Possible Legal Cooperation for a BRICS Perspective on International and Transnational Economic Law

This research paper seeks to identify and analyze the regulations that rule the economic life of the BRICS countries in the fields of foreign investment’s law, competition law and global administrative law, and further to identify points of convergence and divergence among them in order to indicate the possibilities of legal cooperation to facilitate economic exchanges and investments flow among them. We believe that the possible bottlenecks in trade and investment can be overcome mostly by exchange of experiences, to mitigate the lack of knowledge on national laws and regulations, and by the creation of cooperative mechanisms that facilitate the economic flow among them.

BRICS Development Strategy – Priority Areas of Cooperation for Gaining a Foothold in a Multipolar World Order

The international world order has been changing rapidly since the turn of the twenty-first century. BRICS, as an economic association, that unites five countries, each of which is the leading state in its own region, is faced with a variety of modern-day challenges. The article examines the most important issues for BRICS, as well as the outcomes and potential future directions for deepening cooperation among the BRICS member states and in more extended formats. The main purpose of the article is to identify major trends and factors that influence the formation of the BRICS agenda and the future direction of development. Other important tasks that could be mentioned are determining the reasons for the intensification of political cooperation, obstacles and opportunities for BRICS institutionalization as an international organization and potential expansion. To become a stable international institution, BRICS needs to devise an effective strategy of development that includes key areas such as the economy, investment cooperation, digitalization, security, ecology, and the environment. The creation and strengthening of external relations of BRICS with leading developing countries and international organizations, as well as cooperation on the basis of equality, complementarity, and mutual benefit in the economic, scientific, and technical fields, taking into account the significant resource base of BRICS countries, the largest labor resources, capacious domestic markets, goals of economic modernization and high technologies, as well as food and energy safety will provide BRICS with the opportunity to form an effective development strategy to gain a foothold in the multipolar world order.

Violence Against Women in Russia and Brazil: International and Domestic Responses

The problem of domestic violence and violence against women, despite being an age-old phenomenon, came to the fore of public debate relatively late. It entered the agenda of intergovernmental organizations in the 1990s, but became the subject of international litigation only in the 2000s and 2010s. While this belated response of the international community can be associated with the inadequate conceptualization of the problem and insufficient data, it also has to do with the ongoing public/private dichotomy that became especially pronounced in the recent years when various conservative groups increasingly question the necessity of specific laws and policies aimed at eliminating this kind of crime. In this article, I briefly trace the developments concerning women’s rights, and, particularly, domestic violence and violence against women in international law. Then, based on the analysis of international and regional court decisions, I try to see how and whether these decisions contributed to the domestic developments in the field of combatting this phenomenon in Russia and Brazil. It is also important to examine how COVID-19 pandemic impacted the narratives of violence and how the international community should respond to the challenge of protecting the most vulnerable members of the society in the conditions of health emergency.

Copyright and Patent Protection of Cloud Storage Software in the BRICS Member States

In the BRICS Member States, serious attention is paid to Information Technology development in terms of both technology and law. These countries are at the forefront in the development of the digital economy and digital innovations. Cloud storage software is an important element in this sector and is intensively applied in civil law transactions. The processes of approval, storage and sorting of documents are being automated on the basis of the relevant computer programs. This helps companies and government agencies to systemize their operations. At present, the most pressing issues are those related to copyright and copyright holders of computer programs since software code may be copied, even illegally or unconscientiously, and used as the basis for another software product. Cloud storage software is copyright-protected, but, depending on the scope of its use, additional patent protection may be required. Given the rapid development of the IT sector, a software product may be one of the components in an invention subject to patenting. The article focuses on the relationship between copyright and patent protection of software and offers a comparison of the approaches taken by the BRICS countries. Approaches taken by Germany as a European Union Member State and the United States of America are shown in the all-out comparison. The article also analyzes the views of academics on the relationship between copyright and patent protection of software.

Research into the Status of Special Administrative Regions in China

This article analyzes the legal status of special administrative regions in China. This type of territorial unit occupies a special place and has a specific legal status, which is especially noticeable in relations with the central authorities. The authors focus on the historical prerequisites for the formation of such a legal status and analyze the current situation. A special feature of this study is the research methodology, since a comprehensive analysis requires the use of a mixed research method. The conclusions reached by the authors can be used to formulate a new form of government.

Battered Woman Syndrome: Prospect of Situating It Within Criminal Law in India

In patriarchal cultures, like the one prevalent in India, rigid, polarised and hierarchical gender roles work to establish a strong normative relationship between gender and the treatment of offenders committing violent crimes such as homicide. While most of the common law countries have already undergone a social change towards making their criminal laws more gender-sensitive by accommodating the experiences of battered women, the situation in India is quite different. Indian courts have recognised Battered Woman Syndrome very recently in only three cases, much differently than courts in other jurisdictions. While in other countries, Battered Woman Syndrome has been adduced by the advocates of battered women to support defence pleas, Indian Courts have resorted to it only to explain the effects of a battering relationship. The fact that Battered Woman Syndrome has only been recognised in such a small number of cases and the lack of scholarship in this particular area clearly resonates the resistance of the Indian criminal law towards women’s accounts of their experiences. Drawing on the example of the three cases, the author makes an attempt to put forth feminist legal arguments and offer a fresh perspective on the possibility of using Battered Woman Syndrome as a defence to address the concerns of battered women who end the cycle of violence by ending the lives of the abuser in a “kill or be killed” situation. Since Battered Woman Syndrome as a subject has been extensively researched in other common law countries, the present study limits itself to the Indian jurisdiction only. This paper also challenges the effectiveness of the existing defences under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 in accommodating the cases of battered women, and highlights the need for the introduction of a new justificatory defence as a plausible solution.

Legal Definition of Irresistible Force in the Civil Law of Russia and China

The research focus is on concept of force majeure and irresistible force as a reason to release the parties from liability for failure to perform civil obligations. The authors examine theoretical concept and legal definition of “irresistible force” and its characteristics based on legislation, legal literature and judicial practice of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China. Also, the authors analyze the civil law jurisdictions on irresistible force, relatively to its ambiguity and situation with the spread of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and come to the conclusion that courts in each specific case should establish irresistible force circumstances. The work uses a linguistic (philological) method, in particular, the method of distributive analysis of the terms “irresistible force” and “force majeure.” The article shows that in modern Russian law the expression “irresistible force circumstances” has more efficient terminological potential. The authors propose implementation of “irresistible force circumstances” concept in the Russian Civil Code, which would more accurately reflect the essence of this concept.

Bride Trafficking in India: Aspects, Causes and Potential Solutions

Bride Trafficking is a long-standing evil in society that can be classified as a crime against humanity because it violates the rights, dignity and the liberty of the victims involved. Bride Trafficking is so deep rooted in society that providing accurate figures is extremely difficult since it is often impossible to track down and trace individual incidents of Bride Trafficking. According to the author, who has conducted a case study with fifty women from the State of Haryana, inter-country trafficking for the purpose of marriage is widespread in India. Trafficked women are subjected to a slew of atrocities, including being raped in transit and then raped by their husbands and other male family members. Apart from that, they face domestic violence, are treated worse than slaves and are frequently trafficked multiple times. Poverty, female foeticide, female infanticide, illiteracy, dowry and other factors can all contribute to trafficking. In this paper, the author will discuss Bride Trafficking in general, the reasons for it, the human rights violations that these trafficked brides face and the potential solutions to this illicit trade.

Multiparty Mediation as Solution for Urban Conflicts: A Case Analysis from Brazil

Social conflicts are becoming more complex every day and, therefore, the development of alternative forms of conflict resolution is necessary in view of the limited role of the Judiciary. With this, mediation gains more space in Brazil and in the world through the 2019 Singapore Convention on Mediation. Mediation is beneficial in the urban context to stimulate the population’s participation and guarantee legitimacy at different levels of power. It enables public and private convergences, better public interest comprehension about the best way of life in cities and enhanced democratic management due to better dialogue and cooperation with the public administration. Mediation focuses on the interventions’ reasons, the role of those involved in the process, welcoming the urban conflict with its peculiarities. It promotes the constitutional principles of democracy, pacification, solidarity, dignity, autonomy of will, speed and popular participation in the administration of Justice. However, in urban conflicts, which involve public administration and a multiplicity of parts, it is often necessary to apply collective or multiparty mediation. Thus, the article’s main objective is to address the effectiveness of multiparty mediation as a solution to urban conflicts through the analysis of 5 (five) concrete cases mediated at the Judicial Dispute Resolution Centers – CEJUSC of the Rio Grande State Court of Justice of the South in Brazil. In the first step, a theoretical-descriptive analysis of multiparty mediation in Brazil and the mediator’s role is carried out. In a second step, we will perform the analysis of practical cases to reach the appropriate conclusions.

Digital Platforms in China and Europe: Legal Challenges

The paper considers the processes of platformatization of the economy and public government, which have become the last decade’s primary trend. Analysis of the digital markets in Russia, China, and Europe proved the dominance of the digital platforms of large technology companies. According to the authors, the concentration of market power in digital platforms threatens a competitive environment in digital markets. In this regard, the demand for antitrust regulation of their activities is justified. Another legal challenge arises concerning the trend of creating public services on the digital platforms of large technology companies. The paper analyzes China’s experience in the platformatization of legal proceedings, where the process of establishing online courts is conducted in close cooperation with the leading digital platforms of the PRC. In contrast to China, in Russia, the main focus is on combining public services, and information systems of various departments within a single platform to provide public services, with large technology companies acting as operators. Therefore, the authors conclude that it is necessary to strengthen legal mechanisms to protect citizens’ rights and interests during the digitization of public services – primarily citizens’ rights to data protection. The problems revealed demonstrate the necessity of a balanced approach to the legal regulation of digital platforms. While it is important to stimulate their development, it is necessary to limit the opportunities for violating the rights and interests of other participants in the digital environment.