted on, routine surveying of care experiences is required to track the impact of policy and practice initiatives. The programme is currently expanding to include people's experiences of cancer care and mental health services, in addition to exploring options for continuous, local care experience surveys.

STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS OF EFFICIENT TAX ADMINISTRATION DEVELOPMENT IN RA

In the Republic of Armenia, although the problems of improving the tax system, increasing competitiveness, improving the business environment of the national economy, and ensuring the necessary tax revenues for the state budget have always been solved with separate legislative amendments, nevertheless, the current trends in the development of the world economy, new challenges, regional developments and ongoing within the framework of economic unions integration processes have created an objective need to re-regulate tax relations. In the modern market economy, the tax policy of the state is oriented towards high-quality and competent tax administration, which significantly depends on the efficiency of the tax system. The article focused on the need for methodological reinterpretation of the theoretical problems of tax administration and tax administration was considered as a part of the management of the relations established between taxpayers and the tax authority.
 

Criminal liability for establishing or spreading criminal influence in the context of armed aggression against Ukraine

The aim of this study was to analyze the criminal legal system to establish criminal influence during the armed aggression against Ukraine. Since the beginning of Russia's armed aggression in Ukraine, the number of war crimes committed by the Russian military has increased. Investigating criminal influence during the war is a completely new area of work for law enforcement. General methods of scientific investigation and special methods of legal investigation were used. The author examines the types of criminal influence in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine according to the Rome Statute and the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Common criminal offenses in 2021 and 2022 are identified. The low effectiveness of the judiciary in holding perpetrators of criminal influence criminally accountable is determined. It is concluded that the amendment of criminal legislation by shortening the terms of investigation and abbreviated procedure of prosecution of minor criminal offenses will ensure their prompt investigation and prosecution, which, in turn, will relieve the investigative bodies and the judiciary from the burden of dealing with serious and particularly serious criminal offenses.

Judicial and legislative approaches to employee patent rights in France

This article examines the evolving landscape of employee patent rights in France, focusing on both judicial and legislative approaches. It highlights the challenges posed by intellectual property creation within legal frameworks that lack clear provisions for ownership. The article explores the changing nature of employee patent rights in France through the lens of case law and legislative amendments. It emphasizes the importance of judicial practice in addressing legislative gaps and providing clarity on various aspects of employee patent rights, including ownership, remuneration, formal procedures, and dispute resolution. Drawing comparisons with the German system, the article underscores the role of case law as a critical source of law in shaping the legal framework for employee patent rights. It concludes by highlighting the significance of ensuring inventors’ rights and fair compensation to foster innovation.

Collective Bargaining in Fissured Work Contexts: An Analysis of Core Challenges and Novel Experiments

Facilitating access to effective and meaningful collective bargaining is at the heart of the most recent set of reforms to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (‘ FW Act’) enacted in the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) 2022 (Act). In the shadow of these reforms, this article explores who can engage in collective bargaining in Australia and under what conditions. While there are a range of issues impeding the effectiveness of the collective bargaining system under the FW Act, this article focuses on the question of bargaining access under both labour and competition laws and reveals some of the formidable challenges facing employed and non-employed workers alike. It examines how the rise in dependent contractors and the disaggregation of firms—through labour hire, subcontracting, franchising and/or digital platforms—has destabilised the binary conception of employment. The decline in formal employment and the growth of the ‘fissured workplace’ have not only perpetuated the problem of ‘wage theft’, they have altered the way in which wages are set in the first place. Moreover, these factors have exposed the tensions that lie between the regulation of mainstream labour markets through worker-orientated labour legislation and the regulation of product markets and business relationships under consumer-orientated competition legislation. The discussion explores the limitations created by the siloing of regulatory approaches to enabling collective bargaining for workers covered by different statutory regimes. We identify that in both labour and competition laws, meaningful access to collective bargaining in fissured work contexts has been frequently stifled by misplaced assumptions about the nature of the regulatory target and the power distribution in business networks. The article contends that a regulatory response to fissuring (or the problem of ‘the networked firm’) would straddle the labour/competition law divide in various ways, to ensure fissured workers are no longer excluded from exercising collective power by both legal domains.

EU Case Law Guidelines on Registering Three-Dimensional (Shape) EUTM in the Light of the Trademark Reform

The case-law developed by the European Court of Justice aims to ensure consistency and legal certainty in the registration of EU three-dimensional trademarks. It interacts closely with the legislative amendments introduced by the trademark reform, which aim to make the registration procedure for EU trademarks more flexible and transparent, thanks to the European Court of Justice's work in interpreting and developing the law. The problem of the definition and registration procedure of three-dimensional marks is an important issue in EU trademark case law, as this category of marks is the most popular of the non-traditional marks for which the trademark reform provides a legal framework, but also overlaps with other forms of intellectual property protection.

О ходе реформы законодательства об утилизации отходов потребления: наметился ли прогресс

The reform in the field of consumer waste disposal, carried out since 2014, designed to involve waste in secondary circulation, in July 2023 was marked by the adoption of a number of legislative amendments. This study presents a retrospective analysis of the results of a ten-year reform which introduced into Russian law the obligation of manufacturers and importers to dispose of waste from the use of goods and packaging. The latest innovations in the regulation of this sphere are assessed.

On the Expediency of Introducing Criminal Responsibility for Inciting Suicide or Assisting Suicide: a Critical Analysis and Suggestions for Improving the Law

In this article, the author examines the issues of historical, social and legal conditionality of introducing criminal liability for inciting suicide or assisting suicide in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, analyzes the objective signs of the main offenses, including from the point of view of using legal techniques. A comparative study of methods of inciting suicide (Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and inducing or facilitating suicide (110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is being carried out. The problems of correct qualification and differentiation of the specified components of crimes are revealed, as a result of which the problems of law enforcement activities are critically assessed. When writing a scientific work, the author used dialectical, logical, statistical, hermeneutic, formal legal, historical and legal research methods. The degree of study of the problems raised in the article is represented by scientific research of such figures of law as Ustinova T.D., Artyushina O.A., Filippova S.V., Eliseeva N.M. and others. Based on the results of the study, the author comes to conclusions about the spontaneous nature of the adoption of legislative amendments to the criminal law, the insufficient elaboration of the provisions in terms of the rules of legal technique. It is concluded that the differentiation of competing elements of criminal acts occurs according to the signs of the objective side, namely, based on the method of committing illegal acts. The novelty of the study is expressed in the author's proposals for reforming and improving the criminal law regulation of the crimes in question. Based on the results of the analysis, the author of this study proposes to reform the existing version of Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, providing for changes that will make it possible to more effectively apply these provisions of the law in practice.

Legislative amendments in the field of land use for the needs of subsoil use

Legislative amendments in the field of land use for the needs of subsoil use

The Impact of Administrative Control Authorities on Sustainable Development in Jordanian Legislation: What are the Challenges Facing Administrative Control Authorities in Achieving Sustainable Development?

Objective: The objectives of the research are to analyze the administrative control authorities and the powers possessed by the administrative and monitoring bodies in Jordan. This is in order to understand how these powers are used to ensure sustainable development, to analyze and evaluate the impact achieved by the administrative control authorities on sustainable development in Jordan, and the Jordanian legislation related to the administrative control authorities and how it affects sustainable development. This will be done by pointing out the strengths and drawbacks of the current legislation and suggesting possible improvements.
 
 Method: The methodology of this research is to review the literature and previous studies related to the impact of administrative control authorities on sustainable development in Jordan. It is also to analyze laws and legislations related to administrative control authorities in Jordan, evaluate their effectiveness, and conduct interviews with experts and officials who are related to administrative control and sustainable development in Jordan.
 
 Results: From the results of the research, it can be inferred that there is a positive impact of the administrative control authorities on sustainable development in Jordanian legislation, as they contribute to achieving social, environmental and economic justice. In order to enhance the impact of the administrative control authorities on sustainable development, it is necessary to improve the coordination of efforts between the concerned authorities, raise awareness about the importance of sustainable development, identify the negative aspects of the current Jordanian legislation and recommend amendments to improve the administrative control authorities.

The potential impact of the Fair Work Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 on collective bargaining in Australia: Reviewing the new multi-employer bargaining provisions and other measures to promote bargaining

2022 was a year of major change in the legal framework for industrial relations in Australia. Newly elected in May 2022, the Albanese ALP Government immediately commenced an ambitious reform agenda for labour relations, convening a National Jobs and Skills Summit in September 2022, and shortly thereafter achieving the passage of the Fair Work Legislation Amendment ( Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (SJBP Act). One central aim of the SJBP Act was to address shortcomings in the legal framework for collective bargaining found in the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act), and to this end, the amendments introduced new provisions for multi-employer bargaining, made changes to the agreement approval provisions and changed the bargaining landscape around intractable disputes. This article examines key aspects of the SJBP Act impacting collective bargaining in Australia. In particular, we consider the new provisions for multi-employer bargaining in the ‘Single Interest Employer Bargaining’ stream along with amendments of the FW Act relating to the commencement of bargaining for single-enterprise agreements, agreement-making using small voting cohorts, the resolution of intractable bargaining disputes, applications to terminate enterprise agreements, and the sunsetting of the so-called ‘zombie’ agreements. This analysis of the new legal provisions is situated in the context of recent union campaigns and bargaining disputes at various Australian employers, enabling us to explain the rationale for the amendments and assess their practical utility and limitations.

Professional liability subsequent to the Cartabia Reform: implications for pathologists.

The Cartabia Reform modifies the standard used by the Public Prosecutor for the submission of requests for filing or referral for trial. The standard has shifted to the "reasonable prediction of conviction" by moving the principle of in dubio pro reo to the investigation phase. The scope of the legislative amendment is focused on protecting the rights of investigated individuals, who are too often brought to trial without adequate supporting evidence. The implications that this reform has on legal proceedings concerning the criminal liability of healthcare professionals, including pathologists, is discussed.

Workplace Violence Against Nurses in Canada: A Legal Analysis.

Workplace violence against nurses is a significant global occupational health problem, with incidents of violence increasing in frequency since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In this article, we provide a review of recent legislative amendments meant to bolster workplace safety in health care in Canada, analyze legal cases where nurses were the victims of violence, and discuss what these legal reforms and decisions reveal about how nurses' work is treated within the Canadian legal system. Under criminal law, the limited number of cases we could find with oral or written sentencing decisions show that, historically, the fact a victim was a nurse was not always considered an aggravating factor on sentencing. Recent legislative amendments make this a specified aggravating factor and it is important to track the impact of these amendments when judges exercise their discretion in sentencing. Under employment law, it appears that, despite the government's efforts to increase the deterrence factor under legislation with significantly increased fines for employers who fail to protect their employees from injury, courts remain reluctant to impose such sanctions. In these cases, it is also important to track the impact of harsher penalties. We conclude that combating the widespread normalization of workplace violence in health care, and specifically against nurses, is acutely needed to help ensure that these ongoing legal reforms aimed at improving the safety of health workers are effective.

Mandatory Mediation in Family Disputes – An Emerging Trend in the European Union?

The Mediation Directive (2008) obliged the Member States of the European Union to promote the use of mediation through their own means. A decade later, the results of several studies revealed that national efforts to foster mediation were not as effective as planned in most cases. Despite some scholars’ concerns about restricting mediation voluntariness as means for increasing its application, Italy introduced a mandatory mediation scheme which proved that forcing parties to mediate results in high numbers of mediation procedures with favorable success rates. This led other Member States to reconsider the role of the State in fostering mediation. This article tackles the prevalence of mandatory mediation in family disputes, as an area widely recognized as most suitable for it. The co-authors raised the research question of whether the introduction of mandatory mediation in family disputes is an emerging trend in the European Union. A short overview of the mandatory mediation concept and the existing doctrinal models was presented as a theoretical background of this research. Based on the review of the scientific literature, four prevailing models were identified and briefly described. Secondly, the map of mandatory mediation within the European Union was updated with the latest data collected from the most recent legislative amendments and testimonies of the corresponding national mediation experts. Thirdly, a brief examination of the current mandatory mediation models in the Member States was conducted. The in-depth analysis of the obtained results shows that introducing mandatory mediation in family disputes is a prevailing trend in fostering mediation in the European Union. Consequently, it was identified that the variety of implemented models went far beyond the existing doctrinal classification, which needs to be reconsidered by future research in this field.

공동주택 의무보험의 법적 쟁점에 관한 연구

Most Korean citizens reside in multi-unit dwellings. In such densely populated and confined spaces, there is a significant risk of accidents, including fires. Accordingly, compulsory insurance coverage is taken out for such incidents, for example, personal injury liability insurance for fires, disasters, elevator accidents, and children's playground accidents. This paper investigates several issues regarding compulsory insurance for multi-unit dwellings and offers measures for improvement. Regulations on liability for damages by owners of special buildings in relation to fire-related disaster compensation and insurance enrollment are examined, with a specific focus on the provisions in the Act on the Indemnification for Fire-caused Loss and the Purchase of Insurance Policies that restrict the handling of bodily injury liability special coverage for fire incidents to insurance companies. Additionally, the justification behind the penalty provisions for non-enrollment in bodily injury liability special coverage for fire incidents is assessed.
 Institutions related to deductibles, like insurance companies, are involved in the administration of various compulsory insurances; however, notably, there are no limitations imposed on these institutions by other laws governing compulsory insurance. Consequently, it is unjust to confine the administration of personal injury liability insurance for fires solely to insurance companies when considering the principles of equity. Furthermore, the punitive measures for non-compliance with insurance requirements seem excessively severe.
 It is necessary to expand the scope of insurance companies specified in the Law on Personal Injury Liability Insurance for Fires to include institutions related to deductibles. Furthermore, it is deemed necessary to align the penalties for non-compliance with compulsory insurance with the sanctions imposed on other forms of compulsory insurance. Therefore, a proposal for legislative amendment is presented to address these concerns.
 This paper also examines the issue of tenants bearing the burden of insurance premiums while being excluded from the benefits of insurance. In the case of fire insurance, amendments to standard terms and conditions have been made to protect tenants. However, these amendments are yet to be incorporated into disaster insurance, leaving tenants without legal or precedential protection should disaster insurance be the only policy obtained. Therefore, a proposal for the amendment of the terms and conditions of disaster insurance is offered that includes provisions for tenant protection.
 In conclusion, this paper identified potential concerns associated with the concurrent reimbursement of liability insurance for multi-unit dwellings and internal medical expense coverage riders that are part of comprehensive medical insurance. These concerns include the potential for an increase in intentional accidents and the facilitation of excessive medical treatment. Given these concerns, this study recommends that the terms and conditions of comprehensive medical insurance be revised and proposes that medical expenses received to cover actual expenses should be compensated proportionally in accordance with insurance contracts.

Legal Ambiguity and Its Impact on Community Criminalization in Mining Obstruction Cases: An Inclusive Legal Perspective

This normative legal research scrutinizes the implications of criminal provisions concerning parties who hinder mining, and critically investigates an inclusive legal perspective on the penalization of such parties. The research, underpinned by a conceptual and statutory approach, identifies that the ambiguous penal provisions can potentially result in criminalizing local communities engaging in activities perceived as obstacles to mining operations. It highlights a critical contradiction between these punitive measures and the principle of affirmative action within prophetic law. The study also exposes a legal obscurity pertaining to the lack of parameters to define acts that hinder or obstruct mining operations, which contributes to the risk of community criminalization around mining sites. The research culminates in suggesting legal and political strategies to address this issue: a judicial review at the Constitutional Court, and hearings and aspirations at the People's Representative Council (DPR) to revise mining criminal law regulations. This study reveals that such interventions are crucial to ensure lex certa, a component of the principle of legality, which can provide legal certainty to affected communities, thus reducing unwarranted community criminalization.Highlights:
 
 Legal ambiguity may criminalize local communities.
 Current punitive measures contradict affirmative action.
 Judicial review and legislative amendments are necessary for legal certainty.
 
 Keywords: Legal Ambiguity, Mining Obstruction, Community Criminalization, Inclusive Legal Perspective, Affirmative Action.

Exercise and Protection of the Right to a Fair Price for the Compulsory Sale of Shares in Case of a Dominant Controlling Stake Purchase in the Conditions of Corporate Legislation Amendment.

The paper deals with peculiarities of exercise and protection of the minority shareholders right to a fair price for the compulsory sale of shares by them in case of purchase of a dominant controlling stake by another shareholder (shareholders) in the conditions of corporate legislation amendment.
 In the process of exercising the right to compulsory redemption of shares by the owner of a dominant controlling stake (more than 95 percent of common shares), issues arose related to the violation of the right of the remaining minority shareholders to receive a fair price for the compulsory sale of shares. The problem in exercising the right of shareholders to have their shares purchased at a fair price by the owner of a dominant controlling stake is caused by the wrong wording of Art. 95 of the Law of Ukraine "On Stock Companies" regarding the need to involve a subject of professional appraisal activity, which violates the general rule established by the law on the highest price. Thus, considering paragraph 2, part 3 of Art. 95 of the Law of Ukraine "On Stock Companies", the market value of compulsory redemption shares must always be determined by the subject of professional appraisal activity, regardless of whether the shares circulate on organized capital markets or not.
 In order to overcome the obstacles to exercise of the right to a fair price for the compulsory sale of shares established by the shareholder law, it is necessary to exclude from it the provision on the mandatory involvement of an appraisal activity subject in case of an independent appraisal of the value of the partnership's shares at the request of minority shareholders who own 5 percent or more shares (in the case provided for by Article 95 of the law, more than 1 percent of the partnership's shares).
 The method of protecting the right to a fair share price in case of purchase of a dominant controlling stake, developed in judicial practice, was enshrined in Art. 95 of the newly adopted Law of Ukraine "On Stock Companies". Thus, according to part 21 of this article, shareholders who believe that the mandatory sale price does not meet the requirements established by parts five to seven of this article have the right to apply to court with a demand for recovery from the claimant for compensation of the proper value of the shares, purchased from them in accordance with such claim.

Condominiums facing delinquency: stringent remedies from a comparative perspective

Purpose With the aim of monitoring the existing regulations that are applicable to community of owners facing delinquency, in view of the importance of this issue for the achievement of the Urban Agenda, the present study aims to analyse the most stringent and controversial measures available for the community of owners facing delinquency from a comparative perspective. Design/methodology/approach The present work addresses the recent legislative amendments that have taken place at national level in this field in several countries and analyses to what extent they have addressed the delinquency problem faced by community of owners. Findings The current paper shows that, in the end, legal certainty, the prospective legal and economic effects on mortgage lending and constitutional concerns are the underlying reasons behind the reluctance to implement some stringent measures to face delinquency. It also shows that recent amendments concerning alternative dispute resolution mechanisms are a missed opportunity. Social implications Community of owners plays a key role in cities for the achievement of the Urban Agenda, so the periodical contributions from co-owners are paramount to the proper implementation of urban regeneration, energy efficiency and accessibility policies. To this end, the paper analyses existing regulations that are applicable to community of owners facing delinquency, which may increase in the coming years due to the current socioeconomic context. Originality/value This paper builds on existing research and goes one step further by addressing the recent legislative amendments that have taken place recently at national level in this field. These measures may serve as an inspiration to other EU legal systems.

State Sovereignty in the Trenches: Legal Aspects of Vigilantism in Slovenia

This article addresses the legal aspects of vigilantism in Slovenia. It aims to present to an international audience how Slovenia and its legal system reacted to the sudden appearance of anti-migrant vigilante groups, which caused a considerable shock in a country unaccustomed to such phenomena. To this end, we first define and typologize vigilantism in general terms and identify its recent manifestations in Slovenia. Next, the article outlines the divergent state responses to vigilantism from a theoretical perspective, focusing on strategies premised on the legal prohibition—e.g., legal exclusion—and prosecution of—the activities of—vigilante groups on the one hand, and the tolerance toward them and authorities’ cooperation with them, while performing official tasks, on the other. The author demonstrates how Slovenia resorted to the former. The author analyses the legislative amendments, which—according to the proponents and parliamentary majority that approved the amendments—were necessary to ensure an effective response of the state and its legal system to the threat posed to national security and sovereignty by the Styrian Guard and other anti-migrant vigilante groups. Finally, the author provides a brief analysis of the criminal conviction of the Styrian Guard leader, the key figure of vigilantism in Slovenia.

Legal regulation of forward contracts in construction investment

A brief overview of the legal regulation of forward contracts in construction investment is presented. The relevance of their application in modern conditions, taking into account international standards and the EU acquis, to stimulate the attraction of investments in the national economy, create a competitive environment and sustainable growth in the conditions of financial globalization and the development of communication technologies is substantiated.
 It was found that in order to implement Article 127 of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU regarding the improvement of the financial sector regulation model, new editions of the Laws of Ukraine "On Capital Markets and Organized Commodity Markets" and "On Commodity Exchanges" were adopted, according to which international standards are gradually being implemented functioning of the infrastructure of capital markets, however, the analysis of regulatory and legal regulation and the practice of its application shows a number of problems that negatively affect the development processes of derivative financial instruments in the economy of Ukraine.
 The problems of taxation of forward contracts of joint investment institutes were considered, the analysis of judicial practice was carried out in the context of the research topic. It was concluded that the forward contract, if all the essential conditions and requisites inherent to it are present, is recognized by the courts as a derivative, which is a separate type of product. Fundamental to the determination of the possibility of applying a tax benefit when using forward contracts is the question of the acquisition of such assets at the expense of joint investment and whether they constitute assets of the institution of joint investment. The success of the legislative amendment on detailing the assets of the joint investment institute in relation to real estate objects, including in the form of an indivisible object and (or) divisible object of unfinished construction, future real estate object, is theoretically substantiated.
 It was concluded that the development of financial instruments in Ukraine based on leading international practices is the key to successful improvement of the instrumental configuration of capital markets and organized commodity markets for the integration of the national economy into the world economy. The prospects for the development of legal regulation of forward contracts in construction investment on the Ukrainian market are outlined.