Settlement System Research Articles

Cross-border Product Payments in Sub-Saharan Africa! How MSMEs React to PAPSS as E-payment Innovation: Moderating Role of Experience

The purpose of the study is to evaluate micro, small and medium enterprises’ (MSMEs) reaction to the pan-African payment and settlement system (PAPSS). The new cross-border e-payment technology is designed to facilitate cross- border instant payments, motivate cross-border businesses and promote sub-Saharan African trades which have been a real problem following the involvement of third currency, untimely payment and regulations that impact payments across borders. The study is important because of the non-existence of empirical results on what motivates MSMEs’ intention to use it and how the experience might impact the intention to use PAPSS. Thus, the study considered the impact of MSMEs’ previous experience on e-payment as a moderating influence on intention to use PAPSS. An adapted questionnaire that was structured on 7-point Likert scale was used in the survey to collect data from MSMEs in Nigeria. Structural equation modelling and the Hayes process for moderation were used in the analysis. The authors learned that ease of use is the strongest indirect determinant of intention to use PAPSS while perceived compatibility is the strongest direct determinant of intention to use PAPSS. Further, the authors discovered the important role of the simplicity of the innovation and its compatibility with users’ characteristics in promoting intention to use. The level of experience is confirmed to be significant in moderating intention to use PAPSS. Therefore, deeper involvement of the apex banks and commercial banks in communicating simplicity is paramount to achieve significant progress, while the services of tech experts and professionals can be utilised to provide periodic information to business owners through organised TV and radio programmes. Notably, this is a novel study that focuses on new cross-border payments in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Danger of the Interpretation of Facts: Legal Uncertainty in the Spanish Saga Cases

Enhancing legal certainty is one of the main values that are sought in the investor–state dispute settlement system. The importance of legal certainty is strengthened in the case of renewable energy investments, which are in the global public interest, long-term and capital-intensive up-front. The first part of the paper presents the importance of legal certainty in investment arbitration in general, its limits and its importance in the context of the green energy transition. In addition, it addresses the special features of renewable energy investments. The second part of the paper analyses from the perspective of legal certainty the Spanish renewable energy cases initiated under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), which deal with similar factual and legal issues. In this respect, the paper presents the varying weight tribunals gave to the important facts that led them further to conclude whether Spain breached the fair and equitable treatment standard, and if so, whether the investor was entitled to full compensation or a reasonable rate of return. In addition, it presents different approaches to perceiving the stability provision of Article 10 (1) of the ECT. The paper concludes that it remains uncertain to what extent RE investors will be protected under the ECT’s stability condition in the case of fundamental or small-scale changes. Although one group of arbitrators may argue that the fundamental change triggers per se a breach of a stability condition, others may argue that for the breach to be established, the host state’s measures must be arbitrary, unreasonable or discriminatory. Moreover, the threat to legal certainty might not only be the vague provisions of the ECT but also the significant discretion tribunals have towards the interpretation of facts, leading to different outcomes. Indeed, it is at the discretion of arbitrators to consider whether the timing of investment, presence of evidence indicating possible regulatory changes, and the reasonable rate of return prescribed in Spain’s domestic law will be relevant or irrelevant.

WASTEWATER TREATMENT OF COAL TAR PROCESSING PROCESS FROM PHENOL

The coal tar processing process provides the chemical industry with valuable products: naphthalene, cresol, xylenols, phenol, technical oils and lubricants. The most significant product of coal tar processing is anthracene, which is a raw material for the production of carbon black. The prospects for the implementation of the coal tar processing process entail a danger to the environment and public health.Wastewater formed during the processing process has a complex chemical composition, mainly represented by organic aromatic compounds. Wastewater pollutants significantly exceed discharge standards permissible for discharge into the Centralized Wastewater Disposal System of Settlements and Urban Districts. Phenol, which has the third hazard class according to the standards of maximum permissible concentrations of harmful substances in the waters of water bodies of fishery importance, is particularly dangerous. The toxic effect of phenol leads to the suppression of biocenoses, a decrease in the number of living organisms, negatively affects human health, and can lead to death. Based on the above, in order to reduce the anthropogenic load on the environment and maintain the quality of water resources, it is necessary to carry out a set of environmental measures aimed at wastewater treatment.The article presents methods of wastewater purification from phenol, describes complex purification methods and formulates proposals for the technology of wastewater treatment of the enterprise. Spectral and quantitative chemical analysis were performed to determine the composition of wastewater. Regenerative cleaning methods are proposed. Methods for wastewater treatment have been formulated and implemented. Methods for wastewater treatment of the coal tar processing process are proposed.The aims of research are to reduce the concentration of phenol in wastewater to the standard values permissible for discharge into the Centralized Wastewater Disposal System of Settlements and Urban Districts, based on experimental data; formulate a proposal for the wastewater treatment of the coal tar processing process from phenol.Objectives of the work are to study the composition of the source wastewater; to consider methods of wastewater treatment from phenols; to carry out wastewater treatment, based on the results of the study, to propose a wastewater treatment scheme.The object of the study is the wastewater of the enterprise after the coal tar processing process.

Taking the Fact/Law Distinction Not Too Seriously: the Status of Domestic Law within International Litigation

Abstract The article uses legal theory relating to the traditional distinction between fact and law in order to shed light on the procedural consequences of the consideration that domestic law is a fact in international law. The analysis first relies on formalism, and on the legal syllogism doctrine more specifically, to show that domestic law cannot be, in most cases, anything else than a fact in international legal reasoning. It then draws attention to a constructivist approach to facts according to which domestic law is subject to assessment and interpretation as any other fact is in the judicial process. It paves the way to understanding that the distinction between fact and law for the purposes of the scope of review in the WTO dispute settlement system, as in other appellate systems, is purely functional and must not be taken too seriously, contrary to what is suggested by some analyses of the practice.

Соціально-економічні виклики інтеграції та просторового розподілу внутрішньо переміщених осіб унаслідок війни

The full-scale Russian military aggression against Ukraine launched on February 24, 2022 has led to a massive flow of forced migrants, both external and internal, which is unprecedented and the most massive forced displacement in Europe since World War II. So far, there is a significant inequality of attention to the socio-economic needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, because most activities of international institutions and scientific attention are devoted to the needs and study of refugees, while the needs of IDPs are often “ignored” or understudied in terms of disproportionate spatial distribution of IDPs, challenges of integration into host communities, problems of consolidation of IDPs and local population, etc. The analysis of the existing body of literature on Ukrainian IDPs showed that the study of their current socio-economic situation, problems with integration into host communities and features of spatial distribution is poorly represented for the period of a full-scale Russo-Ukrainian war against the background of a huge body of pre-2022 literature. Taking into account such an insignificant body of literature on post-2022 Ukrainian IDPs, the main tasks of this study are twofold: (1) to fill the gap and expand the spectrum of knowledge about the current socio-economic situation of Ukrainian IDPs and the key problems of their integration into host communities in the conditions of a full-scale Russo-Ukrainian war; (2) analyze positive and negative international practices of IDP integration and develop recommendations for Ukraine. This article is devoted to the analysis of trends and the identification of the main socio-economic challenges of the integration and spatial distribution of Ukrainian IDPs, as well as the development of proposals for using their migration potential for the resilient development of Ukraine and host communities. The novelty of the research lies in the highlighting of positive and negative international practices of IDP integration and, as a result, the necessity of forming long-term solutions regarding the urgent socio-economic needs of Ukrainian IDPs and their spatial placement is emphasized. The dataset of the study was formed on the basis of data from reports of various international organizations and data from official state statistics. To achieve the goal of the article, quantitative methods are used, in particular, descriptive statistics and ranking. It was established that in the global context, Ukraine ranks third in the world by the number of IDPs, and their number is almost 6 million people (7 times more than before the full-scale Russian invasion), which definitely impacts the course of global migration processes. In the national context, it was found that the pattern of the spatial distribution of IDPs within the country indicates that most IDPs gravitate to the regions where the role of the regional centre is performed by one of the five metropolises of Ukraine (not including temporarily occupied Donetsk) — Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Dnipro and Lviv, which are powerful socio-economic centres and flagships of the country’s settlement system. It was found that the biggest challenges for the socioeconomic integration of IDPs into host communities are high unemployment, financial difficulties in meeting basic needs, housing problems, social stigmatization, as well as conflicts between IDPs and the population of host communities. The analysis showed that the current situation with Ukrainian IDPs requires from the government of Ukraine and the authorities of the host communities not short-term, but longterm solutions to the urgent problems of IDPs: in particular, social housing and proper housing conditions, social protection, avoiding shameful international practices of spatial placement of IDPs and much more.

Enforcement of Multilateral Trade Regulation by Non-State Actors – Desirable and Feasible?

Abstract Since its inception, the inter-state dispute settlement system of the World Trade Organisation has generally been praised for effectively protecting the rule of law in international trade relations. While the relatively recent dismantling of this system does not necessarily mean the end of the WTO nor of the binding nature of its rules, the current crisis may be a good opportunity to reconsider the role of the rule of law in international trade relations and the ways in which it could further be accommodated. One suggestion, occasionally raised in the past, would be strengthening the enforcement of WTO rules by opening it to private action, either before national courts or through international adjudication. After all, the latter has been widely available to foreign investors covered by thousands of international investment agreements in force for decades. This contribution recalls the reasons behind the current lack of private enforcement of WTO law and argues that developments in international trade relations and experiences with investor-state dispute settlement are likely to work against rather than in favor of its introduction in the foreseeable future. Increased transparency and institutionalisation of non-state actors’ role in trade enforcement is therefore recommended instead.

Reforms on the WTO Dispute Settlement System from the Perspective of the Appellate Body

Reforms on the WTO Dispute Settlement System from the Perspective of the Appellate Body

Перспективы трансформации системы международных расчетов в Российской Федерации на базе цифровых валют центральных банков

Fragmentation of the global financial and economic space and difficulties in the organization of international settlements cause the restructuring of the international settlement system of the Russian Federation. Russia’s need for a reliable system of international settlements is due to its rapid involvement in the system of international trade, the need for high-tech imports, sales of raw materials and high-grade goods. One of the most promising options for a new design of payment infrastructure protected from sanctions pressure is the creation of an international payment system based on the peer-to-peer model using central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The Committee on Payment Infrastructures is actively theorizing this model. To date, the Russian Federation (digital ruble) and the People's Republic of China (digital yuan) demonstrate a high level of readiness to make settlements in the CBDC. The creation of a payment system based on CBDC fundamentally changes the entire landscape of international settlements, not only reducing the cost of transactions, but also ensuring their reliability, transparency and protection from the negative influence of other countries. Of particular interest is the model of clearing using CBDC in BRICS countries, which will allow for centralized netting of mutual positions of the countries in national currencies and gradual displacement of currencies of developed countries from mutual settlements.

From Confrontation To Coexistence: An Appeal Opt-Out Arrangement As An Inclusive Approach To Revive The WTO Dispute Settlement System?

Resolving the crisis in the dispute settlement system is a priority issue for the reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Members have made sustained efforts in this regard. Since the Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12), discussions on the dispute settlement system have entered a new phase, focusing on facilitator-organized meetings and proposals from Members. The reform negotiations have made some progress, but still face a number of significant challenges, in particular with regard to the appellate procedures. It is highly uncertain whether a comprehensive solution can be reached by 2024 as mandated by the MC12. Taking into account the different positions of Members and the imminent approach of the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference (MC13), this paper recommends that Members show more pragmatism and flexibility, puts forward a compromise proposal to establish a multilateral arrangement that would allow Members to opt out of the appellate review process under the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes ( DSU), and argues that this could be conducive to restoring a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system. WTO, Appellate Body Crisis, Dispute Settlement Reform, Opt-out Arrangement

The main problems of the functioning of existing water supply and water distribution systems in Ukraine

The article analyzes the urgent problems of water supply and drainage, separately in wartime conditions. To solve them, a new scientific approach is proposed, the final result of which will be a single method for optimizing the water supply and drainage systems of settlements. Mandatory components of this methodology are proposed: design and construction of duplicate water supply and drainage systems of settlements, organization of installation and arrangement of pump stations as spare independent water supply systems of settlements. Scientific substantiation of alternative scenarios for individual populated points is proposed, of which the most optimal scenario for the sustainable operation of the system in the long term will be recommended to the local self-government body. In addition, it is proposed for settlements to carry out a risk analysis with the filling of forms according to which water supply and drainage enterprises will work.

Analysis of the planning, functional, and volumetric-spatial organization of temporary settlements

This article examines the experience of planning temporary settlements for the affected and displaced persons, evaluating global and domestic approaches. The analysis encompasses urban planning situations, volumetric-spatial, and functional-planning organization of temporary residential structures, defining typological characteristics and categorizing them. The main focus is on the functioning of temporary settlements using open, semi-open, and closed systems within the structure of habitation. The analysis of global practical experience reveals that at the urban planning level, temporary settlements constitute a structural and planning element primarily constrained by the population size and the potential use of existing service infrastructure. These indicators dictate the placement of this element (temporary settlement) within the settlement system and its functional purpose (transit or long-term settlements), consequently influencing the operational period (from a few months to half a year, up to 1 year, over 1 year, or indefinitely). The most common type is a settlement with a population capacity of up to 500 individuals, with the distinction of a residential zone as the main, and in some cases, the only zone (without the development of a public area or a common space core). Less widespread are settlements with a population capacity of over 500 to 1000 individuals, where a public center with facilities for domestic services, recreation, education, and work-related activities begins to form, mainly in the central core of the structure. An uncommon type of settlement is a residential structure with a capacity exceeding 1000 individuals, featuring the development of a comprehensive public center with a hierarchical network of sub-centers for social and domestic services and recreation, serving as nuclei for the formation of residential groups. Such settlements operate as closed self-servicing systems, meaning they are not dependent on functional connections with the community or the city within the settlement system. The planning aspects derived from global and Ukrainian experiences necessitate defining a temporary settlement as a new element in the urban planning system. Additionally, there is a need for further typological grouping of the reviewed examples of temporary settlements based on their interdependent developmental characteristics.

Systematization of public centers design methodology

The article deals with the issue of systematization of the development of project solutions of public complexes based on the analysis of their functional and planning structure and constituent elements. The author systematizes his long-term scientific research and project practice using theoretical sources, in the part of the formation of the architecture of public centers of large cities; conclusions are drawn regarding promising models for optimizing their structure.The nature of the interaction of elements in the modular system of the layout of public complexes is highlighted. A promising methodology for designing multifunctional complexes in an integrated modular system has been formulated. Conclusions were made regarding the possibility of the influence of such methods on the practice of designing public complexes.In this article, provision of "end-to-end" unification and "open" typification of block modules allows to expand the possibilities of alternative search for the most rational project solutions of large multi-functional complexes - public centers. This makes it possible to significantly facilitate the process of designing such objects, shifts the emphasis of creative searches from the layout of the internal structure and technology to the solution of architectural plastic and artistic tasks of the formation of urban ensembles of the center.The nomenclature of residential and public centers of large cities, as the main structural nodes of the city in unity with the adjacent system of settlements, is given. Conclusions are drawn on possible directions of unification and modular coordination of the constituent elements of multifunctional complexes - public centers.

A Poetic Community: Colonel David Humphreys' Model Industrial Village

AbstractThis is the story of David Humphreys' efforts to plan and develop America's first sustained and successful woollen textile mill and village in the United States beginning in 1806. Informed by the debates over the future economic direction of the new nation, his efforts represented a coalescence of the pro‐agricultural thoughts and ideas commonly espoused by the Democratic‐Republican Party and the pro‐manufacturing positions of Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists. The Humphreysville experiment showed that America could competitively manufacture high‐quality woollen goods; factory‐based manufacturing could be undertaken in a healthy, safe, and moral community; and agricultural and industrial interests could be combined for the public welfare. Moreover, Humphreysville was intended to be a model village where economic, social, and cultural aspects of the community were just as important as the economic production of cloth. Many of the elements of the social planning found in Humphreysville were later applied in the Slater‐Rhode Island and Waltham‐Lowell systems of textile mills and settlements throughout the nineteenth century.

Value evaluation model (VEM) of ancient Chinese military settlement heritage: a case study of Liaoxi Corridor in the Ming Dynasty

The Ming Great Wall Military Defense System is the most complete ancient military cultural heritage in China, which is of great significance to the study of China’s ancient military defense mechanism and pattern. Military settlement is an important carrier of this mechanism. The estimation and in-depth understanding of its value can further excavate the profound connotation of the military defense system and the Great Wall spatial pattern in the Ming Dynasty. This paper adopts the AHP-CRITIC weighting approach to determine the weights of the historical value, scientific value, social value, cultural value and artistic value of the settlement heritage, so as to construct the value evaluation model of military settlements, and takes 34 Ming Great Wall military settlements in the Liaoxi Corridor as an example for evaluation. The results of the evaluation identified the priority settlements for conservation and development, and also explored their relationship with historical status, urbanization processes and official policies. The evaluation model constructed in this paper has a certain universality, and can also be followed in the evaluation of other military settlements in the Ming Great Wall Defense System, so as to obtain the overall cognition of the settlement system.

Continuity, Resilience, and Change in Rural Settlement Patterns from the Roman to Islamic Period in the Sicani Mountains (Central-Western Sicily)

This study aims to analyze the dynamics of change in settlement models from the Roman, late antique, and Byzantine periods, focusing on how these transformations influenced the formation of Islamic societies in the rural landscapes of western Sicily. The study is centered around the territory of Corleone in the Sicani Mountains (central-western Sicily). This region, strategically located between the significant cities of Palermo on the Tyrrhenian Sea and Agrigento on the Strait of Sicily, has been pivotal in the communication network spanning from the Roman era to the Middle Ages and beyond. The area has been subject to extensive surveys and excavations, revealing diverse dynamics of continuity, resilience, and innovation in settlement patterns from the Roman to the Islamic periods. Beyond presenting the results of archaeological fieldwork, this study employs GIS-based spatial and statistical analyses and utilizes a range of topographic (elevation, slope, aspect, topographic position index (TPI), and distance to water sources) and ecological factors (vegetation series). These analyses aim to assess the evolving relationships and site positioning within the territory over time. Combining archaeological data with topographic and ecological landscape analysis, this integrated approach elucidates the complex transition dynamics from the Roman settlement system to the Islamic age’s landscape formation in western Sicily’s rural areas. The study thereby contributes to a deeper understanding of the intricate interplay between historical developments and environmental factors in shaping rural settlement patterns.

Analysis of settlements with debtors based on the quality indicatorof turnover.

The aggravation of relations in the field of global finance, the change of international partners and disruption of international economic relations cause the need to strengthen payment discipline and accelerate payments, which is especially important in the context of the expansion of new associations of states. The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have also led to a reduction in the liquidity of organizations and increased the need for funds. Timely repayment of accounts receivable increases the availability of cash to suppliers, and the acceleration of settlements contributes to an increase in available funds, which makes it possible to use them additionally in commercial turnover. The purpose of the study was to improve the system of settlements (based on their turnover) with debtors and rational distribution of the terms of cash refunds using the matrix method. The existing systems for assessing financial and cash flows in settlements with debtors and the indicators used for this purpose do not always express the dependent relationship between the growth of sales revenue, the turnover of accounts receivable and the degree of its repayment. In this regard, the objective of the study was to improve the existing indicators of the analysis of accounts receivable. The article examines the methods of accounts receivable management integrated into the system based on a client- oriented approach. In the course of the work the methods of comparison, statistics, mathematical modeling were used. A system for tracking the balances of accounts receivable, comparing them with sales volumes and turnover indicators is proposed. The author formulated the concept of the cycle of accounts receivable circulation. It is revealed that the use of indicators of turnover of accounts receivable and sales volume do not accurately reflect the quality of repayment of accounts receivable, their interdependence and do not disclose the possibility of additional release of funds from settlements with debtors. To solve this problem, a new indicator has been introduced — the rate of repayment of receivables. An approach is proposed to substantiate the expediency and feasibility of accelerating payments based on the elasticity of revenue or proceeds from the sale of products, works and services to the rate of repayment of receivables. The results of the research were the creation of a system for tracking receivables balances and comparing them with sales volumes and turnover indicators, which can be useful for organisations selling products, works and services under credit agreement to accelerate cash receipts.

The prevalent perplexities and countermeasures of the survey and settlement operation of Bangladesh

Identification of land through an effective land survey ensures a secure land tenure system as well as conveys a smooth settlement of land disputes. At this backdrop, the study is framed with the objective of assessing the efficacy of Zonal Settlement System (ZSS) in Bangladesh. Using non-doctrinal data collection techniques, the study found that the prevailing settlement operation conducted under ZSS in Bangladesh is surrounded by a traditional, complex, and lengthy survey method. The study also revealed that insufficient manpower, inadequacy of technical support, administrative misfeasance, and ineffective dispute resolution arrangements worsen the situation. However, the study discovered that initiation of digital land survey and inauguration of an extensive capacitybuilding program will be instrumental in overcoming the crisis. Based on the deliberate discussion, the study also recommends for establishing a time-saving and fruitful land surveying approach, along with effective and robust supervisory administration and dispute resolution authority.

Shaping a model of transformation in a huge centre of zinc and lead smelting: case study of Szopienice district in the city of Katowice (Poland)

The problem of dynamic transformations within complex settlement systems poses an important challenge to planning. This is particularly true of post-industrial and post-mining regions, whose economic past adds an additional dimension affecting development and spatial policy. However, the article highlights the case of a settlement (Szopienice – a district of the city of Katowice in southern Poland) with a heterogeneous genesis in relation to the (post-)mining region in which it is located. Taking into account its economic development founded on zinc and lead metallurgy, the difficulties of development projection are pointed out. These difficulties are emphasised by a focus on the importance of paying attention to this type of locality from several research perspectives. In addition to the aforementioned heterogeneity, the role of “in-between” town locations and spatial peripheralisation is highlighted.

Determinants of Net Transactions in TARGET2 of European Banks Based on Micro-data

AbstractThis paper examines German and foreign bank factors that can explain net flows of cross-border central bank liquidity between Germany and the rest of the euro area. Using data from the German component of Eurosystem’s real-time gross settlement system TARGET2 and BankFocus for the period between 2009 and 2021, we provide empirical evidence that only few balance sheet items and profit and loss accounts affect net flows with Germany. We control for bilateral bank-specific relationships and time-varying macroeconomic country effects in our regressions. In general, German bank factors seem to be more important than characteristics of foreign banks. A German bank that exhibits relatively high claims against central banks seems to attract less additional central bank liquidity from abroad than a German bank with fewer existing central bank claims. Net claims against central banks, which also control for liabilities, have no effect on net transactions in TARGET2. However, higher overall liquidity of a German credit institution corresponds to additional net inflows. Foreign bank factors only matter for central bank payments and intragroup payments. We also document heterogeneities across different types of transactions which influence the German TARGET2 balance. While customer payments, interbank payments and central bank payments have increased net flows to Germany in sum, intragroup payments and ancillary systems’ transactions have led to net outflows.

THE REFORM OF DISPUTE SETTLEMENT SYSTEM OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION: CONTRIBUTION AND PERSPECTIVES FROM INDONESIA

The WTO dispute settlement system is currently in crisis as the Appellate Body has been unable to perform its appellate review since December 11th, 2019. The US asserted that the AB has exceeded its authority. The crisis can be detrimental, especially for developing countries in international trade. The WTO Members have made efforts to reform the system. This paper uses qualitative and descriptive research to analyse the contribution of Indonesia to the system and its perspectives on the reform negotiations.
 Indonesia has contributed to the system and the Organization by clarifying interpretations of WTO agreements. In the reform negotiations, Indonesia has actively participated by joining a proposal to commence the selection of new AB members, supporting the result of “Walker Process” negotiations as a basis for future negotiation, and making some proposals such as formal communication to the WTO on a process in an informal process to implement the mandate of MC12 Outcome Document. As a negotiation strategy, Indonesia should continue its active participation by prioritizing accessible aspects that are interests of developing and LDC members, emphasizing the need to limit negotiation scope and urging the fulfilment of the 2024 deadline, safeguarding a legalistic system, and conducting a comprehensive analysis on two-tier litigation.