Reasonable Grounds Research Articles

Construction and Verification of Composite Intensity Measures for Multi-Storey Underground Structures Based on Partial Least Squares Regression Method

In the processes of seismic design of underground structures, selecting a reasonable input ground motion is very important, which can cause severe damage to underground structures. To quantitatively evaluate the seismic damage potential of ground motions on multi-storey underground structures and solve the problem that single intensity measures are inadequate in accurately indicating the seismic damage potential of ground motions, this paper taking the input ground motions in the seismic design of underground structures as the research object, and constructing some composite intensity measures that can effectively characterize the damage potential of input ground motion. Firstly, considering that the underground structures in different characteristic period-type sites will exhibit different seismic responses under the same excitation, the soil–structure system is divided into four-period bands. Then, four representative periods are selected from four-period bands respectively, and the corresponding four soil–structure system numerical models are established. Subsequently, 40 ground motions are selected for elastoplastic numerical analysis, and the results of the numerical analysis were used as sample data to construct composite intensity measures corresponding to soil–structure systems in each period band using the partial least squares regression method. Finally, 100 additional ground motions were used to verify the correlation between the composite intensity measures and the seismic damage of underground structures. The results show that the correlation coefficient between the composite intensity measures and the seismic damage of multi-storey underground structures is better than those of commonly used single intensity measures.

A SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT IN ECONOMIC PROCEEDINGS

The article examines a settlement agreement as one of conciliation procedures in economic proceedings. For reconciliation, the parties must take active joint actions to achieve a result. It was revealed that the procedure for the reconciliation of the parties and the content of the settlement agreement are not and cannot be established by the current procedural legislation, since it is actually a negotiation process that is impractical to regulate in detail. However, the draft settlement agreement as a result of joint efforts is submitted to the court for further approval, and approval is not a formal, automatic act of the court. Domestic procedural codes are analyzed and it is proven that the grounds for a judge’s refusal to approve a settlement agreement are clearly established by the procedural law, but are not identical in different laws. It is proposed to supplement Article 192 of the Economic Procedural Code of Ukraine with such reasons for refusing to approve a settlement agreement as "the terms of the agreement do not meet the interests of society" and “there are reasonable grounds to believe that the conclusion of the agreement was not voluntary, or the parties have not reconciled”. The author agrees with the position that the parties to the settlement agreement should reach a compromise on all important substantative legal issues that belong to the subject of the dispute and can be implemented by the participants in the case. On the other hand procedural issues cannot be a part of the settlement agreement. It is proposed to highlight the following positive features of the settlement agreement: 1) the settlement agreement allows the parties to resolve the conflict without a lengthy court process, saving time and resources of business and the judicial system; 2) the settlement agreement gives the parties the opportunity to go beyond the requirements and independently choose the terms of dispute resolution; 3) resolving the dispute through an settlement agreement contributes to maintaining good business relations between the parties; 4) settlement agreements reduce the burden on the judicial system; 5) the use of settlement agreements by Ukrainian business entities increases the competitiveness of the Ukrainian business environment in the world. The task of the court is to prevent abuses in the process of concluding a settlement agreement and the infringement of the interests of the parties as well as other persons.

Reporting sexual harassment within the Australian legal profession

On 1 April 2022, the Law Council of Australia’s amendments to the Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015 came into effect. These amendments sought to expand the scope of Rule 42, which prevents solicitors from engaging in conduct that constitutes sexual harassment. However, in practice this amendment may have limited effect given the ‘reasonable grounds’ requirement, the lack of deterrence achieved by orders and, most importantly, underutilisation due to underreporting. The article poses ideas to increase reporting.

Transformation in Beliefs and Religious Practices among Religious Followers in Present-Day Vietnam

Vietnam is a country with diverse religions. The transformation in beliefs and religious practices among religious followers in Vietnam is constantly influenced by global trends, the industrial revolution 4.0, the country’s achievements in renovation, international integration, and the Party and State’s religious policies. This context drives religious organizations to continually revive, develop both structurally and operationally, and diversify their activities. However, this dynamism also brings complexity and impacts various aspects of social life. This study sheds light on the current process of transformation in faith and religious practices among followers of different religions in Vietnam. Furthermore, it provides authentic information for relevant researchers to compare, contrast, and support scientific arguments. Ultimately, it offers reasonable grounds for Vietnam’s functional agencies to issue and enforce more effective policies related to religion.

Hungarian Model of the Restructuring Process - National Report

As a result of the transposition obligation in Article 34 of Directive (EU) 2019/ 1023 of the European Parliament and of the Council on restructuring frameworks and insolvency, Act LXIV of 2021 (hereinafter - referred to as the Restructuring Act) on restructuring and the amendment of certain acts with the purpose of legal harmonisation was promulgated on 3 June 2021, effective as of of 1 July 2022 for any legal persons struggling with financial difficulties not yet insolvent. The creation of a restructuring model prescribed by the EU directive was implemented by the Hungarian legislator through the opening of a non-contentious court procedure ordered within the jurisdiction and exclusive competence of the Metropolitan Court of Budapest. The primary aim of this paper is to develop a complex and comprehensive picture of the restructuring procedure as placed within the system of insolvency and reorganisation procedures in Hungary. Firstly, the paper showcases the unified EU objectives set out by the directive within the system of European insolvency procedures. Secondly, it describes the Hungarian procedural rules and the most important related legal institutions adopted to implement these objectives. Section 6 of the Restructuring Act sets out that the aim of restructuring is to adopt and implement a restructuring plan with some or all of the creditors and thus prevent the debtor’s future insolvency and ensure the debtor’s financial viability. For the purpose of reaching this objective, therefore, restructuring constitutes measures aiming at restoring the financial balance of the debtor, including changing the composition, the conditions or the structure of the debtor’s assets and liabilities and any other part of the debtor’s capital structure. Among these measures, the Restructuring Act lists as example the sale of the debtor’s property or part thereof, or the sale of any participation in the debt. The condition for restructuring is the likelihood of the company’s insolvency. The definition of the likelihood of insolvent Directive (EU) on restructuring frameworks and insolvency, European insolvency procedures, insolvency and reorganisation procedures, restructuring plan, non-contentious court procedure bears a central significance here: it constitutes the entrance point into the restructuring procedure. In addition to the definition of insolvency, Section 2(2) of the Restructuring and Insolvency Directive renders the interpretation of the probability of insolvency into Member State jurisdiction. Among the Explanatory notes the Restructuring Act defines the likelihood of becoming insolvent as a situation in which there are reasonable grounds for believing that the debtor will be unable to meet his/her outstanding payment obligations when they fall due, unless further measures are taken. Keywords: Directive (EU) on restructuring frameworks and insolvency; European insolvency procedures; Insolvency and reorganisation procedures; Restructuring plan; non-contentious court procedure

Suspicionless Stop and Search: You’re Joking, not Another one!

Police stop and search powers have been on the statute book for many years and are widely regarded as being an important tool in the prevention or detection of criminal offences. Whilst most of these powers require that an officer has ‘reasonable grounds to suspect’ that a person is in possession of a prohibited item or article before they may be exercised, the last 30 or so years has seen the emergence of ‘suspicionless’ stop and search powers on the statute book. These have proved to be controversial for a number of reasons, not least because they permit random stop and searches to occur which rarely result in officers finding what they were looking for, and have the potential to strain relations between the police and the communities they serve. Official data also makes clear that they have consistently been used in a racially disproportionate way. Under the Public Order Act 2023, a new suspicionless stop and search power has been created which is exercisable by the police in the context of peaceful protests. The case against it was strongly made in the House of Lords and beyond Parliament. Regrettably, it was not accepted by a government which was also unwilling to amend the legislation so as to enhance the safeguards designed to prevent the misuse of the power.

Analysis of Husband's Maintenance Under Sec 144 BNSS, 2023

The law relating to wife maintenance is different in different religions. Among all communities, the question of maintenance to women has acquired great importance. Women, the partners of men in life, play a vital role in raising a family, especially in maintaining social order. The basic involvement of women gives them the right to maintenance from their husbands. But apart from the Hindu Marriage Act, of 1955 and the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, of 1936, no other law gives any right to a husband to claim such maintenance from his wife even on reasonable grounds. Article 15(1) of the Constitution of India states, "The State shall not discriminate any citizen on ground only religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them”. While Article 14 states that “The State shall not deny to any person equality before law or the equal protection of law within the territory of India”. Apart from Hindu and Parsi husbands, a person of any other religion has no such right to claim maintenance on reasonable grounds which violates the constitutional right under Article 15(1) and Article 14. Under section 144 of The Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the husband should be entitled to equal maintenance rights from his wife on legitimate grounds, as women have gained financial empowerment in the current socioeconomic situations.

British idealist engagements with Mazzinianism, 1858 to 1929

ABSTRACT This article contributes to the scholarship on Giuseppe Mazzini’s impact on British radicalism, through an analysis of British idealist engagements with his life and writings between 1858 and 1929. Section one introduces the topic. Section two sketches a background for the analysis, highlighting Mazzini’s place within the milieu of European exiles living in Britain from the 1840s to the 1870s, ultimately focusing on Mazzini’s engagements at Oxford. Section three explores the ways in which, despite areas of agreement, ultimately the Weltanschauung of the foundational figure in British idealist social and political thought and practice, Thomas Hill Green, differed fundamentally from that of Mazzini. Section four argues that despite these fundamental philosophical differences, Green’s practical political theory drew directly on Mazzini’s writings, although differing over the crucial issue of the proper role of the state in the republic. From this basis, section five analyses the engagements with Mazzini’s writings by the next generation of British idealists, especially John MacCunn. The analysis concludes that although in 1881 Toynbee had reasonable grounds for characterising Mazzini as ‘the true teacher of our age,’ this claim became increasingly unsustainable from the late 1880s onwards, as evolutionary theory came to ground British idealist political thought.

Simulation of Near-Fault Pulse-Like Ground Motion and Investigation of Seismic Response Characteristics in Subway Stations

ABSTRACT The availability of reasonable input ground motions is a prerequisite for investigating the seismic response of near-fault structures. Currently, realistic near-fault pulse-like seismic records are lacking internationally. Moreover, the existing records exhibit distinct regional characteristics, which hardly meet the demand for seismic analysis of various engineering structures. Collecting and analyzing the pulse-like seismic records, a linear attenuation expression is proposed in this study to describe the time-varying frequency amplitude decay over duration. On this basis, a new model compatible with horizontal and vertical components is developed for near-fault ground motions. The model parameters are estimated for 100 near-fault records and regressed against the prediction equations. The variability and correlation of the ground motion in two directions are analyzed through the residual correlation matrix. Finally, taking a subway station as the engineering background, the effects of velocity pulse and vertical seismic motions on the underground structures are addressed through simulated motions and realistic records. Compared with existing approaches, the proposed method not only aligns with the time-frequency distribution characteristics of near-fault ground motions but also considers the correlation between horizontal and vertical components. In addition, consistent with the results from recorded ground motions, the synthetic motions yield enlarged seismic responses of the underground structure, thereby guaranteeing analysis accuracy for the engineered structures subjected to pulse-like ground motions. The inclusion of vertical excitation prominently amplifies the vertical displacement of the slab under pulse-like ground motions.

The Labyrinth Paradox: Shaping An Intricate Network of Pathways Through an Interlocking Domain Framework

The burgeoning of multiple domain subjects, generated through the existence of various management compartments, demonstrate not only the importance of shedding light on the core functionalities of each compartment, the value of its functional deliverables, the root causes for its regular and abnormal occurrences, the strength and impact of its final products towards the comprehensive mission of the organization, the multiple trajectories, whereby a convoluted conundrum can be resolved and demystified, but also focuses on the pertinence of forming reasonable and concrete grounds for explanation and clarification, by way of academic discourse and practice. This is crucial in the attempt to project the entwinement between core domain underpinnings and its interconnected unions with that of advanced knowledge practice. Although, these multiple domain subjects have made an effort to perform these objectives, there still remains a void existing between them. Domain subjects have yet to provide reasonable grounds for explanation as to how the core functionalities of each compartment, value of its deliverables, regular and abnormal occurrences, impact of final products and multiple trajectories effect compartments other than their own in terms of quality, technology, knowledge, innovation and research. This paper will discuss the labyrinth paradox, which exists within the burgeoning of multiple domain subjects, and how the concept of “Multi Congruent Domain Structuring (MCDS)” can shape an intricate network of pathways and key attributes through an interlocking and associative domain framework.

Optical and acoustic ground effects simulations from terminal defense asteroid disruption via the PI method

Our simulations suggest that Pulverize It (PI), a NASA Phase II NIAC study, is an effective multi-modal approach for planetary defense that can operate in extremely short interdiction modes (with intercepts as short as hours prior to atmospheric entry) as well as long-interdiction time scales with months to years of warning. The basic process is complete disruption of the threat via fragmentation. In scenarios with sufficiently long warning time, the fragment cloud spreads enough to miss Earth, resulting in no ground effects. In “worst-case” scenarios with short warning times (“terminal” scenarios), the fragments (typically <10 m in diameter) will enter Earth’s atmosphere, where their energy is dissipated in a series of ground-level optical pulses and de-correlated shock waves, mitigating any significant damage. We investigate the optical and acoustic ground effects through a set of simulation codes that model the interaction of asteroid fragments with Earth’s atmosphere following terminal threat interception. Even in such cases where fragments enter the atmosphere, our simulations suggest that threats mitigated by PI produce vastly less damage on the ground when compared to an equivalent unfragmented case, yielding optical energy deposition below 200 kJ/m2 and shock wave over-pressures under 3 kPa. Our simulations support the proposition that threats like 2023 PDC, the hypothetical 800 m diameter asteroid from the 2023 Planetary Defense Conference impact exercise, can be effectively mitigated through fragmentation. We find that a terminal defense mitigation scenario that disrupts 2023 PDC into 1 million fragments with an intercept of 60 days before ground impact results in reasonable ground effects with minimal damage.

The Forcible Transfer of Children from Ukraine as Genocide

Abstract On 17 March 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber ii of the International Criminal Court (icc) issued secret warrants of arrest for President Putin and the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, Ms. Lvova-Belova, for the commission of the war crime of forcible transfer of children. This article argues that there are “reasonable grounds to believe”, as the icc Statute requires for the arrest warrant stage, that both Putin and Lvova-Belova bear individual criminal responsibility for the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children as a crime of genocide; however, two types of considerations – general and particular – prevented the issuing of arrest warrants for genocide crimes. In Section 2, after a short historical-legal review of the formulation of Article 2(e) of the Genocide Convention (gc), the article notes that despite the significant number of cases of children being transferred and removed from their families that have taken place since the gc was adopted, the provision has been dormant and considered anachronistic and was rarely applied by an international or a local court. Section 3 proceeds with a legal analysis of the elements of the crime of the forced transfer of children and the genocidal special intent. Section 4 parses the case study of the forcible transfer of children from Ukraine as a crime of genocide. Section 5 analyses the litigation of the crime of genocide in the icc through the only case of genocide the court has addressed so far: the arrest warrant for Sudan’s former president, Omar al-Bashir. Section 6 concludes with a forecast that despite the sufficient legal basis for issuing arrest warrants for Putin and Lvova-Belova, practical and political considerations would impede the icc from doing so.

Crime and Sanctions: Beyond Sanctions as a Foreign Policy Tool

AbstractTargeted sanctions, namely asset freezes and travel bans, are no longer the province of foreign policy alone. They are increasingly often used by governments in response to crime, such as corruption, human rights abuse, cybercrime, drug trafficking, and transnational organized crime writ large. Such sanctions are imposed based on permissive evidential standards, such as that of “credible evidence” or “reasonable grounds to suspect.” Their advent has added a new layer to a multi-tier system of state responses to crime. First, there is the traditional approach of criminal prosecution and conviction based on the criminal standard of proof. Second, one rung below is non-conviction based asset forfeiture, a notionally civil confiscation of supposed proceeds of crime that eschews the need for compliance with a suite of criminal trial safeguards. At the third level of this hierarchy are crime-based targeted sanctions, which vest the state with the greatest latitude in dealing with suspected criminals. Based on a wide-ranging analysis of international practice, this article contends that not only are crime-based sanctions de facto a criminal justice tool, but also that a coherent set of principles is required to determine their relationship with other responses to criminal behavior.

On the Role of Scientific Evidence in Normative Ethics (the Case of the Debunking of Deontological Principles)

The paper deals with the questions of whether naturalization of ethical theory is possible and how radical it should be. The answer to these questions depends largely on the scientific explanations of the process of moral evaluation. The author concentrates on a moderate version of naturalization, which involves merely correcting the conclusions of normative ethics by appealing to scientific evidence. A good example of moderate naturalization is the project of debunking deontological moral principles of J. Green. From J. Green’s point of view, the most important of such principles (“it is impermissible to harm other people as a means of achieving a utilitarian goal, but it is permissible to cause such harm as a side-effect of its achievement”) reflects the functioning of the emotional alarm system, which in the early ages of human history protected small groups from internal violence using contact means of harm. The means of harm have since expanded, but the inflexible emotional part of our psyche still dictates the limits of permissibility. This dictate has no reasonable grounds, and the abovementioned principle cannot claim to be objective and universal. The author shows that the data used by J. Green is different from the results of studies by Yu.I. Aleksandrov and K.R. Arutyunova on the impact of alcohol intoxication on making deontological and utilitarian moral evaluations. These results indicate that both the deontological and the utilitarian principles are partly based on the emotional subsystem. Accordingly, a normative ethicist is forced to choose as the scientific basis of his or her research some of the opposing scientific models that explain the process of making moral evaluations. Some of the models are consistent with the moderate naturalization project, others are not. The choice between models depends exclusively on already taken metaethical and normative preferences.

CULTIVATING CRITICAL THINKING IN PRACTICAL CLASSES DURING PATHOMORPHOLOGY AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS

The aim of this study is to explore and suggest methods for cultivating critical thinking in medical students during practical classes at a higher education institution.&#x0D; Results and discussion. Critical thinking is recognised as skilled thinking that makes good judgements because it is criterion-based, self-improving and context-sensitive. The process of developing critical thinking has the ultimate goal of teaching how to solve situational problems, persevere in solving problems, have flexible communication skills in teamwork, learn to listen to the interlocutor, be able to consider problems from different perspectives and consider multiple connections between phenomena, build logical conclusions, reflect on their feelings and thoughts, set goals and achieve goals. Thus, cultivating critical thinking in practical classes over the course of Pathomorphology is an integral part of the educational process.&#x0D; Considering the role that Pathomorphology plays as a bridge between theoretical and clinical disciplines, the faculty of departments teaching this subject confronts the challenge of fostering critical thinking in medical students. This article is dedicated to exploring various methods for developing critical thinking in medical students within higher education institutions. The following methods are considered: development of critical thinking through reading and writing, cluster, Fishbone method, question cube, Daisy of Questions, syncreate, Lotus Flower and Tree of Predictions (Decisions). It is extremely important to introduce training to foster critical thinking (solving real problems and making decisions by students in various situations); to create reasonable grounds for choosing the most appropriate methods, techniques, forms and means of teaching. The considered methods of forming critical thinking in medical students have effectively proved themselves in practical classes in pathomorphology at the higher education institution "Bukovinian State Medical University". In the future, there is a need to study other methods of critical thinking, such as "six hats of thinking", essay, etc.&#x0D; Conclusion. Cultivating critical thinking in medical students stands as one of the paramount responsibilities for the teaching staff in any higher education medical institution. Critical thinking is the skill of analyzing and making well-considered decisions independently. It represents a distinct form of thinking marked by activity, purposefulness, independence, discipline, and reflection

Understanding Russia’s Actions in Ukraine as the Crime of Genocide (Translation into Ukrainian by Denys Azarov)

This is the Ukrainian-language version of the article previously published in the Journal of International Criminal Justice (Denys Azarov, Dmytro Koval, Gaiane Nuridzhanian, Volodymyr Venher, Understanding Russia’s Actions in Ukraine as the Crime of Genocide, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Volume 21, Issue 2, May 2023, Pages 233–264, https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqad018) by Oxford University Press. The translation is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0. Abstract from an English edition. The new wave of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine that began on 24 February 2022, and the intensification of the armed conflict accompanied by grave breaches of international humanitarian law, has received significant scholarly attention. Many academic interventions have examined the developments in Ukraine through the frameworks of jus ad bellum and jus in bello. Some, however, have applied a genocide lens to make sense of reported numerous and widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. This article contributes to the latter stream of scholarship by contextualizing the arguments for the existence of genocidal intent behind the seemingly unrelated crimes committed by the armed forces of the Russian Federation all over Ukraine. The authors pay particular attention to the language and pseudo-historical references used by Russia’s leaders as a justification for the invasion of Ukraine and argue that these statements and expressions indicate the existence of genocidal intent. This article also reflects on the issue of the systematic destruction of cultural heritage of Ukraine as further evidence of the intent to destroy the Ukrainian nation understood as a protected national group under the Genocide Convention, at least in part. Finally, the authors analyse the genocidal acts that have apparently been committed, including killings; the causing of serious bodily or mental harm; the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia, and the deliberate infliction of conditions of life aimed at the physical destruction of the Ukrainian nation. It is stressed that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the destruction of the Ukrainian nation by Russia has been pursued through commission of these prohibited acts. Their nature and large-scale character serve as further evidence of genocidal intent to destroy the Ukrainian nation.

Arbitrators’ suspicion of money laundering: choices against principles

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the options available to arbitrators when they suspect money laundering during arbitration proceedings, considering their compatibility with fundamental principles and concepts of arbitration.Design/methodology/approachUsing a doctrinal analysis approach, the paper draws on legal principles, antimoney laundering regulations and relevant literature to explore the topic. It considers relevant international treaties, standards set by the financial action task force on money laundering, cases and arguments from legal analysts and experts.FindingsThe paper identifies three options for arbitrators: disregarding suspicions, initiating an investigation or terminating the proceedings. Disregarding suspicions is deemed inappropriate, as it may facilitate the concealment of financial crimes. Initiating an investigation is seen as a preferable option, aligning with the arbitrator’s role and the public interest in nullifying contracts linked to criminal conduct. Terminating the proceedings is not recommended, as it contradicts the principle of natural justice. The paper emphasizes the importance of reasonable grounds for suspicions, notifying the parties, and allowing them to address the concerns.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the existing literature by comprehensively analyzing the compatibility of these options with arbitration principles and concepts. It underscores the need for clear laws and directives to guide arbitrators in addressing financial crimes within the arbitration process, maintaining a balance between party autonomy and preventing the misuse of arbitration for illicit activities.

"Molecular Biology"-Pleonasm or Denotation for a Discipline of Its Own? Reflections on the Origins of Molecular Biology and Its Situation Today.

The disciplinary identity of molecular biology has frequently been called into question. Although the debates might sometimes have been more about creating or debunking myths, defending intellectual territory and the distribution of resources, there are interesting underlying questions about this area of biology and how it is conceptually organized. By looking at the history of molecular biology, its origins and development, I examine the possible criteria for its status as a scientific discipline. Doing so allows us to answer the title question in such a way that offers a reasonable middle ground, where molecular biology can be properly viewed as a viable interdisciplinary program that can very well be called a discipline in its own right, even if no strict boundaries can be established. In addition to this historical analysis, a couple of systematic issues from a philosophy of science perspective allow for some assessment of the current situation and the future of molecular biology.

Judge’s discretion in ensuring human rights and freedoms: the significance of the legal position

The article is devoted to the analysis of the judge’s discretion in ensuring human rights and freedoms and the study of the significance of the legal position of the Supreme Court. It has been established that the purpose of the Supreme Court as the highest judicial institution in Ukraine is, first of all, the formation of a justified legal position regarding the application by all courts in the further work of a specific norm of substantive law or compliance with a norm of procedural law that was incorrectly used, and thus directing practice into a unified and proper enforcement. The legal positions of the Supreme Court have a more complex nature, as there is a clear awareness of the tasks of this body as a key subject in the formation of the unity of national judicial practice. The legal literature was studied, which currently discusses the problem of deviating from the legal positions expressed earlier, whereas it is at the level of higher courts that the problem of unanimous application of legal norms by courts in similar legal relations should be resolved. The institution of departure from the pre-legal position is quite an interesting phenomenon and become widely in recent years, and this problem is connected, perhaps, with the reform of procedural legislation. It was established that a massive departure from previous legal positions violates the standards of consistency of judicial practice, and the requirement of legal certainty appeals precisely to the standards of consistency of judicial practice, according to which courts must make similar decisions in similar cases under the same factual conditions. Constancy of judicial practice means that a series of previously adopted and agreed court decisions is a convincing proof of the correct interpretation of the legal norm. Since the legislator has not establish the binding nature of previously adopted resolutions of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, however, the possibility of deviating from them is provided only to the court of cassation instance of the Supreme Court. Deviating from the legal position, the court must provide a serious and convincing argument, since there has to be valid and reasonable grounds for a different application of the law’s prescription in the same (or similar) situation with a similar legal structure. It was concluded that the principles that are guided by judges when making each specific decision and forming the corresponding legal position, namely the principles of the rule of law, justice and legality, are of particular importance.

Did Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Teresa cross a seventeenth-century line of decorum?

The Ecstasy of St. Teresa is arguably the most controversial work created by the Roman Baroque artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680). The debate surrounding the statue centers on the question: did the artist’s radically non-traditional depiction of Teresa’s transverberation transgress the boundaries of decorum as understood by seventeenth-century Catholicism? This debate has lasted for many years and is likely to endure for many more to come, for, as the mass of, at times, contradictory documentation leads us to conclude, the line of decorum that Bernini did, or did not, cross would seem to resist any firm pinpointing, that is was, indeed, fluid and subjective, even when seen through seventeenth-century eyes. The aim of this article is not to deny the subjective fluidity of that line of decorum, but rather to propose that it was perhaps far less fluid and subjective than some examiners of the issue today seem inclined to believe. At the same time, and perhaps more importantly, its aim is also to disabuse the staunch defenders of Bernini’s decorum of the belief that no matter where that line of decorum might have been located in the seventeenth century, there cannot possibly be any reasonable grounds for suggesting that Bernini may have crossed it. Defenses of Bernini’s decorum rest on three claims: (1) Bernini faithfully followed the literal description of Teresa’s transverberation as described by the saint herself; (2) the Church understood that mystical union often entailed erotic elements and thus had no problem with religious art depicting that reality; and (3) since there is no nudity in Bernini’s statue, it cannot be accused of violating decorum. Through detailed analysis of Roman Catholic catechetical teaching (from Augustine to Cardinal Roberto Bellarmino), Teresa’s writings and other primary texts relating to the saint’s transverberation, and an extremely close examination of the statue itself, this article argues that none of these defenses is completely accurate and thus unassailable in its conclusion, while, however, not claiming to resolve the decorum debate once and for all.