A Legal Perspective on Career Limitations upon Female Astronauts Due to Cosmic Radiation Exposure

Author(s): Sami Mehmeti,Stefani Stojchevska / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2020

Triggered by the contemporary assumption that female astronauts are facing a manifestation of gender-based discrimination regarding career options due to NASA’s strict cosmic radiation exposure limit restrictions, the main purpose of this paper is to analyze the legal perspective of this issue through labor principles of opportunity and health. By recognizing galactic cosmic rays as a special type of radiation exposure naturally occurring within the astronaut’s working environment, it is questioned whether such a severe health threat deserves to be used as a justification for labor discrimination. While examining the legal status of astronauts in labor relations may contribute in realizing the importance of an astronaut’s profession as an individual as well as for the benefit of mankind, the capacities that space agencies, as employers, have in order to fulfill their obligation of eliminating health risks originating from cosmic radiation and solar storms, can be further examined in order to find out if this spaceflight opportunity limitation is just another well hidden demonstration of gender-based discrimination, mainly through the following determinants: 1) Duration of the space mission, and 2) Position of the space object. Also, given the fact that the notion of “outer space labor law” is still nonexistent, this paper additionally emphasizes the need for the establishment of international standards concerning protection against cosmic radiation, in order for astronauts, irrelevant of their nationality, to receive equal health protection measures, as subjects to labor relations.

A new concept in the Turkish legal system: Mobbing

Author(s): Nuray Çelik,Melike Yaman / Language(s): English / Issue: 18/2020

Mobbing is a phenomenon which has existed since employment relationships were established in business life. But this issue has been taken into consideration as a legal problem only relatively recently. Thus, within the scope of our work, the definition of mobbing shall be clarified. Moreover, Turkish legislation and judicial opinion regarding mobbing will be analysed.

Access to health among women with disabilities – legal aspects and practical problems in Bulgaria

Author(s): Iliyana Miteva / Language(s): English / Issue: 28 (4)/2019

This scientific study is dedicated to the legal aspects and practical problems in the Bulgarian legislation of access to healthcare for women with disabilities. Its relevance comes from the growing need to understand the legal construction linked to the right to health of one of the vulnerable groups in society. Attention herein is directed to the existing legal framework in the People with Disabilities Act, the Health Act, the Health Insurance Act and the Medical-Treatment Facilities Act, as well as separate provisions in other legal acts. The analysis is accompanied by conclusions and suggestions for optimising practice and legislation.

Analele Științifice ale Universităţii Alexandru Ioan Cuza din Iași, seria Ştiinţe Juridice

Frequency: 2 issues / Country: Romania

Scientific Annals of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Juridical Sciences Series, is a publication with tradition in the field of legal sciences.

The Journal includes research work of teachers, visiting professors, researchers and PhD students from the Faculty of Law of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi.

Annals of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Juridical Sciences Series contain analysis of specific issues of law, subscribed to the four cardinal points of legal taxonomy - Public Law, Criminal Law and Criminal Sciences, Private Law, International and European law - dubbed the reviews and comments of jurisprudence.

Analiza konstytucyjności ograniczeń w korzystaniu z wolności religii podczas pandemii koronawirusa w Polsce

Author(s): Konrad Dyda,Marcin Olszówka / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 23/2020

The need to prevent the development of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic makes it necessary to maintain physical distance to comply with various types of sanitary standards. However, when restrictions imposed by public authorities lead to limiting the exercise of human rights and freedoms, they must be laid down in normative acts of appropriate form and content. Meanwhile, many of the restrictions introduced by the Polish authorities with a view to combatting the pandemic, which restricted the exercise of freedom of religion, did not meet the standards defined by the Polish Constitution.

ANONYMITY AND OPENNESS IN GAMETE DONATION: THE RUSSIAN POLICY ON THE THIRD-PARTY REPRODUCTION

Author(s): Rafał Łukasiewicz,Angelo Viglianisi Ferraro / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2021

The Russian Federation is one of the few jurisdictions where recipients and gamete donors have a wide scope of choice between anonymous, identifiable, and known donations. This paper examines how the Russian law regulates this sphere and how it is applied in practice basing on data collected in the largest reproductive cells bank in Russia. It demonstrates that the Russian Federation should be regarded as a country in which there is no single dominant approach to the matter of donor anonymity. The assessment of this ‘freedom of choice’ is not unambiguous. It gives recipients and donors the right to decide which option is the most suitable for their needs and motivations, simultaneously not resolving which values take precedence over others. The donor-conceived persons’ right to disclose donor’s identifying data sometimes may conflict with the donor’s right to protect their privacy and usually, jurisdictions decide which one has the priority.

Aplicabilitatea interdicțiilor temporare de concediere în cazul încetării contractului individual de muncă pe durata sau la sfârșitul perioadei de probă

Author(s): Maria Violeta Duca / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 03/2021

The interpretation and the application of the provisions of Article 31 (3) and Article 60 of the Labour Code have led to the existence of a non-unitary judicial practice and to the expression of some divergent positions in the doctrine as regards the applicability of the temporary prohibitions on dismissal in case of termination of the individual labour contract at the initiative of the employer, during or at the end of the period of probation. In a first doctrinal and jurisprudential orientation it is argued that Article 60 of the Labour Code is not applicable, because we are not in the presence of a dismissal, but of a separate case of termination of the individual labour contract at the initiative of the employer. The second opinion argues the thesis according to which the termination of the individual labour contract at the initiative of the employer during or at the end of the period of probation is also a case of dismissal, the legislative derogations aiming only at simplifying the dismissal procedure during the period of probation, and not at removing the temporary prohibitions on dismissal provided by Article 60 of the Labour Code. The paper emphasizes that, by applying the rules of interpretation of the domestic legal norms and the principle of interpretation in compliance of the national law with European Union law, it follows that the termination of the individual labour contract at the initiative of the employer during or at the end of the period of probation must be qualified as dismissal. In accordance with the principle of equal treatment and in order to ensure the useful effect of Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation, the corroborated interpretation of the provisions of Article 60 and Article 31 (3) of the Labour Code reflects the applicability of the temporary prohibitions on dismissal and in case of termination of the individual labour contract of the employee during the period of probation.The employees on probation enjoy the right to health and safety at work and the right to annual rest leave under the same conditions as the employees whose labour relations have been strengthened, with no express legal derogation as concerns the benefit of these rights. De lege lata, the difference in treatment is enshrined in law only for restricting the right to protection against dismissal, not for the restrictions brought to these fundamental rights as well.

APPLICATION OF THE DISCIPLINARY OFFENSE OF THE WRITTEN REPRIMAND. CASE STUDY

Author(s): Dragos Lucian Radulescu / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

Labor discipline is a legal institution related to the obligation of employees to comply with the system of internal rules of employers, as well as those resulting from the content of the individual employment contract. The legal relationship between the employee and the employer is one of subordination, this implying specific rights and obligations, imposed by the work discipline, their non-observance leading to the possibility of applying disciplinary sanctions. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the obligation of the civil servant to comply with the superior's order becomes essential, the county public health directorates being in the forefront of the fight against the virus. The article refers to the disciplinary sanction of the warning, applied to the civil servant for violating the work discipline, in the context of blocking the activity of the department, by non-compliance with the internal audit service, with reference to internal regulations, labor agreements, and individualization of the sanction, motivation and procedural approach.

Arbitration in employment disputes – de lege ferenda comments 15 years after arbitration clauses in employment relations were introduced in the civil procedure

Author(s): Radosław T. Skowron / Language(s): English / Issue: 31 (3)/2020

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the existing model of employment arbitration in Poland in force since 2005. According to Article 1164 of the Code of Civil Procedure, arbitration clauses in employment disputes can only be established once a dispute has already arisen. In reality, this post-dispute voluntary regulation has no practical value and employment arbitration is an instrument used extremely rarely in Poland. On the basis of examination of applicable laws, the author shows that in given factual and legal circumstances a reasonable employee and a reasonable employer shall seldom have a cause to simultaneously agree to arbitrate an already existing dispute. By applying the comparative method at the same time, the paper examines possible criteria of distinguishing categories of disputes, agreements, persons and other conditions that would permit a valid arbitration clause in employment agreements. In conclusion, the author demonstrates that, firstly, the existing voluntary post-dispute employment arbitration model in Poland is a fictitious one and requires reform and, secondly, that both a full elimination of arbitration clauses in employment agreements and a full arbitration clause for all future disputes are too blunt a tool not taking into account the real needs and requirements of today’s employees and employers. The author calls for a more nuanced regulation of employment arbitration in Poland.

Artificial Intelligence and Its Impact on Labour Relations in Estonia

Author(s): Kristi Joamets,Archil Chochia / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

The third industrial revolution, the digital revolution, affected economy and thus labour relations, too. Now the so-called fourth revolution, the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, will cause further massive changes in the labour market. This is not just about the caution that robots will replace all employees, but this also raises a question about new skills the labour market requires the employees to have. Scientific literature and the EU policy documents do not cover the AI – labour market issues in a unified approach, however welcoming the development of new technologies on the one hand, with concerns about weakening the labour force by jobs loses, on the other hand. The article elucidates the AI revolution and analyses the AI influence on labour market, specifically identifying the new skills required, based on relevant scientific literature and the EU policy documents. Considering the AI impact on labour relations, continuous alteration of skills and knowledge offered should be of special concern– it is not only about a labour relation per se, new models emerge all the time in the labour market. The authors also investigate the impact of AI on the Estonian labour market, i.e. whether the AI´s effects appear as disastrous as expected or simply a welcome development for the welfare of the state. The article discusses how AI impacts labour relations and which professions fall in a greater risk of disappearing and, more specifically, the AI´s influence on the Estonian labour market.

Atlikėjo samprata intelektinės nuosavybės ir mokesčių bei valstybinio socialinio draudimo įstatymuose

Author(s): Ramūnas Birštonas,Nijolė Janina Matulevičienė,Jūratė Usonienė / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 1/2011

This article aims to analyse the concept of the performer in three different legal contexts: first, the concept of the performer in the field of intellectual property, second, the concept of the performer in the field of tax law, and third, the perception of the performer from the point of view of social insurance laws. Analysis of the performers’ concept in the legislation on intellectual property has shown that in the light of these acts the concept of “performer” has a broad sense. In the Law on Copyright the performer is perceived as every person who performs literary and artistic works. The only requirement for the performance to be protected is related to the fact that the performer has to perform literary or artistic work. Since the work is perceived in very broad sense, a big variety of acts related to entertainment and presentation are considered as subject matter of performances protection. The borderline between authors and performers is analysed in the article. Though the distinction between these two rights owners’ groups is not always evident (for example in the case of improvised performances) it has relevant legal outcome: the taxation of the performer’s and author’s income is governed by different rules, different social and health security contributions are applied to authors and to performers. The conclusion is made that the qualifying of actual subject matter of contractual relationship is essential for the correct choice of applicable tax and social insurance legal acts. The second part of the article focuses on the performer’s legal status within the meaning of law on income tax, law on health and social insurance. Despite the fact that Law on income tax defines performing activities as activities of a performing artist (actor, singer, musician, conductor, dancer or another individual acting, singing, reading, reciting or otherwise performing literary, artistic, folklore performances or circus shows), this law requires that this activity involve preparation for and participation in a public appearance. This requirement is rather unclear and raises the question if the performing activity in the meaning of tax law is perceived narrower than in the meaning of Copyright act. The notion of performing activity under the tax law is directly related to the legal position of the performer in the context of social insurance and compulsory health insurance laws, since the performing activity in these laws is defined according to the definition contained in the Law on income tax. The conclusion that the definition of performing activity in analysed legal acts should be uniformed is made.

Attempts to harmonise the European Union legislation in respect of employee representation in corporate governance bodies

Author(s): Stanisław Rudolf / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2020

Motivation: Representation of employees in corporate governance bodies is, on the one hand, an important element in the democratisation of labour relations, while on the other hand, it can bring notable positive benefits to businesses. It is standard practice in a decided majority of the old EU countries, but only to a limited extent does it function in the countries which joined the EU in 2004 and later. Aim: The author of the article has defined two important goals. The first one is to present solutions concerning employee representation in individual EU countries. The second goal is to present earlier attempts to harmonise the EU legislation on the matters of such representation and to indicate the possibility of such harmonisation under the current conditions. Results: What has been noted in the article is that as many as 10 EU countries have no legislation concerning employee representation in corporate bodies. Although such legislation exists in other countries, the implemented solutions are heavily diversified. It has also been evidenced that the past attempts aimed to harmonise this sphere have generally failed. Against such background, establishing what is commonly referred to as a European Company with employee representation in its corporate governance bodies should be considered as a success, but due to a very limited range of such companies, it is but a partial success.

Atypical work as flexible work: The rise of labour instability in the Spanish labour market

Author(s): Anna Ginès i Fabrellas / Language(s): English / Issue: 18/2020

The aim of the article is to analyze the Spanish labour law reforms adopted in a period of ten years and their impact in terms of increasing or decreasing employment precariousness; particularly, in terms of increasing or decreasing labour instability through the promotion of atypical forms of work. The paper concludes that the legislative efforts aimed at promoting permanent employment mainly through reductions on Social Security contributions on behalf of the employer have been offset with other reforms that promote and favour atypical forms of work, such as fixed-term, training, internship, part-time contracts, and self-employment. As a result, atypical forms of work have significantly increased and become flexible forms of work, thus, increasing labour instability.

BRIEF CONSIDERATIONS ON TELEWORK DURING PANDEMIC

Author(s): dana volosevici / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented health and economic crisis worldwide and at this date it is still too early to have the complete picture of the consequences. Employers were forced to implement efficient measures to contain and mitigate the virus, while maintaining economic activity. In many European countries, authorities imposed or at least urged the employers to telework, in order to ensure the employees’ health protection. The paper addresses some aspects of teleworking, inviting to further developments

Characteristics of Reforming the Institutions of Power in Ukraine in the Transition to Democracy

Author(s): Vira Burdiak / Language(s): English / Issue: 21/2018

The author proves, that in Ukraine the level of political consolidation, when it would be possible to clearly define, whether a transition is completed or not, and what regime is firmly established in the state, is not achieved yet. Political players are far from confessing the inviolability of democratic rules of political game; there is a considerable threat of authoritarianism. Freedom House considers the Ukrainian state a free electoral state, not a liberal democracy. The judicial features of Ukraine in the democratization process are as follows: lack of fulfillment of one of the first tasks of the transition: replacement of elites; lack of legal culture of the authorities, their inability to realize the rules of governance; formal institutionalization; relative weakness of the basic opposition; slowness of the reformation and sustainable failure to perform the tasks of every stage of the transition; weakness and low legitimacy of democratic institutions, conjuncture reformation for party-group interests; gradual replacement of bits and pieces of the post-communist authoritarianism with the new oligarchic authoritarianism on the behavior level of some elite groups.

Charakterystyka służb bhp w Polsce – wyniki badania

Author(s): Magdalena Dobrzyńska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 8/2021

The article presents selected results of the study entitled “Diagnosis and prognosis of OSH services and a characterization of OSH professionals” carried out in 2020. The study included telephone questionnaire interviews on a sample of 500 representatives of the in-house OSH service and OSH specialists from outside a workplace. The article focuses on the results concerning: the structure of the health and safety service, conditions for entering the profession and professional promotion, as well as employment conditions, sources of satisfaction and professional difficulties.

CIVIL SOCIETY: A MECHANISM FOR MAINTAINING THE HEALTH OF THE STATE OF LAW

Author(s): Cătălina Szekely / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2020

The state of law represents a desideratum of the modern society, to which one relates whenever they claim rights and freedoms or respect the obligations that come with these rights and freedoms. The state of law knows various developments in different legal systems, as each society comes with its own particularities, but the fundamental principles are the same everywhere. When the state, through its representatives, shows signs of deviating from these principles, civil society manifests as a mechanism to ensure a healthy legal state, a mechanism whose strength can determine the very development of the state of law.

CIVIS ROMANUS SUM

Author(s): Nataliya Kiselova / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 2/2020

Citizenship is a political and legal relationship between a person and a state. The expression Civis Romanus sum! declares the full realization of the rights of the Roman citizen in the Roman state and guarantees him immunity during his stay outside Rome. This understanding of citizenship is carried over into the modern state and as an social institution has played an important role. In Roman law Status includes three main elements inherent in every person – freedom (Status libertatis), Roman citizenship (Status civitatis) and marital status (Status familiae), and the change in this status leads to loss of civil rights (capitis deminutio). The modern elements of the status of Bulgarian citizens will also be considered.

Collective Labour Rights of Self-Employed Persons on the Example of Spain: is There any Lesson for Poland?

Author(s): Aneta Tyc / Language(s): English / Issue: 95/2021

This paper aims to analyse collective labour rights of both “classic” selfemployed persons and economically dependent self-employed workers under the Spanish Statute of Self-Employed Workers (Ley 20/2007 del Estatuto del Trabajo Autónomo). The author applies comparative analysis and critical reasoning with a view to answering the questions: is the scope of protection wide enough, and can Poland draw a lesson from it? The paper presents evidence that demonstrates that among all self-employed workers, only economically dependent self-employed workers are granted the right to bargain collectively. However, findings suggest that in practice, collective bargaining is stymied mainly because it takes place only at the enterprise level, and because the number of economically dependent self-employed workers is minimal. The paper concludes that collective labour rights under the Statute of Self-Employed Workers could be better protected (especially as regards “classic” self-employed persons). On the other hand, however, in Poland, the lack of any criteria that would enable a diversification of the scope of collective rights granted to self-employed persons is subject to criticism. It appears that in some areas the legislator should differentiate the scope of protection. The criterion of economic dependence, which exists in Spanish law, could be successfully used for this purpose.

Collective Rights of Persons Engaged in Gainful Employment Outside the Employment Relationship – en Outline of the Issue

Author(s): Tomasz Duraj / Language(s): English / Issue: 95/2021

The main objective of the following study is to introduce readers to the issue of the 2nd National Scientific Conference in the series “Atypical Employment Relations” organized on 3 October 2019 by the Centre for Atypical Employment Relations of the University of Lodz. The consequence of extending the right of coalition to persons performing paid work outside the employment relationship was that they were guaranteed important collective rights, which until 1 January 2019 were reserved primarily for employees. The rights which Polish legislator ensured to non-employees include the right to equal treatment in employment due to membership in a trade union or performing trade union functions; the right to bargain with a view to the conclusion of collective agreement and other collective agreements; the right to bargain to resolve collective disputes and the right to organize strikes and other forms of protest, as well as the right to protect union activists. The author positively assesses the extension of collective rights to people engaged in gainful employment outside the employment relationship, noting a number of flaws and shortcomings of the analyzed norms. The manner of regulating this matter, through the mechanism of referring to the relevant provisions regulating the situation of employees, the statutory equalization of the scope of collective rights of non-employees with the situation of employees, the lack of criteria differentiating these rights, as well as the adopted model of trade union representation based on company trade unions, not taking into account the specific situation of people working for profit outside the employment relationship, are the reasons why the amendment to the trade union law is seen critically and requires further changes.