Customers’ Patronage, Earnings of Deposit Money Banks and Nigeria’s Shrinking Economy

This study investigates the extent to which customers’ patronage has affected, caused and associated with the earnings of deposit money banks in Nigeria in the present Covid-19 era. An ex-post-facto design was adopted leading to data sourced from annual reports and accounts of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria. A simple regression model was applied in gauging the effect of Customers’ patronage on Profit before Tax, Granger Causality Test determined whether Profit before Tax was caused by Customers’ Patronage while Correlational Analysis confirmed the relationship between the focal variables. Simple regression result reveals that an increase in Total Deposit will significantly increase Profit Before Tax (87%) in the banking industry. Correlation analysis, which is the anchor tool, shows that Total Deposit has a strong relationship with Profit Before Tax of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria. Lastly, Granger Causality Test reveals that Total Deposit Granger Causes Profit Before Tax in Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria. The findings imply that Total Deposit is a strong determinant of movements in the level of earnings of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria. It was observed that a greater percentage of customers, even as the economy shrinks into recession after recession, prefer keeping their money with the bank as deposits expecting to earn interest on the investment. The study recommends that banks should strive, through enhanced packages, to mobilize deposits in order to enhance their earnings.

Testamentary Inheritance in Comparative Law. A comparative View of Testamentary Practices and Legal Frameworks in Italy and Latin America

The practice of making wills is as diverse as it is old. While the legislation in some cultures favors certain principles, others emphasize distinct precepts, all of which are guided in the background by the different cultural views about family and the importance attributed to the surviving spouse. Since the practice of testamentary inheritance is based on the desire to provide care to those left behind by the testator, and not in a few cases, in the absence of a constant income that he used to provide, it is important to identify the logic after which each legislator decides who are vulnerable people and which part of the successoral mass should be attributed to them. In the context of societal change in which the family no longer has the same definitions, the present study conducts a comparative analysis of testamentary practices and legal frameworks in Italy and Latin America in an effort to identify both the common elements that define these two Latin geographical areas, as well as their particularities. This analysis is relevant to the established literature in the field of inheritances by capturing the characteristics of two legal systems that have not received the necessary academic attention.

Current Issues of Protection of State Sovereignty of Ukraine in the context of Globalization

The relevance of the research topic is based on modern rapid European integration trends in Ukraine and the definition of one of the main vectors of foreign policy accession to the European Union, among the prospects of which is the need to protect Ukraine’s state sovereignty. The purpose of the article is to study the essence of sovereignty in the modern world and the relevance of the protection of state sovereignty on the example of Ukraine. The paper reveals the essence of sovereignty in the context of globalization of society. Along with this, the article analyzes the main trends in the formation of state sovereignty on the example of Ukraine. Also, it determines the main characteristics of state sovereignty in terms of integration. Finally, the paper reveals the content of the main integration vectors of Ukraine and their impact on state sovereignty. The scientific novelty of this study lies in the innovative understanding and justification of the essence, feasibility and necessity of protecting the state sovereignty of Ukraine during integration processes. The author proposes to improve the legal regulation of the prospects of Ukraine’s integration, based on the elaborated works of domestic and foreign researchers and her own vision of the problem.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child: Forced Conversion of Hindu Minor Girls in Pakistan

Pakistan has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child expressing therein that the right to freedom of religion incorporates that nobody ought to be compelled to change his religion. Pakistan’s constitution guarantees religious freedom to all minority communities in Pakistan. Forced conversion to Islam has become another type of rough fanaticism in Pakistan. Constrained transformation is the point at which an individual who uses pressure, power, intimidation, or danger to drive someone else to acknowledge another religion. It influences almost all minority groups in Pakistan, but the biggest victims are Hindu minor girls in Sindh province. It should be forbidden to pursue a position of power to entice vulnerable Hindu minor girls to convert under duress. As the criminal justice system in Pakistan is not addressing this issue effectively, legislation is urgently needed to protect vulnerable children. This article focuses on the need to promulgate a law providing forcible conversion of Hindu minor girls as a criminal offense. A literature review method is adopted for this paper.

Unenforceable Target Movable Property Under Enforcement

Nowadays, enforcement is one of the crucial elements of justice. Right to the property is guaranteed by the constitution and therefore exercising property rights is one of the key goals of justice, the latter is implemented through effective and efficient enforcement. The present study is mainly dedicated to the specifics of enforcing property rights. Methods used in the research involve qualitative study, the latter encompasses observation of rules and regulations in national and international practices based on primary and secondary legal and historical sources, including official legal documents, court decisions as first-hand material, as well as derived sources such as various articles, monographs, comments on laws and regulations, etc. The comparative method used in the study is aimed at demonstrating differences and similarities of enforcement rules and procedures in different legal systems, revealing their advantages and disadvantages, while practical examples focus on the identification of gaps to lay the path for better legal solutions. The complex scrutiny of the subject to the present research allows to review it from different angles and suggest legal recommendations to raise the efficiency of the enforcement system and subsequently provide a firm basis for justice.

How to Enhance the Effectiveness of the Learning Process during Distance Learning. Psychologist Recommendations

Effective management of the learning/teaching process in distance learning is one of the major challenges facing education, especially now in the Covid-19 pandemic. The list of problems mainly combines social and interactive aspects. This article provides tips to help the student increase motivation, overcome feelings of social isolation, find alternative ways of communicating and, develop communication skills. The aim of the research is to identify the pros and cons of online learning, thus finding out how to improve the effectiveness of the learning process during distance learning. The research was obtained through a focus group, the research was conducted in Tbilisi public schools, students, teachers and parents participated in the focus groups. After analyzing the data, it was found that participants positively see such a form of teaching, which in turn would have a positive impact on students’ academic performance, but they also talk about small negative aspects.

Governance Quality and Tax Revenue Mobilization in Nigeria

An evaluation of the quality of governance as a major determinant of tax revenue generation is important to both the government and the Nigerian public. It has become required as a result of many rising economies’ reliance on several taxes to raise income. Tax income generation is crucial to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and rising economies’ economic progress. This study addresses the influence of both political (political stability), institutional (corruption) and bad governance on the mobilization of tax revenue in Nigeria. To serve this purpose, the study employed a time series data set from 2000 to 2020. After subjecting the data to the unit root test, the study further employs Ordinary Least Square (OLS). The findings revealed that corruption and political instability have a positive and significant impact on Nigeria’s tax revenue mobilization. Bad governance, on the other hand, has a positive and insignificant influence on Nigeria’s tax revenue mobilization. The study focuses on improving governance quality by lowering corruption rates and increasing transparency in tax administration. To accomplish so, countries must execute policy reforms such as establishing an effective and strict judicial system, offering monetary incentives for tax officers to lower the risk of corruption, and, most crucially, broadening the revenue base rather than raising tax rates. As a result, the tax administration will improve, and the economy’s overall tax revenue collection will improve.

Principle of Non-Discrimination and Equal Treatment

With its evolution, society has introduced human rights as intrinsic values in its acts on the regulation of relations of human nature. Significant victories in the struggle for social freedoms materialized with the adoption of the first declarations of rights, which formed the basis for the passing of later constitutions. Therefore, the modern state, inclined to the protection of its citizens, is unthinkable in its functionality, without stating and guaranteeing human rights in their fundamental law. In addition, it is necessary to point out that these rights have a universal character, namely their protection for each person, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, level of health, person’s status, etc. The Constitution of Romania states in art. 15 par. (1) on this that: “All citizens benefit from the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution and other laws and have the obligations provided for therein”.

Enterprise Financial Characteristics and Corporate Social Responsibility Costs of Oil and Gas Businesses in Nigeria

This work evaluated the effect of entity characteristics on company social responsibility costs of oil and gas firms in Nigeria for 2010 - 2019. The independent variables of the study and measures of firm characteristics are total assets, total sales, financial leverage and firm age while the independent variable is corporate social responsibility. A sample of three firms was selected out of a population of eleven oil and gas businesses on the Nigeria Stock Exchange during the period. Supporting data were obtained from the selected firms and analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Findings from the analysis suggest that both total assets and total sales positively and significantly affect the corporate social responsibility costs of the firms. It was also found that financial leverage positively and insignificantly affects the corporate social responsibility costs of the firms. Finding further reveals that firm age negatively and insignificantly affects corporate social responsibility costs of the firms. In the light of the findings, it was recommended that the firm managers should invest in assets especially long-term assets that will yield future streams of returns for their firms. This is because investment in assets improves production and promotes the corporate social responsibility performance of the firms. It was also recommended that the firm managers should promote their products through various product promotion channels as total sales boast firm profitability and promote corporate social responsibility performance. It was further recommended that the firm managers should increase the proportion of debts in their firms’ capital structure. It was finally recommended that firm managers should use a modern approach while implementing their corporate social responsibility programs as opposed to the old style.

The Genesis of the International Criminal Court

This work analyzes the practice of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the most ambitious project aimed at combating and preventing mass violations of human rights in inter-and intrastate conflicts. Sure thing, such an institution has not emerged from anywhere, but it is the culmination in the progress of international criminal law evolution. That is why the progress that was made over the centuries and historical conditions forcing its establishment cannot be ignored. This article studies the formation of the International Criminal Court through the prism of the history of previous models of judicial bodies bringing to justice war criminals. Moreover, it analyses the historical conditions and international debates around the establishment of a permanent international criminal court. Conclusions focus on the problems that arose during the establishment of the ICC, and the ways in which they affect ICC activities nowadays.