Special Court Research Articles

The August Decree and Postwar Poland

In Poland, justice in the immediate aftermath of World War II is usually associated with the Soviet-style military tribunals that were deployed to neutralize members of the London-backed underground. These political trials support a popular narrative about Polish victimhood at the hands of a brutal Soviet occupier, one that overshadows a very different type of postwar justice. In August 1944, just weeks after Poland’s provisional socialist government had reinstated the prewar system of civilian courts, along with its procedural and criminal codes, it enacted special legislation to punish Nazi collaborators, known colloquially as the “August Decree.” Although cases prosecuted under its auspices initially fell under the jurisdiction of a newly created “Special Court” system with simplified legal procedures, these were far from politically motivated Soviet-style show trials, and the August Decree was “not a communist law in content” (91). Instead, these vengeance-seeking efforts were sophisticated processes that were fairly independent from the fledgling socialist dictatorship.

Criminal recidivism of patients in Swedish forensic psychiatry: A register-based comparison study

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to evaluate criminal outcomes of mentally disordered offenders in compulsory forensic psychiatric care during the year 2010 versus 2018. More specifically, we sought to identify the occurrence of new criminal sentences during ongoing treatment and possible factors associated with recidivistic criminality. Another aim was to map previous criminality, types of index crime, and whether there were any changes within this decade. MethodsCrime-, clinical, and treatment-related variables were collected from the Swedish National Forensic Psychiatric Register for all unique inpatients registered from January 1–December 31 in 2010 (N = 717) and 2018 (N = 757). The mean, frequency, percentage, and standard deviation were calculated per variable and stratified by study year and gender. Between-group comparisons were made using t-tests and Chi-square tests. Binary logistic regression was performed to determine whether variables expected to be associated with recidivism showed any relation to criminal recidivism for each study cohort. ResultsMost patients were male and approximately one-quarter and one-half of the men, respectively, had a previous sentence for non-violent and violent crimes. The 2018 cohort showed significantly lower rates of sentences to forensic psychiatry with special court supervision although the numbers were low in both cohorts and for both men and women. Previous violent conviction was associated with criminal recidivism during treatment in 2010, while this was joined by index crime under the influence of alcohol/illicit drugs for the 2018 cohort. ConclusionsOverall, these results showed more similarities between the 2010 and 2018 cohorts then dissimilarities, while on the other hand some quite substantial differences were described between males versus females. The results of this study indicate that it may be possible to tailor forensic psychiatric treatment to gender as a proxy for other variables related to increased criminal recidivism in offenders sentenced to forensic psychiatric care.

The Power of Constitutional Court to Settle Disputes on Local Election Results

Constitutional Court Decision No. 85/PUU-XX/2022 abolished the proposal to establish a special court that have the power to resolve disputes on local election. As a result, that power shifted to Constitutional Court. This, de facto, is not the power designed to be exercised by the Court. Back tracked on historical trajectory of holding direct local elections, there has been a tug-of-war between judicial bodies on who have the legitimate power to settle the disputes on local elections results. This study aims to examine the power of Constitutional Court to adjudicate disputes on local election results. To achieve the research objective, this research framework will look at the historical context to have an overview of the dynamics of transposition of judicial bodies to settle the disputes. In addition, this also assess Constitutional Court decisions which provide interpretations as the basis for the legitimacy of the Court's power to adjudicate local election disputes.

Tribunal for the Russian Aggression in Ukraine: The Need for Accountability

The Russian aggression against Ukraine has raised the need for accountability and international rule of law. Russia through committing the supreme international crime has deliberately violated basic international principles and norms such as state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and the prohibition of the use of force. Member states of the United Nations drafted and agreed to create the International Criminal Court to punish the most serious crimes. The Kampala amendments of the Rome Statute on aggression, adopted a decade later, can be activated if the two states concerned have accepted ICC jurisdiction. Russia and Ukraine are not members of ICC, although the unilateral declarations of Ukraine accepting ICC jurisdiction can be exercised for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed in the territory of Ukraine. The lack of an international mechanism to punish the crime of aggression against Ukraine have triggered calls and actions to create a special tribunal with a limited focus on that crime, based on the development of international criminal law over the past eighty years. The EU recently agreed to establish an International Center for the prosecution of the crime of aggression – to preserve evidence and prepare the analysis of the evidence for the prosecution for future national or international trials – which is considered a first step in that direction. This research will analyze options to create either a special international tribunal or a hybrid tribunal to investigate whether Russia’s acts of violence in Ukraine constitute a crime of aggression and their prosecution. It will examine the legal basis of its establishment and functioning of the tribunal based on previous precedents, such as the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg), or other specialized courts integrated in a national justice system with international judges – hybrid court. It will also explore the indispensable role of the United Nations in establishing such a tribunal and its implications in ending the conflict.
 
 Received: 13 January 2023 / Accepted: 17 March 2023 / Published: 20 March 2023

Duration of forensic psychiatric care and subsequent criminal recidivism in individuals sentenced in Sweden between 2009 and 2019.

The duration of forensic psychiatric care is in Sweden not determined at the time of sentencing; instead, offenders are regularly evaluated, often with regard to risk of criminal recidivism. The length and justifiability of such a sanction have been greatly debated; however, previous estimates of treatment duration based on datasets delimited to discharged patients-have provided an uncertain groundwork for these deliberations. The aim of this study was to use a more suitable approach to calculate average duration of forensic psychiatric care and to examine the relationship between length of treatment and subsequent recidivism after discharge. This retrospective cohort study focused on offenders sentenced to forensic psychiatric care in Sweden between 2009 and 2019 and registered in the Swedish National Forensic Psychiatric Register (n = 2064), with a follow-up period until May 2020. We used Kaplan-Meier estimator to calculate and visualize treatment duration including analyses comparing levels of relevant variables, and then evaluated criminal recidivism in patients discharged from treatment between 2009 and 2019 (n = 640), after stratification for the same variables and dichotomization by treatment duration. The median duration of forensic psychiatric care was estimated to 89.7 months (95% CI 83.2-95.8). Treatment was longer in offenders who committed violent crimes, suffered from psychosis, or had a history of substance use disorder, and in offenders whose sentences included special court supervision. The cumulative incidence of recidivism in patients discharged from treatment was estimated to 13.5% at 12 months (95% CI 10.6-16.2) and 19.5% at 24 months (95% CI 16.0-22.8). Corresponding cumulative incidence of violent crime post discharge was 6.3% at 12 months (95% CI 4.3-8.3) and 9.9% at 24 months (95% CI 7.3-12.4). Among other findings, in patients without a history of substance use disorder and patients whose sentences did not include special court supervision, recidivism was significantly higher in those with a shorter treatment duration. Using the entirety of a suitable, contemporary, prospectively enrolled cohort of mentally ill offenders, we were able to estimate-with greater accuracy than previous studies-the average duration of Swedish forensic psychiatric care and rate of subsequent criminal recidivism.

Russian Federation - from strength to weakness, from West to East, from a permanent member to a potential outsider

This article focuses on the Russian Federation as a state in between strength and weakness, West and East, a permanent member and a potential outsider. It begins with the Russian decline in power, using as measurable indicators the five dimensions of security promoted by the Copenhagen School of security studies. It continues with Russian foreign policy reconfigured from West to East and with proposals regarding the United Nations reform and the establishment of a new Special Court to sanction the Russian political and military leader’s crime aggression against Ukraine. In the end, the scenario method is a research method. We advance three possible scenarios: the most likely scenario for the Russian state that is based on the Russian state defeat, war reparations imposed and accountability for political and military leaders; the worst-case scenario that involves the tactical nuclear weapons use in Ukraine and an international answer accordingly and the optimistic scenario for the Russian state that involves winning the war, but without international recognition and legitimacy for victory.

SMEs filing for bankruptcy in Spain: The best of luck!

The aim of this work is to analyze the factors that help companies avoid liquidation following the spirit of the Spanish insolvency law. This work focuses on the phase starting when companies file for bankruptcy and ending with the completion of the common phase. We apply the agency theory to explain how insolvency administrators and court characteristics influence the outcome of the bankruptcy process (liquidation or reorganization). We analyze unique accounting data from 2,627 companies that filed for bankruptcy during the period 2008–2014. The findings reveal the significant roles played by the liquidation trustee, Big 4 administrators, and higher remunerations, along with the type of court in charge. Processes are more likely to result in reorganization if they are handled by specialized courts, managed by the Big 4, and if the insolvency administrator has longer experience in bankruptcy filing and receives a higher remuneration. These findings have important implications for all the agents involved. It is necessary to rationalize the filing process, foment better training for insolvency administrators, provide courts with more funds, and create more specialized courts. The principal contribution of this article is to examine the role played by insolvency administrators and the courts, and their influence on the outcome of the insolvency process. JEL CLASSIFICATION C35; D21; D22; G33; G38

EXAMINING THE REGULATION OF INDEPENDENT PROCEDURE AT THE INDONESIAN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COURT

This study aims to examine whether the current industrial relations court procedural law system is sufficiently ideal as a reference for the settlement of industrial relations disputes in Indonesia and to test the urgency of regulating independent procedural law in the Court of Indonesian Industrial Relations. This is a normative legal research with a statutory approach, a conceptual approach and comparative approach. The result shows that the industrial relation court procedural law system is not ideal enough to accommodate the development and complexity of disputes that occur in Indonesian labor today. Simple, quick and inexpensive way of settling dispute is difficult to occur when the procedural law that is enforced still adopts or is unable to escape from HIR, RBg, RV as civil procedural law (colonial product), which has a general character. The Industrial Relations Court as one of the Special Courts must be able to show its independent character, including in regulating procedural law. Comparative studies with the state of Thailand, Malaysia and Japan are used in this paper in order to illustrate the importance of the regulation concerning the Industrial Relations Court procedures. Changes to the procedural law of the Industrial Relation Court are urgent to do in order to provide an effective and efficient means of dispute resolution that is able to represent simple, quick and inexpensive principles according to the needs or demands of workers and employers today

Skazani na karę śmierci przez Specjalny Sąd Karny w Katowicach w latach 1945–1946

The purpose of this article is to present issues related to capital punishment in the jurisprudence of the Special Criminal Court in Katowice — one of nine special courts established to try “fascist and Nazi criminals” and traitors to the Polish nation. Records of death penalty trials, prisoners’ files from penal institutions, convict records, and articles in regional press were subject to scrutiny, which enabled establishing the names of 57 (or 58) people sentenced to death by the Special Criminal Court in Katowice between March 1945 and November 1946. The majority of the convicts were accused of denunciation to the German authorities, participation in arrests, and, in just three cases, murder. The Katowice Court was one of the special courts with the fewest instances of capital punishment. Thirty-two death sentences were carried out, and the remaining convicts (who constituted 40% of the total) were pardoned by the decision of the President of the National Council and left prison no later than in 1956.

Z działalności Sądu Specjalnego w Tarnopolu (Sondergericht Tarnopol) 1941–1944

On the Activities of the Special Court in Ternopil (Sondergericht Tarnopol) 1941–1944 The article concerns the activities of the Special Court in Ternopil (Sondergericht Tarnopol), one of the German special courts operating in the territory of the General Government, in the Galicia district, in the years 1941–1944. Investigating this topic is justified by the lack of even fragmentary findings. Due to the state of preservation of the sources, I tried to answer the question about the nationality of the defendants; what punishments they received; if and in what cases the death penalty was imposed; who directed the work of the Sondergericht; what judges were its members and what prosecutors participated in the hearings before the Sondergericht; and where the lawyers involved in the work of the Sondergericht came from. The sources used in the research included archival materials (court and personal files), literature and the press. The research resulted in new, original findings regarding the Special Court in Ternopil.

The War Against the Insurrectionary Movement in the Alpes-Maritimes and the Creation of a System of Social Control in the Time of Napoleon

The insurrectionary movement in the former exclave of the Sardinian kingdom — the county of Nice, began in 1792, immediately after the conquest by the French army, as a reaction to military violence, requisitions and robberies of the local population. The author of the article shows how and by what means this popular anti-revolutionary movement was suppressed in the first years of Napoleon's Consulate. As during the Directory, the government initially relied on forceful methods of suppressing the insurgents and “brigandage”. The civil administration, appointed by Napoleon as early as March 1800, took a different stance. The course towards establishing social peace and political reconciliation required other methods. The authorities tried to force and interest the local elites and the population to dissociate themselves from the rebels and achieved quick success in this. Now a fine selection was carried out: the ringleaders were severely punished, but not ordinary members of the “bands”. Special courts, which worked simultaneously with military tribunals, also acted in the same direction. The national guard was revived, and in some cases re-created in rural communes. As a result, a system of social control was created and the rural oligarchies began to support the new regime, but the cost of this success was the local civil war of 1800—1801, which probably claimed several thousand lives. The remnants of the rebels, excluded from society, marginalized, turned into criminal robbers from the main road, but the threat of the revival of the insurgent movement bothered the authorities even later. The article is based on materials from the National Archives of France, a report to the government of A. Français from Nantes in 1801 and other materials. In the article the author analyzes the different approaches of French historians to the problem of “brigandage” in the Mediterranean region during the period of Napoleon's Consulate.

Is the National Industrial Court (NIC) Still a Special Court? A Review of the Extra Luggage of Ancillary Jurisdiction of the NIC as a Disservice to Labour Justice

Is the National Industrial Court (NIC) Still a Special Court? A Review of the Extra Luggage of Ancillary Jurisdiction of the NIC as a Disservice to Labour Justice

Sudska kontrola ustavnosti (judical review) - savremeni pristup

Contemporary global society is highly polarizated. Minority societes seriously endangere civilised achievements, like principles of democratic society and goverments of law are. Such societies resort to force their decisions breaching, by this, fundamental human rights and civilised achivements, very often. In such circumstances, judicial review gains significance and actuality, as a way to avoid social conflicts and to protect the interests of majority, as well. The institution of judical review has its roots in parliamentary (political) control, but there are opinions that such a control of constitutionality and legality was under strong influence of political parties. The second way of such control, having its roots in political control as well, was highly developed through experience of State Council (administrative court) and Constitutional Council in France, competent for timely control and removal of any kind of illegality before the law has been passed, unlike later control. This is why this kind of control is widely spread all over the Europe and in other legal systems, as well. The third way of control of constitutionality and legality is through the competences of judicial power, by ordinary courts, like in USA, or by special courts (constitutional courts). This way of control is also widely spread due to authority and speciality of the court as an institution, and due to its objectivity, also. Above all, this way of control of constitutionality and legality is guaranteed by citizens ( public), who take part in active evaluation of such a control.

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Anti-Corruption Crusade in Nigeria, (2015-2020)

Corruption has proven to be intractable in Nigeria, with resultant consequences on the political, economic and socio-cultural development of the nation. Though past military regimes, before the return to democratic government in 1999, initiated series of anti-corruption crusades at various times, corruption in high and low places continued to be on an alarming increase. With the return to democratic governance, President Olusegun Obasanjo saw to the establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2002, which amongst others is vested with the responsibilities of prevention, investigation and prosecution of individuals, groups and institutions found culpable or corrupt, and unearth frauds and recover public loots in the country. After over a decade of the commission’s existence in the country, corruption remain a pandemic, which informed President Muhammadu Buhari’s second major promise during his campaign in 2015, to fight and completely eradicate corruption. Between 2015 and 2020, a lot a successes and failures have punctuated the activities of the commission and this is the thrust of this study. The Institutional Approach was used as the theoretical framework for the study and we relied on materials collected from secondary sources. Among other recommendations of the study, the Federal Government of Nigeria should speedily take steps to establish special courts to deal specifically with corruption cases while the Judicial Service Commission and the Nigeria Bar Association should be strengthened to deal firmly with alleged cases of corruption or misconduct involving Judges and lawyers respectively.

KEDUDUKAN HUKUM PENGADILAN NIAGA DALAM KERANGKA SISTEM KEKUASAAN KEHAKIMAN

In the judicial power system that applies in Indonesia based on the 1945 constitution, there are four judicial bodies whose existence is recognized, namely the general court, the religious court, the state administrative court, and the military court. In addition, the law on judicial power also recognizes the existence of a special court as a specialty to adjudicate certain cases, one of these special courts is the commercial court which is authorized to adjudicate cases of bankruptcy and suspension of payment. However, the existence of the commercial court has not been regulated in a separate law, even though the regulation of the commercial court in a separate law is very important, because in practice the commercial court is not only authorized to adjudicate bankruptcy cases but is also authorized to adjudicate cases in the field of intellectual property rights.

Should Judges Be Empathic? The Place of Judges’ Empathy in Therapeutic Jurisprudence

Therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ) has had a influence on the judiciary and legal practice given the emergence of special courts, the so-called problem-solving courts. As understood by David B. Wexler, TJ is an approach that combines experience from many scientific fields, constituting an interdisciplinary field of research that focuses on the therapeutic and antitherapeutic consequences of laws, legal procedures, and the roles and behaviours of legal actors such as lawyers and judges. The role that they play during a trial is particularly emphasized in this theory in the context of causing both positive and negative consequences for those participating in the trial. The first purpose of this paper is to reconstruct the understanding of empathy and its role in the therapeutic jurisprudence, and to show how the concept of empathy is understood in the context of a judge’s work, particularly in relation to main TJ authors, David B. Wexler and Bruce J. Winick.

SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT RULINGS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO

Almost all countries with liberal democracies have established specialized courts whose primary function and paramount role fulfi l an extremely important role in the protection of human rights, interpretation and protection of the constitution as well as defi ning and promoting important principles such as the separationof powers, rule of law and the protection of minorities and other constitutional values. Constitutional courts utilizing case law and precedent have played pivotal roles in determining the constitutional identities of theirrespective states. Since its establishment, The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo(“CCK”or “TheCourt”) has been very active in its decision-making and has greatly infl uenced the defi nition and cultivationof the constitutional identity of Kosovo. Its decisions have defi ned important constitutional frameworks suchas the protection of human rights, protection of the rights of national minorities, separation of powers andunity of the state and many other important principles. It can be said that, in general, the Court has been theguardian of the Constitution and constitutional democracy, fulfi lling the main purpose of its establishment.This paper will address the jurisdiction and organization of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, and some ofthe important decisions which have undoubtedly played an important role in determining the constitutionalidentity of the country.

Definition of Terrorism and its impact on Criminal Justice System: A Critical Review

Evolution of legislation on terrorism can be traced back to 1971, when Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto felt threats to existence of Pakistan and his government. First ever law on terrorism; Suppression of Terrorist Activities (Special Courts) Act was introduced in 1975. It did not have any definition of the term terrorism, however. It was followed by few other laws promulgated from to time. 
 Terrorism in Pakistan had various manifestations that included sectarian, ethnic, religious and political. Decade of 1990 was marked by sectarian terrorism in Pakistan. Anti-Terrorism Act was promulgated in 1997 to curb terrorist activities. Terrorism was defined in any statute for the first time in history of Pakistan. The Act was amended many times till date. There are, however, few flaws in the definition of terrorism in ATA, 1997; which impact criminal justice system of Pakistan. Police misuses ATA and registers cases under this law to increase the gravity of the issues. It results in increase of work load on special courts, leading to delay in dispensation of justice. Prosecution is not independent, as it was envisaged to be. They do not have active role to play in the case; while at the time of registration of FIRs, during investigations and while bringing forth witnesses and forensic evidence before the courts. There is no regular and effective coordination between all three components of criminal justice system of Pakistan at top level. Due to faulty FIRs, in absence of witnesses, because of faulty investigation and sometimes judicial corruption; the courts dismiss the cases. Mostly the nominated culprits are released on the orders of the courts. In this scenario, there is dire need to amend the definition of terrorism in ATA, 1997. The same has been desired by the apex court of the country as well, in its landmark judgment of October 2019.

ANOMALY OF THE AUTHORITY OF THE DISTRICT COURT IN EXAMINING AND RESOLVING FOOTBALL SPORTS DISPUTES IN INDONESIA

Sports problems are currently very much in Indonesia, the dynamics of sports in Indonesia have indeed developed rapidly until now it has shifted to the direction of the industry involving various stakeholders. This development certainly has positive things, but on the one hand, it has problems that are also increasingly complex. In the latest case, Persipura Jaya filed a lawsuit with the Central Jakarta District Court to sue Barito Putera. Persib Bandung because Persipura considers that there is match-fixing. If you look at the lawsuit, Persipura Jayapura asked the District Court to cancel the match between Persib Bandung and Barito Putera, this ini became very interesting because the sports team was taken to the District Court. This article will analyze the position and function of the District Court according to the ius constitutum and the extent of the authority of the District Court to examine and decide sports dispute cases in Indonesia. This article will use normative juridical research methods. The research results conclude that the position and function of the District Court are to examine, adjudicate and decide Criminal and Civil cases in the first instance. The District Court has no authority to resolve disputes in sports. This is because there is no rule on this. The suggestion in this sense is that Indonesia must have a judicial institution that specializes in handling sports cases, such as CAS in Switzerland, so there needs to be a revision of laws and regulations if Indonesia wants to create a special court regarding sports.

Juristic content of juvenile legal order

The purpose of the scientific article is to determine the juristic content of the juvenile legal order. To achieve the goal, the following tasks were implemented: scientific understanding of the "juvenile legal order" category, as well as legal relations in this area; analysis of provision of juvenile legal order by law enforcement agencies of Ukraine; development of recommendations for improving the efficiency and improvement of the juvenile legal order in Ukraine.
 The work determined that the juvenile legal order is one of the types of legal order and a part (segment) of the public order as a whole, but it has its own peculiarities. Emphasis is placed on the novel categories of "juvenile order" for the legal field of Ukraine.
 It is suggested that the concept of "juvenile legal order" should be understood as the state of regulation of social relations by law in the field of realization of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of children, as well as in the field of protection and protection of their rights from illegal actions of other legal subjects.
 Juvenile legal order is understood as the state of orderliness of the rights of social relations in the field of realization of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of children, as well as in the field of health protection and protection of their rights from illegal actions of other legal entities. The author includes legal norms, subjects (participants) of the legal order, legal relations, legal awareness to the structure of the juvenile legal order. The goal of the juvenile justice system, which is implemented by the state, is supposed to be safety - a state of protection of the vital interests of children. Focused attention on the modern requirements of Ukrainian society in ensuring the rights and freedoms of children in the conditions of war on the territory of Ukraine.
 The National Police is recognized by the author as one of the main subjects of the juvenile legal order, which has its own status and competence. Juvenile prevention units are named by the author as the central subject of the juvenile legal order in Ukraine.
 It was concluded that the juvenile justice system should unite juvenile prevention units and other units of the National Police, special courts for family and children, specialized prosecutors and lawyers, institutions for the rehabilitation of teenagers, units of social protection of the population and other enterprises. institutions and organizations whose main focus is the protection of children's rights and freedoms.