Overview of the legislative protection of retirement benefits against transfer, reduction, hypothecation and attachment in South Africa

This article demonstrates that the retirement industry is fragmented, with different pieces of legislation which contain differently drafted provisions addressing the same issue. In particular, it illustrates that several pension statutes provide protection against creditors to retirement benefits held by retirement funds. Further, that, while held in retirement funds, retirement benefits are protected from assignment, transfer, cession, hypothecation, pledge, reduction, attachment and execution. Furthermore, that some of these transactions appear in some of the provisions of the pension Statutes whereas they do not do so in similar provisions of other pension statutes. This article argues that the differences in the way similar provisions in different pension statutes are drafted leads to the development of confusing jurisprudence regarding the protection of members' retirement benefits, which needs legislative intervention. This article calls for a uniform approach across all pension statutes regarding the protection of pension benefits against members' creditors. This article further examines whether retirement benefits can be declared realisable property to enable creditors to enforce payment of their debts from these benefits. It illustrates that while it is clear that legislative protection of retirement benefits is available before these benefits accrue to members, there is, however, controversy whether this protection remains intact when these benefits have accrued to members.

CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR CRIMES IN THE SPHERE OF MEDICAL ACTIVITIES: TOPICAL ISSUES OF DEVELOPMENT OF LEGISLATION AND LAW ENFORCEMENT PRACTICE

В статье рассматриваются актуальные вопросы квалификации и расследования ятрогенных преступлений на основе материалов судебной практики, а также обозначена проблема отсутствия единообразного подхода к уголовно-правовой оценке случаев фальсификации вакцинации от коронавируса, совершенной медицинскими работниками. The article discusses topical issues of qualification and investigation of iatrogenic crimes based on materials of judicial practice, and also outlines the problem of the lack of a uniform approach to the criminal legal assessment of cases of falsification of vaccination against coronavirus committed by medical workers.

Uniformity in bioprosthetic mitral valve sizing -- when will we get there?

Much has changed since the introduction of surgical valve repair in the 1950s, from the introduction bioprosthetic valves to percutaneous approaches to valve repair. Yet, despite substantial advancements in bioprosthetic valve technology, there has been a lack of direct, independent comparison between bioprosthetic mitral valve devices, accompanied by a marked heterogeneity in approaches to the sizing and selection thereof. Wang et al. have hence endeavoured to evaluate, head-to-head, the technical successes and biomechanical outcomes associated with three different bioprosthetic mitral valves (Epic, Abbott, IL; Mosaic, Medtronic, MN; Mitris Resilia, Edwards Lifesciences, CA) in a porcine model, under standardised haemodynamic and anatomical conditions. With a robust experimental technique, they have made clear the heterogeneity in both sizing and biomechanical properties between bioprosthetic mitral valves, and have further emphasised the need for a uniform approach to the manufacturing and sizing of bioprosthetic valves.

Measuring endemicity and burden of leprosy across countries and regions: A systematic review and Delphi survey

Background Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, the annual new case detection in 2019 was 202,189 globally. Measuring endemicity levels and burden in leprosy lacks a uniform approach. As a result, the assessment of leprosy endemicity or burden are not comparable over time and across countries and regions. This can make program planning and evaluation difficult. This study aims to identify relevant metrics and methods for measuring and classifying leprosy endemicity and burden at (sub)national level. Methods We used a mixed-method approach combining findings from a systematic literature review and a Delphi survey. The literature search was conducted in seven databases, searching for endemicity, burden and leprosy. We reviewed the available evidence on the usage of indicators, classification levels, and scoring methods to measure and classify endemicity and burden. A two round Delphi survey was conducted to ask experts to rank and weigh indicators, classification levels, and scoring methods. Results The literature review showed variation of indicators, levels, and cut-off values to measure leprosy endemicity and/or burden. The most used indicators for endemicity include new case detection rate (NCDR), new cases among children and new cases with grade 2 disability. For burden these include NCDR, MB cases, and prevalence. The classification levels ‘high’ and ‘low’ were most important. It was considered most relevant to use separate scoring methods for endemicity and burden. The scores would be derived by use of multiple indicators. Conclusion There is great variation in the existing method for measuring endemicity and burden across countries and regions. Our findings contribute to establishing a standardized uniform approach to measure and classify leprosy endemicity and burden at (sub)national level, which would allow effective communication and planning of intervention strategies.

Modern Approaches to the Notion of Sources of Criminal Law in Post-Soviet Legal Systems

The article discusses modern approaches to understanding the sources of the branch of criminal law in legal systems in the post-Soviet space. We analyze the influence of legal traditions and external factors on the transformation of approaches to the concept of sources of criminal law on the example of the legislation of various states. We conclude that there is a relatively uniform approach in the criminal law of the former USSR republics to the concept of sources of criminal law. We also identify the factors and conditions determining possible changes in the concept of sources of criminal law.

Assessment of the causes of the February Revolution in the modern party narrative

The February Revolution is one of the key events in the Russian history. Namely this event put the end to the century-long history of the Russian autocracy, and prompted an attempt of a new state structure. A century later, the attitude towards these events determines the ideological basis of multiple Russian parties existing in modern time. Within the framework of establishment of their historical policy, they proposed the original approaches towards the causes of the February Revolution. The author analyzes the perspective of modern parties on the causes of the fall of the monarchy and the advent of revolutionary disturbances. The main sources employ the official documents of the most popular parties (participants of the 2016 federal elections), speeches and publications of their leaders. The conclusion is made on the absence of uniform approach of the parties towards the causes of the revolutionary events of 1917. The author distinguishes the two groups: those who see the causes of the revolution in aggravation of socioeconomic problems; and those who perceive the revolution as coincidence that disrupted the course of history due to certain mistakes made by the government. Unlike the majority of professional historians, multiple political authors assume that the revolution was a result of conspiracy, comparing it to the “orange revolutions” of recent years. The parties also drew parallels between modernity and pre-revolutionary times. The author indicates the need for overcoming (or preventing) the gap between the government and society. as well as reducing the social stratification.

Two types of peripheral adjunct WHATs

This study investigates two types of adjunct WHATs merged at peripheral positions in Chinese. The L-WHAT is merged within VP and denotes a why-interpretation with an aggressive, prohibitive force. The H-WHAT is merged at the left periphery of a sentence and is exclusively used in expressing a speaker’s refutatory force without interrogativity. The two WHATs are encoded with different modalities: the L-WHAT with root modality while the H-WHAT with epistemic modality. It is proposed that the interpretations of the two types of WHATs are compositionally derived from the modality and speaker force. This study not only explores the origins of different interpretations of adjunct WHATs, but also advances a uniform approach in mapping the speaker force onto syntax.

Governing information technology (IT) investment: A contingency perspective on organization’s IT investment goals

Using contingency theory, we argue that there is not a uniform approach for companies to govern information technology (IT) investments. Rather, the level of governance over IT investments is contingent upon the organization’s goals for its IT investments. We find that Australian organizations with both operation- and market-focused IT investment goals (i.e. dual-focused IT goals) demonstrate higher IT investment governance (ITIG) levels than those with less focused IT goals. We also document that dual-IT-focused firms that do not implement high levels of ITIG underperform. Our study informs business executives, boards of directors, and other practitioners interested in governance implementations over IT investments. JEL Classification: M1