The Effects of Constitutional Changes on the Judiciary System in Albania: The Process of Vetting

The adoption of laws in Albania is often achieved through consensus among legislators, declaring it as the best solution for a certain political or legal situation, which resulted ineffective in many cases. The focus of law improvements was concentrated on control/Vetting, that is, the exclusion from the judicial system of individuals who do not meet one of the three constitutional criteria (wealth, moral integrity, and professionalism). Vetting, control per se, is not a reform of justice, but only one of its constitutive phases. The Albanian Constitution changes aim to restructure the justice institutions to achieve the standards requested for the Albanian EU integration. The paper goes through the different constitutional reforms, focusing on the judicial system changes especially on the recent results of the vetting process in Albania. The questions like: How is the Vetting process affecting judicial standards, how are the new Albanian justice institutions reacting, what is the public opinion on this progress and the benefits of society, are essential to understand how this process was conducted in Albania, its problems and difficulties. The results are explained through underlining different studies, media interventions, and recent political and public statements of involved institutions. Received: 19 August 2021 / Accepted: 1 November 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

Die Vermarktung des Kindes im Influencer-Marketing

Are parents free to decide how to deal with their children's privacy in the age of social media? Are children already allowed to be active as influencers? Is this still a hobby or already (regulated) work? In connection with the appearance of minors on influencer channels, questions arise that are highly relevant for fundamental rights and a healthy child development. So far, however, the child as a performer on his or her own or parental account has hardly been addressed in law and politics. The author closes this gap of a systematic reappraisal, analyses the current legal situation in Germany and formulates recommendations for action against the background of a legal comparison.

Sytuacja prawna ofiary przestępstwa w postępowaniu wykonawczym w perspektywie sprawiedliwości naprawczej

The article is devoted to the legal situation of a crime victim in the course of executive penal proceedings. The starting point for the considerations was the statement that Goffman’s concept of total institutions and the resulting negative consequences, such as the effects of deculturation or deprivation affecting inmates, are still valid in relation to Polish penitentiary units. It is considered that restorative justice can be an effective instrument for the transition from a total institution to its negation, that is, a permeable institution, especially insofar as it promotes tools for victim and community activation in criminal proceedings. Therefore, the situation of the victim in the current model of executive proceedings was analyzed from the perspective of the possibility of implementing the idea of restorative justice. The subject matter of the article is not limited only to a synthesis of the victim’s rights under the current Executive Penal Code. The provisions normalizing the rights of the victim were analyzed in the context of the whole Code regulation and with reference to the earlier stages of criminal proceedings. In this way a complete and actual picture of the victim’s situation at this stage of criminal proceedings was presented, which was then compared with the standard of restorative justice. The critical analysis made it possible to identify the shortcomings in the current regulation of the victim’s legal situation and to outline the direction in which the legislator should proceed in order to achieve the standard of restorative justice, which will make it possible to increase the permeability of penitentiary units and thus minimize their total character.

Pastoral Care for Migrants. Canonical and Religious Related Legal Requirements on Asylum and on the Change of Religion

Refugees and migrants have always been of particular concern to the Roman Catholic Church and its pastoral care. Even if the large influx of refugees happening in 2015 and 2016 is no longer the case, flight and migration are still relevant topics in Austria. The contribution deals with the historical development of canonical regulations, the situation of refugees and migrants in Austria, the legal basis, the implementation of asylum procedures and numbers, the statements of the Austrian Bishop’s Conference, the access to a Church or religious community and converting from one to another, the question of the Catholic Church’s necessity of salvation, regulations concerning catechumenate and the question of church asylum. It provides figures, data and facts, presents the canonical and state legal situation and analyses it. It tries to make weak points obvious and would like to provide help for future considerations.

THE ISSUES OF EVIDENCE FACILITATION IN THE REGULATION OF PACKAGE TRAVEL AND HOTEL SERVICES IN THE CONTEXT OF PROTECTING TRAVELLERS AND TOURISTS

Purpose. The aim of the article is to show the significance and diversity of legal constructions concerning the facilitations of proof in provisions regulating package travel and hotel services in the context of protecting travellers and tourists. Method. Analysis regarding the regulation of package travel and hotel services including the facilitations of proof are carried out using the formal-dogmatic and legal comparison method. The comparative method has a significant meaning for the proper interpretation of provisions regulating package travel and hotel services due to the interpenetration of national and international regulations. In the process of recreating norms from legal provisions, it is therefore helpful to analyse their similarities and differences. Findings. The provisions regulating package travel and hotel services include the facilitations of proof which improve the legal situation of travellers and tourists, as well as ensuring their protection. Research and conclusions limitations. There is no comprehensive study on facilitations of proof in the regulation of package travel and hotel services in literature on the subject. Practical implications. Conclusions resulting from the article will allow to determine the proper nature of the provisions referring to the facilitations of proof in the regulation of package travel and hotel services, which will enable their proper application in practice. Originality. The issue of the facilitations of proof in the regulation of package travel and hotel services has not been comprehensively researched so far. Type of work. Problem article.

IMPACT OF ORGAN FAILURE TO ACT CONSTITUTING LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS FOR THE REMUNERATION OF VOIVODSHIP, COUNTY AND COMMUNE AUTHORITIES

The article is devoted to the legal situation in which local government unit heads find themselves with regard to remuneration due to them in the situation when, during their term of office, the Ordinance of the Council of Ministers on the remuneration of local government employees lowering the maximum rates of their remuneration in the situation of inactivity of the bodies constituting local government units with regard to the change of remuneration, its reduction to the rates determined by virtue of the above Ordinance, among others, of village heads, mayors or starosts.

„Nihil novi”? Czyli o antecedencjach sądowej ochrony autonomii administracyjnej uczelni publicznej w Polsce

Administrative autonomy, which is the most advanced type of decentralising public administration, plays a key role in robustly safeguarding academic freedom. In the over a century-long history of the practice of the Polish regulations pertaining to the organisation and functioning of public universities, no principle of the judicial protection of the higher education institutions’ independence has been formulated — not even under the regulations of article 70 (5) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. This legislative negligence poses serious threats in the current legal situation, which only worsens in the environment that facilitates the authoritarian activities of public authorities in Poland.

On the Question of the Legality of Concluding an Arbitration Agreement with the Participation of Consumers

The paper is devoted to the analysis of the issue of arbitrability of disputes involving consumers, which does not find an unambiguous solution either in law or in judicial practice. The author examines the positions of the highest judicial instances, as well as courts of general jurisdiction and arbitration courts on this issue, which are contradictory in nature. Having conducted a systematic analysis of legislation, legal science and judicial practice, given the special legal situation of the consumer, the author concludes that it is possible to have an arbitration agreement between the consumer and a person engaged in entrepreneurial activity, subject to certain conditions, in particular, the presence of the free will of the consumer to consider the dispute in the arbitration court and the absence of infringement of his rights in arbitration proceedings in comparison with the consideration of the dispute in the state court. The question is raised about the need for the administration of this category of disputes by permanent arbitration institutions. According to the results of the scientific research, changes in the norms of the legislation of the Russian Federation regulating the relations under consideration are proposed. Thus, it is proposed to word paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Consumer Rights Protection” as follows: “Consumer rights protection is carried out by a court or an arbitration court”. It is also proposed to supplement Article 17 of this Law with paragraph 4: “Disputes involving consumers can be submitted to an arbitration court if all guarantees provided by law for the arbitration party are met for the consumer, provided that the following conditions are met: 1) the dispute must be considered during the administration of a permanent arbitration institution; 2) the consumer must be exempt from paying the costs associated with resolving the dispute in arbitration; 3) the place of arbitration must be determined within the subject of the Russian Federation in which the consumer resides.”

The Social Mind-set Model potentially explains varying societies’ responses to social and criminal behavior

Many countries face similar social issues, but adopt dramatically different solutions. This variation could be because countries have different social mind-sets (SMS), which explain why a certain policy response is adopted. The Social Mind-set Model (“SMS Model”) is a modest addition to the frameworks of Blumer (1971) and Kingdon (2003), who explain how and when the policy process begins. The SMS Model proposes six factors that influence the SMS of a society, which in turn shapes policy processes described by Blumer and Kingdon. These include society’s: 1) high-profile events and social movements, 2) economic-political-legal situation, 3) cultural beliefs and practices, 4) use of research, 5) preference for justice principles, and 6) attributions for behavior. This cross-cultural analysis uses examples from multiple countries. We conclude with a challenge for researchers to continue this line of research, to test the model, to find more model factors and directly test the model’s assumptions.

The debate in Bioethics - Respect for mortal remains of perinatal children. The current legal situation in the Czech Republic

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