Uniform Law Research Articles

CISG in the digital world digital economy: data, products, and assets

Abstract This article focuses on the question of whether the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International sale of Goods (CISG) applies to the new digital world: a world where exchange or a combination of computer programs, licenses, software, and data as well as services are part of the new digital economy. These are new phenomena that are not regulated at all, or under-regulated, in domestic legal systems where courts and scholars struggle to accommodate these new digital realities in the already existent rules and traditional contract categories and to find appropriate solutions for mixed contracts for goods and services by an expanded interpretation of the traditional rules. By contrast, a recent tendency is observed at an international level either to review the already existent uniform law instruments in order to see whether they can cover the digital economy, or to create new soft law instruments. The CISG is not immune to the ‘danger’ that soft law instruments recently drafted to cover some transactions of the digital economy might create the wrong impression that the CISG, a hard law instrument, cannot cover them.

Monitoring problems of court proceedings regarding criminal offenses in Ukraine

Each sphere of legal regulation with a dynamic movement objectively has certain problems caused by the development of social relations, the assessment of which allows for the development of ways to eliminate them and the practice of uniform law enforcement. Given the novelties of criminal proceedings regarding criminal offenses and the lack of unity of law enforcement due to the ambiguity of criminal procedural legal regulation, the problematic issues of court proceedings regarding this type of criminal violations are of research interest. In this regard, the article highlights the results of the monitoring of such problems and expresses the author’s vision regarding their solution. Attention is focused on three types of problematic issues: theoretical-methodological, practical and normative. In order to generalize problematic issues, the following are analysed: modern scientific developments regarding criminal offenses in general, and court proceedings regarding them, in particular, presented after the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Simplification of Pretrial Investigation of Certain Categories of Criminal Offenses» (from 01 July 2020); practice of the Supreme Court regarding criminal offenses and legislative proposals in this area. The conducted monitoring allowed the author to summarize the identified problematic issues of court proceedings regarding criminal offenses and to express the author’s vision regarding their solution. At the same time, it was noted that there is objectively no categorical distinction between some theoretical- methodological and normative issues, given their interdependence and multi-vector significance for both the theory and practice of law enforcement. The author ascertained the lack of dynamic development of court proceedings regarding criminal offenses in both theoretical and methodological (research) and law-making vectors and indicated the need to form a comprehensive vision of its improvement: from theory to practice.

The Fundamental Concept of Death-Controversies and Clinical Relevance: The UDDA Revision Series.

When the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) was recently in the process of revising the Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA), Neurology® ran a series of debates over certain controversial issues being deliberated. Omitted was a debate over the fundamental concept underlying brain death. In his introductory article, Bernat offered reasons for this omission: "It is not directly relevant to practicing neurologists who largely accept brain death, do not question its conceptual basis, …." In this article I argue the opposite: the fundamental concept of death is highly relevant to the clinical criteria and tests used to diagnose it. Moreover, most neurologists in fact disagree with the conceptual basis articulated by Bernat. Basically, there are 3 competing concepts of death: (1) biological: cessation of the integrative unity of the organism as a whole (endorsed by Bernat and the 1981 President's Commission), (2) psychological: cessation of the person, equated with a self-conscious mind (endorsed by half of neurologists), and (3) the vital work concept proposed by the 2008 President's Council on Bioethics. The first actually corresponds to a circulatory, not a neurologic, criterion. The second corresponds to a "higher brain" criterion. The third corresponds loosely to the UK's "brainstem death" criterion. In terms of the biological concept, current diagnostic guidelines entail a high rate of false-positive declarations of death, whereas in terms of the psychological concept, the same guidelines entail a high rate of false-negative declarations. Brainstem reflexes have nothing to do with any death concept (their role is putatively to guarantee irreversibility). By shining a spotlight on the deficiencies of the UDDA through attempting to revise it, the ULC may have unwittingly opened a Pandora's box of fresh scrutiny of the concept of death underlying the neurologic criterion-particularly on the part of state legislatures with irreconcilably opposed worldviews.

Особенности правоприменительной практики по делам о пропаганде либо публичном демонстрировании нацистской атрибутики или символики (на примере административной ответственности)

The fight against extremist manifestations requires proper legal regulation and uniform law enforcement practice, careful study and proper methodological support. The paper reveals the peculiarities of law enforcement practice in cases of administrative offenses on propaganda or public display of Nazi paraphernalia or symbols. Based on the provisions enshrined in the strategic national interests, it is concluded that improving the legal regulation of the prevention of extremism is a key area of ensuring state and public security, in connection with which, the work formulated relevant proposals to minimize illegal actions of an extremist orientation, including among young people

Security rights in crypto-assets: an opportunity for uniform law?

Abstract As the market of crypto-assets grows, so does the demand for their use as collateral in cross-border lending transactions. Such a development, though, may pose significant challenges to the main pillars of security rights due to the distinctive features and the nature of crypto-assets. Accordingly, this article identifies and explores the core legal issues, offers guidance in the crypto-collateral area, and assesses the role of uniform law. In the absence of specific legislation, the analysis is conducted under the prism of the international secured transactions framework, as shaped by the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (Unidroit) and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) legislative instruments. As such, the article examines whether the current framework suffices to address emerging challenges or contains gaps and limitations that require legislative intervention. The article argues that the increasing use of crypto-assets as collateral may constitute both an opportunity for uniform law to have a leading role in addressing the arising issues and shaping the field, and an opportunity to put new uniform rules in place. This would require both updating the existing legal instruments in line with new technological needs and creating new instruments where necessary. International fora like Unidroit and UNCITRAL would ideally offer the desirable degree of harmonization, or uniformization, in the area of security rights over crypto-assets. Rather than subjecting them to diverging legal rules, developing more uniform approaches would offer consistency, thus increasing legal certainty and supporting technological innovation.

Digital assets and private law: is there a need for a uniform law?

Abstract The various legislative initiatives around the world on the private law aspects of digital assets are a clear indication of both the importance and the urgency of preparing rules of law to adjust private law in general and secured transactions law in particular to address emerging technologies. All these initiatives raise the question whether principles would be sufficient or whether a uniform law would need to be prepared. The purpose of this article is not to attempt to answer this question but rather to advance the discussion setting out some arguments in favour and against, and to suggest a mechanism, a procedure through which States and industry could reach consensus on the most appropriate answers.

Unity or Uniformity?

On 7 February 2024, Uttarakhand government passed UCC bill which lays down uniform laws for marriage, divorce, inheritance, amongst all the religions. Though these institutions were governed by personal laws of the respective religion, but now government is trying to strike Down those customary laws and bring uniformity in the country. India being a secular state allows every individual to profess their religion under the article 25 to 29. India is well known for its concept of Unity in Diversity which means that despite of cultural and religious differences, India is one. Here all the individuals are given equal rights, and every religion is respected equally, their customs, traditions and practices are taken care of. In this article, we will discuss the repercussions of UCC, where it takes our nation and how it challenges our constitution.

The impact of AGN X-ray selection on the AGN halo occupation distribution

The connection between active galactic nuclei (AGN) and their host dark matter halos provides powerful insights into how supermassive black holes (SMBHs) grow and coevolve with their host galaxies. Here we investigate the impact of observational AGN selection on the AGN halo occupation distribution (HOD) by forward-modeling AGN activity into cosmological N-body simulations. By assuming straightforward relationships between the SMBH mass, galaxy mass, and (sub)halo mass, as well as a uniform broken power law distribution of Eddington ratios, we find that luminosity-limited AGN samples result in biased HOD shapes. While AGN defined by an Eddington ratio threshold produce AGN fractions that are flat across halo mass (unbiased by definition), luminosity-limited AGN fractions peak around galaxy-group-sized halo masses and then decrease with increasing halo mass. With higher luminosities, the rise of the AGN fraction starts at higher halo masses, the peak is shifted towards higher halo masses, and the decline at higher halo masses is more rapid. These results are consistent with recent HOD constraints from AGN clustering measurements, which find (1) characteristic halo mass scales of $ Vir $h^ M_ odot and (2) a shallower rise of the number of satellite AGN with increasing halo mass than for the overall galaxy population. Thus the observational biases due to AGN selection can naturally explain the constant, characteristic halo mass scale inferred from large-scale AGN clustering amplitudes over a range of redshifts, as well as the measured inconsistencies between AGN and galaxy HODs. We conclude that AGN selection biases can have significant impacts on the inferred AGN HOD, and can therefore lead to possible misinterpretations of how AGN populate dark matter halos and the AGN-host galaxy connection.

Hungarian civil procedure law’s response to the Covid challenge

Abstract Civil procedural law had to react quickly to the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure that litigants had access to the court system despite the closure of court buildings. In Hungary, e-trials were made possible by special government decisions, which were interpreted by the Supreme Court (Kúria) to help lower courts to develop uniform case law. As a result of the Digital Courts Programme launched in 2018, the computerisation of courts and judges was in a good state at the time of the outbreak, which helped greatly to address the situation. The paper examines changes in Hungarian civil procedure law during the first three waves of the pandemic in a chronological manner. In its conclusions, it takes stock of the changes that can enhance access to the justice system and legal entities, even after the epidemic.

Postsynthetic Modification Strategy for Constructing Electrochemiluminescence-Active Chiral Covalent Organic Frameworks Performing Efficient Enantioselective Sensing.

Electrochemiluminescence (ECL), integrating the characteristics of electrochemistry and fluorescence, has the advantages of high sensitivity and low background. However, only a few studies have been reported for enantioselective sensing based on the ECL-active platform because of the huge challenges in constructing tunable chiral ECL luminophores. Here, we developed a facile strategy to design and prepare ECL-active chiral covalent organic frameworks (COFs) Ph-triPy+-(R)-Ru(II) for enantioselective sensing. In such an artificial structure, the ionic skeleton of COFs was beneficial to the electron transfer on the working electrode surface and the chiral Ru-ligand was used as the chiral ECL-active luminophore. It was found that Ph-triPy+-(R)-Ru(II) coupled with sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8) as the coreactant exhibited obvious ECL signals. More importantly, a clear difference toward l- and d-enantiomers was observed in the response of the ECL intensity, resulting in a uniform recognition law. That is, for amino alcohols, d-enantiomers (1 mM) measured by Ph-triPy+-(R)-Ru(II) showed a higher ECL intensity compared with l-enantiomers. Differently, amino acids (1 mM) gave an inverse recognition phenomenon. The ECL intensity ratios between l- and d-enantiomers (1 mM) are in the range of 1.25-1.94 for serine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, valine, leucine, leucinol, and valinol. What is more interesting is that the ECL intensity was closely related to the concentration of l-amino alcohols and d-amino acids, whereas their inverse configurations remained unchanged. In a word, the present concept demonstrates a feasible direction toward chiral ECL-active COFs and their potential for efficient enantioselective sensing.

News from the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH)

Abstract Over the past year, the HCCH, supported by its Permanent Bureau (PB), has continued its work for the progressive unification of the rules of private international law (PIL). This annual contribution to the Uniform Law Review provides an overview of the activities of the HCCH from 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023, and anticipates some upcoming events, encompassing the HCCH’s three main areas of work: international family and child protection law, transnational litigation and Apostille, and international commercial, digital, and financial law.

Key Components of the Ontological Scheme of the World in “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”

The author presents a version of the ontological scheme of Newton’s mechanistic worldview based on both the study of previous versions of its understanding and the text of the “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”. Newton developed a model of new universality or a homogeneous and isotropic world in which uniform laws operate. This model is based on several ontological postulates Newton introduced, which can be isolated from several provisions of his classic work. The new mechanistic worldview is based on the imputation of the world of universal simplicity. The quantitative “unit” of a simple, homogeneous, physical-geometric universe is an ambivalent corpuscle-point. The main constants of the “mechanistic universe” are the diversity of the numbers of masses, motions, and forces connected by clear reciprocal relationships. Newton also introduced theoretical space and time as a privileged, absolute reference system. Finally, in the Newtonian version of the mechanistic worldview, there are compelled metaphysical ingredients or inexplicable and transcendental qualities. They are gravity, ether, and God. Thus, the ontological scheme of Newton’s mechanistic worldview is a construction based on the sequential mental experiment of presenting the universe exclusively from the side of its “objectivity” and “sensory certification”.

A continuous version of the selfish parking problem

The work is devoted to the study of a new model of random filling of a segment of large length with intervals of smaller length. A new formulation of the problem is considered. We study a model in which unit intervals are placed on a segment only if the segment being filled has a length of at least 2. In this case, the position of the placed interval is subject to a uniform distribution law. The paper investigates the behavior of the average number of placed intervals depending on the length of the filled segment. An exact expression is obtained for the analog of the Renyi constant.

THE PLACE OF NORMATIVE RESOLUTIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT IN THE FIELD OF CRIMINAL LAW

This study seeks to investigate the impact and relevance of Supreme Court normative decrees in criminal law practice in Kazakhstan. Our objective is to explore their influence on law enforcement prac-tices as well as harmonization between national laws and international standards. Among the primary directions of inquiry lies theoretical analysis of legal nature decrees as well as historical development studies and comparative legal research.Scientific and practical significance of this work lies in its comprehensive examination of how nor-mative decrees affect uniform judicial practice and law enforcement stability. Research methodology included content analysis, comparative legal method interpretation legal interpretation as well as statisti-cal analysis.The primary findings of this research indicated that normative decrees of the Supreme Court play an essential role in shaping law enforcement practices and guaranteeing uniform and stable interpretations of criminal law. These findings underscore the necessity of further aligning Kazakhstani legislation with international standards to enhance law enforcement efficiency and promote human rights protection.Research’s value lies in filling gaps in existing literature and offering recommendations to enhance law enforcement practices in Kazakhstan. Practical applications of research results include their potential use by judges, lawyers, and others practicing criminal law

Harmonizing Hope: The Urgency of a Uniform Adoption Law in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has established itself as a secular nation with the objective of promoting and safeguarding human rights and equality. Nevertheless, even after half a century after gaining independence, some significant matters concerning personal laws remain antiquated. Although personal laws and usages were codified under the British era, a significant portion of them have not been amended by legislation. Neither under the Pakistani administration nor after the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, did anybody undertake the responsibility of amending the outdated personal laws via legislation. The topic of adoption remains outmoded and discriminatory, posing possible dangers for children who need a stable home. In Bangladesh, the process of adoption is regulated by a collection of laws that result in inconsistencies, uncertainty, and procedural flaws when attempting to pursue adoption. The current diversity in the legal framework also results in prejudice when it comes to adoption by individuals from various cultures. An adoption legislation that applies uniformly is necessary to alleviate the hardships faced by many abandoned, impoverished, and parentless children in our nation. This essay examines the need of implementing a consistent adoption legislation in Bangladesh. This study examines the current laws and practices around adoption in order to identify any deficiencies in the legal framework. This essay seeks to demonstrate the need of a thorough legal framework that can provide clear guidelines, guarantee openness in procedures, and prioritize the well-being of children, all of which are crucial for fostering a unified society. This article proposes a comprehensive adoption legislation that encompasses both national and international adoption rules. It argues that such a law may contribute to social development and serve as a means to improve the welfare of disadvantaged children.

Emmanuel Gaillard's Theory of International Arbitration: The Basis for a Uniform Law of International Arbitration

Emmanuel Gaillard's Theory of International Arbitration: The Basis for a Uniform Law of International Arbitration

The category of legal certainty in the philosophical-legal conception H. Hart

This article is aimed at providing those interested in the problems of understanding legal certainty in the concept of the leading British philosopher of law Herbert Hart, whose works have been little explored in domestic legal thought. H. Hart, being a pioneer of analytical philosophy of law, devotes much attention to the language of legal norms, analysis of legal norms in the context of interpretation, judicial discretion and uniform law enforcement practice. The relevance of the study of his works is determined by the fact that the understanding of legal certainty and legal uncertainty as paired categories of law is one of the fundamental and strategic directions of the study of law as a social phenomenon. It is possible to achieve the sustainability of law only through a progressive process of transition from its uncertainty to certainty. This is of direct practical importance, as everyone should know the scope of his or her rights in order not to violate the boundaries of permissible behavior in society. The study of H. Hart's works will help to learn the Western traditions of legal understanding, to compare them with domestic ones, to better understand legal certainty as an ideal to which we should strive through the understanding of legal uncertainty, which is of scientific and theoretical importance for the modern understanding of the effectiveness of law and law enforcement.

EXAMINING LEGAL REGULATIONS OF THE SURROGACY INSTITUTION: A COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORK AND ONGOING CHALLENGES

This article examines the legal and ethical complexities of surrogacy, highlighting the need for consistent legal frameworks to protect the rights of all parties involved. Surrogacy, offering hope to individuals and couples facing infertility, also presents legal challenges due to varying international and national views on its legality and ethics. The absence of uniform laws leads to issues like „reproductive tourism,” where people seek surrogacy in countries with lenient regulations, potentially leading to exploitation due to economic disparities. A major concern is the determination of parental rights and legal parentage, often leading to disputes and emotional distress due to unclear laws. This lack of clarity necessitates definitive legislation to safeguard everyone involved in surrogacy arrangements. Additionally, the involvement of financial compensation raises questions about the commodification of reproduction and the ethical implications of paying for a child’s birth. The article stresses that surrogacy laws must be comprehensive and uniform to protect children’s rights, surrogates, and biological parents. It calls for a unified approach to regulation, addressing concerns of exploitation, commodification, and the potential use of surrogacy for child trafficking, ensuring that arrangements are voluntary, free from coercion, and ethically sound

On Terminological Collisions and Other Imperfections of Articles 285.1, 285.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

The article covers the legal and technical aspects of the construction of norms on the diversion of public funds and of national non-publicly funded scheme. The problem of intersectoral relations and logical and legal formalization of dispositions of Articles 285.1, 285.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is analyzed. Attention is drawn to the presence of terminological ambiguity in these articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It is noted that despite the fact that Articles 285.1, 285.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation have a blanket character, the legislator does not use the terminology of fiscal legislation, which undoubtedly creates significant difficulties in practice and is an obstacle to uniform law enforcement. The lack of updating of criminal legislation when making changes to the budget is indicated as an imperfection in the statement of the blanket norms. In addition, a number of fundamental documents defining budget execution are unreasonably excluded from the concept of diversion of public funds used in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The legal and technical imperfection is also observed in the use of heterogeneous concepts in the formation of an open list of documents that define the goals of spending public funds. A number of definitions are not mentioned at all and are not disclosed either in the fiscal or in the criminal legislation, which creates legal ambiguity that is eliminated by law enforcement agencies at their discretion. Such an approach to the regulation of criminal law relations cannot be considered effective and answering the requirements of legal technology, as well as the objectives and principles of criminal law. The revealed imperfections in the presentation of the norms on the diversion of public funds and of national non-publicly funded scheme are subject to elimination at the legislative level by adjusting the dispositions of criminal law norms and bringing them into line with fiscal legislation.

EUROPEAN PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW AND NATIONAL CIVIL CODES:INTERACTIONS AND SYNERGIES

The objective of this work is to emphasize the role of global law in the current legal reality and the importance of autonomy of the will in regulating international legal relationships. The study starts from the existence of a legally fragmented world and the differentiation of three levels of regulation of legal relationships with a foreign element. One block of universal regulation, consisting of international treaties and rules of uniform law, another regional level based on the existence of regional integration organizations with their own regulations, and finally a diminishing state level, formed by national legal systems. Whether in a phase of globalization or post-globalization, the juridical reality of international trade and legal relations, in general, undergo significant changes that are worth analyzing. The perspective of global law allows us to contemplate this juridical reality from an eminently practical standpoint, which places the autonomy of will as the protagonist of the legal framework for international contracting, and points to an increasingly significant role in the field of personal and family legal relations.