Legislative Initiatives Regarding the Tightening of the Responsibility for Non-Fulfillment of the Obligation to Undergo Treatment for Drug Addiction: Problems and Future Visions

Various psychoactive substances that are in illegal circulation cause significant damage to the health of the population. Discussions among scientists about measures to reduce the level of drug use have not been stopped for many decades. The main goal of all researches is to search for effective anti-narcotic drugs and the implementation into practice of new technologies to counter drug crime. Following the scientists, a legislator tries to choose the most optimal designs that allow an objective and comprehensive assessment of the actions of violators, taking into account the need to save repressive measures. In the first edition, the current Criminal Code of the Russian Federation allowed the use of compulsory medical measures to persons with an established diagnosis of "drug addiction". Later, the measures of compulsory treatment were recognized as inhumane and abolished. They were replaced by the institution of imposing by the court on a drug addict the obligation to undergo treatment for drug addiction, medical and (or) social rehabilitation. As an interim measure, a legislator in 2013 put into effect Article 6.9.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, which provides liability for evading a drug addict from the duty imposed by the court. Currently, a legislator offers to tighten the responsibility of a drug addict for evading treatment and rehabilitation by introducing an administrative prejudice. The conducted research has shown that it is possible to achieve the desired result by other means.

The challenge of limited vaccine supplies: impact of prior infection on anti-spike IgG antibody trajectories after a single COVID-19 vaccination

Given high SARS-CoV-2 incidence, coupled with slow and inequitable vaccine roll-out, there is an urgent need for evidence to underpin optimum vaccine deployment, aiming to maximise global population immunity at speed. We evaluate whether a single vaccination in previously infected individuals generates similar initial and subsequent antibody responses to two vaccinations in those without prior infection. We compared anti-spike IgG antibody responses after a single dose of ChAdOx1, BNT162b2, or mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in the COVID-19 Infection Survey in the UK general population. In 100,849 adults who received at least one vaccination, 13,404 (13.3%) had serological and/or PCR evidence of prior infection. Prior infection significantly boosted antibody responses for all three vaccines, producing a higher peak level and longer half-life, and a response comparable to those without prior infection receiving two vaccinations. In those with prior infection, median time above the positivity threshold was estimated to last for >1 year after the first dose. Single-dose vaccination targeted to those previously infected may provide protection in populations with high rates of previous infection faced with limited vaccine supply, as an interim measure while vaccine campaigns are scaled up.

Russia in Global Digital Tax Reform: Together or Apart?

The goal of this research is to develop policy proposals for a reform of Russian corporate income tax legislation. The paper reviews and analyses international and Russian tax policy context and ongoing reforms that aim to address the challenges of the digital economy. It is shown that different states have been implementing unilateral measures in their respective tax legislation due to the absence of global consensus about coordinated reform. This leads to increasing complexity and uncertainty for digital businesses and tax administrations. Considering that the digital tax reform agenda is highly relevant for Russia for fiscal reasons, several ideas for developing Russian tax rules in this context are proposed, including amendments to the concept of corporate residence, introducing a digital services tax as an interim measure, amending the mechanism of withholding tax on royalties and clarifying the tax characterisation of supplies in digital form. This article was prepared as part of research by state assignment at the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration

Teachers’ Perception of Online Teaching during Covid-19: A study at UTAS-Ibra, Oman.

The Covid-19 outbreak led to the closure of educational institutions and affected all the stakeholders in varied ways. As an interim measure, the online mode of teaching has been adopted all over the world. This transition, with its own pros and cons, has provided a path for continuing with education even during the pandemic. This new scenario involves financial and non-financial aspects with regard to education, and there is, therefore, a need to study the transition carefully. This study aims to explore and describe Teachers’ Perceptions of online teaching. A quantitative research design has been adopted for the study. A structured questionnaire was used (N=56) for data collection from teachers. The study participants were the teachers at the English Language Centre at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences (Ibra), Sultanate of Oman. The findings of the study confirm that online teaching has been successful during the covid-19 outbreak.

Management of Parathyroid Disease during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus disease, COVID-19, has caused widespread and sustained disruption to healthcare, not only in the delivery of emergency care, but knock-on consequences have resulted in major delays to the delivery of elective care, including surgery. COVID-19 has accelerated novel pathways for delivering clinical services, many of which have an increased reliance on technology. COVID-19 has impacted care for patients with both hypoparathyroidism and hyperparathyroidism. The role of vitamin D in the prevention of severe COVID-19 infection has also been widely debated. Severe hypocalcemia can be precipitated by infection in patients with hypoparathyroidism. With this in mind, compliance with medical management, including calcium and vitamin D supplementation, is crucial. Technology in the form of text message reminders and smartphone apps may have a key role in ensuring this. Furthermore, clinicians should ensure that patients are educated on the symptoms of hypocalcemia and the steps needing to be taken should these symptoms be experienced. Patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) should be educated on the symptoms of hypercalcemia, as well as the importance of remaining adequately hydrated. In addition, patients should be reassured that the postponement of parathyroidectomy is likely to have negligible impact on their condition; for those with symptomatic hypercalcemia, cinacalcet can be considered as an interim measure.

Effectiveness of procedural decisions in first-instance administrative proceedings

The paper analyzes the normative regulation of the procedural administrative decision institute, which was introduced into the Serbian administrative process as a novelty by the General Administrative Procedure Act (GAPA) in 2016. The paper aims to addresses three research questions: to determine the legislator's goal in regulating this insitute, to identify in which situations such a decision has to be made, and to establish how effective that type of decision is. At the beginning of the paper, the author focuses on the concept of effectiveness, including different, mutually opposed, approaches to defining that notion. The author points out the conceptual misunderstanding between efficiency and effectiveness, and their unjustified equalization. The main goal of introducing the institute of procedural administrative decision is the aspiration for greater protection of parties' procedural rights. The analysis of the text of the General Administrative Procedure Act has yielded seventeen basic types of procedural administrative decisions: a decision on rejecting the party's request, a decision not to allow alteration of the party's request, a decision on suspending the procedure, a decision on termination of the procedure, a decision on imposing a fine, decision on request, a decision on execution, a decision on securing the execution, a decision on appointing a temporary representative, a decision on denying representation to a quack lawyer for unlicenced practice of law, a decision on proposal for restitution, a decision on bearing preliminary procedure costs, a decision on exemption from procedure costs, a decision on payment of costs resulting from the absence or unjustified denial of testimony, a decision on compensation for damage to the holder, a decision on the proposal for providing evidence, and a decision on ordering an interim measure. The author concludes that the institute of procedural administrative decision can negatively affect the effectiveness of administrative proceedings due to the possibility of its unnecessary extension.

Evaluating the Performance of Engineered Enclosures for Piping Repairs

Engineered enclosures for the repair of piping, often referred to as clamps, are used to restore the integrity of in-service piping components as an interim measure until the damaged components can be repaired. They are typically used in the petroleum refining and chemical process industries, nuclear and non-nuclear utilities, and other on-shore and offshore facilities in the oil and gas industry. This type of enclosure has typically been viewed as a short term repair with a limited design life. However, it is the authors’ experience that properly engineered and installed enclosures perform in a manner consistent with the design criteria covering the original piping component(s) to which they have been installed. To investigate this further, a series of tests were conducted on several engineered enclosures that had been recently removed to replace the damaged component. Tests were also conducted on several new constructed enclosures of a similar configuration and size to those that had been recently removed. An analytical approach was also performed on one such enclosure-pipe configuration to support and study the experimental results in detail. This paper presents and summarizes the tests, analyses, and results from this work. The results provide information that can benefit users, standards developers, and regulatory authorities in better understanding the considerations affecting the design life of engineered enclosures.

The power of investment tribunals to enjoin domestic criminal proceedings

The article examines the current state of play regarding interim measure requests to enjoin a host State from pursuing criminal actions within its territory. Balancing the host State’s inherent power to investigate and prosecute criminal actions that have allegedly taken place in its territory against the fundamental principle of integrity of the arbitration proceedings, it is suggested that, under exceptional circumstances, investment tribunals may restrain the host State’s police power. A severe threat to the integrity of the arbitration may merit the issuance of far-reaching interim relief, including orders to suspend domestic criminal proceedings and orders to ensure the claimant’s reasonable and confidential access to legal counsel. The author further argues that, under the most extreme circumstances, tribunals are empowered to order the temporary release of individuals who have been tried, convicted and imprisoned in the host State.