Protection Rules Research Articles

Екологізація сільського господарства: правовий аспект

The article is devoted to the analysis of regulatory and legal support of ecologization in the field of agriculture and prospects for its improvement. Ecologization of the agricultural sector is ensured by legal norms contained in laws and by-laws. In general, the norms of environmental and agrarian legislation of Ukraine regulate the relations of environmental protection and nature use in the field of agriculture. The main directions of further improvement of the legal support for the ecologization of the agricultural sector are: the implementation of certain types of agricultural production activities, taking into account the peculiarities of specialization and activities related to agricultural production; use of land and other natural resources in agricultural production; agricultural production waste management; organic agricultural production, etc. In particular, the relevant rules of nature protection for agricultural production should be aimed at: ensuring ecological and biological safety in the process of agricultural production activity; ensuring rational use of land and other natural resources in agricultural production; restriction and termination of agricultural activities that damage to the environment; introduction of the most effective methods of management, in particular, the spread of the use of organic production methods; support for the development and introduction of innovative technologies in the field of agriculture; protection of agricultural plants and animals; increasing the level of knowledge and improving the practical skills of sustainable agriculture. A special role in the legal support of ecologization of agriculture is played by strategic documents defining goals and task for the relevant period. The task of state policy is to bring national legislation, standards and practices in the agricultural sector closer to the pan-European principles of sustainable agriculture policy and good agricultural practices. Also, rules of nature protection should be reflected in the local intra-economic acts of the subjects of agricultural activity.

Usklađivanje nacionalnih pravila o odgovornosti proizvođača s potrebama digitalnog doba i zelene tranzicije

After a long discussion among professionals, academics, and competent authorities, at the end of September 2022, the European Commission published the Proposal for a directive on liability for defective products. Should the proposed legislative act be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, the Serbian Consumer Protection Act of 2021 would also have to be amended in line with the new EU rules. Serbian law currently encompasses two legal regimes for non-contractual liability for damage caused by defective products: the older and more general regime prescribed by the Law on Obligations, and the newer regime established by consumer protection rules. The aim of this paper is to present both regimes of product liability currently in force in our country and to examine the reasons for their modification. The substantial reasons pertain to the obsolescence of existing rules, while the formal reasons for the change involve the ongoing alignment of our consumer protection law with EU law, which the Republic of Serbia has accepted as its legal obligation.

What Would Be Necessary to Construct a Rule Framework for Sustainability in the New Western Land–Sea Corridor? An Analysis Based on Green International Rule of Law

The New Western Land–Sea Corridor is the lifeline of international cargo transportation between China and the ASEAN. Transit transportation causes environmental damage to transit countries, and there is an urgent need to establish a sustainable rule framework for the New Western Land–Sea Corridor. The international rule of law originates from the documents of the United Nations General Assembly. The theoretical foundation of green transportation is sustainability. The connections and interactions between sustainability and the international rule of law constitute a green international rule of law. From the perspective of the green international rule of law, there are challenges in establishing a sustainable rule framework, such as the limited capacity of transit countries to ensure ecological security, the insufficient supply of collective efforts based on international environmental protection rules, the abuse of environmental protection exceptions leading to trade barriers, and conflicting judgments arising from parallel environmental infringement lawsuits. This article adopts the methods of text research, conceptual interpretation, and comparative research. China should take the green international rule of law as guidance, establish a green foreign aid mechanism for the New Western Land–Sea Corridor, explore an independent contribution mechanism for international environmental protection rules based on collective efforts, adhere to the principle of treaty compliance to limit the abuse of environmental protection exceptions, and build a diversified environmental dispute prevention and resolution mechanism for the New Western Land–Sea Corridor.

Unified System for Processing Non-Personalized Data

The purpose of the study. The purpose of this article is to study the possibility of creating a unified register of non-personalized data, that is, data that cannot be attributed to a specific subject of personal data. The objective of the study is to analyze relevant materials for the purpose of the study, to determine the need for this system, to determine possible areas of application of the system, to determine the system sources and data on which the system can be based. The object of the study is a unified system for processing non-personalized data, the issue of creating this system and the opportunities that open up to the user.The subject of the study is the question of the data that can be processed in this system, as well as the section in which the data can be interpreted.Research methods. The article uses the following research methods: analysis of open data sources, modeling of the target solution in the form of a concept.Results. The article presents an example of the implementation of a system for processing non-personalized data. The variants of systems that currently have a set of data on personal data subjects and are ready to conduct a preliminary scoring analysis are presented. A possible result of the application of scoring is presented, using the example of the banking industry. An analysis of the current state of citizens' data processing systems was carried out. The results of the analysis showed that currently there is no single system that would allow for scoring analysis on the subject of personal data, aggregating data from various sources of state systems. There are no data in open sources on the progress of the development of a system that allows for scoring analysis based on non-personalized data. At the same time, the creation of a unified system for processing non-personalized data can both have a positive impact on the economic indexes of consumers connected to it, and contribute to the implementation of strategic plans of the state.Conclusion. During the study, a project was proposed for implementation to create a unified system for processing non-personalized data. A variant of data that can be used for primary scoring is proposed. The advantages of this system include a positive economic effect for organizations connected to the system, due to the reduction of monetary losses, improving the quality of sales, increasing customer loyalty, for the state, a positive effect can be an increase in the transparency of citizens' data and a decrease in the number of economic crimes, for citizens, the positive side of the system is to reduce information noise, due to a decrease in the number of studies from the companies, reduction of fraudulent actions, in relation to consumers. The disadvantages of the system include a high risk of data leakage, as a result of an increase in the number of crimes, incorrect interpretation of data by the scoring model, unavailability of various services for clients of organizations due to lack of data, the risk of data misuse by the operator of personal data processing. As a result, we can conclude that with the proper level of user data protection and clear rules for working with data, this system has good prospects for achieving the economic goals of both private companies and the state.

Illicit Trade in Cultural Objects under the Spanish Law: The Cabeza de mujer joven Case

This article seeks to introduce a brief description of the rules of protection of cultural heritage goods in the Spanish Law, using the example of a mediatic case of illicit trade, where the regulations of civil law, criminal law, and administrative law were applied and where the freedoms inherent in the right of ownership collided with the rules on properties of cultural interest. First, it provides an overview of the Spanish cultural heritage law, beginning with the constitutional mandate of assuming and promoting the protection of Spanish cultural heritage, and thereafter focusing on the concept of private ownership and its limits, in accordance with the social function of all property rights under the 1978 Spanish Constitution. Second, it describes a well-known case of illicit trade, focused on a valuable painting by Pablo Picasso. The work Cabeza de mujer joven (Head of a young woman) belonged to a private owner who decided to sell it internationally, using the services of a well-known auction house. When the required permission for exportation was denied by the Spanish public administration, the owner commenced a court proceeding aimed at changing the decision, but also planned to send the painting abroad using a yacht on his property. Thirdly, the article’s conclusion reflects on the level of severity of the Spanish legislation as applied in the case, in the context of the balance between cultural heritage protection and the freedom of disposition inherent to the right of property ownership.

The domestic politics of EU action against democratic backsliding: public debates in Hungarian and Polish newspapers

ABSTRACTDemocratic backsliding in Hungary and Poland has inspired a growing literature on EU actions to enforce the rule of law at the member state level. Some researchers have warned against possible unintended consequences of EU interference, but systematic research on the domestic politics of EU rule of law protection in target countries is largely absent. We develop a set of theoretical expectations regarding the positions of domestic political actors towards backsliding governments and EU actions. We test our hypotheses with original data from news articles in Hungary and Poland. We find that governing parties, rather than blaming ‘Brussels’ for illegitimate interventions in domestic affairs, spend considerable effort defending their own actions. Similarly, opposition parties and civil society actors focus on criticising their country's governments instead of supporting EU actions. EU actions thus provide domestic actors opportunities to discuss democratic backsliding, but EU actions receive little support in public (newspaper) debates.

Digital single market: consumer protection rules in the digital services act

Piața unică digitală este un cadru juridic care urmărește crearea unei piețe digitale unificate și armonizate în cadrul Uniunii Europene. Acesta abordează diverse aspecte juridice, de la confidențialitatea datelor și dreptul de autor până la dreptul concurenței și drepturile consumatorilor, pentru a promova incluziunea digitală și creșterea economică, protejând în același timp drepturile și interesele cetățenilor și întreprinderilor UE. Instrumentele juridice și reglementările joacă un rol cheie în modelarea DSM și în asigurarea succesului acestuia în peisajul digital în evoluție.
 Piața unică digitală are potențialul de a crea un mediu digital mai integrat și mai eficient în UE, dar acest lucru necesită o colaborare strânsă între experții juridici și tehnici. Cu o abordare echilibrată și colaborativă, piața unică digitală poate aduce beneficii semnificative atât pentru cetățeni, cât și pentru economia digitală a UE.

TIERED ACCESS TO RESEARCH DATA FOR SECONDARY ANALYSIS.

Research data have expanded in their gradation of the risks associated with both re-identification and harm, which has created a need for multiple levels of access controls beyond public and restricted access. Public-access data have typically been available for download from websites while restricted-access data usually require an application and formal authorization process. The old paradigm of classifying data as public-access or restricted-access is no longer sufficient. Access to research data requires more nuance to ensure the protection of human subjects. In this paper, we describe seven tiers of access to research data. Each tier adds requirements that are necessary to mitigate disclosure risk and confirm appropriate management of the data. Improper handling of the data includes attempting to find a specific individual or household or failing to follow disclosure protection rules for data and output included in papers and presentations. By establishing a ladder of access conditions, each higher tier meets and exceeds the requirements of the lower tiers. While the highest tier meets all requirements, this tier will impede legitimate research for most data. The challenge for repositories is to provide access in a manner that promotes research while specifying security that provides appropriate protections against the risks of re-identification and harm.

Child Rights in Bangladesh: A Comparative Analysis on National and International Legal Framework

Child rights are always ignored through the ages irrespective of the national or international arena. Children are most susceptible to all types of vices and victimizations, and so intensive care is required for their protection. Although there are many national and international laws for the protection of children’s rights but these are not above criticism. Child abuse is a common and frequent thing in Bangladesh. The United Nations set forth some rules for protection of children’s rights. Being a member state, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)-1989, is trying to protect children from abuse but it cannot be suppressed in any way. This paper is an attempt to show the actual socio-economic scenario of the children in Bangladesh and show a roadmap regarding how to protect the child rights. Additionally, this paper examines the National and International Legal Framework where children’s rights are protected and traces various causes for violation of these rights.

Population data-based federated machine learning improves automated echocardiographic quantification of cardiac structure and function: the Automatisierte Vermessung der Echokardiographie project.

Machine-learning (ML)-based automated measurement of echocardiography images emerges as an option to reduce observer variability. The objective of the study is to improve the accuracy of a pre-existing automated reading tool ('original detector') by federated ML-based re-training. Automatisierte Vermessung der Echokardiographie was based on the echocardiography images of n = 4965 participants of the population-based Characteristics and Course of Heart Failure Stages A-B and Determinants of Progression Cohort Study. We implemented federated ML: echocardiography images were read by the Academic Core Lab Ultrasound-based Cardiovascular Imaging at the University Hospital Würzburg (UKW). A random algorithm selected 3226 participants for re-training of the original detector. According to data protection rules, the generation of ground truth and ML training cycles took place within the UKW network. Only non-personal training weights were exchanged with the external cooperation partner for the refinement of ML algorithms. Both the original detectors as the re-trained detector were then applied to the echocardiograms of n = 563 participants not used for training. With regard to the human referent, the re-trained detector revealed (i) superior accuracy when contrasted with the original detector's performance as it arrived at significantly smaller mean differences in all but one parameter, and a (ii) smaller absolute difference between measurements when compared with a group of different human observers. Population data-based ML in a federated ML set-up was feasible. The re-trained detector exhibited a much lower measurement variability than human readers. This gain in accuracy and precision strengthens the confidence in automated echocardiographic readings, which carries large potential for applications in various settings.

Multiplicity of tools for antitrust and consumer protection in digital markets: the Italian experience and the road ahead

ABSTRACT This article discusses the role of national competition authorities in the digital sector in the lights of new legislative initiatives in Europe. It argues that the availability of multiple tools offers new opportunities to balance objectives such as flexibility, harmonization, timeliness and legal certainty, helping to enhance effectiveness. Further, it discusses the recent enforcement experience of the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), which has the dual mandate to enforce competition and consumer protection rules in Italy. The AGCM has used antitrust tools to empower consumers with choice, through a number of landmark digital cases on issues related to access and visibility in online marketplaces, refusal to deal and interoperability, data value and portability, privacy and advertising, and unfair negotiations. The AGCM has used consumer protection tools to guide consumers in the selection process, concluding numerous digital investigations on online architecture, misleading information, dark patterns and choice pressure.

ANALYSIS OF INJURIES AND DEATH OF PEOPLE AS A RESULT OF VIOLATION REQUIREMENTS IN UKRAINE

Problem statement. The exploring reseach shaws that physical wear and tear of technological equipment, machines and mechanisms that fail to meet safety requirements causes the main number of injuries at coal, chemical, construction industry, etc. A large share of work- and non-workplace injuries with fatal consequences occur on the wear and tear of buildings and structures that are in an emergency state. The injuries are mostly common caused due to violation of fire safety rules, rules of labor protection, and unappropriate sanitary and hygienic working conditions. Thus, there are more than 50 thousand fires in Ukraine every year, in which people die, and material damage exceeds hundreds of millions of hryvnias, incidental losses are 20 times bigger. The reseach shows that a significant part of accidents happens to whokers who perform one-time jobs working under subcontract, without an employment. An average of 140−180 people in Ukraine are injured at work every day, 20 of them become disabled, 4−5 of those people die. The purpose of the article is to reseach the causes and consequences of violations’ requirements of regulatory and legislative acts, safety, which lead to injuries and deaths. And to analyse the statistics of industrial injuries in Ukraine. Conclusions. The analysis revealed that a significant part of the injuries and deaths of people is caused by the operations and maintenance of buildings and structures, violations by enterprise owners of regulatory and legislative acts on labor protection, safety, and sanitary and hygienic working conditions. Also, at the enterprises of Ukraine, work is carried out on worn-out technological equipment, which leads to serious consequences in the form of fatal injuries.

The Evolving Privacy Right: an Analysis of Tanzania’s Legal Scheme in E-health Data Protection

Rapid technological developments and globalization have brought new challenges to the protection of personal data. The scale of the collection and sharing of personal data has increased significantly. Technology allows both private companies and public authorities to make use of personal data on an unprecedented scale to pursue their activities. Natural persons increasingly make personal information available publicly and globally. The importance of the subject of privacy and data protection has gained unprecedented attention in recent years, requiring better and more elaborate rules of protection. Individuals are sometimes exposed to possible abuse and even to harmful consequences as a result of the developments in information and communication technology (ICT) and the role it plays in the collection of personal information, and the tendency of companies and business enterprises to collect and use personal information in making business decisions. It is therefore not surprising that many countries in the West enacted comprehensive legislation on data protection some time ago. Europe in particular, through the recently passed General Data Protection Regulation, 2016, is heading towards the harmonization of data protection laws to have consistency within the region This article aims to provide an overview of the evolving “right to privacy (Data protection)” in this digital health (e-health) world to give the main key facts to stakeholders in e-health sectors to adapt their practices and ensure compliance with the current evolving legal scheme in Tanzania. The processing of personal health data, genetic data biometric data, and other kinds of sensitive information is strictly regulated and even widely interpreted by justice-dispensing organs.

The Classification of Dual-Purpose Contracts in European Private International Law

Consumers, as the presumed weaker party, are granted with favourable jurisdiction and choice of law rules under the Brussels Ibis Regulation and Rome I Regulation. The identity of a person as a consumer is the precondition of applying consumer protective rules. However, what if a person is acting partly for professional purpose and partly for private purpose? What criterion should be relied upon to classify a dual-purpose contract? Whether the private purpose must be predominant or primary, or it is irrelevant as long as the professional purpose is non-negligible? What if a person changes the purpose after the conclusion of contract? Whether the original purpose or the subsequent purpose should be decisive? This article aims to clarify the notion of hybrid consumer or dual-purpose contract in European private international law. The CJEU case might show that a less strict criterion is adopted to determine the legal nature of dual-purpose contracts. Compared to the notion of consumer in EU consumer directives and the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention, it might be advisable to adopt the non-predominant or primary purpose criterion. Accordingly, a dual-purpose contract is a consumer contract if the person is acting primarily outside of his trade or profession (primarily for personal, family or household purposes), or the professional purpose is so limited as not to be predominant. Meanwhile, a dynamic or ex post approach, albeit secondary to the static or ex ante approach, shall be adopted in examining the purpose of a dual-purpose contract. The subsequent change of purpose is relevant.

Effectiveness of Protective Measures and Rules in Reducing the Incidence of Injuries in Combat Sports: A Scoping Review.

In recent years, much effort has been made to reduce the injury rate in combat sports. However, the question remains to what extent these measures are effective. Analysis of studies could provide evidence of the effectiveness of measures aimed at reducing the incidence of injuries. This scoping review aims (1) to map research articles dealing with the effectiveness of proper use of protective measures in reducing the incidence of injuries in combat sports; (2) to investigate to what extent the proper use of protective measures and compliance with sports rules help to reduce the incidence of injuries in combat sports; and (3) to identify gaps in the existing literature and suggest future research on this topic. The literature search was conducted on articles published between 2010 and 2023. The main inclusion criteria were studies investigating the effect of sports rules and protective equipment used during training or competition in combat sports on reducing the incidence of injuries. After meeting the criteria, only seven articles from boxing, karate, and taekwondo were included in this study. Results showed that mandatory head guards, along with modern thicker gloves, significantly reduced the rate of knockouts (KOs) and head injuries in boxing despite an increase in the number of head blows. However, the number of facial cuts increased significantly due to the removal of head guards as a piece of mandatory equipment. The use of mouth guards has significantly reduced the number of oral injuries. Changes in rules, such as shortening the duration of bouts, along with the introduction of greater competencies of referees in the supervision of bouts (the standing count, outclassed rule, and medical stops) have helped to reduce the rate of injuries in boxing. The application of a computerised scoring system also contributed to the rate of injuries reduction. The increase in the number of weight divisions had the same effect on U21 karate athletes. However, a higher incentive to attack the head area in taekwondo did not increase the incidence of injuries in youth athletes. It can be concluded that the proper use of protective measures (head and mouth guards) in combination with the rules established for health protection (higher competencies of referees and more weight divisions in competitions) effectively reduces the occurrence of injuries in combat sports. In all Olympic combat sports, the injury incidence should be regularly assessed using the Injury Incidence Rate (IIR) per 1000 min exposures (MEs). Nonetheless, further studies are needed to monitor how established rules (e.g., prohibited behaviour) affect the IIRs.

Regulation of Group of Companies in Ethiopia: A Comparative Overview

Companies that are organized in a group aim at leveraging the market share, mitigate liability or facilitate long-term management efficiency. The reasons that make group establishment attractive for the parent company can be a basis for concern to other stakeholders, mainly, minority shareholders and creditors of the subsidiary company. The strict application of separate existence of a company and directors’ fiduciary duties towards their companies –applicable in cases of single entity companies– may be difficult in the case of group companies. States, therefore, devise regulatory mechanisms to protect the subsidiary company and its minority shareholders and creditors while at the same time protecting corporate freedom and entrepreneurial reality. Ethiopia has introduced regulatory rules regarding group company (Parent-Subsidiary Company). The objective of this article is to discuss the nature and regulation of Group Company as specified under the new commercial code and in comparison, with other countries’ laws. The article argues that the rules stipulated are not designed to adequately protect the interests of the subsidiary and its stakeholders. It also argues that the liberal interpretation of the provisions governing group companies to include the application of rules governing single company can contribute to potential protection rules missing under the sections in the group company.

Associations between the circumstances and severity of head impacts in men’s university ice hockey

Improved evidence on the most common and severe types of head impacts in ice hockey can guide efforts to preserve brain health through improvements in protective gear, rink design, player training, and rules of play. In this observational cohort study of men’s university hockey, we compared video evidence on the circumstances of 234 head impacts to measures of head impact severity (peak linear accelerations and rotational velocities) from helmet-mounted sensors (GForceTracker). Videos were analyzed with a validated questionnaire, and paired with helmet sensor data. Shoulder-to-head impacts were more common than hand- or elbow-, but there were no differences in head impact severity between upper limb contact sites (p ≥ 0.2). Head-to-glass impacts were nearly four times more common, and just as severe as head-to-board impacts (p ≥ 0.4). Head impacts resulting in major penalties (versus no penalty), or visible signs of concussion (versus no signs), involved greater head rotational velocities (p = 0.038 and 0.049, respectively). Head impacts occurred most often to the side of the head, along the boards to players in their offensive zone without puck possession. Head impact severity did not differ between cases where the head was (versus was not) the primary site of contact (p ≥ 0.6). Furthermore, penalties were called in only 4% of cases where the head was the initial point of contact. Accordingly, rules that focus on primary targeting of the head, while important and in need of improved enforcement, offer a limited solution.

The Age of Consumer Law Enforcement in the European Union: High Hopes or Wishful Thinking?

Abstract Not since 2018 and the “New Deal for Consumers” package has the European Union (EU) seemed so close to stepping up the enforcement of consumer protection rules. The European Commission is expected to unveil a new “consumer enforcement package” by the end of the year, which should include revisions of the Regulation on Consumer Protection Cooperation, the Directive on Consumer Alternative Dispute Resolution and the Regulation on EU Online Dispute Resolution. In parallel, the Representative Actions Directive came into force recently. This paper examines these different initiatives and assesses whether these evolutions can truly be the first steps towards a brighter future for the enforcement of consumer protection rules in the EU or whether they are likely to remain a series of missed opportunities.

Effect of the New Italian Legislative Measures on the Eye Lens Protection of Radioexposed Workers

Introduction: Legislative Decree no. 101, published on 31 July 2020 in the Italian Official Gazette, the official journal of the Italian Government, sets out the provisions of Directive 2013/59/Euratom, which establishes the basic safety rules for protection against the risks arising from occupational exposure to ionizing radiation. Methods: The main purpose of the legislator was to improve the safety of workers exposed to radiation, updating the previous laws adopted by the Italian government 25 years earlier. Many strategies have been attempted in the past to increase the level of protection of these categories of workers. Still, it is too early to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed measures. Results: Medical professionals play a leading role among other figures involved in the field of occupational radiation protection. To achieve a reliable and detailed evaluation of the risk assessment, which in Italy must be reported in a specific mandatory report called the “Risk Assessment Document”, the legislator has assigned differentiated but coordinated tasks to all the actors involved with different responsibilities in radiation protection. Conclusion: The drastic reduction of the dose limits for the crystalline lens is a tool for more effective protection of workers against exposure to ionizing radiation.

A federated pedestrian trajectory prediction model with data privacy protection

Pedestrian trajectory prediction is essential for self-driving vehicles, social robots, and intelligent monitoring applications. Diverse trajectory data is critical for high-accuracy trajectory prediction. However, the trajectory data is captured in scattered scenes, which can cause the problem of data island. Furthermore, artificial aggregation of trajectory data suffers from the risk of data leakage, ignoring the rule of privacy protection. We propose a multi-scene federated trajectory prediction (Fed-TP) method to solve the above problems. As our key contribution, a destination-oriented LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory)-based trajectory prediction (DO-TP) network is proposed in each scene to forecast future trajectories in an encoder-decoder manner. The independent training using trajectory data in each scene can prevent data leakage and achieves high privacy security. As another key contribution, a federated learning framework is introduced to break the scene limitation by conducting distributed collaborative training. The performance of different federated learning methods is compared on public datasets, including ETH, UCY, and Stanford Drone Dataset (SDD). Compared with FedAvg and FedProx, FedAtt is more suitable for pedestrian trajectory prediction. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method has better data privacy security than directly training on multiple scenes and superior prediction performance than training on a single scene.