Substantive Arguments Research Articles

Data Protection Considerations in Competition Law Assessments: A Qualitative Document Analysis of EU Decision Texts

Abstract Personal data are both protected by a fundamental right and serves as a source of market power. As such, a complex interplay between data protection and competition law arises, sparking debate among policymakers and scholars on whether to incorporate data protection considerations (DPCs) in competition law assessments. Proponents argue that competition cases involving such an interplay require a normative contribution from data protection law, while opponents emphasize the practical challenges of considering data protection as a non-economic public policy objective. We identify nine ways in which data protection might ultimately surface in competition law assessments, categorized into five areas: (i) competition enforcement actions, (ii) existing legal and regulatory framework, (iii) personal data collection, (iv) exclusionary abuses, and (v) alleviation of competition concerns. Using a multiple-step approach for qualitative document analysis, we explore how these considerations have surfaced in the European Commission’s decisional practice through a dataset of 2.041 EU competition decision texts based on articles 101 TFEU and 102 TFEU and the EU Merger Regulation. We identify 53 decisions where DPCs have surfaced, especially in the information and communication industry, where they are more frequently subjected to commitments. In line with the evolving literature, we observe an increasingly integrationist trend as these considerations surface more frequently, particularly since the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation in 2016 and the Digital Markets Act proposal in 2020. We also find a pattern where data protection provisions are included in commitments as a ‘tick-the-box’ exercise. Several influential alleviations of competition concerns suggest that the Commission is more comfortable using data protection to approve transactions unconditionally rather than as a substantive argument for commitments. We conclude by making a case for a more collaborative approach based on the European Court of Justice’s recent Meta Platforms (2023) judgment. Data protection should be considered in competition law assessments if its normative contribution is required. Such a stance would simply align with the internal logic of competition law without unlawfully expanding its material scope.

Analysis of interest expense deduction in transfer pricing dispute in Indonesia

This study provides a comprehensive examination of interest expense disputes within the context of transfer pricing in Indonesia. Multinational enterprises frequently employ transfer pricing mechanisms to reduce their tax obligations, often leading to legal challenges in tax courts. The research employs a qualitative methodology, focusing on a detailed analysis of several tax court verdicts related to interest expense disputes. The primary dataset comprises appellate verdicts available from the official tax court repository. The study identifies key factors influencing the outcomes of such disputes, including the strength of the evidence presented, the consistency between recorded contracts and actual economic conditions, coherence between transfer pricing documentation and real-world practices, the legitimacy and rationality of the loan arrangements, utilization of reliable comparability data, and substantive arguments concerning the applicability of the Debt-to-Equity Ratio (DER) for assessing interest expense reasonableness. Furthermore, the research underscores crucial considerations for taxpayers, such as the role of DER in determining expense reasonableness, the regulatory framework governing interest-free loans, methodologies for applying the arm’s length principle in interest expense transactions, and the importance of meticulous documentation in transfer pricing files (TP Documentation).

A first step to clarity: Review of ECJ judgment of 19 October 2023, C-660/20(MK vs Lufthansa CityLine GmbH), ECLI:EU:C:2023:789

This article finds that the ECJ, in its judgment of 19 October 2023 (C-660/20), has succeeded in achieving a good degree of legal clarity by stating that difference in treatment of part-time workers can be established on the basis of a comparison of individual components of the remuneration. It calls on the ECJ to avoid treating a formal assessment as a decisive issue, and highlights the substantive arguments the ECJ makes about the justification of differential treatment.

Arkady Vasilyevich Sokolov as a documentologist

Our contemporary Arkady Vasilyevich Sokolov (1934–2023) specialized in many disciplines within the documentology sphere, namely library science, bibliography, informatics, noocommunicology, etc., and documentology, in particular. The author focuses on this aspect of Sokolov’s work. His interest in documentology raised naturally from informatics, with his starting point in 1962. Professionally engaged in information search, Sokolov explored the nature of information, which finally culminated in the monograph “The philosophy of information” in 2010. In those days library scientists were willing to become the part of information science persuading – themselves, first of all – that that the library science was an information discipline. Sokolov’s many and rather substantial arguments were contradictory. He criticized reasonably the interpretation of library functions in the 1994 Federal Law “On librarianship” by emphasizing that it was a mistake to set the information function against the others. However, instead of calling for adequate statement functions he tried to rationalize this inaccuracy. Similarly, the inappropriate approach he applied to the comparison of “information” and “document”, “document” and “book’ concepts. Meanwhile, Arkady Sokolov has expanded significantly the field of documentology by introducing the concept of documentosphere into the philosophy of documents. He started developing the concept of Bibliologos that encompasses the whole field of documentology. The author concludes that Arkady V. Sokolov’s contribution to documentology is great and undeniable.

Ibn Rushd's Epistemology of Ijtihad in the Completion of Fiqh Ikhtilaf (Study of the Book of Bidayah Al-Mujtahid, Chapter of Worship)

This study analyzes the nature and concept of Ibn Rushd's ijtihad in completing fiqh ikhtilaf among the ulama. He is known for his expertise in philosophy, logic, medical, and the fields of jurisprudence and jurisprudence (Islamic law). It can be proven in his monumental work "Bidayah al-Mujtahid wa Nihayah al-Muqtasid." This study conducted descriptive library research based on a normative theological approach. This study collected data from the primary source of the book "Bidayah al-Mujtahid wa Nihayah al-Muqtasid" and other relevant and related secondary sources and then analyzed it using content analysis techniques. The study results showed that: 1) Ibn Rushd has a rich experience and scientific background. He referred to many sources in his ijtihad that mostly came from the book al-Istiz\kar by Ibn Abd al-Bar, so those books influenced some of Ibn Rushd's ijtihad decisions. Thus, Ibn Rushd cannot be considered an absolute mujtahid. 2) Generally, he is still guided by the ijtihad methodology outlined critically by the Ulama. Meanwhile, there are some approaches to solve the problem of ikhtilaf, such as first, the al-jam'u approach (compromise); second, al-tarjih (selecting among the most substantial arguments); third, al-jam'u baina al-jam'i wa al -tarjih (a combination of the al-jam'u and al-tarjih approaches); fourth, tawaqquf (silence); fifth, al-takhyir (optional).

Constructivist and well-being based justifications of human rights. Rivals or allies?

ABSTRACT Scholars disagree about the proper justification of human rights and which rights qualify as human rights. While some argue for a very limited set of human rights, others defend more comprehensive accounts. In this paper I suggest that a defence of a comprehensive set of human rights can be strengthened by combining constructivist deontological and well-being based teleological justifications. To this end, I discuss two prominent proponents of constructivism and the well-being approach: Rainer Forst and Simon Caney. Forst criticises teleological justifications for grounding human rights in non-universalizable conceptions of the good, such as autonomy, that can reasonably be rejected by others. Constructivism, in contrast, does not rest on any particular idea of the good life and thus allows for greater ethical plurality. I reject this specific criticism, arguing that Caney’s approach ultimately allows for the same plurality. I also highlight that constructivism on its own cannot justify rights of people who are not (yet) able to reason. The well-being approach provides substantive arguments for the rights of these individuals. However, these arguments are made with the framework provided by constructivism. I hold, contra Caney, that Forst’s right to justification is primary in that it is the unavoidable basis from which justice issues can be dealt with in a reasonable way and that the main function of human rights is to protect the equal moral status of persons. I conclude that Forst’s constructivist and Caney’s well-being approach are complementary rather than rivalrous: when combined they provide a more robust justification for a comprehensive set of human rights than considered separately.

The national consensus formation at the first stage of Russia’s Special military operation against Ukraine (February–August 2022)

The article begins with a definition of some contesting views about the reality of Russian support for the “Special military operation” (SMO), hypotheses, and research approach. Then we present the substantive arguments about the attitude of Russian residents to the SMO and the reliability of public opinion polls results. After this we provide suggestive analyzes of three key understandings of the “West” in Russian public opinion. The article ends with arguing that a national consensus in Russia on the necessity and legitimacy of the SMO has really been achieved. The polarization of opinions is increasing but it is not reflected in the public sphere because of the fears that this could cause negative uncontrolled consequences for the economic situation, social and political stability in the country. As for Anti-Western sentiments, they depended and continue to depend on two groups of factors: foreign policy ones, which provoked the strengthening of these sentiments, and internal ones, which contributed to their weakening.

Role of psychosocial safety climate in job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion: mediating role of effort–reward imbalance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the role of psychosocial safety climate (PSC) on job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion among employees and to examine the mediating role of effort–reward imbalance (ERI) in this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThis study investigated a mediation model with ERI explaining the relationship between PSC and the outcome variables using a sample of 441 employees of information technology (IT) organizations in India. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques with LISREL (linear structural relations) 8.72 software.FindingsThe results suggest that PSC significantly influences the employees' experiences of job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Also, ERI was demonstrated as a significant intervening construct with full mediation of the PSC–emotional exhaustion relationship and partial mediation of the PSC–job satisfaction relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides substantial results and arguments to encourage organizational-level commitment for psychosocial risk management through distributive fairness and reciprocity in the form of ERI to foster positive attitudes and prevent negative health and psychological outcomes. The cross-sectional nature of the study limits generalizability but contributes to the literature on work stress in a developing country's context.Originality/valueThe study demonstrates how employee outcomes like job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion often result from their perceptions of inequity and imbalance at the workplace. Further, the study builds a strong case for helping organizations contribute to the United Nations (UN) 2030 sustainability goals by empirically establishing the crucial role of top management's commitment and prioritization of employee psychosocial health and safety for designing primary stress-management initiatives for sustainable psychosocial risk prevention and management.

Spatial Planning Response to the Challenges of Climate Change Adaptation: An Analysis of Selected Instruments and Good Practices in Europe

The task of combining objectives, spatial planning instruments, and climate change adaptation targets is a complex endeavour that varies across countries. There is a call for a universal discussion on how spatial planning should respond to climate change challenges. To address this issue, this article delves into the approaches taken by Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Poland, aiming to explore how spatial planning instruments support climate change adaptation goals. The authors, based on a jointly extracted questionnaire, identified what they consider to be the most relevant examples of instruments to use to ensure the integration of spatial planning objectives and the response to climate challenges. The identified solutions are compared in detail. Three key spatial planning themes emerged in this study: investment in renewable energy, the development and preservation of green infrastructure, and the protection of coastal zones. This article examines the systemic solutions found in these countries, discusses the role of both classical and sectoral spatial planning instruments, and identifies the level of public authority responsible for key interventions. It shows that instruments developed at the supra-local level should support local authorities by providing them with legal and substantive arguments for developing solutions relevant to climate challenges.

Outside the Bubble: Social Media and Political Participation in Western Democracies by Cristian Vaccari and Augusto Valeriani

In Outside the Bubble: Social Media and Political Participation in Western Democracies, Cristian Vaccari and Augusto Valeriani provide a welcome intervention into contemporary discussions of social media’s political effects. Drawing from an impressive data set collected in nine different countries over three years—and covering over one-third of total social media users living in democracies worldwide—the authors make a convincing case that social media do have a positive (though, perhaps, limited) effect on political participation and that they do so by “broadening the pool of participants” in political life. The authors also show that that these effects are context-dependent, “shaped by political institutions” that vary across countries (14). But Vaccari and Valeriani’s contribution goes beyond this substantive argument, with broader implications for how social media research is conducted. For one, the book’s focus is not on platforms’ affordances but rather on their effects on users—which, the authors note, often run counter to what we might expect. Just because we can curate some things on Facebook does not mean we will control everything; “selectivity of sources and networks,” as it turns out, “does not necessarily mean active selection of content” (100).

Plantinga and Aquinas on the Viability of the ‘Third Way’

This article deals with Alvin Plantinga’s arguments against St. Thomas Aquinas’s third way to show that God exists. Although attacks on this argument have come from Christians and non-Christians, my contention is that these rebuttals of the third way arise because of a misunderstanding of the argument itself. Thus, the metaphysical background for understanding the third way is first explained, and then the arguments Plantinga raises against it are dealt with. After reading this article it should be clear that the third way to show God’s existence is plausible and that Plantinga’s attacks against it are based on a straw man rather than the substantive argument the third way actually is.

How Much Data for the Political Theorist? On the Argumentative Normative Behaviourism

Jonathan Floyd’s work explores the ways in which political theory can use empirical data to answer a fundamental question: what is the best kind of a contemporary regime? The goals of the current article are to understand Floyd’s important argument, to clarify the argument’s main attributes, and to suggest that the argument cannot rely solely on empirical data: even if all the conditions that are necessary for Floyd’s framework present themselves, his approach still requires substantial theoretical, normative, or philosophical foundations. I argue that it is not possible to rely on empirical data to circumvent political philosophising; the justification for such reliance itself requires substantial philosophical arguments. Regardless, Floyd’s project is a leading example of the benefits of bringing political theory and political science closer to each other.

Separate and Dissenting Judicial Opinions and Their Significance for a Democratic Society. Reflections Against the Background of Polish Law

In most legal systems, the administration of justice in complex and difficult cases is, entrusted to panels composed of multiple judges. In practice, rarely does it happen that this designated group of judges is required to reach a unanimous decision. The subject under scrutiny in the article is the issue of the possibility and significance of disclosing the fact that the judgment was not reached unanimously, along with the rationale that the judge(s) pursued in opposing the majority position. The analysis of this issue requires reaching not only for the legal dogmatic method, but also the legal comparative and axiological methods. The presented research leads to the conclusion that legislators (although not in all countries and not in all international organizations) are increasingly open to allow for the disclosure to the parties and the public of the fact that not all judges voted for a particular decision, along with the reasons for the dissenting position. Despite several objections to the institution of dissenting opinion (votum separatum) connected with undermining the authority of the court and the judgment issued, it turns out that democratic society, which values transparency and the power of substantive arguments, approves of this institution. Dissenting opinion safeguards the judge’s right to express their view, as well as the right of the parties and the public to know the reasons for an alternative solution, including their creative use for the benefit of the judiciary and legal science. Consequently, one can claim that dissenting opinions and the reasons for them constitute a crucial factor in shaping the perceptions of justice.

Decolonizing Memory: Algeria and the Politics of Testimony

Decolonizing Memory: Algeria and the Politics of Testimony

Parent company liability, forum non conveniens and substantial justice

This article examines the forum non conveniens doctrine in English parent company liability cases, focusing on the recent Vedanta, Unilever and Okpabi trilogy. It explains the dilemma that English courts, like other common law courts, have faced when confronted with arguments that foreign courts are unable to deliver ‘substantial justice’ to claimants. On the one hand, English courts do not wish to appear chauvinistic, but on the other they do not want to leave claimants without a remedy. This dilemma is even more pointed in the context of parent company liability cases which involve claims against English parent companies for harms caused by the operations of their subsidiaries in developing countries and, in particular, when the subsidiaries are of such economic importance (and are sometimes even partly owned or controlled by the developing country itself) that there is a real risk of corruption in the judicial process to protect those economic interests. The article shows that, in the recent trilogy, this dilemma has been sidestepped by allowing substantial justice arguments, but on less controversial procedural grounds, such as the absence of litigation funding in the foreign forum.

Plasma model and Drude model permittivities in Lifshitz formula

At the physical level of rigour it is shown that there are no substantial theoretical arguments in favour of using either plasma mode permittivity or Drude model permittivity in the Lifshitz formula. The decision in this question rests with the comparison of theoretical calculations with the experiment. In the course of the study the derivation of the fluctuation–dissipation theorem is proposed where it is displayed clear at which reasoning stage and in what way the dissipation is taken into account. In particular it is shown how this theorem works in the case of the system with reversible dynamics, that is when dissipation is absent. Thereby it is proved that explicit assertion according to which this theorem is inapplicable to systems without dissipation is erroneous. The research is based on making use of the rigorous formalism of equilibrium two-time Green functions in statistical physics at finite temperature.

Analysing community reaction to refugees through text analysis of social media data

ABSTRACT Understanding the social integration of refugees requires scholars and community leaders to understand the complex and varied political reaction of citizens to the prospect and reality of refugees entering their local communities. In this study, we apply the Structural Topic Model (STM) to characterise citizen-level discourse in comments posted in response to refugee-related news articles on Facebook in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Roanoke, Virginia, two cities with similar demographics and conservative partisanship, but sharply contrasting refugee-related policies and experiences. We find that, overall, commenters framed their arguments with an identity-based frame more often than economics, morality, security or legality frames, but that these tended to be blended in ways that obscure the basis in identity. We also find that comments within the discourse of the more refugee-experienced Lancaster community were more likely to involve substantive arguments than in Roanoke, more likely to use economics frames, less likely to use identity frames, less likely to involve incivility and less likely to feature a salient misinformation-influenced theme (refugees vs. homeless veterans). This suggests that host community discourse grows more substantive and positive as a function of hospitable refugee policies and refugee hosting experience, and we discuss how this research might be expanded beyond this pair of cases to evaluate this broader implication.

The Anatomy of Viral Advertising: A Content Analysis of Viral Advertising from the Elaboration Likelihood Model Perspective

This study is a quantitative content analysis of 445 viral video ads shared online between 2009 and 2019. Using the framework of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) that distinguishes between peripheral and central ad cues, our findings highlight the dominance of peripheral cues over central cues. Viral ads included more emotional than rational appeals and integrated music and sound effects, while the use of substantial arguments was kept to a minimum. The dominance of peripheral cues was also evident across product categories; however, they mainly characterized ads for technology products. Our findings provide more than a mere description of the characteristics of viral ads, but detail the dominant creative elements that viral ads feature, which might infer the effectiveness of specific message elements in driving ad sharing. The theoretical and managerial implications of this study are also discussed.

Empires of Antiquities: Modernity and Discovery of the Ancient Near East, 1914–1950

Empires of Antiquities: Modernity and Discovery of the Ancient Near East, 1914–1950

How Do You Like Your Justice, Bent or Unbent?

Principles of justice, David Estlund argues, cannot be falsified by people's unwillingness to satisfy them. In his Utopophobia, Estlund rejects the view that justice must bend to human motivation to deliver practical implications for how institutions ought to function. In this paper, I argue that a substantive argument against such bending of justice principles must challenge the reasons for making these principles sensitive to motivational limitations. Estlund, however, provides no such challenge. His dispute with benders of justice is therefore a verbal one over the true meaning of justice, which need not worry those with the intuition that justice should perform a function that requires bending. By focusing on John Rawls's reasons for bending his justice principles, I point towards a substantive critique of bent justice.