The Italian Legal Recipe: Basic Ingredients and the Bustle of Time

2013 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Marta Infantino
Keyword(s):  
Civil Law ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Class Action ◽  
Financial Contracts ◽  
Plea Bargain ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Local Patterns ◽  
States Experience ◽  
Dynamic Relationships

Many legal systems beyond the classical common/civil law mixed world may show themselves as the result of a historical combination of different paradigms, and of ever changing legal blends. Allegedly ‘pure’ (i.e. unmixed) civilian systems are no exception, as the Italian legal experience demonstrates. The Italian legal system stands as an emblematic illustration of how, in a civilian context, original and foreign (both civil law and common law) inspired legal rules, institutions, and attitudes may interact, develop through time, and synthesize themselves in a complex, yet unified legal culture.As is well-known, from a comparative perspective Italy is commonly conceived as a member of the civilian legal family, and, more in particular, as a mix of XIX-XXth century French and German influences. This is, however, only one side of the picture. Whatever their current respective zones of influences are, the point is that French and German legal models are no more (as they have never been) the only ingredient of the Italian recipe. As a matter of fact, the origin of many components stretches wider both in time and space. In some cases, it stretches back to the fragmented plurality of normative levels which characterized the peninsula’ legal edifice for centuries before political unification. In other cases, the origin of legal rules stretches up to the more recent borrowings from the United States experience: from the plea bargain to the ‘quasi’ adversary criminal trial, from securitization techniques to financial contracts models, from class action devices to the overarching patterns of judicial review.Hence, far from being a purely civilian amalgam, the Italian legal framework presents itself as the fruit of an endless interaction of local patterns with foreign-inspired paradigms. This is why the third legal family lenses can prove extremely useful in looking at the Italian allegedly ‘pure’ legal experience, and in highlighting the multiple ingredients of its somewhat mixed recipes. More generally, third legal family’s perspective may help put countries belonging to civilian legal family in context, and lead to a better understanding not only of the dynamic relationships between this family and other legal families, but also of the cross-fertilization phenomena which endlessly take place within and beyond family borders.

Human Rights Class Action against Corporations in Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-327
Author(s):  
Kalu Kingsley Anele
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
General Class ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Class Action ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
Efficient Procedure ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Culture Of Impunity ◽  
Action Procedure

Though Nigeria is inundated with human rights abuses, there is no procedure that could effectively accommodate a large number of victims in one litigation beside class action. Class litigation is limited in scope in Nigeria; hence, it cannot be applied in human rights cases. This has culminated in a culture of impunity by corporations in the country. This paper uses the class action legal regime in the United States to argue that the statutory introduction of a general class litigation regime will adequately address human rights violations in Nigeria. The author submits that beyond the legislative introduction of a general class action legal framework in Nigeria; judges should exercise their wide discretion as envisaged by the Nigerian constitution in civil matters to adjudicate human rights class litigations. Also, there is need to enlighten Nigerians of their human rights and an efficient procedure to address their violations: class action procedure.

The Principle of Presumption of Innocence in Criminal Proceedings and Problems of Its Implementation

2020 ◽  
pp. 86-91
Author(s):  
N. Yu. Borzunova ◽  
K. L. Maksimova ◽  
A. M. Tsechoev
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Criminal Case ◽  
Football Players ◽  
Presumption Of Innocence ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Plea Bargain ◽  
European Court ◽  
Theoretical Issues

The article deals with the specific features of the presumption of innocence principle and the problems of its implementation in Russia and the United States of America, as well as theoretical issues of this concept. The materials of practice reflecting violations of the principle of presumption of innocence are presented, and various opinions of legal scholars on the implementation of the principle of presumption of innocence are given. Examples from practice are analyzed, including cases that have a high public profile: the criminal case against two football players Pavel Mamaev and Alexander Kokorin, the decision of the Strasbourg European Court of human rights in the case “Fedorenko V. Russia” and the criminal case of the famous American producer Harvey Weinstein. The article analyzes the “plea bargain” that is used in the United States of America. The problems of implementing the principle of presumption of innocence and ways to solve them are outlined.

Cross-border Distribution of Collective Investment Products in the EU

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Gargantini ◽  
Carmine Di Noia ◽  
Georgios Dimitropoulos
Keyword(s):  
Home Country ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Business Rules ◽  
Investment Funds ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Section 8 ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Product Regulation ◽  
Supervisory Practices ◽  
The Eu

This chapter analyzes the current regulatory framework for cross-border distribution of investment funds and submits some proposals to improve it. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 2 provides a schematic description of the legal taxonomy for collective investment schemes. Section 3 addresses the EU disclosure regimes that apply to the distribution of various types of investment funds. Sections 4 and 5 consider conduct-of-business rules and, respectively, the legal framework for the allocation of supervisory powers on product regulation when fund units are distributed in more than one country. Section 6 provides some data that help assess the performance of the current framework for cross-border distribution. It then analyzes some of the residual legal rules and supervisory practices that still make cross-border distributions of funds more burdensome than purely national distributions, whether these restrictions are set forth in the country where investors are domiciled (Section 7) or in the fund's home country (Section 8).

Strike Ballots, Democracy, and Law

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Breen Creighton ◽  
Catrina Denvir ◽  
Richard Johnstone ◽  
Shae McCrystal ◽  
Alice Orchiston
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Labour Organisation ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Strike Activity ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Worked Example ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Democratic Rights ◽  
The Right

The purpose of the research upon which this book is based was empirically to investigate whether the ballot requirements in the Fair Work Act do indeed impose a significant obstacle to the taking of industrial action, and whether those provisions are indeed impelled by a legitimate ‘democratic imperative’. The book starts from the proposition that virtually all national legal systems, and international law, recognise the right to strike as a fundamental human right. It acknowledges, however, that in no case is this recognition without qualification. Amongst the most common qualifications is a requirement that to be lawful strike action must first be approved by a ballot of workers concerned. Often, these requirements are said to be necessary to protect the democratic rights of the workers concerned: this is the so-called ‘democratic imperative’. In order to evaluate the true purpose and effect of ballot requirements the book draws upon the detailed empirical study of the operation of the Australian legislative provisions noted above; a comparative analysis of law and practice in a broad range of countries, with special reference to Canada, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States; and the jurisprudence of the supervisory bodies of the International Labour Organisation. It finds that in many instances ballot requirements – especially those relating to quorum – are more concerned with curtailing strike activity than with constructively responding to the democratic imperative. Frequently, they also proceed from a distorted perception of what ‘democracy’ could and should entail in an industrial context. Paradoxically, the study also finds that in some contexts ballot requirements can provide additional bargaining leverage for unions. Overall, however, the study confirms our hypothesis that the principal purpose of ballot requirements – especially in Australia and the United Kingdom – is to curtail strike activity rather than to vindicate the democratic imperative, other than on the basis of a highly attenuated reading of that term. We believe that the end-result constitutes an important study of the practical operation of a complex set of legal rules, and one which exposes the dichotomy between the ostensible and real objectives underpinning the adoption of those rules. It also furnishes a worked example of multi-methods empirical, comparative and doctrinal legal research in law, which we hope will inspire similar approaches to other areas of labour law.

Patient Autonomy, Capacity, and Consent

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Donnelly ◽  
Jessica Berg
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
National Standard ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Human Rights Norms ◽  
Law And Legislation

This chapter explores a number of key issues: the role of competence and capacity, advance directives, and decisions made for others. It analyses the ways these are treated in the United States and in selected European jurisdictions. National-level capacity legislation and human rights norms play a central role in Europe, which means that healthcare decisions in situations of impaired capacity operate in accordance with a national standard. In the United States, the legal framework is more state-based (rather than federal), and the courts have played a significant role, with both common law and legislation varying considerably across jurisdictions. Despite these differences, this chapter identifies some similar legal principles which have developed.

Student Privacy and the Law in the Internet Age

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Plunkett ◽  
Urs Gasser ◽  
Sandra Cortesi
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environments ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Privacy Protection ◽  
Data Privacy ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Privacy Law ◽  
Student Privacy ◽  
High Level

New types of digital technologies and new ways of using them are heavily impacting young people’s learning environments and creating intense pressure points on the “pre-digital” framework of student privacy. This chapter offers a high-level mapping of the federal legal landscape in the United States created by the “big three” federal privacy statutes—the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA)—in the context of student privacy and the ongoing digital transformation of formal learning environments (“schools”). Fissures are emerging around key student privacy issues such as: what are the key data privacy risk factors as digital technologies are adopted in learning environments; which decision makers are best positioned to determine whether, when, why, and with whom students’ data should be shared outside the school environment; what types of data may be unregulated by privacy law and what additional safeguards might be required; and what role privacy law and ethics serve as we seek to bolster related values, such as equity, agency, and autonomy, to support youth and their pathways. These and similar intersections at which the current federal legal framework is ambiguous or inadequate pose challenges for key stakeholders. This chapter proposes that a “blended” governance approach, which draws from technology-based, market-based, and human-centered privacy protection and empowerment mechanisms and seeks to bolster legal safeguards that need to be strengthen in parallel, offers an essential toolkit to find creative, nimble, and effective multistakeholder solutions.

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