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Former minister says Putin associate Igor Sechin played the decoy in a politically-motivated sting operation against him.
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Former minister says Putin associate Igor Sechin played the decoy in a politically-motivated sting operation against him.
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Although on the territory of today’s Republic of Croatia there is no significant mining activity and, as such, could not be classified as »mining country«, it should be noted that the mining and metallurgical traditions reach far into the past. The first traces of copper casting in Croatia were recorded nearly 6,000 years ago, and they are related with Vučedol civilisation artefacts in surroundings of City of Vinkovci. The Celts gave significant contributions since they founded Sisak in the Pannonian part of the Croatia, started with production of iron, and after the Roman conquest, significant development of mining and metallurgy started. In the area of Western Bosnia and Zrinska Gora (Banija) they mined iron, copper and lead (silver) ore, and smelters and mints were also in operation. Iron probably came from a mine in the area of Žumberak Mts nearby Krašić and areas of Medvednica Mountain. Mining activities along the Carpathian areas significantly developed during the XIth and XIIth century (silver mines in the area of Banská Štiavnica - Slovakia and the extraction of gold from the alluvial deposits in Transylvania), and Germans (Saxons) in what is now the Czech Republic developed metallurgy in XIIIth century. In County of Zvolenska, present-day Slovakia, King Bela the IVth encouraged by privileges arrival of Saxons, for the purpose of re settlement the kingdom after the Mongol invasion in 1242, and to provide income for the royal treasury. In the same time on Croatian territory in XIIIth century, the Saxons exploit vascular deposits of lead and copper sulphides in the area of Maidan (Majdan - tur. mine), Srebrnjak (Srebro – cro. silver, srebrnjak, cro. silver coin) and Tomašica, and iron ore was exploited in the area of Zrinska Gora in Banija Area. Predecessor of research on the history of mining in Croatia was Emil Laszowski. His two volumes on Mining in Croatia cover the period from Medieval to the beginning of XXth Century. After him, the other geologists have published several papers about some Croatian regions with natural resources, while the medieval period historians dedicated to the study of mining in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo. Since these areas (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo) are rich in mineral resources and consequently mining activities are better documented, this paper represents the first synthesis of data on exploitation, smelting and trading of metals in Croatia and medieval Slavonia - the two territorial entities of the former Hungarian-Croatian crown (since 1102). Medieval Slavonia stretched along the Sava River to the mouth of the river Vrbas and covered the part of north western Bosnia. The medieval Croatian coast covered area of Kvarner bay, Lika and Krbava. Determination of the areas of mining activities was performed on the basis of toponymy, geological settings, data on large estates of noble families and by following trade routes through the Croatian Hungarian kingdom, Dalmatia and Italy. The fifteenth century is a period of expanding metallurgical activities (exploitation and smelting of metal ores). In the late fifteenth and the beginning of XVIth century are estimated that in the Kingdom of St. Stephen lives between 3 and 4 million people in nearly 20,000 settlements. This area has huge reserves of mineral resources, including gold and silver. Exploration and exploitation of gold in the XVth and XVIth century again raised mining activity in the whole of Europe. These activities, in 1470-ies were funded by entrepreneurs, such as János Thurzó, associated with Polish and Bavarian merchants, who also operated in Croatia. Toponymy may indicate mineral resource or activity in a given area eg. Srebrenica (Srebro – cro. silver), Olovo (cro. lead), Rude (cro. Ore), Majdan (tur. Mine), Gvozd (Gvožđe - serb. iron), Železnica, Železno (Željezo - cro. Iron), etc. Following toponymy in Banija (Zrinska and Trgovska mountains) and Kordun, by geological survey in XIIth century, in this area were identified deposits of iron, limonite ore, which contains 89% of limonite (F2O3) and galena (PbS), lead sulphide mineral which contains between 0.01 and 3.30% of silver (Ag). Veins of galena in the Xth and XIth century were exploited for the purpose of obtaining silver. Streams between cities of Zrin and Čatrnja are abound with silver bearing galena, while in the Tomašica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are veins of galena and copper ore. Veins of iron ore are found in the area around Gvozdansko and nearby, the veins of copper ore as well in the area around the hill Majdan. In the area Svinica (Svinec - lead), there are veins of galena which gained between 180 to 483 grams of silver per tonne of the ore. Deposits of iron ore in the area of Petrova Gora are located in the Permian sediments which extend in a north-south. These deposits consist of quartz sandstone, conglomerates and breccias. Layers usually contain barite, quartz and siderite, and in northern part, sulphates (gypsum). In the area of Samobor Hills is the most famous village Rude, and in the literature is also known as Rovi (Rov – pit), Fodina, ie. Latin for »mine«. In the area of the village Rude Saxons in XIVth century exploited iron ore from Permian sandstone. The excavation of copper veins started at the beginning of the XVIth century. According to data from 1785 they obtained over 13 tons of pure copper from the copper ore (lump of Malachite contained 8.38% of copper, with a little lead, iron, nickel and zinc). Zagreb Mountains contains lead (galena) and zinc (sphalerite) ore. During the XVIth and XVIIth centuries, mines »Zrinski« were active, and paragenesis contains of galena - the most abundant mineral, sphalerite and pyrite, and the ore contained about 0.05% of silver. Over the centuries, the Croatian-Hungarian kings were regularly issued concessions for the exploitation of mineral resources for the benefit of various ecclesiastical and aristocratic landowners. Approval of the charter for the mining industry can be traced back to the XIIIth century, when Arpadović dynasty encouraged establishing their own mining towns in Upper Hungary and Transylvania. The great wave of legal and economic benefits begins with King Charles Robert (1308-1342) A year 1325 provides Baia de Aries free exploitation of gold, in November 1328, Kremnica gets privileges, in March 1337, the king granted the right to exploration of mineral resources in cantons Dobročna, Nevidzdany and Ružomberok. King Ludwig the Ist (1342 - 1382), in November 1357, recognized the same rights to the Zlatna (zlato – gold) and other mining towns, and in 1376 sets standards that some families receive benefits for exploration and exploitation of mineral resources (gold and silver and other metals) on their properties, for example Abraham’s son from the family of Hontpazmany, in 1339. On Croatian territory, the first laws related to the exploitation of mineral resources were related to customary law and dating back to the XIIIth century and refer to the Templars. In XIVth century, the concession was granted in 1327 by King Charles Robert, these rights were valid through the entire area of the Crown of St. Stephen, and since 1342, and the country was divided into ten tax units. In this system, the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia has its own tax office and an independent monetary system. The first foundry and mint was active in Pakrac (Pucruch), and is mentioned in 1256. Mint was later (1260) moved to Zagreb (Officina monetáris Zagrabiensis). In XIVth century nobles were holders of the rights of minting money. The introduction of fees on mining occurs by decree of King Louis the Ist in 1351. On the whole area of the Croatian-Hungarian Kingdom, exploitation was prescribed for gold, silver, copper, iron and other. Two-thirds of their taxes were sold directly to the king. The level of fees is dependent on the fact whether the tray in the area under someone’s property or without. This tax (feudal) was between the fifth and tenth extracted ore or metal. In XVth century, charters and royal grants allow an increase in activity. In 1405, by order of King Sigismund (1387-1437), ores of gold and silver in the kingdom were a public good that was forbidden to export except in the form of coins. In 1486, King Matthias Corvinus (1458-1490) determined that the deposits discovered in the possession of royalty and other owners paid feudal royal governor for mining and coins (kammergraf), and in 1492, King Vladislav the second (1470-1516) iterates that every owner of areas where there are ores of gold, silver, copper, iron is entitled to mining and processing of a fee to the king - as prescribed by the common law. In XIVth and XVth century, Croatian lords Morović (of Maroth) and Gorjanski (Gara) has the privilege of exploitation of minerals. In 1471, Counts Keglević have the right to exploration and mining in Banija. The three largest medieval Croatian noble families, Frankapans Šubić - Zrinski and Babonić held significant lands with mineral deposits in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Family Babonić ruled on political stage of medieval Slavonia. In 1272 Babonić received fortress town of Samobor as a gift from Croatian Hungarian King Ladislaus the IVth (1272-1290). They increase its area by acquiring works Steničnjak in 1278 which became their stronghold, and in 1280, the territory of southern Slavonia between the Sava, Kupa and Una. During the 1320’s Babonić family increased territory and the area up to the river of Glina (Banija) to Kranjska and up to the north-western areas, between the river Sava, Una, Sana and Vrbas with the city of Blagaj in central Bosnia that present a significant mineral area. Several rulers arose from this family, and this feature gives them the right to the king’s account at mintage (silver coins Banaovac). In Prijedor (Bosnia and Herzegovina), thirteen silver coins Banovac were found. In the village of Rude was discovered 267 pieces of silver coins Banovac, probably buried between 1270 and 1280. But despite owning ore-bearing territories and tangible evidence of the existence of coins, the exact origin of precious metals (mining on their own estates or import) metalworking today is not known. The first members of the family Zrinski occur for the first time since the second half of the XIth century, as Bribirščići from their strongholds Bribir in the Dalmatian hinterland, and also called Dukes of Bribir. In the early thirteenth century, these masters of regular positions as the prince of Dalmatian towns, so that in the period between 1277 and 1278, in addition to Bribira, Klis and Skradin, they rule the entire coastal area between Zadar and Omiš, with estates in the hinterland. The political rise of Šubić family is important for XIVth century. To slow down their political rise and influence, in 1347, the Croatian-Hungarian King granted them lands in medieval Slavonia, out of reach of coast, some of which previously belonged to Babonić family. The area of Banija, Pedalj, Stupnica and other places on the Zrinska Gora - and since then they called their selves Zrin. Right on mining was providing on 3 March 1463 by King Matthias Corvinus in favor of Count Petar Zrinski and his descendants. The charter states the privilege to open mines of gold, silver, copper and other metals, for a fee. In order to protect areas rich with hematite (iron) and galena (silver), Zrinski built the first fort Gvozdansko, below which was a town of miners and craftsmen. These silver mines ensured the money needed for the organization of defence against the Turks. The composition and number of people involved in the mining industry are not known, except some scattered data. In 1525, King Ludwig the IInd (1516-1526.) sent to Nikola Zrinski Four Masters for mining (Magistris montanistis) to conduct research and improve technology of exploitation. During the first half of the XVIth Century, thirty miners employed in the field of Gvozdansko were able to annually obtain about 600 tons of silver from lead ore. In 1420 in the area of Maidan (Mine), Tomašica and Srebrnjak (Silver coin), they obtained almost 23,000 tonnes of lead to yield between 800 to 1,400 kg of silver. After the death of Nicholas Zrinski the IIIrd, in 1534, his widow Helena and two sons John and Nicholas IVth Subic Zrinski, sold the area of Pedalj and mining complex Gvozdansko. Leonhard Gruber, born in Villach in 1533, was leased smelter Gvozdansko for 7,600 guldens, and the area has finally been actively mining more than a hundred years (between 1463 and 1578), until the conquest by the Ottomans. In addition to its own mines in Gvozdansko, Nikola Zrinski the IIIrd also runs exploitation of galena at Medvednica Mountain, north of the city of Zagreb, and since 1521, has a privilege awarded by King Ludwig the IInd for exploitation of ore on their properties for a period of ten years. Six years later, Count Nicholas concluded an agreement with the citizens of Zagreb, for the opening of mines in his possession. But when the business gets going, Count deceives citizens and takes the ore. Following litigation, he was forced to pay damages. At the beginning of XIIth century, the founder of the Frankopan dynasty, Count Dujam the Ist (1118- 1163), was the first nobleman who rules the island of Krk in the name of Venice. In 1193, the lords of the island gained county Modruš, then gradually most of the medieval Croatian coast, along the Kvarner bay and Gacko. A century later (in 1392), Count John Frankopan became duke of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia, and King Sigismund of Luxembourg was then awarded to him a certificate of their right to use »the mines of gold, silver, copper, lead and iron«. Frankapan family gradually increased their territory, covering almost the entire medieval Croatia, from Ozalj and Dubovac na Kupi, to Sinj and Omiš on the river Cetina, with the island of Krk in the west and the fortress of Knin and Bihać on the Una. Son Nicholas Martin the IVth further expanded the territory in the east included the cities of Kozara and Vrbas. Frankopan family in 1443 by Emperor Frederick the IIIrd (1440-1486) get the privilege of minting money, and in 1513, became the owners of Samobor, and mine Rude as well. But there is one quite a puzzle. Despite the fact that they possessed territory rich in minerals that they get the right to mining and that the good work, performed the function of ban, which gives them the right to coin money, there is no trace of mining nor coins from their mint. In the XVIth century there are sources, and in particular the studies, related to the organization and production of copper ores. Regardless of the owners of Samobor, production and further processing and trading left to private entrepreneurs, foreigners mostly of German origin, who take burials on lease. The full echo business could operate up to 200 people, and the production increases by approaching the end of the century. Trade of metals took place along two directions, one to the west through the Croatian territory from north to the south, which connects Hungary with the ports on the Croatian coast and the other on the east of Bosnia, Kosovo and Serbia towards the port of Dubrovnik. Central European axis Hungary - Adriatic (Croatian coast and Dalmatia) represented the access to continental products to the open sea. In this context, the vast majority of transit metal products went through the towns of the Croatian coast (port Bakar, Bakarac and Senj), which were under the authority of Frankapan family and Rijeka under the Austrian nobility. Each generation of nobles pursued their own policies in relation to the economic circumstances. Under the rule of Frankapan family, port Senj and Bakar were free of all taxes which affect their rapid economic development. A growing Ottoman conquest in the XVth century on the continent has changed the political configuration, which affected the ports of the Croatian coast. Thus, in 1469, King Matthias Corvinus annexed Senj to serve as a line of defence against the Ottomans. Dubrovnik represents an important trade hub of metals in the area of the Balkan Peninsula during the XIVth and in XVth century and linked the mines in Bosnia, Serbia and Kosovo, with overseas markets, mainly to Venice. Dubrovnik was most active in transit between the Balkans (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania and Bulgaria) to the west. Entrepreneurs from the area of Dubrovnik and Kotor in XIIIth century were active at the money and metals market from the Bosnian and Kosovo mines and placement to the Venetian market. In the second half of XIVth century, Dubrovnik establishes their colonies in Kosovo where precious metals were sold to the European market. Silver mine in Novo Brdo in Kosovo in 1433 reaches annual income of 200.000 ducats according to the knight Bertrandon de la Broquière of Bourgogne. Since the second half of the fifteenth century, intensity of mining activities in the area of the Balkan Peninsula decreases and with it traffic of metals to Dubrovnik. The causes were outdated technology, the influx of cheaper gold with newly discovered American continent, armed conflicts and epidemics affecting the mining areas. Other reasons were a state monopoly on mining, poor management of mining concessions by the Ottomans, the departure of skilled miners, corruption and banditry.
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Like in many other Central and Eastern European countries, in 2016, Romanian populist parties were voted by the ‘silent’ citizens, by those feeling deprived and not represented properly. Shortly before that, in 2015, the tragic Colectiv nightclub fire had given birth to a new party: Save Romania Union (USR) that promotes a populist discourse on the ‘corrupt elite’ versus the ‘pure people’. At the beginning, however, the new party did not disseminate messages specific to the nationalist or radical right-wing populists. Another party, endorsed by a news television channel Romania TV, almost succeeded at overpassing the electoral threshold in the 2016 parliamentary election: United Romania Party (PRU) used xenophobic and anti-EU messages during the 2016 general election campaign. My hypothesis is that the extremist electoral messages, the expressions of hatred towards foreigners and Western businessmen or the EU institutions were spread through social networks. Using a content analysis, I shall verify the extent to which the official Facebook pages of the Social Democratic Party (PSD, the direct successor of the Romanian Communist Party), the United Romania Party (PRU) and the Save Romania Union (USR) reflected the antagonism of the ‘pure’ people versus the ‘corrupt’ elite and I shall reveal who these parties identified as the so-called ‘people’s enemies’.
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The research item of the paper is the term "judicial corruption". This particular term was ignored in the majority of countries of the Council of Europe. Judicial corruption as a term was first mentioned in the PACE documents- Resolution 1703 (2010) on judicial corruption. The author is trying to give answer to the question- Could there be a balance between establishing the responsibility of the judge and the independence guarantees? The term judicial corruption should not be manipulated with, i.e. the criminal cases of corruption where the judges and prosecutors are involved should be proved and led in line with all ECHR Article 6 fair trial requirements, and in compliance with the principle for presumption of innocence.
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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.
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When the Soviets took power, each field was changed to suit the new political ideology. Only one was protected by tradition: the Russian ballet. This article focuses on the historical continuity of the classical ballet and all its aspects that adjusted to fit the new social, political, economic, and cultural context. How had this art come to embody political ideas? How did Bolshevism shape the Russian ballet? This article exposes both the splendor and the corruption that the Russian cultural institutions have created starting from the twentieth century until now.
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A general finding is that the modern world faces the threat of international terrorism. It is primarily the work of extremist groups that are often behind the ideas of fundamentalist Islam. The three main elements of terrorist activity are political motivation, violence and organization of actions. Another international negative factor of the security environment is international organized crime.
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In this study, where the results of nepotistic attitudes and behaviors of educational institution managers are examined, it is aimed to provide qualitative content support to researchers who will conduct research on this topic by contributing to the literature on the consequences of nepotism. The expectation of individuals in the business environment is based on equality, justice and receiving the response, behavior and appreciation that they deserve. Education managers should be equidistant from each employee at this point. They should evaluate teachers not according to kinship, gender or their closeness to people, but according to the quality of the work done. If there is favoritism in the educational institution, it can be clearly seen that education managers exhibit nepotistic attitudes. Education administrators, even if they are in an unfair situation, have a nepotistic attitude when they protect and protect the people they feel close to. There are also relations of interest in educational institutions where there is nepotism. As is traditionally the case in many cultures, nepotistic behaviors are often observed in our culture. Because in our society, relationships come before merit. Education managers often exhibit nepotism behaviors in issues such as fair distribution of workload and performance evaluation. For this reason, according to the level of empathy of teachers, whether educational administrators are fair in their nepotistic attitudes and behaviors can be understood from the trust felt in educational administrators and their constructive, analytical approaches in the field of education. Educational administrators working in educational institutions should manage their affairs by taking into account the principles of fairness and openness. Thus, education managers will have drawn a picture away from nepotism by keeping an equal distance from their colleagues. As a result of nepotism practices, the human resource, which is the most important element of the organization, cannot be managed in the desired way and this situation negatively affects the performance, which is the organizational product of the educational institution. While the private sector is affected to a limited extent, this impact is felt more intensely in the public sector, which costs the entire society. It has been determined that due to the nepotistic attitude applied by education managers, the absenteeism rates of educational institution employees have increased, their desire to quit their jobs has increased, and as a result of these attitudes, a working area has been formed in which the trust institution Decays, where a distinction is formed between employees close to or far from management. The expression of nepotism appears as an important problem that causes inequality from a social point of view and deeply affects society. As a result of the loss of social balance, an environment of chaos occurs in society, but there may be consequences that reduce the trust of citizens in public institutions and organizations. Trust in other public institutions and organizations, especially educational institutions, is disappearing, the anxiety level of educational staff and public employees, hence their desire to quit their jobs, is getting stronger, and corporate interest and loyalty are weakening.
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Constitution-making powers impose limitations on their power to amend the constitution in the constitutional texts they prepare. These limits are intended to prevent the differentiation or abolition of the basic philosophy of the constitution and the constitutional order established by the power to make the constitution. These limits, which are brought in order to prevent the constitutional amendment powers from making changes other than their purpose, are realized by further protecting the principles and values that are given special value in the constitutions of some countries and that constitute the basic philosophy of the constitution. In other words, some provisions that constitute the basic principles and values of the constitution are subject to a different amendment procedure compared to other provisions of the constitution. This differentiation procedure includes additional conditions such as a qualified majority, a referendum, or the passage of a certain period of time in the amendment process. In this study, the differentiated constitutional amendment procedure and whether these procedures have an effect on the abuse of constitutional amendment power have been examined.
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According to the latest PIF report on the protection of the financial interests of the European Union, in 2021 Romania reported to the European Commission fraud related to European projects worth 1.4 billion euros. The reported amount is quite impressive as it represents over 80% of the total amounts reported as being fraudulently obtained in 2021 by all member states, making Romania a true performer in this regard at the European level.Starting from these values, using descriptive statistics, the study analyzes the data reported by Romania in the last ten years, compared to the other EU member states, data extracted from the PIF Reports (2012-2021), trying to verify if Romania’s status as a champion in terms of fraud with European funds is fully deserved or circumstantial.Although the numbers show that Romania is indeed a performer in this regard, both in terms of value and the number of reported cases, these values must be viewed in context, as they are influenced by a wide series of factors, including reporting errors, the capacity and willingness of member states to detect irregularities, as well as the particularities of the awarding procedures and contracting periods. Also, in the end, the paper presents some recommendations for strengthening efforts to combat the phenomenon of fraud related to EU funds in Romania.
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This paper contains a description of the criminal justice system in Bulgaria, starting with the history of modern criminal regulations, current regulations, as well as the organization of judicial institutions. At the same time, the author comparatively analyzes several institutions of criminal law and criminal procedure in the Bulgarian and Romanian systems. The analyzed institutions refer to the judicial organization of the two countries, criminal prosecution, preliminary hearings, the regime of evidence, but also corruption and official crimes. For the comparative analysis of the two criminal justice systems were also considered findings of the Venice Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Human Rights, but also those of the European Commission within the Verification and Control Mechanism. The paper also contains the author's point of view regarding some regulations from the two countries, with reference to the effectiveness of the rules necessary to combat the criminal phenomenon, especially corruption crimes. Last but not least, the paper addresses the matter of comparing legal institutions from different countries, with some arguments in favor of this difficult approach.
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The subject of this paper is the criminal-legal aspects of corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The author’s intention is to divert your attention and point out the legal and social specifics of corruption as legal and social phenomenon that under special attention of scientific, expert and general public for a reason. Respectfully, there is no area of human action or interaction that is immune to corruption. However, the institutional reaction of state to this criminality must be adequate and proportional to the needs of research and evidence in order to achieve desired results of criminal judiciary. Special attention is directed to the problem of definition and understanding corruption with all its complex dimensions and the inability to coordinate one universal and comprehensive definition of this term. Also, this essay emphasizes problems of complexity of revealing the existence of these criminal acts and the aspect of verifying, i.e. proving the existence of these corruptive actions, while appreciating restrictive law conditions, materials and process.
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The subject of this paper is the criminal-legal aspects of corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The author’s intention is to divert your attention and point out the legal and social specifics of corruption as legal and social phenomenon that under special attention of scientific, expert and general public for a reason. Respectfully, there is no area of human action or interaction that is immune to corruption. However, the institutional reaction of state to this criminality must be adequate and proportional to the needs of research and evidence in order to achieve desired results of criminal judiciary. Special attention is directed to the problem of definition and understanding corruption with all its complex dimensions and the inability to coordinate one universal and comprehensive definition of this term. Also, this essay emphasizes problems of complexity of revealing the existence of these criminal acts and the aspect of verifying, i.e. proving the existence of these corruptive actions, while appreciating restrictive law conditions, materials and process.
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The article consists of two parts. The first discusses issues related to the functioning of the crypto-assets market in Poland and internationally and the planned changes in the regulations governing this market. They concern the legal status of digital tokens and their use in money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as the obligations of obliged institutions in the anti-money laundering system. The second part of the study focuses on procedural and non-procedural issues related to virtual currencies. The status of the digital artefact in criminal proceedings, operational work and the conduct of investigations with a view to combating cryptocurrency crime are discussed. The article concludes with demands addressed to law enforcement and law enforcement agencies. The aim of the article is to provide a comprehensive overview of the issues related to the use of virtual currencies in the commission of crimes, covering in particular AML and terrorist financing issues.
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This paper deals with the legal relationship between correspondent and respondent banks as part of a correspondent transaction. At the same time, the author analyses the performance of the due diligence on the respondent bank. In the last chapter, the author reflects on the existing application problems, supporting the currently growing trend of decreasing the number of new correspondent relationships. The primary objective of this paper is to establish, through comprehensive research on the existing legal regulation of correspondence relations at the European Union and Slovak Republic levels, a hypothesis regarding the interdependence between current application problems and the diminishing trend observed in new correspondence relations. Following scientific methods were used in this paper: the method of analysis and synthesis, method of abstraction, comparative method.
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In my paper, I try to analyze the historical context of archival documents from the second half of 1943, where traces of the conspiracy theory that Uzbek workers were trading their food rations can be found. Accusations of trade and speculation in food drew heavily from the pre-revolutionary stereotypes and conspiracy theories from the period of the Revolution and the Civil War. Increasing theft and embezzlement in the trading network of food, textiles, and manufactured goods, the misuse of state and kolkhoz property, and conspicuous consumption were also reported from Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in the early 1940s. Some premises for the conspiracy theory about the Uzbek propensity to speculate and conduct bazaar trade remained valid until the early 1980s, as seen in the so-called ‘cotton affair’, which triggered a series of rumors and images about Uzbek nepotism and mafia structures among the Soviet public. I argue that this rather represents traditional work preferences among Central Asian populations, where it possible to identify one of the sources of the role of a ‘provider of stereotypes’ played by the region as a periphery of the Russian/Soviet Empire.
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Three texts have been chosen for this study: Daya Pawar’s lifenarrative Baluta, Perumal Murugan’s historical fiction One Part Woman, and Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar’s short story collection The Adivasi Will Not Dance. These writers hail from various subaltern groups of the Indian subcontinent, with diverse ethnicities. Besides subalternity, a significant thread connecting these texts is that the writers’ respective communities took offence at the portrayal of their cultures. This study explores the self-representation of the community through a close reading of the texts, and theorizes the relationship between the writer, narrator, characters, and the community. The paper analyses how the writer employs the community in the narrative and the role this plays in the respective spatiotemporal contexts of the texts. Given the chosen texts are of different genres – a Dalit life-narrative, a historical novel, and short stories – the paper also explores the genre-ic/form-al differences in the representation/use of the community.
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The article is devoted to the study of European standards of judicial independence. The subject of the study is the institution of court independence and specific measures to improve its legal support in Ukraine in accordance with European standards. The purpose of the article is to determine the following judicial reform measures aimed at institutional and legal harmonization of Ukrainian legislation with the standards of the European Union. The research uses dialectical, systematic analysis and synthesis, comparison and legal modeling methods of scientific knowledge. Acquiring the status of a candidate country in the EU obliges Ukraine to carry out a number of transformations of social and political institutions, and judicial reform is one of them. This will require systemic measures, and not just amendments to legislation aimed at harmonizing national legal norms with European standards. It is emphasized that despite the ongoing judicial reform, the goal of an effective court has not been achieved: the level of public trust in the court is still low. The author predicts that if only point changes in judicial legislation are started now, the result will be the same as during the previous steps of judicial reform. It is necessary to start with the construction of the foundation for an effective judicial system, which is the independence of the court. Analyzing the European standards of an independent court and the practices of the EU institutions regarding the assessment of the impact of various indicators on the general assessment of the assurance of court independence, taking into account the current and urgent problems of the judicial system of Ukraine, the author makes a number of proposals for improving domestic legislation and practice aimed at strengthening the independence of the court, which the author calls fundamental the value of a democratic state, a prerequisite for an effective judicial protection system.
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The democratic transition on the African continent has been accompanied by problems of poor governance, poor administration, third terms and centralized power, electoral administration conundrums, and corruption. This paper examines the overarching problems in Africa, including electoral challenges, the third term and centralization of power, societal, social, and economic governance, and the death of ethics. This is a desktop study, also known as a conceptual study, that is based on Asante's Afrocentricity Theory, which provides pedagogical thinking about power, dominance, racism, and the need to escape victimization. The findings of the article reveal that many African countries, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Nigeria, face significant challenges due to poor governance and maladministration. The paper concludes by stating that to address the challenge of poor governance and maladministration in African countries, a multifaceted approach is necessary. One potential innovative solution is to increase transparency and accountability in government institutions using technology and data-driven decision-making. This could involve the implementation of digital systems for monitoring and reporting on government activities as well as the creation of independent oversight committees to ensure public officials are held accountable for their actions.
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This study interprets the nature, role and place of political privilege in French absolutist society. The manifestations of privilege under Louis XIV are analysed, while relevant conclusions and generalisations are drawn. Diagrams have been drawn up as illustrative material and corresponding charts of the classification of privilege in feudal France.
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