(Re)defining the complementary institution of Conditional release in Romania (2000-2019)

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Author(s): Vladimir-Adrian Costea / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2020

This article aims to investigate the legal and political evolution of the institution of Conditional release in Romania between 2000 and 2019 with a special focus on the abrupt changes during the mentioned period. The aim of this research consists in bringing together the redefining of the regulatory framework of Conditional release in relation to the dynamic political context and personal strategies used by the right-holder of individual liberation. Two important episodes need to be recalled for the redefinition of this concept: the establishment of the National Anticorruption Directorate; and the reform of criminal legislation, after Romania’s accession to the European Union. The general objective is to explain and understand the different stages in which liberation committees and courts of law have made use of the prerogative of dispensing conditional release, given the social role that the complementary institution of Conditional release within the institutional, territorial and functional scheme of the rule of law. I will show that amendments to criminal law, along with changes in court practice, have led to a reduction in the level of consistency between the decisions of the liberation committees and courts of law. Different legitimating strategies used by right holders are the main unexpected result of this research, as restrictive legal provisions apply to both decision levels.

A #Colectiv Responsibility to Fight Corruption: Romania’s Nightclub Fire Protests Singe the System

Author(s): Anita Sobják / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2015

The tragic fire in Club Colectiv in Bucharest shed light on the broader systemic problems of corruption. The resulting and quickly swelling public outrage fits in with a series of anti-systemic protests in Romania in recent years. A change of government resulting from the prime minister’s swift resignation will bring no immediate relief to an ailing system. For that to happen, more efforts are needed on all fronts: among the political elite, civil society, as well as Romania’s external partners. The latter can be important in preventing political destabilisation and promoting positive change.

A PORTRAIT OF DECEPTION. Monitoring Azerbaijan or Why Pedro Agramunt should resign

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2013

There are very few fellow members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) who have been to Azerbaijan as regularly over the past decade as Pedro Agramunt, the conservative Spanish senator, a businessman from Valencia. Agramunt has been consistent in this approach to Azerbaijan: from the very beginning of his relationship with Baku he has been a defender of the Aliyev regime. The latest monitoring report is his masterpiece. || The Agramunt/Grech report is supposed to assess whether Azerbaijan, as a member of the Council of Europe since 2001, has fulfilled the commitments it took upon itself when it joined the organisation. In fact, it is a sophisticated effort to hide a simple truth, a portrait of deception: in all areas a democracy cannot do without – from free and fair elections to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly or basic political and human rights, including the rule of law through an independent judiciary – the situation in Azerbaijan, already terrible a decade ago, is even worse today.

A pseudo-multi-vector policy. Moldova under the Socialists

Author(s): Kamil Całus / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2020

In November 2019 a new government took power in Moldova under Ion Chicu as prime minister. Formally non-partisan, the new cabinet is in fact controlled by President Igor Dodon and the pro-Russian Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM). The establishment of this government brought an end to the five-month political experiment of Maia Sandu's coalition government, which was composed of the pro-Western ACUM bloc and the Socialists. In essence, the takeover of power by the latter means a halt to any real reforms, a worsening of relations with the West, and a far smaller chance that the legal proceedings currently underway into the country's biggest corruption scandals will have a positive outcome. Also, the multi-vector foreign policy declared by the government and President Dodon, which is aimed at maintaining good relations with both Russia and the EU, will in practice increase the Kremlin's influence in Moldova.Although President Dodon has gathered quite a significant amount of power, his situation remains uncertain. He does not control the parliamentary majority, and is forced to rely on the support of the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM), which has been weakened by the crisis. The main challenge for Dodon is the presidential election which is scheduled for the end of this year. However, the weak and increasingly fragmented pro-European opposition plays into the hands of Dodon and his group.

A REVIEW OF BALANCED SCORECARD IMPLEMENTATION IN SELECTED OFFICES OF ADDIS ABABA CITY, ETHIOPIA

Author(s): Jemal Abagissa / Language(s): English / Issue: 14/2018

The purpose of this study is to assess the implementation of balanced scorecard in the offices of Trade and Industry Development, Micro and Small Scale Enterprise Development and Finance and Economic Development Bureaus of Addis Ababa City Administration. To collect and analyze data this study employed both quantitative and qualitative method using variables such as strategy setting, implementation of the change initiatives performance measurement, leadership, management and staff commitment. The findings show that though there have been positive achievements, the leaders and organizers of the change initiatives have not yet fully discharged their responsibilities of using strategic measures and customer service standards as performance measurement and management tool. Moreover, the actions taken in monitoring and evaluation is not satisfactory. The feedbacks did not go beyond awareness creation, and they are not being consistently utilized as an input for any administrative and corrective measures. Though the leaders made efforts, the city administration had to play a leading role in supporting the implementation of the change initiatives to bring the desired changes in the sectors.

Access to Public Information as a Political Sciences Technique: What and How Should Be Studied, and What for?

Author(s): Marcin Wałdoch / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2019

Access to public information in Poland is most typically discussedin the legal and political contexts. However, it is not consciouslydiscussed as a possibility for political scholars to exercise their right ofaccess to public information. This paper, which is of postulatory nature,identifies the benefits for those political scholars who decide to use, inthe process of data collection, their right of access to public informationas a data collection technique. The proposed technic of data collectionmay be used by scholars – political scientists around the world.

Algorytmy genetyczne w audycie i kontroli wewnętrznej

Author(s): Marta Woźniak / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2006

An Operative Area for Amphibious Ships: Fighting Piracy

Author(s): Alper Gunoral,Fahri Erenel / Language(s): English / Issue: 11/2016

Piracy has always been a big problem for sea routes. Several years ago the Gulf of Eden was the high risk area for mariners. United Nations task groups, big war ships took charge for maritime security and 2016 became a quieter year in that area. But piracy never diminished globally despite total efforts and millions of dollars spent. The new High Risk Areas seem to be Gulf of Guinea and around Malacca Strait. Malacca Strait is also a narrower and risky area for big ships. This article compares different kinds of warships, to offer a new way of fighting against piracy, while reducing costs for flag states and increasing effectiveness.

Anatomia rosyjskiej wojny informacyjnej. Operacja krymska - studium przypadku

Author(s): Jolanta Darczewska / Language(s): Polish / Publication Year: 2014

Wojny informacyjne mają w Rosji długą tradycję. W ostatnich latach zostały zdefiniowane na nowo na gruncie teorii geopolityki, w myśl której są one środkiem do osiągania celów państwa w polityce międzynarodowej i wewnętrznej oraz jego geopolitycznej przewagi. Geopolityka dostarcza także ideologicznych uzasadnień strategii rywalizacji Rosji z Zachodem. W opozycji do ideologii liberalizmu promuje „neokonserwatywne mocarstwo postliberalne, walczące o sprawiedliwy świat wielobiegunowy, broniące tradycji, wartości konserwatywnych, prawdziwej wolności”. W kontekście rywalizacji „cywilizacji eurazjatyckiej” z „cywilizacją atlantycką pod przywództwem USA” objaśnia kryzys wewnętrzny na Ukrainie oraz przyczyny aneksji Krymu przez Rosję. Tekst stanowi próbę zrekonstruowania zarysu teorii wojen informacyjnych wyłaniającego się z prac czołowych przedstawicieli rosyjskiej geopolityki, Igora Panarina i Aleksandra Dugina, a także jej praktycznego zastosowania podczas operacji krymskiej.

ANTIPIRACY OPERATIONS AT SEA THE COSTS OF PIRACY IN THE GULF OF ADEN AND SOMALI BASIN

Author(s): Mihai Egorov / Language(s): English / Issue: 11/2016

Approximately 80% of world trade currently travels by sea, representing around 93,000 merchant vessels, 1.25 million seafarers, and almost six billion tons of cargo. When appear some disturbing factors, that affect the transfer of goods and the free transit on sea routes for civilian ships involved in trading, disorders of all specific processes are inevitable, starting from the delays to financial losses, lack of confidence and not the least occurrence of critical conditions that can culminate in life lost. About maritime piracy it was written very much, there have been made statistics, but it has not managed so far to put all these documents in a white book of piracy. The data presented in this paper are the results of corroborating statements transmitted by NATO, EU and the organizations involved in analyzing this phenomenon.

APATHY AND ACTIVISM FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS UNDER A CHANGED DEMOCRATIC INITIATIVE

Author(s): Osezua Ehiyamen Mediayanose / Language(s): English / Issue: 14/2018

The paper examined the activist role of public administrators in a democratic system. It attempts to analyze the active participation of public administrators in the process of formulation and implementation of governmental policies. The paper argues that most times public policies largely reflect the desired value commitment of public administrators, and the politicians in whom the electorate entrust their mandate. It further argues, not minding legitimacy problem, that activist role of public administrators is not unacceptable if it is directed towards the public interest. The paper adopts desk research method; drawing data mainly from secondary source and adopts analytical research in arriving at keyfindings.

Attempts to Weaken Romania’s Anti-Corruption Law: Implications for Internal and European Policy

Author(s): Jakub Pieńkowski / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2018

On 29 January, the third cabinet of Romania’s ruling coalition of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) was established. Prime Minister Viorică Dăncila’s intention is to weaken the country’s anti-corruption laws. These changes are criticised by the U.S. and in the European Union as undermining the rule of law in Romania. This may strengthen EU supporters of the idea to connect structural fund payments to adherence to the rule of law.

BACKDOOR POLITICS: PERMITTING INFORMALITY FOR FORMAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICAN DEMOCRACIES

Author(s): Aluko Opeyemi Idowu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2020

The backdoor politics is a general term behind the study of effective and responsible public policy from the perspective of informal political processes. The study analyses informal input determinants that affect responsible public politics. The methodology utilises data from the Afrobarometer database, assessing three countries in Africa, from the east, west and southern parts – Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, respectively. The starting point of this methodology is that policy is responsible and effective if it integrates formal and informal decision-making processes and decision implementation.

Bezpieczeństwo finansowe w zakresie samoobliczenia podatku przez osobę zobowiązaną – odpowiedzialność karnoskarbowa

Author(s): Justyna Wróbel / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2018

The self-calculation of tax by an obliged person has a direct impact on financial security, therefore the legislator, in order to apply general and special prevention, in addition to tax liability decided to penalize behavior by depleting public debt or exposure to depletion. The tax measure itself is made by the obligated person by disclosing the actual state subject to taxation to the tax authorities, subscription of tax obligation and payment of tax. In the process of tax assessment, the taxpayer is obliged to properly assess the actual event, and then after selecting the tax law norms of his subsumption under the appropriate legal norm. It should be pointed out that the taxpayer may incorrectly self-assess the tax by creating, among others, through incorrect subsumption by the obligated legal norm containing the tax status, indication of the tax liability other than that stated in the declaration, irregularity of the self-calculation of the tax refund amount, as well as showing the incorrect value of the subject of taxation. The lack of self-calculation may occur, among others through non-disclosure of taxation, failure to keep tax records or unreliable bookkeeping, filing tax returns and not disclosing the amount of taxation. The issue of incorrect self-calculation of tax may be subject to fiscal responsibility, however, when conducting such proceedings, the guilt, intent of the perpetrator and due diligence should be investigated. We also have to weigh the provision of art. 10 penal fiscal code, which points to the justified unconsciousness and error as to the law.

Big business in Belarus - its genesis, conditions and prospects

Author(s): Kamil Kłysiński / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2013

Over the past ten to twenty years, Belarus has seen a steep rise in the number of local dollar millionaires. This has somewhat undermined the myth of an egalitarian model of society promoted through the Belarusian state propaganda.There is a small group of businessmen among the top earners who, in exchange for their political loyalty and their consent to share profits with those in power, have enjoyed a number of privileges that allow them to safely conduct business in an environment typically hostile to private enterprise. The favourable conditions under which they are operating have enabled them not only to accumulate substantial capital, but also to invest it abroad. However, since such businesses are seen as providing a financial safety net for the regime, in 2011 and 2012 some of their directors received an EU travel ban, while their companies were subjected to economic sanctions by Brussels. At the same time, fearing that Belarus’s big business could become powerful enough to influence the country’s political scene (as has been the case in Russia and Ukraine), Alexander Lukashenka has actively prevented such players from becoming too independent. Consequently, Belarus has so far not developed its own elite class of oligarchs who would be able to actively influence government policy. The current informal agreement between the government in Minsk and big business has proved stable and is unlikely to change in the near future. Nonetheless, a reordering of state power giving Belarus’s big business significant political influence would be possible should Mr Lukashenka lose power in the next presidential election.

Buletinul Științific al Universității de Stat “Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu” din Cahul: Științe Sociale

Frequency: 2 issues / Country: Moldova, Republic of

The Scientific Journal of Cahul State University “Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu”: Social Sciences aims to disseminate the results of research in the fields of social sciences: Political Science, Public Administration, Law and Sociology.

The Scientific Journal of Cahul State University “Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu”: Social Sciences was initiated to promote research and publication of the results in the above-mentioned areas and to ensure the exchange of views, information and new ideas for researchers, scholars and policy makers: to promote interdisciplinarity and encourage the expression of new visions or ideas, as well as positive experiences reflected by own studies and research, original syntheses, methodologies or case studies.

Business under supervision – pathologies serving the system of power in Russia

Author(s): Maria Domańska,Piotr Żochowski / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2016

The relations between Russia’s authorities and business circles are subordinated not so much to rational economic calculations as to the interests of political elites. The key interest in this case is maintaining the current model of government. The formal and informal supervision of business by law enforcement agencies is an important element of Russia’s economic reality. Despite the rhetoric of high-ranking officials, intended to suggest that the state is taking care of businesspeople’s interests, it is evident that there is no will to devise a systemic solution to the most urgent problems, including the state institutions’ disrespect for the rights of ownership.

Centre for Studies in European Integration Working Papers Series

Frequency: 4 issues / Country: Moldova, Republic of

CSIE Working Papers is a peer-reviewed academic online journal with four issues a year. Being launched by Center for Studies in European Integration, it offers an opportunity for young researchers to publish their scholarly papers, the results of their research activity, to get a feedback from the other researchers, to improve the methodology and to validate the results. Additionally, it encourages the exchange of the latest academic research and provides all those involved in research and practice with news, research findings, case examples and discussions.

Charges against Prime Minister Netanyahu: Implications for Israeli Domestic and Foreign Policy

Author(s): Michał Wojnarowicz / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2018

Israeli police, after investigations into corruption allegations, have recommended the country’s Attorney General indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu rejects the allegations. The leaders of the parties forming the government support the head of government and did not take any action that would lead to a breakdown of the coalition. However, the results of the investigations combined with public pressure may affect the government’s stability and speed up Knesset elections. The political struggle between the parties may lead to stronger actions and rhetoric in Israeli foreign policy.

Closer to Europe? Domestic Changes and the Europeanization Processes in Post-Revolution Ukraine and Armenia

Author(s): Aram Terzyan / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2020

This article explores the challenges and opportunities of the Europeanization processes taking place in post-Maidan Ukraine and post-Velvet Revolution Armenia. It argues that despite the constraining effects of “competing governance provider” Russia, the interests, perceptions and preferences of the domestic elites are critical to the implementation of the EU policies in Ukraine and Armenia. Thus, it offers a more dynamic structure- agency interplay approach to account for the dynamics of Europeanization in the EU-Russia contested neighbourhood. The article concludes that the domestic change in Ukraine has been positively correlated with its Europeanization, while Armenia has been showing positive signs of responsiveness towards the European policies since the 2018 “Velvet Revolution.” The article enquires into integration without membership dynamics between the EU and Eastern neighbours, as well as into the actorness of the EU in post-revolution state-building in Ukraine and Armenia.