Transcendental Approach in Legal Aid Concept in Indonesia: A Philosophy of Law Perspective

Legal aid in Indonesia, especially in terms of access to justice, legal aid provided by the state to the people still relies on positive law. The law governing legal aid in Indonesia still revolves around the number of cases and the budget absorption target given to legal aid institutions that have been verified and accredited by the state for people/groups in need. Verification and Accreditation from the state with the parameters written in the law prevent those who need legal assistance if they are not categorized as poor. The requirement of the poor to access legal aid implies that access to legal aid for everyone in conflict is far from fair. Access to legal aid is very important because the goal of law is justice. In addition, legal aid aims to provide justice for those who do not have legal knowledge, in other words, are blind to the law. Justice for all is the pulse of legal aid that cannot be separated from the right to legal aid for those in need. Legal aid can be managed by the community, legal aid institutions/institutions that should provide access to those who need legal assistance and those in dispute, both poor and rich, so that justice for all is achieved. This study discusses the transcendental dimensions of legal aid. This study uses a descriptive research method that aims to analyze legal aid from aid agencies seen from the study of legal philosophy and legal aid with a transcendental dimension.

Analyzing and Designing Business Processes in the Ghana Cocoa Supply Chain for Supporting Inclusiveness

Ghana produces 20% of global cocoa output and is the second-largest producer and exporter of cocoa beans in the world. The Ghana cocoa industry is, however, challenged by a lack of adequate decision support systems across the supply chain. Particularly, cocoa farmers have limited access to information, which impedes planning, pricing, benchmarking, and quality management. In order to address this asymmetric access to information and ensure fair access to information that will allow the making of informed decisions, the supply chain stakeholders need to adapt their business processes. For identifying the requirements for better information flow, we identified the existing (as-is) processes through a systematic survey study in Ghana. We then identified the main problems and bottlenecks, designed new (to-be) business processes, and showed how IT systems support and enable inclusive business models in the Ghana cocoa industry. To enable inclusiveness, we incorporated IT solutions that improve information flows towards cocoa farmers. The results show that there are many opportunities (e.g., improving farmer livelihoods and a potential increase in export earnings) in the cocoa sector for Ghana and all stakeholders that can be utilized when there is chain-wide collaboration, equitable access to services, and proper use of IT systems.

Community-Based Approaches for Mitigating Risk, the Potential for Countering Radicalization, and the Prospects of Gender Mainstreaming

In an ever more complex policing environment, there is increasing pressure on police and community agencies to reduce and remove risks to individuals, families, and neighborhoods. Situation tables and hubs offer a method of collaborative risk mitigation that breaks down siloes, improves communication, reduces crime, and saves money. Due to the similarities in risk types, these tables may also reduce radicalization and extremism apart from traditional enforcement, which can lead to further isolation, resentment, and labelling. Additionally, opportunities are presented for gender mainstreaming and creating more fair access to services for previously disadvantaged groups.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Traffic Management Solution Using Crowd-sensing and Blockchain

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are gaining immense attention due to their potential to revolutionize various businesses and industries. However, the adoption of UAV-assisted applications will strongly rely on the provision of reliable systems that allow managing UAV operations at high levels of safety and security. Recently, the concept of UAV traffic management (UTM) has been introduced to support safe, efficient, and fair access to low-altitude airspace for commercial UAVs. A UTM system identifies multiple cooperating parties with different roles and levels of authority to provide real-time services to airspace users. However, current UTM systems are centralized and lack a clear definition of protocols that govern a secure interaction between authorities, service providers, and end-users. The lack of such protocols renders the UTM system unscalable and prone to various cyber attacks. Another limitation of the currently proposed UTM architecture is the absence of an efficient mechanism to enforce airspace rules and regulations. To address this issue, we propose a decentralized UTM protocol that controls access to airspace while ensuring high levels of integrity, availability, and confidentiality of airspace operations. To achieve this, we exploit key features of the blockchain and smart contract technologies. In addition, we employ a mobile crowdsensing (MCS) mechanism to seamlessly enforce airspace rules and regulations that govern the UAV operations. The solution is implemented on top of the Etheruem platform and verified using four different smart contract verification tools. We also provided a security and cost analysis of our solution. For reproducibility, we made our implementation publicly available on Github

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Traffic Management Solution Using Crowd-sensing and Blockchain

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are gaining immense attention due to their potential to revolutionize various businesses and industries. However, the adoption of UAV-assisted applications will strongly rely on the provision of reliable systems that allow managing UAV operations at high levels of safety and security. Recently, the concept of UAV traffic management (UTM) has been introduced to support safe, efficient, and fair access to low-altitude airspace for commercial UAVs. A UTM system identifies multiple cooperating parties with different roles and levels of authority to provide real-time services to airspace users. However, current UTM systems are centralized and lack a clear definition of protocols that govern a secure interaction between authorities, service providers, and end-users. The lack of such protocols renders the UTM system unscalable and prone to various cyber attacks. Another limitation of the currently proposed UTM architecture is the absence of an efficient mechanism to enforce airspace rules and regulations. To address this issue, we propose a decentralized UTM protocol that controls access to airspace while ensuring high levels of integrity, availability, and confidentiality of airspace operations. To achieve this, we exploit key features of the blockchain and smart contract technologies. In addition, we employ a mobile crowdsensing (MCS) mechanism to seamlessly enforce airspace rules and regulations that govern the UAV operations. The solution is implemented on top of the Etheruem platform and verified using four different smart contract verification tools. We also provided a security and cost analysis of our solution. For reproducibility, we made our implementation publicly available on Github

Place-Based Policy in the “Just Transition” Process: The Case of Polish Coal Regions

One of the pillars of the European Union’s Green Deal is the “Just Transition Mechanism”, which is interpreted here as providing fair access to diverse resources; above all, as a far-reaching reorientation of the approach to regional development and policy-making processes. Rooted in a normative approach to the development of just and fair place-based policy towards promoting growth in Poland, this paper aims to highlight the challenges posed by the Just Transition Mechanism in two selected Polish transition territories (Upper Silesia and Bełchatów Basin). The research methodology employs literary critical analysis along with an examination of pertinent documents, strategic plans and programs created at national and regional EU member levels. Additionally, interviews were conducted with key actors across the spectrum of the process. The authors argue that place-based policy, viewed as a new model of shaping regional policy, seeks to meet the expectations of the Just Transition Mechanism and can successfully face the challenges it encounters. The research reveals a significant gap between the analyzed transition territories in terms of knowledge and substantive preparation towards enacting the process. Visible deficits were noted in both regions concerning approaches to programming, particularly with reference to information policy and networking with partners.

Competition policy’s role in the economic recovery process from the Covid-19 pandemic crisis—insight from UNCTAD

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak disrupted markets and had a serious negative impact in economies across the world. Competition Authorities were at the forefront of initial public response measures through strong law enforcement and active market monitoring actions, temporary exemptions from competition provisions, merger control procedural adjustments and advocacy, an increasingly important function vis-à-vis Governments and all relevant stakeholders. Competition law and policy have therefore remained highly relevant during this period in both developed and developing countries. Current common challenges faced are raised by the increased digitalization of the economy and the dominance of digital platforms, especially considering the number and market share of micro and Small and Medium Sized enterprises (SMEs), the most seriously affected by the pandemic lockdown measures. Several jurisdictions and international organizations are equipping themselves with new legislation and instruments to address these challenges, namely supporting SMEs fair access to digital markets and promoting competitive public procurement, but less experienced and resource-constrained authorities of developing countries must prioritize otherwise. Competition advocacy is now more than ever a priority for them so that the economic recovery packages preserver open, fair, and equitable markets. International cooperation, bringing together developed and developing countries authorities, provides a crucial framework of support especially at this time. UNCTAD is particularly well placed to support developing countries’ Competition Authorities contributions to “building back better” in times of crisis.

Reconceptualising fair access to highly academically selective universities

The higher education regulator for England has set challenging new widening access targets requiring universities to rethink how merit is judged in admissions. Universities are being encouraged to move away from the traditional meritocratic equality of opportunity model of fair access, which holds that university places should go to the most highly qualified candidates irrespective of social background, in accordance with the principles of procedural fairness. Instead, they are being asked to move towards what we term the meritocratic equity of opportunity model, which holds that prospective students’ qualifications should be judged in light of the socioeconomic circumstances in which these were obtained to enhance distributive fairness, a practice known in the UK as contextualised admissions. In this paper, we critically discuss the theoretical underpinnings of these two competing perspectives on fair access and review the existing empirical evidence base, drawing together for the first time insights from our ESRC and Nuffield Foundation funded studies of fair access to highly academically selective universities in England. We argue that reconceptualising fair access in terms of distributive fairness rather than procedural fairness offers a more socially just set of principles on which to allocate valuable but scarce places at the most academically selective universities in England, unless or until such time as the vertical stratification of higher education institutions is reduced or eliminated entirely.

544 Allocation of Training Opportunities: Evaluation of a Rota Improvement Project

Aim Surgical registrars are under increasing pressure to achieve their competencies for ARCP under the constraints of EWTD, service provision and on call requirements. Less than full time (LTFT) and academic trainees can struggle to get fair allocation of training opportunities. These pressures can lead to competition between registrars for training opportunities and resentment can develop. We created a novel rota allocation method by which theatre, clinic and endoscopy training sessions were allocated based on percentage of elective days worked across the month, ensuring all trainees had the same opportunities. Method The system was implemented for 3 months in the colorectal departments at 2 hospitals. Full time, LTFT and academic trainees were treated equally with theatre, endoscopy and clinics allocated by percentage of elective days per month. The spreadsheet of allocations was viewable by all trainees to ensure transparency. All surgical registrars involved were invited to complete a feedback questionnaire on the new system. Results The rota was implemented for 3 months with full allocation of shifts during the study period. Trainees were successfully allocated training sessions proportionally to elective days. 7/ 10 registrars gave feedback, 85% of whom felt the system was fair and 71% thought it improved working relationships between trainees. Comments included “scrupulously fair”, “highly efficient” and gives “more transparency”. Conclusions Allocation of trainees to clinical training opportunities can be difficult. We present an innovative method by which trainees get equal and fair access to the training opportunities available and has consequently helped to improve working relationships between peers.

CONSUMER CREDIT GRIEVANCE AND REDRESS MECHANISMS: THE MALAYSIA PERSPECTIVE

This study examines the redress mechanisms accessible to aggrieved consumers dealing with various consumer credit providers in Malaysia. The existing legal and institutional framework characterised by the piecemeal approach has led different groups of consumers to varying levels of access, which can be superior or inferior to one another. The study employs a doctrinal legal research methodology in analysing the two alternative dispute resolution bodies, namely, the Ombudsman for Financial Services, and the Tribunal for Consumer Claims. Primary sources of law, namely, the Consumer Protection Act 1999, the Financial Services Act 2013, the Financial Services (Financial Ombudsman Scheme) Regulation 2014, the Hire-Purchase Act 1967, the Moneylenders Act 1951, and the Pawnbrokers Act 1972, are meticulously analysed along with secondary sources of law that principally comprise journal articles. The study reveals disparities in terms of access to cheap and simple redress mechanisms by various categories of consumers who are aggrieved by the actions of credit providers. The position of bank consumers and those entering into credit sale is accounted for, as there are particular ADR bodies established under relevant legislations to hear their respective disputes. On the contrary, the position of those who wish to lodge claims against moneylenders, pawnbrokers or credit companies offering hire-purchase is problematic. Several recommendations are proposed to resolve this opacity inter alia by referring to the approach adopted by South Africa. This study is significant in ensuring fair access to inexpensive and hassle-free dispute resolutions for all financial consumers, irrespective of the nature of their consumer credit transactions.