Participation Rights Research Articles

The reservation of the right to participate in public procurement procedures for social and professional integration of veterans and other disadvantaged persons as a legal means of promoting justice in society

The present article is dedicated to the potential use of public procurement as a means of establishing justice in society and the implementation of social policy goals, particularly regarding the professional and social integration of war veterans and other disadvantaged persons. It is emphasized that one of the mechanisms for realizing these goals is the reservation of the right to participate in public procurement for certain categories of economic operators. The paper highlights the experience of the EU in reserving the right to participate in procurement, as provided for in Article 20 of Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement. Special consideration is given to the fact that the use of the concept of “indigent persons” in translations of Directive 2014/24/EU into Ukrainian narrows the purpose of this norm. Therefore, it is proposed to use the concept of “disadvantaged persons” along with the concept of “disabled persons”. The authors suggest envisaging in the Law of Ukraine “On Public Procurement” a provision regarding the reservation by contracting authorities of the right to participate in procurement for specified economic operators, with the purpose of promoting the social and professional integration of disabled and disadvantaged persons. Furthermore, the authors propose the possibility of such reservation in the context of implementing relevant sheltered employment programmes as it is provided by the Directive 2014/24/EU. Based on the experience of the EU Member States, it is concluded that war veterans, as defined in the Law of Ukraine “On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees, and Their Social Protection”, can be covered by the concept of “disadvantaged persons” and can benefit from the reservation of public procurement contracts. It is proposed not to define the list of disadvantaged persons as exhaustive, considering that in the conditions of war and post-war reconstruction, such individuals may include family members of fallen soldiers, women and young people returning from abroad, internally displaced persons, and others based on the priorities of post-war reconstruction in Ukraine. It was emphasized on the important requirement for economic operators to use the right of participation in reserved procurement, in particular the main purpose of their activity, which can be confirmed – social and professional integration of war veterans or other disadvantaged persons. Furthermore, suggestions have been developed to ensure non-discrimination and compliance with international obligations when introducing provisions regarding reserved procurement contracts in domestic legislation.

Port developments and marine democracy in Latin America

Under the quest for continual blue growth, port developments in Latin America continue to grow, in ecological footprint and socio-economic impact. This article reviews a series of ports in Chile, Panama, and Colombia, which share a constellation of impacts, social struggles for blue justice similarly lacking marine democracy. It reviews how these different groups of fishers, NGOs and citizen scientists are coming together to challenge these issues and look for a new system of environmental impact assessment and participatory rights. Considering mixed benthic and wetland habitat in San Antonio and coral reef and mangrove complexes in Panama and Colombia, it shows how local stakeholders may have relevant, significant long-term baselines of knowledge. At the same time, ports and their consultants are systemically given effective decision monopolies over EIAs, during their own projects. Using semi structured interviews and participatory GIS it shows how across Latin America, the same issues with ports repeat, and that a joint a international agreement for marine democracy may be relevant.

Problems of defining the basic principles (principles) of legal regulation of mortgage relations in the civil legislation of Ukraine

Іntroduction. Problematic issues of systematization of the main principles of mortgage, definition of their content, comparison with the principles of property law, principles of mortgage lending, it is proposed to formulate the content of the relevant legislative provisions to which the research is devoted, have always been debatable. Normative provisions of modern mortgage legislation not only do not contribute to solving problems regarding the definition of the basic principles of mortgage legal relations, but, on the contrary, contain certain contradictions and shortcomings. The existence of disputed legislative constructions does not allow to properly systematize the basic principles of the mortgage institution and to provide full protection of violated rights to subjects of mortgage legal relations. Purpose and objectives of the study. The main common feature of such agreements is the study of conceptual provisions and general theoretical foundations, which are aimed at solving legal problems related to the definition of the main legal foundations of mortgage relations, as well as the formulation of scientifically based theoretical provisions and conclusions of an applied nature, aimed at ensuring the protection of the rights of participants in mortgage relations. It seems necessary to specify the main legal principles aimed at the formation of mortgage legal relations, their definition, characteristics, classification. Improvement of the civil law regulation of mortgage relations also requires a thorough analysis of the relevant regulatory provisions. Research methods. The research carried out in the article is based on the evaluation of generally accepted approaches to identifying the signs of problematic issues of the main principles of legal regulation of mortgage relations and their reflection in the civil legislation of Ukraine. It should be emphasized that these issues are debatable due to the lack of clear legislative structures, which leads to the imperfection of legal regulation and violation of the rights of participants in property turnover. Research conclusions. As a result of the research, the opinion is expressed that there is no system of mortgage principles in the current legislation of Ukraine. Due to the lack of a clear system of principles of legal regulation of mortgage relations, as well as the contradictory content of some norms that proclaim these principles, for example, the principle of publicity, the principle of authenticity, negative consequences arise when applying the relevant legislative provisions in judicial practice, which has as a consequence the imperfection of the protection of subjective rights participants in mortgage legal relations. Key words: mortgage, basic provisions (principles) of mortgage, mortgage relations, principles of property law, principles of mortgage lending.

범죄피해자의 형사절차 참여 강화 방안

Despite ongoing discussions regarding the guarantee of victims' participation rights in criminal proceedings, the legal status of victims remains inadequate. Meaningful discussions on strengthening victims' participation in criminal proceedings can only take place when shifting away from a state-centric approach to a victim-centered approach. Victims can demand prevention of harm to their lives or bodies by participating in criminal proceedings, and they can also assert their right to seek recovery for the harm they have suffered as a result of the crime.
 However, the current system is far from victim-centered and fails to be victim-friendly. Victims are being treated as unwelcome guests by investigative agencies, and concerns regarding harm to victims are not properly taken into account in the criminal proceedings. The victim attorney system, which can make significant contributions to the exercise of participation rights, remains inadequate. Furthermore, victims are unable to provide proper statements in criminal proceedings, and they are not adequately guaranteed their right to information about their own cases.
 To address these issues, measures such as operating investigative procedures that consider the rights of victims and the perspective of recovery, prioritizing the protection of victims' right to life, expanding the victim attorney system, granting victims a quasi-party status in criminal trials, and ensuring proper guarantees of the right to information are necessary.

Promoting Self-Reliance Education through Child Participation Rights for 3-4 Year-Olds

The approach of child participation is a significant perspective for fostering self-reliance education, grounded in the trust teachers place in children. This approach empowers children, creating favorable conditions for decision-making and choice. Investigation into the current status of self-reliance education for 3-4 year-olds in several preschools within Hanoi reveals that children's self-reliance predominantly resides at a moderately developed level. These findings are influenced by several factors, notably the teacher's flexibility and creativity in tailoring appropriate approaches – including objectives, content, methods, forms, and interventions – to each child's individuality and the practical conditions of the school and local context. This study proposes eight self-reliance education strategies for 3-4 year-olds based on the child participation rights approach. These strategies are aligned with the characteristics of children aged 3-4, ensuring target-oriented, systematic, developmental, feasible, practical, and age-appropriate methods, as well as organizing playful and educational activities within preschool settings.

형사절차에서 범죄피해자 진술과 참여권 보장을 위한 개선방안 - 범죄피해자의 정보권 보장을 중심으로 -

형사절차에서 범죄피해자 진술과 참여권 보장을 위한 개선방안 - 범죄피해자의 정보권 보장을 중심으로 -

Empowering Through Law: Environmental NGOs as Regulatory Intermediaries in EU Nature Governance

AbstractPrivate ‘bottom-up’ enforcement has been central to the efforts of the European Union (EU) to promote effective compliance with its ambitious environmental laws. This approach is strengthened by the EU's implementation of the Aarhus Convention, which aims to democratize environmental enforcement by conferring citizens and environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) with legal rights of access to environmental information, rights of public participation, and rights of access to justice (the so-called ‘Aarhus mechanisms’). This article empirically assesses the extent to which the Aarhus mechanisms empower ENGOs to take an active role in the private enforcement of the EU Habitats and Birds Directives. Based on 75 surveys and 30 interviews with ENGOs from three Member States (France, Ireland, the Netherlands), we apply regulatory intermediary theory to show how European ENGOs play a vital role in intermediating between (i) EU Member States and their citizens, (ii) the EU and individual citizens, and even (iii) the EU and its Member States. We bring new empirical insights into the role of law as an enabler of regulatory intermediaries, and its potential as a tool for orchestrating regulatory intermediaries.

From Bad to Worse: The Continuous Dilemma Facing Parliaments in European Economic and Fiscal Governance

Abstract Analysing how the roles of national parliaments and the European Parliament have changed in European economic governance since the euro crisis, this article argues that their situation has deteriorated in the post-Next Generation EU regime. It identifies structural factors impeding more effective parliamentary engagement, relates these to empirical evidence about the role of domestic legislatures and the European Parliament and mirrors these practices against constitutional interpretations concerning the democratic role of parliaments in budgetary matters. The broader Economic and Monetary Union architecture has grown to encompass a variety of rules and mechanisms, many of which are located outside of the treaties and the budget of the Union. As a result, parliaments lack formal powers that would guarantee them meaningful participation rights in European economic and fiscal governance. The key to more effective parliamentary involvement is ensuring that the parliaments can genuinely shape policies and that a strong link is established between elections and budgetary politics.

Is There a Place for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Climate Change Policy and Governance? Learnings from a Brazilian Case

The specialized literature, leading organizations, and international law, like the Paris Agreement, have increasingly recognized the relevance of Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities’ contributions to climate change adaptation. Despite this, few studies have investigated how their rights are considered in relevant public policies and decision-making processes. This article explores how the rights of protection and participation of Traditional Peoples and Communities are incorporated in climate- and environment-related public policy documents and examines how community members perceive their engagement in the drafting of those documents and their implementing agencies. For this purpose, it uses a Brazilian traditional community as a case study and undertakes a content analysis of a set of plans and programs applying to its territory and a series of interviews with local members. The findings reveal that while there are a few references to Traditional Peoples and Communities in the diagnosis parts of the plans and programs, they are scarce in substantive parts like objectives and measures. In addition, those references rarely relate to traditional knowledge. These results are also visible in local plans. Moreover, community members appear to feel poorly protected from climate change impacts, misinformed about these plans and programs, and overlooked when it comes to the insertion of their traditional knowledge of climate action measures into these plans and programs. The poor recognition of the protected status of these peoples and communities in the context of climate change highlights the need for a more sensitive and robust design of climate and environment-related plans and programs, ensuring the incorporation of their valuable contributions and traditional knowledge. Further efforts are required to acknowledge this gap and to better bridge the translation of international law into national and municipal plans, and programs, and effectively involve Traditional Peoples and Communities.

Who counts as a woman? A critical discourse analysis of petitions against the participation of transgender athletes in women's sport

This article aims to analyze the organizational anti-trans discourse on the presence of transgender athletes in women's sport. To achieve this, the petitions published from 2019 to 2022 on the websites of three US organizations (Save Women's Sports, Independent Council on Women's Sports, and the Women's Sports Policy Working Group) were analyzed. The analysis addressed the research questions of how this discourse defines trans women and trans bodies and reproduces the indispensability of sex segregation in sport competitions. The research revealed that the petitions’ authors identified trans athletes as biological males who have an advantage over cis women. The organizations demand that the protection of women's sport from trans women's participation and women's rights be based on the sex (assigned at birth) category. The article emphasizes that members and allies of these organizations perceive biomedical science as providing objective arguments for the sex dichotomy and the exclusion of trans women from sport competitions. At the same time, the petitions’ authors ignore sociocultural factors that influence the perception of gender dichotomy and athletic performance.

Ethical consideration dilemma: systematic review of ethics in qualitative data collection through interviews

Purpose Qualitative research that involves the use of human participants calls for the need to protect those participants to give their honest view during data collection. This is an important part of every primary data collection in qualitative studies using interviews. This paper aims to investigate all available ethical considerations that need to be observed by the researcher when conducting primary data collection through interview and to explore the theories that underpin the ethics in qualitative studies. Design/methodology/approach This paper systemically reviewed existing qualitative data on ethics and gathered information that were analysed and presented on the topic area. Findings The findings show that ethical considerations deal with the various approaches adopted by the researcher to make the participants feel safe to participate in any given researcher. During an interview process in qualitative research, the findings show that anonymity, voluntary participation, privacy, confidentiality, option to opt out and avoiding misuse of findings are ethical considerations that must be observed by the researcher. The outcome of the investigation also shows that deontology and utilitarianism, rights and virtue are the main theories that underpin ethical considerations in research. Originality/value The rights of the research participants need to be respected in qualitative research to assist in gathering accurate information to achieve the objectives of study. This and other ethical principles such as anonymity, privacy, confidentiality, voluntary participation and option to opt out guide the researcher to systematically adhere to data collection approaches that yield valid results in qualitative data collection using interviews.

Stipulation To Ensure Maintenance of Publication Ethics to Improve Quality Standards of Research

The advent in science and technology had provided many new horizons to benefit humanity especially by providing evidence-based medicine. The provision of these details had simultaneously raised the ethical issues. Therefore, implementation of ethical principles in field of research encompasses a significant importance. It’s the main pivot between researcher, participant and journal to ensure maintenance of every protocol for justifying ethical perspective. Starting from the rights of participants’ until publication in a medical journal, ethics is required at every step

영아 참여권 실현을 위한 보육교사의 지원 경험 탐색

Objectives This study aimed to investigate how daycare teachers support toddlers' participation rights and to identify challenges and needs in the process. Methods Qualitative research method was applied to select 12 childcare teachers from S and C cities as research participants. The study involved conducting a first group interview and a second individual interview in a semi-structured format, as well as conducting phone interviews when additional information was needed. Results Childcare teachers who work with toddlers provided opportunities for them to express themselves and make decisions, and tried to understand their intentions. They also acted as representatives of the toddlers wishes to others and provided basic information on issues that affect the children. However, they faced difficulties in guaranteeing children's participation rights due to a lack of specific knowledge and experience, developmental limitations of young children, and challenging circumstances. They discussed specific improvement needs for the realization of children's participation rights, such as creating an environment that better reflects individual needs and improving teacher education opportunities for continued reflection and better understanding. Conclusions The study confirms that childcare teachers support toddlers’ participation rights in a child-centered way. However, they experience difficulties due to internal and external factors and have clear demands for improvement. It is crucial to continuously improve the childcare environment based on practical information related to supporting toddlers’participation rights ,to ensure a supportive environment for toddlers’ participation rights.

Grief participation rights and the social support hierarchy: Exploring the communicative role of the bereaved in a social support interaction

This article explores how bereaved individuals co-construct social support and social norms in the social interaction of 14 bereavement group meetings in Denmark. To study this, we used a discourse analytical approach focusing on how the participants position their social supporters. The results show that the participants designate, uphold, and presuppose two hierarchical positions to bereaved and non-bereaved supporters with different abilities to understand them. Based on this finding, the concepts of “grief participation rights” and “social support hierarchy” are proposed to supplement existing notions of “rights to grieve” and “grief hierarchy.” These concepts suggest that non-bereaved supporters are not accorded the same participatory rights in social support conversations as bereaved individuals who have suffered a similar loss as the speaker. The concepts are discussed in relation to effective social support and in the context of research on social disconnection in grief.

On the Results of the Scientific and Practical Conference «Issues of Protecting the Rights of Citizens Using Digital Technologies in Criminal Proceedings»

. The paper reports on the scientific and practical conference «Issues of Protecting the Rights of Citizens Using Digital Technologies in Criminal Proceedings», held on December 20, 2022 in a mixed format. The conference was organized by the office of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation and the Scientific and Educational Center for Human Rights of Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSAL). The conference was devoted to topical issues related to the protection of the rights of citizens by means of digital technologies, access to justice, the possibilities of digitalization to overcome restrictions in the work of law enforcement agencies and the judiciary, generalization of the experience of foreign states and the Russian Federation in ensuring the rights of participants in criminal proceedings. The conference brought together a wide range of scientists and representatives of the legislative, executive, judicial authorities involved in the protection of the rights of citizens in the criminal procedure.

“Children's Rights in Pandemic Times?” – Germany's Handling of Children's Rights during the Pandemic Put to the Test

Children are the age group least at risk of getting infected with COVID-19. However, children are (or have been) the hardest hit by almost all Corona public health measures. This article examines how in Germany, since the beginning of the Corona pandemic, there have been serious human rights violations concerning children and young people in areas such as, elementary protection, care and participation rights. Furthermore, various (omitted) government measures have contributed to the increase in child poverty.

Victim’s Paradigm in European Union Criminal Law

The victim’s legal status and participatory rights in criminal proceedings vary among the European Union member states, which can potentially hinder the harmonisation of the field of criminal law. The aim of this article is to reveal the main features that determine the victim’s paradigm in European Union criminal law by focusing on the rights which the member states are obliged to guarantee in their criminal justice systems. Considering that criminal proceedings must result in a fair balance of interests of the parties involved, this article concludes that, in the victim’s paradigm enshrined in the European Union legal acts concerning the area of criminal law, the victim must be endowed with certain procedural rights, however, for that very reason, as an actor of the criminal justice system, the victim might be required to participate in the proceedings.

The system of procedural guarantees of the participants’ rights in criminal proceedings during pre-trial investigation

The current criminal procedural legislation of Ukraine contains legal guarantees designed to ensure proper protection, safeguarding and realisation of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of participants in criminal proceedings. However, in the legal literature, there is no unified approach to defining the essence and content of the system of procedural guarantees of the rights of participants to criminal proceedings, which negatively affects the functioning of the entire system of criminal procedural guarantees, its efficiency and effectiveness. The stability and effectiveness of the studied system of guarantees is an indicator of the level of development of many areas of public life and the legal status of an individual in the State. In this context, the issue of guaranteeing the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of participants to criminal proceedings during the pre-trial investigation is controversial for both legislators and scholars, and is important for every citizen of Ukraine, since pre-trial investigation and criminal procedural activities in general are associated with interference with a person's private life and restriction of his or her rights, freedoms and legitimate interests in cases provided for by law.
 An analysis of the essence of the system of procedural guarantees of the participants’ rights in criminal proceedings during pre-trial investigation has been made, and its structure and main constituent elements have been characterized. It has been proved that the system of the studied guarantees forms a set of conditions and means which are inextricably linked and interact.
 Based on the results of the study of scientific discussions and positions of procedural scholars, the author establishes that the system of procedural guarantees of rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of participants to criminal proceedings should be considered as a set of interrelated and interacting regulatory and organisational guarantees contained in the provisions of substantive and procedural law and regulatory legal acts.
 Based on the results of the study, it has been proposed to define the elements of the system of procedural guarantees of rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of participants to criminal proceedings during pre-trial investigation, namely: criminal procedural form, principles of criminal proceedings, procedural status of a person, measures to ensure criminal proceedings, measures to restore violated rights of a person, control and supervision of authorised bodies, legal sanctions.

Ethics of research

Ethics of research

Правовая природа цифровых финансовых активов по законодательству Российской Федерации

Introduction. The paper develops the problems of ontological content of the category “digital financial assets” from the perspective of its legal nature. The purpose of the study is to solve the scientific problem of identifying the legal nature of the phenomenon of “digital financial assets” which allows us to accurately determine the directions for improving the legal regulation of the turnover of digital financial assets. Methods. The methodological framework for the research is materialistic positivism, integrating general scientific, specific scientific and special methods of cognition, among which the dialectical method, ascent from the abstract to the concrete, analysis and synthesis, hermeneutical method, generalization, comparative jurisprudence, etc. are the main ones. Results. Based on the well-established provisions of the civil doctrine and relevant studies of law enforcement practice, the authors substantiate recommendations for resolving a number of conflict-of-laws issues existing in the Russian legislation regarding the interpretation of the essence of the category of “digital financial assets” that slow down and hinder the introduction of this innovative technology of investing in civil turnover. Conclusions. The authors have concluded that the essential content of the category “digital financial assets” is a set of property rights defined in the legislation of the Russian Federation, while the construct of “digital financial assets” is nothing but a new original way (innovative technology) of fixing such rights in information systems. This method should be attributed to a kind of written form of the transaction. The necessity of considering the term “digital financial assets” from the position of a legal fiction mediating the turnover of obligations, claims, rights of participation in the electronic virtual environment of computer networks of information system operators, in which the release, circulation and exchange of digital financial assets, in turn, integrated into the global Internet, is justified.