Developing Conflict Management Skills in Municipal Employees: a Sociological Study

The article introduces a sociological survey that featured the development of conflict management skills in municipal employees of the Belgorod region. The methods involved a questionnaire survey and a semi-structured interview of Belgorod municipal authorities, teaching staff of the Higher School of Management of the Belgorod State University, and employees of the Institute of Regional Personnel Policy of Belgorod. The reasons behind the conflicts were divided into those caused by the specifics of the municipal service, the peculiarities of team relations, and the individual characteristics of a municipal employee. The results of the study can improve the practical work of municipal personnel departments or be used in teaching sociological disciplines. Further study is required to develop diagnostic methods to identify the conflict management skills in municipal officials, collect information, define conditions and patterns of development, draft resolution procedures, etc.

Criminal law and "digital crime": problems and solutions

The monograph is devoted to a complex of theoretical and applied problems of adapting the domestic mechanism of criminal law protection to the "digitalization" of crime in the conditions of the formation of the information society. Along with general theoretical issues, foreign criminal legislation and provisions of international law are being thoroughly analyzed. The paper presents an updated criminal-legal description of crimes in the field of computer information, including novelties of Russian criminal legislation - unlawful impact on the critical information infrastructure of the Russian Federation (Article 2741 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), developed proposals for the differentiation of criminal liability for attacks on the security of computer data and systems, developed scientifically sound recommendations for qualification. In the second edition, the issues of differentiation of criminal liability for digital crimes by means of the General and Special Parts of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are separately worked out. The analysis of the problems of qualification of crimes in the field of computer information, as well as other crimes committed using information and communication technologies, outside of Chapter 28 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Taking into account the results obtained, a draft resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation "On judicial practice in cases of crimes in the field of computer information" is presented. It is intended for researchers, teachers, practicing lawyers, students and postgraduates of law schools and faculties.

Uwagi do projektu uchwały Rady Ministrów w sprawie aktualizacji programu wieloletniego pod nazwą „Program polskiej energetyki jądrowej”

Comments to the draft resolution of the Council of Ministers on update of the multi-annual program under the name “Polish nuclear energy program” The government presented a draft resolution for public consultation on the future of nuclear energy. The article contains detailed expert comments on the text of the resolution and its justification.

ACTUALIZATION OF SPECIFIC ELECTRIC LOADS PRESCHOOL EDUCATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

To calculate the load of preschool educational and general education institutions, the specific values ​​of electrical loads are used, presented in SP 256.1325800.2016 “Electrical equipment of residential and public buildings. Rules of design and erection”. Research by the Roselectromontazh Association regarding the analysis of half-hour profiles of preschool and general education institutions showed a discrepancy between the declared capacity for technological connection and the actually measured one. The actual measured power turned out to be more than 2 times less than that calculated according to regulatory documents, which indicates the need to update the calculated specific electrical loads. This problem can be solved by using statistical methods to analyze the load profile of preschool educational and general education institutions, obtained from smart electricity meters. Due to the adopted Federal Law No. 522-FZ of December 27, 2018 “On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation in Connection with the Development of Electric Energy (Power) Metering Systems in the Russian Federation”, the main transition to smart meters should be completed by 2023. Based on research in the Republic of Tatarstan, carried out over three years, a draft resolution was developed on amending the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan dated December 27, 2013 No. 1071 «On approval of republican standards for urban planning of the Republic of Tatarstan» in terms of calculating electrical loads for technological connection power receivers of preschool educational and general education institutions. The implementation of this decree will lead to a decrease in the cost of building an electric grid infrastructure, as well as to a decrease in electricity losses.

The Activity of the Cluj County Branch of the Romanian National Party in the Spring of 1920 as Reflected in the Newspaper Patria

"This study aims to highlight the activity of the Cluj County Branch of the Romanian National Party (hereafter abbreviated as RNP) in the spring of 1920, covering the events from the fall of the government led by Alexandru Vaida–Voevod until the end of the parliamentary elections of May–June 1920. After the Great Union, the city of Cluj became the political capital of Transylvania, especially after the Ruling Council, which was the provisional executive body of Transylvania, moved its headquarters from Sibiu to Cluj. Iuliu Maniu, the President of the Ruling Council and of the R.N.P, who was elected at the Sibiu Conference of 9–10 August 1919, had settled in Cluj as well. Moreover, at the head of Cluj County Branch of the RNP were personalities with a rich history of struggle for the cause of National Liberation of the Romanians in Transylvania: Iuliu Coroianu, Emil Hațieganu, Aurel Socol, Sever Dan, Alexandru Rusu, Ioan Giurgiu, the Archpriest Ioan Pop of Morlaca, and the Priest‑Martyr Aurel Muntean from Huedin. After the dismissal of the Vaida government, the Central Executive Committee of the RNP convened a party congress for 24 April 1920, in Alba Iulia. Just before the congress, the Cluj County organization had started the election campaign. Meetings were organized in every town and village, aiming to elect representatives for the Congress in Alba Iulia. On 21 April 1920, a large assembly was held in Cluj, during which the deputies of Cluj presented their work in Parliament. Simultaneously, delegates were elected for the Congress of Alba Iulia. The RNP Congress adopted a draft resolution and the governing bodies were elected. Iuliu Maniu was re‑elected as President. Based on the decisions adopted at the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia on 1 December 1918, he adopted a working program, which was summarized in thirteen chapters. During the electoral campaign of 1920 two major political groups became polar opposites: the one around the People’s Party, which was in power, and the parties that formed the Parliamentary Bloc and had governed before. On the list of candidates of the Cluj County Branch of the RNP we can mostly find the former MPs of the party, as well as those who had filled various leadership positions within the Ruling Council. Following the electoral process, despite all the efforts of the People’s Party, in power at that time – especially those of Octavian Goga – to dispel the propaganda conducted by the RNP, the latter party managed to obtain 27 seats in the House and 14 in the Senate. This placed the RNP in second place among Romania’s political parties. The Cluj County Branch of the RNP was able to win two of the five electoral districts in the Chamber, as well as two in the Senate, out of the three allocated to the county. Another conclusion would be that, starting from these parliamentary elections, more and more parties from the Old Kingdom penetrated into Transylvania and Banat. They would achieve some success with the voters only when they came to hold power in the state and organize elections. Still, the RNP remained the party with the largest grip on the electorate of Transylvania and Banat, and Cluj became the political capital of Transylvania."

Коммуникация миротворческой миссии на востоке Украины

W artykule przeanalizowano konflikt o koncepcję misji pokojowej ONZ na wschodzie Ukrainy między Ukrainąa Federacją Rosyjską. Analiza konfliktu opiera się na krytycznym podejściu do oficjalnych narracji zawierających odniesienia do sił pokojowych ONZ w latach 2015‑2021. Stwierdzono, że po raz pierwszy koncepcja misji pokojowej ONZ pojawiła się w ukraińskim dyskursie politycznym zaraz po podpisaniu drugiej części porozumień mińskich (Mińsk‑2). W centrum dyskursu międzynarodowego znalazła się ona po tym, jak prezydent Rosji W. Putin zainicjował wniesienie projektu rezolucji do Rady Bezpieczeństwa ONZ. Rosyjskie podejście do misji pokojowej było formułowane w ścisłym związku z realizacją porozumień mińskich i nie pozwalało na ich interpretację. Zasadniczo podejście Federacji Rosyjskiej („koncepcja defensywna”) i Ukrainy („szeroki mandat”) rozwijają i dostosowują koncepcję nowoczesnego utrzymania pokoju do interesów stron konfliktu. Narracje rosyjsko‑ukraińskie są podstawą do szczegółowego zrozumienia natury konfliktu i możliwych sposobów jego rozwiązania. Wykorzystanie narzędzi propagandowych w celu promowania wielokierunkowego podejścia do sił pokojowych ONZ przeniosło konflikt na wyższy poziom. Analiza komunikatów misji pokojowej obejmuje formaty negocjacyjne, na których omawiano tę kwestię. Takimi platformami negocjacyjnymi były: format normandzki, Monachijska Konferencja Bezpieczeństwa, Zgromadzenie Ogólne ONZ, spotkania Surkowa‑Volkera itd. Rada Bezpieczeństwa ONZ nie przekształciła się w dodatkowy kanał komunikacji, ponieważ nie udało się skoordynować i połączyć stanowisk Ukrainy i Federacji Rosyjskiej. Próby uzgodnienia misji pokojowej w ramach realizacji porozumień mińskich doprowadziły do impasu negocjacyjnego i wykluczenia tego punktu z agendy negocjacji międzynarodowych. Artykuł dotyczy kwestii kształtowania się poparcia społecznego dla scenariusza rozwiązania konfliktu w oparciu o działania ONZ. Zagadnienie to zostało zbadane na podstawie badań opinii publicznej oraz arbitralnie dobranych przykładów, które stanowią bazę dowodową do oceny wpływu społeczeństwa obywatelskiego na podejmowanie decyzji na Ukrainie. Jednocześnie pokazano aspekty humanitarne, które mogłyby potencjalnie wpłynąć na procesy rozwiązywania konfliktu w Donbasie. Communication of the peacekeeping mission in eastern Ukraine The article examines the conflict over the idea UN peacekeeping mission in eastern Ukraine between Ukraine and Russian Federation. The analysis of the conflict is based on a critical approach to the official narratives which is containing references to the UN peacekeepers in 2015‑2021. It was established that the first time the idea UN peacekeeping mission appeared in the Ukrainian political discourse immediately after the signing of the second part of the Minsk agreements (Minsk‑2). It found itself in the center of international discourse after Russian President V. Putin initiated the submission of the draft resolution to the UN Security Council. The Russian approach to the peacekeeping mission was formulated in a strict connection with the implementation of the Minsk agreements and did not allow their interpretation. Generally, the Russians’ Federation („defensive concept”) and Ukraines’ („broad mandate”) approaches are developing and adapting the concept of modern peacekeeping to the interests of the conflict parties. Russian‑Ukrainian narratives are the basis for an in‑depth understanding of the conflict nature and possible ways to resolving. The using of propaganda tools to promote multidirectional approaches to UN peacekeepers has taken the conflict to a higher level. The analysis of the communications the peacekeeping mission includes negotiation formats which the issue was discussed. Such negotiating platforms were the Normandy format, the Munich Security Conference, the UN General Assembly, the Surkov‑Volker track etc. The UN Security Council did not become an additional channel of communication, because it was not possible to coordinate and bring together the Ukraine’s position and the Russians’ Federation ones. Attempts to agree on a peacekeeping mission within the framework of the implementation of the Minsk agreements created a negotiation deadlock and the exclusion of this item from the agenda of international negotiations. The article focuses on the factor of formation the public support for the scenario of conflict settlement which is based on the UN. The issue was investigated on opinion polls and an arbitrary selection of plots, which are formed the evidence base for assessing the influence the civil society in decision‑making in Ukraine. At the same time, it shows the humanitarian aspects that would have the potential to influence the conflict settlement processes in Donbass.

Deconstructing the Would-Be Referral

The previous chapter ended with France’s failed attempt to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC). After briefly surveying the history of the U.N. Security Council’s engagement with international justice, chapter 4 deconstructs the failed ICC referral draft proffered by France with an eye toward explaining the origins, import, impact, and criticism of several textual elements contained within prior Security Council referrals and France’s draft text (e.g., the provisions that seek to divest the ICC of jurisdiction over the nationals of non-state parties, the prohibition on U.N. funding, the endurance of immunities that potential ICC defendants might enjoy, and the anodyne state cooperation language). Although many (but not all) of these provisions reappeared in the Syria referral draft, subtle textual changes suggest movement on some of the more contentious issues. In an effort to achieve consensus, drafters also devised inventive yet inconspicuous means to cabin the ICC’s jurisdiction; these compromises may or may not be accepted by the Court if it were ever to be allowed to move forward. Because many of the most contentious provisions in the Council’s ICC referral resolutions owe their provenance to concerns of the United States, the draft resolution also presents a microcosm of the United States’ Security Council practice when it comes to advancing international justice.