COVID - 19 AS A “SIGNIFICANT CIRCUMSTANCE” FOR RISK ASSESSMENT IN LIFE INSURANCE (IN AND AFTER THE PANDEMIC)

The data on the health status of a policyholder represent a significant circumstance for risk assessment and concluding a life insurance contract, and are also legally relevant circumstances for exercising the rights from that contract. The author starts from a theoretical analysis of the perception of data on the health status of policyholders as personal data, comparing the right to confidentiality of such data with the duty to report them (before concluding a life insurance contract) in terms of reporting all circumstances relevant to the insurance risk assessment. In order to properly fulfil the obligation of pre-contractual nature, the paper analyses the legal norms governing this issue and also provides a comparative overview of the Croatian and German insurance legislation with special emphasis on the scope of health data that the insurer is authorised to require, the clarity of legal standards and legal insurance norms contained in the insurance questionnaires and the life insurance offer. Presenting the importance of COVID-19 infection and possible chronic consequences for human health, the author indicates the extent to which COVID-19 infection (mild or severe form of disease, possible need for hospital treatment) will have an impact on the design of new insurance questionnaires and the relevance of genetic testing results in the context of concluding future life insurance contracts.

COVID-19 CHALLENGES TO THE CHILD ABDUCTION PROCEEDINGS

While creating a new notion of everyday life, the COVID-19 pandemic also affects the resolution of cross-border family disputes, including the international child abduction cases. The return of an abducted child to the country of his or her habitual residence is challenged by travel restrictions, international border closures, quarantine measures, but also by closed courts or cancelled hearings. Those new circumstances that befell the whole world underline two issues considering child abduction proceedings. The first one considers access to justice in terms of a mere possibility of the applicant to initiate the return proceeding and, where the procedure is initiated, in terms of the manner of conducting the procedure. The legislation requires a quick initiation and a summary resolution of child abduction proceedings, which is crucial to ensuring the best interests and well-being of a child. This includes the obligation of the court to hear both the child and the applicant. Secondly, it is to be expected that COVID-19 will be used as a reason for child abduction and increasingly as justification for issuing non-return orders seen as a “grave risk” to the child under Article 13(1)(b) of the Child Abduction Convention. By analysing court practice from the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 to March 2021, the research will investigate how the pandemic has affected child abduction proceedings in Croatia. Available national practice of other contracting states will also be examined. The aim of the research is to evaluate whether there were obstacles in accessing the national competent authorities and courts during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in which manner the courts conducted the proceedings and interpreted the existence of the pandemic in the context of the grave risk of harm exception. The analyses of Croatian and other national practices will be used to gain an overall insight into the effectiveness of the emerging guidance and suggest their possible broadening in COVID-19 circumstances or any other future crises.

SOLIDARITY CHECK IN TIMES OF COVID-19. ANALYSIS OF THE EU APPROACH TOWARDS ITS CLOSEST NEIGHBOURS WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON MONTENEGRO

Solidarity as one of the cornerstone values of the European Union has been once again seated on the red chair and intensively discussed within the European Union and broader. After the economic recession and migrant crisis that marked the last two decades, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has once again harshly tested the fundamental objectives and values of the European Union and the responsiveness and effectiveness of its governance system on many fronts. In April, 2020 several EU Member States were among the worst affected countries worldwide and this situation soon became similar in their closest neighbourhood. It put a huge pressure on the EU to act faster, while at the same time placing this sui generis community to the test that led to revealing its strengths and weaknesses. As it happened in the previous crises, the Union launched policies and various programmes that were meant to lessen the burden of the Member States and aspiring countries caused by the crises. The objectives of the mentioned soft law instruments that the EU adopted during the COVID-19 crisis has been not only to show that EU law is equipped to react to health and economic crises rapidly but to deliver its support in terms of solidarity to its Member States and its closest neighbours facing the unprecedented health and economic crisis. This article will explore the value and implication of the solidarity principle in times of Covid-19 in its various manifestations. A special focus will be on the financial and material aspects of the EU instruments created to combat the negative consequences of the pandemic and their further impact on shaping the solidarity principle within the EU system. While examining the character and types of these mechanisms a special focus will be placed on those available to Western Balkan countries, whereas Montenegro as the “fast runner” in the EU integration process will be taken as a case study for the purpose of more detailed analyses. One of the major conclusions of the paper will be that although the speed of the EU reactions due to highly complex structure of decision making was not always satisfying for all the actors concerned, the EU once again has shown that it is reliable and that it treats the Western Balkan countries as privileged partners all for the sake of ending pandemic and launching the socio-economic recovery of the Western Balkans. Analytical and comparative methods will be dominantly relied upon throughout the paper. This will allow the authors to draw the main conclusions of the paper and assess the degree of solidarity as well as the effectiveness of the existing EU instruments that are available to Montenegro and aimed at diminishing negative consequences of the crisis.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN TIMES OF CRISIS: COVID-19

Corporate social responsibility implies business with concern for ethics, human rights, community needs, and investment in environmental protection. It is especially evident in crisis situations when the expectations of the environment about the application of these principles of the company are higher. The Covid-19 pandemic, as a crisis situation in which companies found themselves, led to changes in business models that had an impact on their stakeholders as well. In this segment, corporate social responsibility can be a useful and effective way to mitigate the potential effects of a pandemic and make it easier to deal with the consequences of a crisis. The aim of this paper is to provide a theoretical framework for the study of corporate social responsibility in crisis situations with special reference to the situation related to Covid-19. For this purpose, the research methodology includes a review of the literature on corporate social responsibility in this situation by classification into external (community, customer, and environment) and internal (employees) dimensions of the application of corporate social responsibility. The paper highlights the problems and challenges associated with corporate social responsibility in the Covid-19 pandemic and suggests further research opportunities in this area.

EU ASYLUM SYSTEM IN AND AFTER THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: DISCLOSING THE WEAKNESSES OF THE CURRENT RULES AND ASSESSING THE PROSPECTS OF THE NEW PACT ON MIGRATION AND ASYLUM

The paper analyses the influence that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the functioning of the European asylum system. The analysis is divided into three parts and addresses problematic issues associated with different stages of the pandemic. In the first part of the paper, the author outlines the asylum practices of EU Member States in the initial stage of the Covid-19 pandemic during which the pandemic was perceived as a state of emergency. By exploring the legal possibilities to derogate both from the EU asylum rules and international human rights standards, the author offers conclusions as regards limits of derogations and the legality of Member States’ practices, especially their failure to differentiate between rules that are susceptive of being derogated in emergency situations and those that are not. The second part of the paper analyses the current phase of the pandemic in which it is perceived as a 'new normal' and focuses on making the EU asylum system immune to Covid-19 influence to the greatest extent possible and in line with relevant EU and human rights rules. The author insists on the vulnerability as an inherent feature of persons in need of international protection and researches upon the relationship between the two competing interests involved – protection of asylum seekers and ensuring public health as a legitimate reason for restricting certain asylum seekers’ rights. The final part of the paper analyses the prospects of the future EU asylum system, as announced by the New Pact on Migration and Asylum in September 2020, to adapt to the exigencies of both the current Covid-19 crisis and pandemics that are yet to come. With an exclusive focus on referral to Covid-19 and provisions relevant for the current and future pandemics, the author criticizes several solutions included in the instruments that make up the Pact. It is concluded that the Pact failed to offer solutions for problems experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic and that, under the pretext of public health, it prioritizes the interests of Member States over the interests of applicants for international protection.

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL

This paper aims to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the implementation of the European Green Deal and to which extent have the European Union’s green growth and sustainable development goals been incorporated into its COVID-19 Recovery Strategy. The European Union’s Green Deal, a ‘generation defining’ growth strategy, which lays down the strategic pathway of the European Union’s economic development for the upcoming two decades, has been faced with a major challenge shortly after its adoption in December 2019. However, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which has continuously been putting all European Union member states to a harsh challenge during the past year, climate change and the green transition have been at the top of the political agenda in the European Union and have managed to occupy the attention of the mainstream politics and European Union citizens. Furthermore, the unprecedented levels of public financing which have been mobilised due to the pandemic have provided an opportunity for speeding up the green transition, without which the achievement of the Green Deal’s main aims and the fulfilment of the European Union’s obligations under the Paris Agreement would likely be put in question. In order to analyse how the has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the implementation of the Green Deal, the paper first examines how the member states and the European Union institutions initially reacted to the idea of pursuing the implementation of the Green Deal simultaneously with economic recovery. This is accomplished through an analysis of statements given by the European Union and member state officials and the adopted measures and legislative proposals. The paper then focuses on publicly available data on legislative delays in regard to the implementation of the Green Deal which took place due to the pandemic and concludes that no significant postponements occurred. It subsequently turns to examine which measures have been adopted at the European Union level that link the economic recovery and the green transition. In this regard, special attention is paid to the Recovery and Resilience Facility and its measures aimed at ensuring that member states pursue climate change and environmental objectives in their recovery plans. Given the size of the public investments which will take place in the following years, the paper emphasises the importance of stringent environmental standards in order to ensure that they contribute to the green transition and avoid a fossil fuel lock-in.

TESTAMENTARY DISPOSITIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL PANDEMIC

The outbreak and the rapid spread of global COVID-19 pandemic have put significant strains on the institutions. The need to adapt to “new normal” and contain the rapid spread of disease, while maintaining a functional society, resulted with introduction of numerous new legal mechanisms and adaptation of the existing ones. However, it seems that one area of law remains on the fringes: the regulation of wills. Even before the start of the pandemic many authors often pointed to the fact that the current legal framework does not follow modern technological developments, but no significant attempts were made to overhaul the inheritance law. Also, once the pandemic started in its full, there were no references to introduction of extraordinary mechanisms or new legal solutions to overcome the potential difficulties in forming wills. Comparative analysis yielded no better results: although some countries (such as Austria) recently completely overhauled their regulation of inheritance law, it seems that no attempts were made to introduce new types of wills or new methods of drafting wills into their regulations. Furthermore, following the spread of the pandemic, increasing number of potential testators find themselves unable to use traditional methods of drafting wills as they, or the authorized persons tasked with assistance and creation of wills, remain isolated from one another due to various reasons (lock-downs, isolation in case of experiencing symptoms, etc.). Having in mind these circumstances, it is necessary to ascertain whether there is a genuine need to introduce new types of wills into existing legal framework, or to adapt the current legal framework by facilitating the communication between citizens and the institutions. Also, it is necessary to analyze whether the interpretation of the existing legal framework enables the introduction of certain facilitating mechanisms. In order to reach these goals and clarify the possibilities within the current legal framework, interpretative and comparative method are used.

SPECIALIZATION OF JURISDICTION BACK FROM OBLIVION – A NEW ATTENTIVE AND ASSIDOUS APPROACH TO COMPLEX CROSS BORDER FAMILY LAW CASES OR POSSIBLE REVITALIZATION OF ‘MUTUAL TRUST’

New trend emerges in the quest for establishing real actual trust between the main stakeholders in the complex cross border family law cases, which is providing for concentration of jurisdiction. The Hague Conference of Private International Law (HCCH) and the European Union (EU) are in forefront of establishing concentrating jurisdiction for those proceedings based on limitation of the number of courts in order to solve two problems: to enhance the predictability and the uniformity of the outcomes in these cases and to re-establish the mutual trust on realistic grounds instead of its current notion as a political decision. Such strategy is welcomed since it starts from the bottom and it tends to elevate the trust between the persons concerned in these proceedings and with that it stretches its prerogatives to the top, which is to enhance the trust between the legal systems. Whether it will succeed it depends again on the modalities of its establishment in the national legal systems. Generally, specialization of jurisdiction is frequently considered to be an important reform initiative in improving the development of a successful judicial system which is why it is recognized as a rapidly growing trend regarding the organization of the judiciary systems worldwide. The article will discuss the concepts of specialization of jurisdiction and its possible implementation in the national legal system of Republic of North Macedonia (N. Macedonia) regarding the complex cross border family law cases.

THE CHILD’S RIGHT TO MAINTAIN CONTACT WITH BOTH PARENTS IN THE AGE OF PANDEMIC

The COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying extraordinary measures engaged restrictions of fundamental human rights and liberties to an unprecedented scale. Inevitably, this had implications in the family context as well. Even though children are not considered to be an endangered category from a medical perspective, they are adversely affected by the pandemic in practically all aspects of life, in the short-term and in the long-term. One of the child’s rights directly affected is the right to maintain direct contact with both parents on a regular basis. Digital means of communication can somewhat mitigate the lack of personal contact, however, not everyone has access to the necessary technologies and there might be various disagreements about exercising such indirect contact. The closure of judiciary and social services placed the burden of resolving contact related disputes almost entirely upon parents. This paper aims to examine the relevant legal framework and measures taken in relation to the child’s right to maintain contact with both parents in the circumstances of the pandemic, with particular focus on the Croatian context and the response of the Croatian authorities to the challenges arising from this extraordinary situation, and to identify actions which could be taken in order to improve the child’s unfavourable position.

ASSESSMENT OF MANAGEMENT CONTROLLING IN PANDEMIC TIMES

The emergence of coronavirus led to evident consequences for the global economy. During the previous financial crisis, organisations have already determined the elements of crisis management so they could met the new corona crisis readily. Global changes, like the current pandemic situation, provide a different view toward the future expectations. The pandemic has caused new way of functioning under special circumstances such as various restrictions in many European countries, restrictions on people’s mobility and other novelties that have encountered for the first time. Characteristics of this crisis include novelty and pressure in a business environment, which can reveal various vulnerabilities in organisations. Managers were affected by major business changes, and there appeared a need for rapid reorganisation of the current way of functioning. Management had to introduce new control systems that refer to their strategies for exchanging information and decision-making. In general, each crisis is a new opportunity for seeking modern and appropriate models and tools for business improvement. When business situations are challenging, managers are more oriented toward controlling. Therefore, organisations that focus on traditional management models are not very successful in normal circumstances, and even less so in a crisis. This study aims to examine the extent of the structure and function of management control systems in pandemic conditions in Croatian organisations. An overview of current systems in organizations was given, as well as management challenges of the pandemic situations. This study includes the analysis of management control system during the pandemic times. The research was conducted using survey method what referred to analyses of strategic plans, performance evaluation systems, and management controls for performance evaluation in Croatian organisations. The factor analysis of the main components was conducted in order to examine the contribution of predictor variables in explaining the broad-scope management control system. In order to examine the contribution of gender, age, work experience, education, company size, aggregation, timeliness, and integration for explaining of broad-scope the management control system hierarchical regression analysis was conducted. The results confirm that integration is significant predictor in the crisis controlling model, but at the same time, when the integration and timeliness should have positive connection, greater timeliness does not increase to the greater availability. This withdraws the conclusion that uncertainty of environment extents the speed of business processes. Despite of the equal integration during pandemic crises the remote working conditions caused the decrease of the promptness of reporting collected information, which requires new models of controlling in unpredictable situations.