"COFOLA INTERNATIONAL 2016. Resolution of International Disputes Public Law in the Context of Immigration Crisis

Author(s): Klára Drličková,Anita Garnuszek,Slavomir Halla,Miloslav Kabrhel,Silvie Mahdalová,Ľubica Martináková,Aleksandra Orzeł,Mária Pastorková,Kateřina Remsová,Iva Šimková,Lucie Zavadilová,Ivan Cisár,Tomáš Kozárek,Ivan Puškár,Martin Švec,Pavel Loutocký,Dóra Bogárdi,Gergő Kocsis,Soňa Ondrášiková,Eszter Lilla Seres / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2016

The conference “COFOLA = Conference for Young Lawyers” is annualy organized by the Masaryk University, Faculty of Law from 2007. The main aim of this conference is to give floor to the doctoral students and young scientists at their early stage of career and enable them to present the results of their scientific activities. Since 2013 COFOLA has been enriched by special part called “COFOLA INTERNATIONAL”. COFOLA INTERNATIONAL focuses primarily on issues of international law and the regulation of cross-border relations and is also oriented to doctoral students and young scientists from foreign countries.

"Przestępstwa bez ofiar" w świetle polskiej Konstytucji oraz orzecznictwa Trybunału Konstytucyjnego

Author(s): Michał Szymański / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2018

The term “victimless crimes” is one of the leading concepts of American criminology, also used by libertarian circles. It assumes that acts that do not cause harm to the other person (or are made with his consent) should be legal. This theory has also found a resonance in American constitutionalism, whereas in Polish science of constitutional law this concept is virtually unknown. The case law of the Constitutional Tribunal is also more conservative and paternalistic than libertarian. The Tribunal did not consider unconstitutional provisions to drive a car with fastened seatbelts. Possession of marijuana for own use also, in the Court’s opinion, may also be prohibited by Polish law and the justifi cation used typical conservative arguments. The Polish Constitution also protects public morality, which is in direct contradiction to libertarianism. The author of the concept, Edwin Schur, also considered abortion as “victimless crime”. The Constitutional Tribunal has an extremely diff erent position, recognizing the need to protect unborn life. The axiology of the Polish Constitution is closer to the same spirit of Christian democracy than to extreme liberalism.

#33 Extortion racketeering in the EU: vulnerability factors

Author(s): Atanas Rusev,Lorella Garofalo,Elena Sciandra,Andrea Gimenez-Salinas,Carmen Jorda,Manuel de Juan Espinosa,Tihomir Bezlov,Margarita Gasparinatou,Irene Stamouli,Sofia Vidali,Marina Marchiaro,Valentina Giampietri,Radu Nicolae / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2016

Extortion racketeering has been long pointed out as the defining activity of organised crime. Although in recent years this crime has not been among the top listed organised crime threats in the strategic EU policy documents, it still remains ever present in European countries. The seriousness of the phenomenon has been recognised at the EU level and the crime has been listed in a number of EU legal acts in the field of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The report Extortion racketeering in the EU: vulnerability factors analyses extortion racketeering forms and practices in six EU member states. The analysis disentangles the risk and the vulnerability factors for enterprises in two business sectors – agriculture and hospitality – as well as in the Chinese communities. Drawing on the results of the analysis, the report suggests new policies for tackling extortion racketeering in the EU. This report has been produced with the joint efforts of the Center for the Study of Democracy, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses y de la Seguridad – Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Transcrime – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano and Vitosha Research and with the support of Guardia Civil in Spain.

#34 Monitoring Radicalisation: A Framework for Risk Indicators

Author(s): Rositsa Dzhekova,Mila Mancheva,Nadya Stoynova,Dia Anagnostou / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2017

Radicalisation processes impacting on disaffected and indoctrinated persons and the later involvement of some of them in acts of terrorism are of growing concern for European citizens, their governments and the wider international community. Addressing this threat requires effective prevention policies which some EU member states have been proactive in developing. Effective policies need reliable diagnostic tools designed to identify individuals and groups who might pose a threat. The publication provides a review of existing approaches and tools to identifying, monitoring and assessing radicalisation in Europe and beyond. It further offers a conceptual framework of radicalisation risk and vulnerability indicators and their interpretation as a basis for developing early-warning mechanisms for frontline practitioners in countries which are yet to develop specific prevention and counter-radicalisation policies. The target group of the guide are policymakers at national and EU levels, as well as practitioners directly involved in the prevention of radicalisation in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond.

#35 Situational Assessment of Extremist Trends

Author(s): Rositsa Dzhekova,Luděk Moravec,Pavlína Bláhová,Jan Ludvík,Libor Stejskal,Dia Anagnostou,Dimitris Skleparis,Nadya Stoynova / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2017

Violent extremism is one of the major challenges Europe is currently facing. The threat is both external as well as internal as indicated by the rise in home-grown Islamist terrorists, as well as of nationalistic and anti-immigrant movements and far-right aggression. An accurate picture of the spread, nature and trends in the extremist and terrorist activity and actors is paramount to formulating strategic policy approaches and effectively allocating available resources. This publication provides a methodological framework for the establishment of a viable mechanism for monitoring and assessment of the state and developments over time in extremist acts and actors on the national level. The situational assessment is an instrument for systematic collection and analysis of statistical data, open source data and intelligence information pertaining to extremist actors and activities, for the purposes of developing regular situational reports of the spread, nature and trends in extremism and violent radicalisms. Following the application of the situational assessment tool, the publication presents main findings on extremist trends and monitoring capacities in three countries from Central and Southeast Europe: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Greece.

(Un)realistic neutrality. Attempts to redefine Belarus’ foreign policy

Author(s): Kamil Kłysiński / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2018

The continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, together with the increased tension in relations between Russia and the West, have led the Belarusian authorities to attempt to redefine their country’s foreign policy by stressing neutrality towards the two sides in the conflict. As a result, over the last year or so Belarus has clearly adopted a non-committal stance. Minsk is trying to play the part of a neutral mediator in the hope that this will safeguard it in the event of escalation of tensions between Russia and the West, which is seen as the greatest threat to the country’s security at the present time. Thus Minsk is returning to the notion, discussed in the early 1990s, of Belarus striving for neutrality. Officially, the goal of neutrality is still stated in the Belarusian Constitution. However there are serious limitations to the effectiveness of this new strategy, due to Minsk’s close military alliance with Moscow, and therefore Belarus will not be entirely credible on the international stage as a country that wishes to remain neutral.

...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. LEGAL INTERPRETATION ON DEMOCRATIC VALUES

Author(s): Brindusa Gorea / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2018

The democratic ideal of justice for all is challenged in the contemporary world by the conflicting nature of the values that Law is called to defend. The accelerated rhythm of social change causes law to fall behind life, and over-regulation is not the solution to create a "living justice". It is the responsibility of judges to adapt Law to the changing needs of society, and in the continental legal tradition these judges apply the law, but do not create it. In this paper, we argue that this traditional view of the judge`s role is outdated and that we must acknowledge the increasingly interpretative role of the courts. History has proven that laws can be unjust and even criminal, but the principles and values of the Law are perennial. When law contradicts Justice, it is the judge's duty to make use of his own moral sense and interpret law extensively in accordance with the situation and the idea of Justice. Meanwhile, as a guardian of the "living justice", the judge has a huge social responsibility that goes far beyond mere legal (disciplinary, civil and criminal) liability. Consequently, it is imperative that we take additional precautionary measures in the appointment and the evaluation of judges. In our opinion, this is the kind of public matter we should debate, rather than the one regarding the magistrates' liability. After all, when we speak of liability, the malicious act has already been done. It is preferable to focus on preventing injustice and other social illnesses and to build a society that is healthy, adaptable and ready to face the challenges of the future. This is the only way to continue to aspire to the ideal of justice for all, and manage to harmonize so many contradictory democratic values, such as freedom and responsibility, unity and diversity, citizens' liberties and public security. The coexistence of values can only be the result of a continuous interpretive effort that excludes any a priori suppression of some of the values in favour of others.

110 lat polityki publicznej w Wielkiej Brytanii (1910-2010)

Author(s): Piotr Jachowicz / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 1/2014

The subject of this study is the evolution of British public policy between 1900 and 2010 with to the special focus on budgetary, monetary and social policy, as well as policy towards the public sector. This period was characterized by a steady, yet non-linear rise in economic and social activity of the state. Sudden increases were caused by one of three categories of events: wars, economic crises and changes at the highest levels of government. As a result, the history of British public policy in between 1900 and 2010 is divided into the following stages: 1) 1900-1931 - decline of the liberal era; 2) 1931-1951 - steady increase in the state's economic activity; 3) 1951-1979 - systemic stabilization at a high level of state involvement in economic and social issues; 4) 1997-2007 - attempt to return to economic liberalism; 5) 2007-2010 - a period of volatility and the search for new public policy principles.

3rd Network Conference Adaptation and Implementation of the EU -Acquis: an Exchange of Experiences

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

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 game played according to Lukashenka’s rules: the political opposition in Belarus

Author(s): Tomasz Bakunowicz / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2015

The Belarusian opposition is currently experiencing its deepest crisis since Alyaksandr Lukashenka took power in 1994. Following many months of negotiations, opposition leaders failed to select a joint candidate for the presidential election scheduled for 11th October. The failure of this latest round of talks has proven that not only is the opposition unlikely to threaten Lukashenka’s rule; it will not even be able to demonstrate to society that it could provide a genuine alternative to the present government.The presidential election in 2010 was a painful landmark for the opposition. The repression that accompanied the election has largely weakened political circles opposed to the government. Against this backdrop, the traditional internal problems of the opposition have worsened, such as its incapacity to reach agreement and develop a common, coherent operational strategy, the excessive ambitions of the leaders of particular groups, the low level of political maturity, mutual distrust and frequent personal conflicts. As a result the opposition has for years been unable to gain confidence in society and reach beyond the limited number (20%) of staunch proponents of democratic transformations. Given the fact that the Belarusian opposition is fragmented and lacks one clear leader, the readiness to support individual leaders does not exceed several per cent, according to independent surveys. Lukashenka’s present political opponents rather resemble a group of dissidents, than constitute a genuine opposition to the government. The crisis and helplessness of opposition circles are more acute given Belarus’s internal situation since for the first time Alyaksandr Lukashenka will run his presidential campaign in the context of the economic crisis and a forecasted fall in GDP.

A PRACTICAL EXAMINATION OF THE USE OF EVIDENCE BEFORE MAGISTRATES OF THE PRELIMINARY CHAMBER

Author(s): Lucian Chiriac / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2018

The Romanian Constitutional Court ruled through two decisions, nr.641 of 11 November 2014 and nr.802 of 5 December 2017, accepting the hypothesis in which any means of evidence is acceptable during the phase of the preliminary chamber hearing, and, we would add, not only to verify the legality of administrating evidence during the criminal indictment. It is our opinion that the preliminary chamber must constitute a bastion of verifying the necessary evidence for establishing the truth in a trial.

A quarter-century of independent Ukraine. Dimensions of transformation

Author(s): Tadeusz A. Olszański / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2017

On 24 August 1991, the Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR proclaimed independence, and on 1 December the same year, the Ukrainian people ratified that proclamation in a referendum. The new Ukrainian state had some very important assets, such as the peaceful path that led to its independence, the fact that its territory was uncontested and its civilian administration was established. They downside, which determined Ukraine’s fundamental weaknesses, was that like the other former Soviet republics, it had been part of the Soviet state and had no central state bodies of its own, such as a general staff, a bank of issue, or most of the necessary ministries. After nearly a quarter century of peaceful development, interrupted by the outbreak of the war in 2014, Ukraine is still weak, but at the same time it has consolidated internally and internationally, demonstrated its capacity to withstand armed aggression, and is actively looking for its place in the world. The country’s greatest success has been to raise a new generation of ‘natural-born citizens’ of Ukraine, while its greatest failure has been to succumb to the dramatic population decline with irreversible consequences, and to allow the impoverishment of the lower strata of society, typical for all the post-Soviet states. The present paper is not a history of independent Ukraine, but an attempt to present the main mechanisms by which the former Soviet republic has transformed itself into an independent state with a market economy. It is therefore mainly focused on internal developments in Ukraine.

A region with special needs. The Russian Far East in Moscow’s policy

Author(s): Szymon Kardaś / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2017

Although in the 1990s the Russian Far East was not an important region in Russian central government’s internal policy, when Vladimir Putin assumed the presidency it was declared strategically significant. However, Moscow has been unable to generate a tangible stimulus to the region’s development so far. This is partly due to the systemic problems existing in Russia as a whole: the lack of a consistent concept of economic development and the ineffective governance system, and on the other hand, of purely local barriers: staffing problems, the decentralised energy system and the limited engagement of foreign investors. At present, there is no risk of the region’s marginalisation like in the 1990s. However, it appears that political reintegration of the region with the centre of the federation (tighter institutional control from Moscow) and the status of a stable raw material base for Asian countries, currently represents the maximum development potential of the Russian Far East.

ABOUT THE CHILD'S REFUSAL TO LEAVE THE DEBTOR AND THE PRINCIPLE OF THE CHILD'S SUPERIOR INTEREST - STORY WITHOUT AN END

Author(s): Maria-Magdalena Cardis / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

Unlike the previous regulation, in the current Code of Civil Procedure there are de facto rules that should give a solution to the situation in which the child refuses to leave the debtor, even if he was entrusted with a decision of the court to another person. . However, the effect of the rules in question is uncertain and the legal mechanism is inconsistent, despite the fact that it is supposed to work in compliance with the principle of the superior interest of the child. The present article does not aim to provide an absolute solution regarding how to proceed in this situation, but only to analyse some issues that have virtually no solution, as well as how they could have a positive effects, based on the existing legislation, starting from the premise observance of the principle of the best interests of the child.

ABUSE OF RIGHT IN ADMINISTRATIVE LAW : THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE CONCEPT

Author(s): Jerzy Parchomiuk / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2018

The concept of abuse of rights is universal in nature and is present in all branches of law. The development of scholarly opinion and jurisprudence led in time to the introduction of the prohibition on abuse of rights as a general principle of administrative law, understood as a ban on the use of rights or powers in a manner inconsistent with the purposes for which they were established or in violation of constitutional and axiological order. This paper is a presentation of a model that describes basic characteristics of abuse of right in administrative law. These basic characteristics can be summarized in a few theses as follows: (1) subjective variability – prohibition of abuse applies to both the authority as well the individual; (2) strong links between abuse and circumvention of law – abuse of right is often aimed at avoiding the application of those norms of administrative law which the individual considers to be disadvantageous to her/him; (3) different legal basis of the prohibition of abuse – general principles of law (e.g. the principle of good faith), specific regulations referring to specific powers, immanent limits of the powers or the right; (4) “axiological entanglement” – links with universal, basic administrative law values: legality, rule of law, certainty, justice and common good; (5) vague boundaries and casuistic nature, making it difficult to formulate generalized conclusions, especially with regard to the consequences of abuse of right.

Access to Securitate Files: The Trials and Tribulations of a Romanian Law

Author(s): Lavinia Stan / Language(s): English / Issue: 01/2002

After years of bitter parliamentary debates, in December 1999 Romanian citizens were finally allowed to access their own secret police files. By that time all other Eastern European countries had passed laws banning former secret police collaborators from holding high state positions under the threat that their past activities would be made public. The Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and the former East Germany also granted file access. The East German efforts to deal with the painful past of a society divided between informers and their victims are perhaps known best. In the early 1990s it was a regular occurrence for a prominent East German politician, academic, journalist, or priest to disappear from public life after being identified as a Stasi Inoffizielle Mitarbeiter. [...]

Actual Problems with Distinctions between Private Relationships and Public Relationships

Author(s): Juraj Vačok / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2020

The distinction between private relationships and public relationships is connected with a lot of problems in praxis. The nature of the legal relations has an impact on the position of participants in these legal relations and the possibilities to protect their rights. The current line between private relationships and public relationships is still weaker. There are also the possibilities to find the opinions that the distinction between public law and private law is overcome. In the study, the author pointed to some particular situations where there were problems with the determination of the kind of legal relationship and consequences which are connected with this. Finally, he tried to formulate the development possibilities in the future.

Addressing the Threat of Fraud and Corruption in Public Procurement: Review of State of the Art Approaches

Compendium

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

The present compendium of selected best practices addresses the threat of fraud and corruption from multiple perspectives, with the underlying purpose of providing practitioners from Romania and Greece with a set of state of the art approaches for addressing the threat of fraud and corruption in the complex multi-layered national public procurement systems. This publication is based on ideas presented at the international seminar EU's Financial Interests under Threat: New Approaches in Assessing the Risks from Public Procurement and EU Funds Fraud, organised on 31 October – 1 November 2013 in Sofia, with the support of the European AntiFraud Office (OLAF).

Administracja samorządowa i instytucje kultury w województwie podlaskim. Podstawy regionalnej polityki publicznej

Author(s): Cezary Mielko / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 3/2017

The subject of the analysis in the article is the participation of the local government administration in running a cultural institution. The situation in the Podlaskie voivodship 100 Cezary Mielko Studia z Polityki Publicznej has been analyzed on a nationwide basis. The main problems focus on the principles and methods of financing cultural institutions by regional self-government and various ways of obtaining additional, extra-budgetary funding for their activities, especially from Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the European Union. The author points to spatial, social, and financial diversification related to the access to cultural events and participation in them using the example of Podlaskie voivodship. He propounds greater professionalisation related to running cultural institutions at the level of the voivodship as well as conducting pro-development cultural policy by local government units. He also stresses the need for activating local and regional communities in connection with cultural events and participation in organizing them. Participation in culture at the local and regional level and prudent government policy in this area are the foundation for building a strong social and regional identity.