Annual Report on Human Rights: Serbia in 2011 - European Option Obstructed

Author(s): / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2012

EU strategic decision on Serbia’s candidacy is crucial for the country’s further movement towards European integrations. Had it not been for it, Serbia’s poor democratic potential would have been trapped by its strong, populist right-wing. The Serbian society is still incapable to definitely opt for a substantive, democratic transformation and fulfillment of the Copenhagen criteria. Regardless of all the pressures to which it has probably been exposed, the political pivot’s, the Democratic Party’s, failure to progress more towards Europeanization testifies of its lack of states manly leadership and inability for a political U-turn. Having radicalized the Kosovo issue Belgrade has undermined its standing in EU. Mainstream political and intellectual elites do not look to the future. Serbia needs to take stock of its situation. The society’s un-readiness to cope with the past plays into the hands of the political right and its attempts at blocking Serbia’s Euro-Atlantic integration. Rather than accept the reality, the political elite is autistic and trapped by self-pity. As long as its elite role-plays a victim Serbia will not be able to work constructively on its future and the future of the region.

ANTICORRP Integrated Report

Anti-Corruption Policies Revisited: WP9 Organised crime and impact on vulnerable groups

Author(s): Salvatore Sberna,Alberto Vannucci,Tihomir Bezlov,Dimitar Markov,Maria Karayotova,Ana Hećimović,Iva Nenadić,Munir Podumljak,Péter Gyimesi,Szidónia Nagy,Boróka Pápay,Zoltán Szántó,István János Tóth,Edona Krasniqi / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2015

This integrated report investigates the link between political corruption and organised crime, by examining the modalities, resources and strategies used by criminal groups to govern and/or capture the market of political corruption. On the one hand, the report looks at the infiltration of organised crime in three main policy sectors where public spending and regulations play a pivotal role: public procurement, the privatization of public services, and management of EU funds. Alongside this, the report also analyses the criminal penetration of electoral politics, by evaluating the influence that criminal organisations can achieve in electoral arenas. As a result, the report provides a general assessment of policy regulations, legal countermeasures and practices adopted to prevent and combat organised crime, especially in interaction with political corruption. The report is drawn from data collected in five European countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo) across the above themes, and includes two more countries for the assessment of anti-organised crime legislation and initiatives (Albania and Georgia). The methodology involves both extensive and intensive strategies of investigation. A quantitative assessment of the crime and politics nexus is based on the Organised Crime & Corruption (OCC) events database, in which events data about the link between criminal groups and political corruption have been gathered and assembled1. A qualitative assessment involves in-depth understanding of the mechanisms of corrupt exchanges, presented as single case studies conducted in the countries covered by this study, inclusive of primary and secondary sources (interviews, legal proceedings, academic and policy-oriented reports). Data collection and analyses were conducted by five institutions across Europe (EUI, CSD, BCE, IKS, PSD).

Anti-Corruption Reloaded: Assessment of Southeast Europe

Author(s): / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2014

Corruption in Southeast Europe has been in the news, in the focus of public debate, and on the policy agenda of national and international institutions so often and for so long that its scrutiny hardly needs to be justified. It is precisely because it has proven to be such an intractable issue that innovative approaches to its understanding – and hence its reduction – are warranted. The EU accession prospects for the countries in the region – though distant – provide an enabling framework for action but it is local stakeholders, and in particular civil society who can bring about sustained progress in anti-corruption. The Southeast Europe Leadership for Development and Integrity (SELDI) has made the in-depth diagnosing and understanding of corruption and governance gaps in the region one of its main priorities, as a requisite condition for its advocacy of knowledge-driven anticorruption policies. This SELDI report fits in the development and implementation framework of the emerging regional anticorruption policy and infrastructure as exemplified by the SEE2020 Strategy’s Governance Pillar run by the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative. Despite some important achievements – mostly with respect to the stabilisation of democratic institutions, the adoption of laws in key anticorruption areas, a reduction in petty bribery and growing public intolerance of corruption – anticorruption and good governance reforms are not consolidated, corruption among elected politicians and judges seems to be increasing and the enforcement of anticorruption legislation is haphazard. Anticorruption policies and institutions in the region will benefit immensely from the adoption of regular and accurate victimisation-survey based tool for measuring corruption and the rate of progress in good governance, similar to the special Eurobarometer on anticorruption, UNODC’s SEE monitoring of corruption and organised crime, and the Corruption Monitoring System employed by this report.

Ar prasminga arešto bausmė?

Author(s): Algimantas Čepas,Gintautas Sakalauskas / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 66/2009

The article is devoted to an analysis of the penalty of arrest established in the Penal Code of the Republic of Lithuania in order to reveal its essence, political context, practice of its application and the needs to retain it in the system of penalties. International recommendations propose minimizing application of penalties related to deprivation of liberty and, moreover, accentuate possible negative results of short-term imprisonment. However in a number of states short-term imprisonment (arrest) is being imposed quite often although there is a lack of empirical data either confirming or negating harmful consequences of arrest upon resocialization of the convicted. There are no researches of the aforementioned issues carried out in Lithuania, however systemicand penal-political analysis of the penalty of arrest leads to a supposition that the aforementioned penalty is capable to decrease application of deprivation of liberty in situations when imprisonment in general is being applied often. The authors formulate a position that alternative penalties and measures should predominate against arrest (short-term imprisonment), however the penalty of arrest (taking into account the personality of the sentenced) could be applied more often instead of the penalty of deprivation of liberty, especially while paying much more attention to possibilities to impose weekend-arrests.

Around the Bloc: Closed-Door Spy Trial Begins in Belarus

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English / Issue: 02/20/2018

KGB accuses Pavlo Sharoyko of spying for Ukrainian military intelligence.

Around the Bloc: Gorbachev Banned From Ukraine

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English / Issue: 05/31/2016

Former Soviet leader won’t be able to visit for five years because of support for Crimea annexation.

Around the Bloc: Moldova: Virtual Sex, Real Crime?

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English / Issue: 11/10/2015

If the Moldovan women erotic webchat operators are providing virtual ‘sexual services,’ then under the law, their bosses could be considered ‘pimps.’

Around the Bloc: Russian Manhandled Over Social Media Comment

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English / Issue: 05/31/2016

Police brutally arrest man for alleged extremist online activity.

Aspekty odpowiedzialności prawnej lekarza.

Author(s): Paweł Sitek / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 4/2013

The legal liability of doctors or other members of the medical staff can be seen in the different areas. These persons can be held liable on the basis of the Civil Code, based on the Penal Code, but also based on the regulation regarding medical professions, and it means they take professional responsibility. This analysis will discuss the liability of the medical staff, with particular emphasis on the responsibility of doctors. The various aspects of this liability, including civil liability, penal liability and professional liability, will be discussed. To illustrate that this topic is current today, but it was always important, the author will present a brief historical background regarding doctor’s liability in different cultures and different times. Moreover, in a special way, the medical professional liability, based on the Law on Profession of Physicians, will be considered.

Atpildo teisingumas: problemos ir paradoksai

Author(s): Karolis Jovaišas / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 56/2007

Only the problem of proportional and justice punishment, which expresses one of many aspects of justice, is analysed in Lithuanian legal literature. Comprehensive, objective and impartial analysis of justice in this article makes it possible to state, that in spite of broad sceptical attitude towards moral relativism, justice is not just a valuable but also relative category. At the same time the problems of justice may be discussed not in abstract level, but only in the context of concrete social behaviour, which is caused by many reasons. On the grounds of this principal position, the necessary and sufficient conditions of execution of justice are analysed in the article. There are also analysed the criteria helping to ground the influence of both the objective – the insecurity level and the nature of the criminal act executed – and valuable – the character internal and valuable orientations of perpetrator’s personality – criteria in proportional and justice punishment.

AUSTRALIA’S 1996 GUN LAW REFORMS HALTED MASS SHOOTINGS FOR 22 YEARS: A RESPONSE TO CRITICISM FROM GARY KLECK

Author(s): Simon Chapman,Philip Alpers / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2018

We reply to criticisms made by prominent anti-gun control researcher Gary Kleck of our widely reported 2016 study on the impact of Australia’s historic 1996 gun law reforms on mass shootings and firearm-related deaths. Thirteen mass fatal shootings in 18 years were followed by 22 years with no such incidents, with the probability of this being a chance occurrence calculated at 1:200,000 against. We concentrate on Kleck’s efforts to repudiate our conclusions by redefining mass shootings; his argument that mass shooters do not maximise the lethal potential of their semi-automatic weapons and so could just as well use (legal) single shot firearms; and that when mass shooters move about in their shooting locations, such events are improperly classified as mass shootings, rather than “sprees.”

Axhendë shqiptare për sigurinë rajonale

Konferencë realizuar nga Insituti për Demokraci e Ndërmjetësim, me mbështetjen e Divizionit të Diplomacisë Publike të NATO-s (mars 2006)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2006

Albania is progressing steadily because of its membership in NATO. Since the early 1990s, Albanians governmenta have embraced the principles of collective security of NATO and have undertaken institutional reforms necessary to become part of the alliance.

Background report: Drug Users in Prison – the Norwegian Experience

Author(s): Hedda Giertsen / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2016

This report is the preliminary research work under the Punishment vs. Treatment: the Situation of Drug Users in Prison initiative which main output is a forthcoming comparative analysis of the treatment of drug users in Bulgarian and Norwegian prisons. The study was prepared by the University of Oslo and it overviews the general context on Norway – general information on the country and its criminal justice system, policy and legislation on drugs explaining what are the perimeters of drug restriction and what are the national policies towards drug use. This information is illustrated with statistics on crime rates and drug crime in particular. It also presents the alternative sanctions available for drug users. Furthermore, the reports looks at prison population using drugs and sentenced to drug-related crimes – what are the principles by which prison authorities are guided in their attitude towards this group of inmates and what programs are available for them in Norwegian prisons.

Background report: Policies on drugs in Bulgarian prisons

Author(s): Dimitar Markov,Maria Doichinova,Lyubomira Derelieva / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2016

This report provides a snapshot of the situation of drug users in Bulgaria. As it is aimed to serve as a basis for comparative study on policies and practice towards drug users, particularly in prisons, in Bulgaria and Norway, it presents the country’s context – general information on the country and its criminal justice system, policy and legislation on drugs explaining what are the perimeters of drug restriction and what are the national policies towards drug use. This information is illustrated with statistics on crime rates and drug crime in particular. The report also investigates how court looks upon the fact that the accused are using or addicted to narcotic substances within the criminal proceedings and specifically on the type and the term of the sentence. Finally, it looks upon the sanctions available for drug users and their situation once sentenced to imprisonment – what treatment, rehabilitation and harm reduction programmes are available in different prisons.

Battles for Truth in a "Country in Clinical Condition"

Author(s): Aleksander Kiossev / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2009

In this paper I will focus on the crisis functioning of the institutions under public and media pressure. Institutions whose function is to provide truth and justice will be discussed: I will look at them in the light of one particular case which sparked incredible public debate in Bulgaria in 2001 and caused a clash between the fi rst (the executive), the third (the judiciary) and the fourth ‘power’ (the media), provoked nationwide outrage, and brought Bulgaria to the brink of a political and institutional crisis in a truly unprecedented way. The focus of my analysis will be the ‘truth discourses’ of these branches of power, and more specifically the critical intertwining of ‘truths’ produced by the Bulgarian executive, media and judicial institutions about the case in question.

Baudžiamasis populizmas šiuolaikinėse visuomenėse

Author(s): Fritz Sack / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 68/2010

The general intention of the author is to widen and enhance the scope of criminology beyond its traditional borders and to encourage a kind of “transgressive criminology”. Although the discipline boasts itself of its interdisciplinarity, criminology could profit by a little more courage in borrowing from still other disciplines and perspectives than what is the usual practice in field of criminology. The pattern of interdisciplinarity which is since long observed in criminology is restricted to those disciplines whose unit of analysis consists of the individual person, excluding more or less any reference to collective and social entities. In the article F. Sack concentrates on reactions to crime by the society and the state. This is the central question which has brought about a kind of paradigmatic shift in criminology in the beginning of the sixties and which is closely connected with a new generation of essentially sociological scholars who were working in the field of crime and social control. H. S. Becker, E. Lemert, D. Matza are the most prominent scholars who have insisted on the importance for criminology of questions of the defining aspects of crime and its “constitution” and “construction”. “Crime” is not just a given “natural” or ontological event, but it has to be defined, “labelled” by persons and institutions that are entitled and “licensed” to do so. The so-called constructionist orientation and perspective in the field of crime analysis and deviance in general has become more or less the dominant position in criminology. The process of criminalization on its different levels has opened up a whole new field and type of criminological studies and has stimulated a host of historical research about the role and functioning of the penal law with respect to social stability and change. F. Sack begins with some comments on the chosen topic, especially on the concept of “populism” in relation to the area of crime and criminal politics that builds the substantial, political, institutional, disciplinary and scientific frame of this conference. In the second paragraph he turns to the question of which specific criteria are used to indicate populist measures and methods in the area of crime control and crime fighting. Finally he deals with methodological and empirical questions about criminological research in the field of criminal politics. Many arguments of the author refer to one of the most prominent studies on punishment and penal policy – D. Garland’s book “The Culture of Control”.

Behind the Iron Curtain (4)

Author(s): / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2016

This magazine is the English version of selected articles published in the pages of the review Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History) ISSN 1802-8241, which is issued by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes.This magazine is the English version of selected articles published in the pages of the review Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History) ISSN 1802-8241, which is issued by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes. The original version of the journal Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History) is the part of CEEOL also.

Between Suicide Bombings and the Burning Banlieues: The Multiple Crises of Europe’s Parallel Societies

Author(s): François Heisbourg ,Amel Boubekeur,Samir Amghar,Rob de Wijk,Alexei Malashenko / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Chairman’s Summing-up (by François Heisbourg) | The Role of Islam in Europe: Multiple crises? (by Amel Boubekeur and Samir Amghar) | The Multiple Crises in Dutch Parallel Societies (by Rob de Wijk) | Islam in Russia in 2020 (by Alexey Malashenko)

Body as a Project: The Relationship Czech Prisoners Have to Their Bodies

Author(s): Lukáš Dirga / Language(s): English / Issue: 6/2017

The text focuses on the relationship inmates have to their bodies during imprisonment. The data presented in this study are based on ethnographic research carried out in Czech men's high security prisons. The data set consists of interviews with partakers from the “world of prisoners”, observations from prisons and analysis of documents relating to Czech prison service. The analysis shows there is a strong relationship between the physical body and the process of constructing manhood/masculinity in the population of inmates. The physical body is one of crucial components of the masculine/macho prison code/culture. The attitude inmates have to their bodies seems to be altering, depending on the stage of imprisonment in which they currently are. For the description of this alteration I use the concept of the body as a project, which may serve as one of the possible ways of understanding the importance of the physical body to inmates during their imprisonment and changing motivations to its further development.

Borba protiv droge putem dekriminalizacije – slučaj Portugalije

Author(s): Jovan Ćirić / Language(s): Serbian / Issue: 2/2012

Portugal in the nineties had big problems with drugs. The number of those who were addicted was very high, also, like the number of deaths by the reason of overdose, or the number of those infected by HIV. Having in mind all of that, the government of Portugal built a new strategy for the fight against drugs. The law on drugs was adopted in 2001. That new law is based on some kind of decriminalization / depenalization. The main innovation was that the person who was found in the possession of 10 daily doses of drugs (never mind of what drugs) for his/her personal use was not prosecuted before classical court and was not put in jail, but he/she was treated by one special panel (tribunal) composed of three persons: one social worker, one lawyer and one physician (usually psychiatrist). That panel has the right to decide what to do with a person who was found in the possession of drugs, but usually that person was sent to some medical institution to be medically treated. So, people were not afraid that they would be sent to the jail and that they would be stigmatized as criminals. One of the main idea was to encourage addicted people to go to hospitals to be medically treated. Many data that was recently collected say that all numbers when the word is about drugs decreased significantly. The word is about the number of those who tried drugs, also like the number of deaths caused by drugs. Nowadays, those numbers are not so high in Portugal like it was before. The situation is similar also when the word is about the number of those with the problem of HIV / AIDS and also when the word is about general statistics of crime committed in the relation with drugs. So, generally, it could be said that new law and strategy in Portugal gave good results in the fight against drugs, even though there are some institutions and organizations, like WFAD (World Federation Against Drugs) that say that the situation is not so good. But some other institutions, like Open Society Fund, CATO Institute, some scientific articles in journals of criminology, present different statistical results. The question of fight against drugs, depends very much on the ideology. Liberals usually say one thing, but conservatives say something completely different. Anyway, it is very important to have in mind Portugal and the situation in Portugal, because from there, we could conclude many things that are important in the fight against drugs.