Legislative Branches Research Articles

Changing Something So That Nothing Changes. The Decorative Reform of Mandatory Primary Elections in Peru

Objective/context: In 2019, promoted by President Martín Vizcarra, the Congress of the Republic of Peru sanctioned a law on mandatory primary elections for voters and political parties. However, the regulation was not implemented, given that it was suspended by the Legislative Branch for the general elections in 2021 and the regional elections in 2022. Methodology: This paper studies the reform process of mandatory, simultaneous, and open primaries (PASO, for its acronym in Spanish) in Peru and its counter-reform based on its suspension on two occasions (2021 and 2022). Twenty-three key actors were interviewed for this research, including congresspersons, ministers, electoral officials, and researchers, in addition to the revision of secondary sources and newspapers of legislative sessions. Conclusions: The paper concludes that PASO were a “decorative” reform, i.e., a law passed without the intention of implementing it. Its sanction was the product of a reformist coalition between civil society and the President of the nation, where the objectives of increasing popular support for President Vizcarra and the need to improve the legitimacy of the political system converged. The reform was resisted by congresspersons who formed two counter-reformist coalitions that suspended the PASO on two occasions. Originality: The research shows that these counter-reform coalitions are intrinsically linked to the atomization and personalization of the Peruvian party system, characterized by hyper-personalism and a lack of party structures. In addition, it generates theoretical contributions to studying the processes of reforms and counter-reforms in the context of institutional weakness.

Women and Peace Theory and Civil Conflict Intensity

Do improved women’s descriptive representation in legislative branches and women’s participation in civil society decrease the intensity of civil conflicts? Is the impact of women’s presence in legislative branches on the conflict intensity magnified by women’s participation in civil society, and vice versa? In this study, we aim to expand the constructivist argument that equal gender roles in politics and civil society can bring about less intensive internal armed conflicts. Relying on time-series cross-national data on 151 countries from 1960 to 2016, we demonstrate that the increases in women’s descriptive representation in parliaments and women’s participation in civil society tend to decrease the predicted civil conflict intensity. In addition, we demonstrate that the deterrent effect of women’s descriptive representation is magnified by women’s participation in civil society and vice versa. These findings remain consistent in alternative model specifications with additional women-related control variables.

TYPES OF LEGAL SECURITY IN THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

This article is devoted to legal security and its various types in the Republic of Uzbekistan. It examines the vital interests of legal subjects that are the subject of legal security, and provides a detailed analysis of different types of legal security, including constitutional-legal security, criminal-legal security, legal security in criminal proceedings, penitentiary security, civil-legal security, administrative-legal security, and environmental-legal security. Scientific conclusions and recommendations are formulated for further improvement of legal security across various branches of legislation in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

대한민국 행정의 기능부전과 국가의 책임

Even after the COVID-19 crisis of the past few years, a schematic process has been repeated in the follow-up to disasters in Korea, from the Itaewon tragedy in 2022 to various incidents and accidents in 2023. This process has been called the so-called ‘politics of disaster’, which emphasizes the political and social conflicts surrounding disasters rather than the results of analyzing the causes of disasters and preparing responses. An accompanying feature of the politics of disaster is that the issue of responsibility(Verantwortung) emerges almost immediately, without the proper legal investigation of the cause being finalized. Here, liability is not strictly legal, especially in the sense used in public law. On the other hand, in the post-disaster process in Korean society, the term responsibility is used less as an academic concept and more in a political context, as a kind of consequential responsibility that requires the resignation of public officials as a moral obligation to repair the accident. The problem is that this political responsibility ultimately becomes irrelevant to the original purpose of the debate, which is to identify the causes of the disaster and develop countermeasures. If a disaster has caused and escalated damage, it should be analyzed in terms of the structural failure of the public administration to fulfill its duty to protect the safety of the public. In other words, the dysfunction of the public administration is the primary cause of the disaster. In this study, we first analyze the dysfunction of public administration and its causes, examine the legal theory of liability, and explore legislative and policy alternatives using the 25th World Scout Jamboree In Saemangeum as the subject of this paper. First, I reviewed the organizational theory of Niklas Luhmann, who developed various theories on the problems of administrative organizations as a tool for problem analysis. With reference to Luhmann's work, I examined the German theories of Steering Theory(Steuerungstheorie) and Legal Pluralism as legal alternatives. As legal issues, I examined the replacement of agency heads, administrative unity, the problem of corruption in the process of cooperation with the private sector, and the problem of the structure of the administrative committee. The existing legal practice for administrative dysfunction and failure to respond to disasters is to pursue strict liability through criminal trials and state compensation. However, such an approach is difficult to expect practical effects due to differences in in the law of responsibility in each area, and side effects are also concerned. The public law theory of liability, which is based on the law of state compensation claims, can be presented as an alternative. In a recent case on 9th emergency measures (Supreme Court Case 2018Da212610), the Supreme Court no longer considers the individual participation of public officials, but rather evaluates a series of state actions as a whole in a way that recognizes the organizational culpability of the state as a whole. As a result, the theory of State Compensation Act should be reconstructed from the subjective negligence and responsibility of individual public officials as far as possible to a theory of public law liability, which consists of the self-responsibility of the state itself. Finally, this article emphasized the importance of the role distribution between the executive and the legislative branch, and the deliberative legislative process as a legislative strategy to enhance public law liability for the phenomenon of administrative dysfunction. The state's responsibility for administrative dysfunction in preparation for disasters is clear. However, reducing it to individual responsibility requires caution.

헌법재판소 결정에 대한 정량적 분석에 관한 시론적 연구

This paper aims to analyze the argumentative structure of proportionality in the Constitutional Court's decisions regarding laws restricting the venue of assemblies from the perspective of the quantity. Specifically, this paper focuses on the minimal impairment and balancing by establishing seven indicators. The seven indicators are broadly composed of three indicators related to the minimal harm of infringement, three indicators related to the balance of legal interests, and one indicator related to the intensity of scrutiny. The Constitutional Court changed their position from constitutional to unconstitutional upon adjudicating the prohibition of assemblies near the National Assembly Building in the Decision 2018Hun-Ba322 on May 31, 2018. Therefore, the analysis of this decision takes precedence. Subsequently, the analysis proceeds to the recent decisions such as the 2018Hun-Ba48 on December 22, 2022, regarding the prohibition of assemblies near the presidential residence and the 2019Hun-Ma1417 on September 26, 2023, regarding the prohibition of assemblies in front of Incheon City Hall. From the perspective of the quantity of arguments, an analysis of the argumentative structure of these three decisions reveals that the distinctions between minimal impairment and balancing has become clearer, as well as an enhanced recognition and argumentation regarding the intensity of judicial review. Consistent argumentative structures concerning minimal impairment and balancing enhance the persuasiveness of the decisions, lead to more appropriate conclusions, and prevent arbitrary decisions, highlighting their significant importance. Furthermore, the intensity of judicial review has distinguished significance in Constitutional Court rulings as it is a matter of the principle of separation of powers regarding the extent to which the discretion of the legislative branch should be respected. Especially in cases regarding legal provisions that restrict essential freedoms for maintaining democracy, such as the freedom of assembly, the necessity for clearly articulating the intensity of scrutiny is even greater. The rules of argumentation that must be followed to reach any conclusion, whether constitutional or unconstitutional, should be consistently upheld.

PECULIARITIES OF INVESTMENT LEGAL RELATIONS IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION AT THE PRESENT STAGE

This article deals with the specifics of investment legal relations in the Russian Federation at the present stage. Public relations regulated by the norms of investment law should be considered an investment legal relationship, the participants of which have a certain amount of rights and obligations protected and protected by the state. The characteristic features and peculiarities of investment legal relations are determined. It is revealed that investment relations need to develop new legal mechanisms to solve the tasks set by the state in the field of investment policy. In this regard, the State is constantly expanding the base of normative legal acts that regulate the sphere of investments and investment activities to some extent. Investment relations arise on the basis of a contract. The variety of such agreements is great: concession agreements and agreements on public-private partnership, agreements on the implementation of investment projects, life cycle contracts, etc. In other words the concept of “investment relations” is intended to conditionally unite various social relations which are also regulated by various branches of legislation.

A Comparative Study on separation of power in India, UK and USA Constitution

India has its written Constitution, it is said to be lengthy. It is a Holy text to the Citizens of India. The Constitution entails Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties in Part III and Part IV respectively. The Constitution has recognized the separation of powers as part of it. 'Separation of Powers' is a basic principle where powers and responsibilities are divided among the executive, legislative and judicial branches. The study takes a multidimensional approach, taking into account institutional, political, historical, and legal aspects. The author attempted to analyze the doctrine of Separation of Powers as envisaged under the Constitution of India and also the author would like to demonstrate the difficulties faced by the three wings of the government in practice while implementing the provisions of the Constitution. The author also draws a comparative analysis with the Indian, US (the United States of America), UK (United Kingdom) Constitutions regarding the scheme of Separation of Powers Key words: Separation of power, Executive; Legislative; Judiciary; Constitution of India

Policy research institutes’ role in the development of evidence for evidence‐based policymaking in the United States

AbstractPolicy research institutes in the United States play an important role in the creation of evidence for evidence‐based policymaking. This is the case with respect to their advocacy for the gathering and broad dissemination of “Big Data” and in the publication of policy analysis in the academic literature using these data. But they play a much more significant role, via non‐refereed working papers, in predicting the possible behavioral and distributional consequences of currently proposed policies being considered by the executive and legislative branches of government. Historically, however, policy research institutes, both inside and outside the Beltway, have also played a less understood role. This role is the nurturing of those mostly academic‐based economists who, as members of the Council of Economic Advisers, eventually end up advising presidents of the United States and their staff on the state of economic knowledge regarding the economic problems these policymakers are called to solve via evidence‐based policymaking.

A review of women, power, and rape culture: The politics and policy of under-representation

In “Women, power and rape culture: The politics of policy and underrepresentation”, authors Bonnie Stabile and Aubrey Leigh Grant provide a rich overview and detailed research surrounding the reality and politics of harassment, sexual assault, and rape within Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branches, and the avenue to those branches our college campuses during former President Trump’s term. The authors’ unique ability to connect the ways in which these powerful institutions create and exacerbate structural impediment to women’s full participation in places of power provides a much-needed addition to the national conversation about how we can, and should, do better in terms of gender equity and full inclusion in places of power.

When Oversight Went Awry: Congress and Intelligence in the Twenty-First Century

Congress’ intelligence oversight has gone off the rails. The legislative branch has taken its constitutional responsibilities of surveying and guiding national intelligence and instead practiced rampant partisanship. The formerly bipartisan and sober intelligence committees have become a political battleground for most of the twenty-first century, although each body will occasionally exhibit rationality and responsibility. Congress began by treating intelligence as another issue to be addressed in the context of contemporary politics. In the Trump era, intelligence itself became a central battleground, and the oversight structure was the forum for a presidential impeachment. Seen in three phases, intelligence oversight in Congress has gone from partisanship (2003–2004) to hyperpartisanship (2004–2014) to intermittent dysfunction (2017–present). This assessment considers Congress’ intelligence oversight through numerous case studies and offers positive examples for reform.

The Regulating Act, 1773

The legislative branch of the British government passed a law called the Regulating Act in order to manage and supervise the operations of the East India Company's various businesses. Because the primary purpose of passing the act was to govern the activities of the firm, it was once designated as East India Company Act, 1773.1 The adoption of the regulatory act of 1773 was done for several important reasons, the most important of which were to control the mismanagement that existed in the regions of Bengal and to solve the problem of parallel systems. 2 By 1773, the East India Company had already been experiencing significant financial difficulties for some time. The fact that this organisation represented a monopoly trade enterprise in India and that many influential people were stockholders contributed to the significance of the organisation for the British Raj. 3 The Company spent £40,000 every year to maintain the monopoly; however, it has been unable to pay its obligations since 1768, which has led to a drop in the amount of tea that is shipped to the United States. Almost 85 percent of all tea that was ever drank in the U. S. was obtained through illegal importation of Dutch teas. The East India Company owed money to both the Bank of England and the government of England. The government owned 7 million kg of tea that was rotting in British storage, and more tea was on its way from India. This Tea Act of 1773, along with the Regulating Act of 1773, had the primary objective of reducing the significant amount of tea that was being stored in London, the majority of which belonged to the financially struggling British East India Corporation, with the intention of assisting the financially struggling corporation in surviving.

Critical Acceptance of an Unloved Constitution. The Russian State Duma in the 1990s

Abstract The Russian Constitution enacted after the violent end of the destructive “dual rule” between the two-tier double-decker-parliament and the first publicly elected Russian president in 1992 and 1993 is often characterized as hyper-presidentialist and even outright authoritarian. This narrative overlooks that a different interpretation of the constitution seemed possible during the first years of post-Soviet parliamentary development in the Russian Federation. While a large majority of State Duma deputies heavily criticized the new constitutional order, mainly because of the obvious disbalance between the powers of the executive and the legislative branches of government, it accepted the document as a binding working basis and immediately engaged in a serious, mostly constructive debate about necessary amendments. During the first two legislative periods between 1994 and 1999, members of all parliamentary groups not only started to refer to the initially unloved constitution as “theirs”. Some of them even perceived themselves as guardians of this basic institutional order because it did offer the weak legislative branch of government certain room for action and protection against arbitrary encroachment by the executive branch. Whereas the brief window of opportunity for consensual constitutional amendments in 1998 and 1999 closed without tangible results when Vladimir Putin came to power, an alternative trajectory of the Russian political regime was for some time conceivable.

Addressing Economic Inequality in Constitutional Design: the Colombian Drafting Experience in 1991

Colombia’s Constitutional Assembly enacted a constitution in 1991 whose text and application are regarded around the world as among the best examples of socioeconomic constitutionalism in the last three decades. Despite rising interest in the structural causes of economic inequality at both global and domestic levels, Colombian constitutional scholarship has not yet offered an account of the role of the original constitutional design in addressing economic inequality. In this article, I show that the drafters of the Constitution of 1991 were deeply concerned with economic inequality and considered the problem from several angles. However, they did not agree on a structural plan with coherent tools to address it and prevent forces in the executive and legislative branches from undermining that purpose. Therefore, the Colombian constitution-making process has been overestimated because, after thirty years, the Assembly’s economic egalitarian aspirations are far from being achieved, and Colombia is still among the most unequal countries on earth. Thus, the Colombian constitution-making experience provides a warning about how unclear and weak agreements in constitutional design can become an additional obstacle to overcoming economic inequality.

The legality of a homoaffective marriage

This article deals with marriage between homosexuals, which is currently on the agenda in the Brazilian legislative branch, despite there already being decisions allowing such a union, coming from the Brazilian courts. Dealing with permitted marriage between heterosexuals, which is currently included in Brazilian civil legislation, and the possibility of regularizing marriages between people of the same sex is the objective of this research, which aims to explain the favorable legal means for marriage to be between people, regardless of their sexual orientation. The type of research that will be carried out will be exploratory and descriptive.

Emergency Regulatory Procedures, Pharmaceutical Regulatory Politics, and the Political Economy of Vaccine Regulation in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Context: Regulatory approaches to COVID-19 vaccine authorizations varied substantially across countries. Facing a common public health threat, what accounts for regulatory variation? This study focuses on emergency pharmaceutical and vaccine regulatory procedures and whether and how regulators' emergency pharmaceutical regulatory procedures going into the pandemic shaped regulatory processes and decisions during the pandemic. Methods: The authors conducted an analysis of seven high-impact national and international pharmaceutical regulators with case studies from Brazil, China, India, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Medicines Agency. The authors analyzed evidence from primary source executive and legislative branch regulations and statutes as well as national and international scientific and general press reporting; they also drew on the secondary analysis of scholars, practitioners, and international organizations. Findings: Inherited emergency pharmaceutical and vaccine regulatory procedures substantially shaped COVID-19 vaccine regulation during the pandemic. Variation in the presence and content of emergency regulatory procedures affected the quality of pandemic regulatory processes, outcomes, and procedural updates and differentially empowered policy-making experts and elected politicians. Conclusions: Emergency regulatory procedures affect key features of regulatory political economy and public health practices during crises. To improve future public health crisis responses, the authors provide policy recommendations for (1) establishing clear emergency pharmaceutical regulatory procedures, and (2) international collaboration.

The WTO Dispute Settlement System and How It Incentivizes Imparity Between Indonesia’s Executive and Parliament

The Indonesian zeitgeist to provide more checks toward the power of its executive organ to formulate and enter into international treaties and agreements during the infancy phase of the Reformasi era, which was spurred on by the international debt ballooning that they suffered under the leadership of President Soeharto, was somewhat undermined by the passing of the Law No. 24 of 2000, which effectively limits the involvement of the House in the formulation process of international treaties to which Indonesia would be a party to. This apparently voluntary weakening of the legislative’s oversight function is caused by the understanding that the realities of contemporary international intercourse has resulted in the increasing need for the formulation and entrance into international treaties and agreements as expeditiously as possible. The WTO, as the manifestation of globalization and its byproduct, neoliberalism, plays a role in creating such a necessity, which in turn incentivizes the imparity between the legislative and executive branches of the Indonesian government. The focus of this article is its dispute settlement system, and how its strengths and its weaknesses, has created the incentive for negotiations and expeditious decision making outside of the system itself, which requires a considerable degree of latitude to be afforded to the party involved in such negotiations, the executive. The discussion in this paper delves upon works dealing with the theoretical implications of several aspects of the WTO dispute settlement system and a case study of the US-Clove Cigarettes Case, which perfectly demonstrates said implications toward Indonesia.

Legal regulation of the protection of water bodies in the implementation of fishing activities in Ukraine

The article is devoted to the study of the legal regulation of the protection of water bodies in the implementation of fishing activities in Ukraine. It is emphasized that the protection of water bodies must be considered as an integral factor in the legal provision of maintaining the level of ecological safety, the rational use of natural resources, including living aquatic bioresources, the proper functioning of the fisheries industry, ensuring the food security of the state, etc. The author states that in order to ensure the proper legal regulation of the protection of water bodies when carrying out fishing activities, it is necessary to take into account the connection of such objects with the land plots on which they are located. It is claimed that the order of legal regulation of the protection of water bodies follows from the characteristics of such objects, their connection with other resources and the order of their use. In this regard, the norms for the protection of water bodies are reflected in the water and land legislation, as well as in the legislation on fisheries and aquaculture. The analysis of the specified branches of legislation regarding the procedure for regulating the protection of water bodies during the implementation of fishery activities was carried out.
 The author concluded that ensuring the protection of water bodies should consist in the adoption and further implementation of legal norms aimed at implementing measures to protect them from pollution, clogging and depletion, and improving the condition of water bodies. It is claimed that the main purpose of protecting water bodies in the implementation of fishing activities is to preserve fish stocks and ensure their sustainable and rational use in the future.

The Oversight Function of The House of Representatives of The Regional Parliament on The Implementation of The Regional Budget of Maros Regency

Objective: This study aims to comprehensively analyze the oversight function exercised by the House of Representatives of the Regional Parliament in monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the regional budget in Maros Regency. It seeks to identify the mechanisms, challenges, and impacts of this oversight on financial management and governance within the region. Theoretical Framework: This research employs a multi-dimensional theoretical framework drawing from theories of legislative oversight, budgetary control, and local governance. It utilizes concepts related to the roles and responsibilities of legislative bodies in budget oversight, including the principal-agent theory, accountability structures, and the relationship between the executive and legislative branches in budget implementation. Methodology: This study employs a mixed-method approach involving qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Qualitative data collection includes interviews, focus group discussions, and document analysis to understand the perceptions, experiences, and processes of oversight. Quantitative analysis involves statistical assessments of budgetary allocations, expenditures, and performance indicators. The study also employs comparative analysis with similar regional bodies for contextual understanding. Results and Conclusion: The findings reveal the mechanisms utilized by the House of Representatives in overseeing the implementation of the regional budget in Maros Regency. It identifies strengths and weaknesses in oversight practices, highlighting challenges faced by the legislative body in ensuring effective financial governance. The study concludes by discussing the implications of these findings on improving oversight mechanisms for better financial accountability and governance at the regional level. Originality/Value: This research contributes to the literature by providing a detailed analysis of the oversight function of the House of Representatives of the Regional Parliament specifically focused on the implementation of the regional budget in Maros Regency. It offers insights into the practical dynamics, challenges, and potential improvements in legislative oversight practices within regional governance, thereby contributing valuable knowledge to enhance financial transparency and accountability mechanisms in local administrations.

Topical Problems of the Urban Environment Protection

Introduction. The concentration of a huge number of people in a small area causes a wide range of social, economic, environmental and other problems, starting from the growth of crime and ending with the natural landscape degradation. With regard to urban territories, the major environmental problems are: air pollution, water quality deterioration, increase of wastes, noise, stray animals, etc. At the same time, in each region or municipality, an environmental problem may have its own features. The role of law in solving these problems is increasing every year. Environment protection is a crosssectoral issue, which means that the norms of environmental, urban planning, municipal, administrative, sanitary and other branches of legislation should be applied for solving the issues thereof. Meanwhile, each of these sectors of legislation pursues its own, rather local goals, using the sector-specific legal tools. Since the city is a complicated but integral social organism, there arises the need to bring various sector norms and regulations to a "common denominator". This role is fulfilled by the urban planning, which doesn’t cancel the legal effect of other sectoral legal norms, but undertakes the coordinating functions, requiring a separate and detailed study. The aim of the work is to identify the topical problems of the urban environment protection and outline the ways to solve them, based on the analysis of the urban planning, natural resources and environmental laws.Materials and Methods. Legal, organisational, economic and other aspects of the urban environment protection have been investigated using the conventional methods of scientific cognition: general scientific (the dialectical) and specific scientific (analysis, synthesis, concrete-historical, logical, etc.) methods.Results. The urban planning, natural resources and environmental laws, which regulate various aspects of the urban environment legal protection have been analysed. The advantages and disadvantages of the existing model of law have been revealed, suggestions for it improvement have been made. The analysis of spatial planning documents of three subjects of the Russian Federation (the Republic of Kalmykia, the Republic of Dagestan and Astrakhan region), and three municipalities (urban districts of Astrakhan, Makhachkala and Elista) has been carried out. The environmental requirements contained in the Land Use and Development Regulations of these subjects of the RF have been revealed.Discussion and Conclusion. The territory of any city is an aggregate of transformed, modified and natural ecological systems, requiring the integrated approach to legal regulation. This objective is achieved by means of the urban planning law. It's in the spatial planning and urban zoning documents that the existing and planned development of the territories is stated, the individual permits, restrictions and prohibitions on the use and protection of the natural resources are taken into account, the balance between the environmental, economic and social interests of the state, business and society is found. The urban planning law directly affects fulfilment of the various environment protection directions within the certain areas of human activity - defines the places (landfills) for waste disposal, sites for constructing the waste recycling plants, locations of wastewater treatment systems and lands for setting up the specially protected natural territories (hereinafter SPNT) (including the ones within the city boundaries) aimed at preserving the valuable objects of flora and fauna; promotes the establishment of the protection regime for the urban forests and forest parks. At the same time, urban planning law does not repeal the rules and regulations on protection of waters, lands, forests or animal world objects, which continue to be legally binding, and, in their turn, influence on the urban planning requirements and restrictions. The provisions of the federal urban planning and environmental laws are perceived differently by the regional and local authorities, this entails significant specifics of the environment protection at regional and local levels.

Lobbying the executives: differences in lobbying patterns between elected politicians, partisan advisors and public servants

Research from parliamentary countries suggests that lobbyists tend to focus their attention on public office holders within the executive government more than those within the legislative branch. To date, however, research studying executive-lobbying relations tends to treat “the executive” and “lobbyists” as two homogenous groups. Yet importantly, not all executive personnel and lobbyists are the same. The executive is made-up of popularly elected politicians, partisan advisors and non-partisan bureaucrats, who vary in their skills, motivations, responsibilities and power within government. Differences also exist in the level of expertise and political representativeness between in-house and consultant lobbyists. Using longitudinal data between 2015 and 2022 from Canada's Lobbyist Registry, this article digs deeper into the executive-lobbying nexus by examining the number of contacts consultant and in-house lobbyists have with different executive personnel—ministers, partisan advisors, senior public servants and non-senior public servants. Although the data shows no meaningful variation tied to differences across partisan-political and administrative personnel within the executive, there is substantive variation in lobbying intensity between upper and lower ranked executive personnel; in-house lobbyists lobby senior political and senior administrative personnel twice as much as consultant lobbyists. These findings are consistent with theory on the expertise and representative function some lobbyists possess, more so than theory emphasizing differences between partisan-political and administrative personnel within the executive.