Mediation in administrative proceedings: problems of theory and practice.

The article studies the the introduction of mediation in administrative proceedings. Implementation of other alternative ways of resolution of legal disputes, for example, such as mediation, can be an option to improvement of justice access and to reduction of court overloading. The sphere of administrative disputes is the most difficult for implementation of mediation procedure. Mediation is not able to displace and replace the judicial resolution of administrative disputes using the classic adversarial procedure. It is proposed to recognize adjudication mediation as the optimal procedure in resolving administrative disputes. Proposals and recommendations concerning creation of the legislative framework for the application of mediation as the alternative dispute resolution in administrative proceedings in Ukraine are formulated. That is why resolving the issue of relieving the judiciary is relevant for the use of mediation as an alternative way of resolving disputes or conflicts. Insufficient use of mediation as a way to resolve legal conflicts, including administrative ones, is low awareness of the advantages of this method of resolving legal conflicts and its advantages over the traditional judicial method of resolving legal disputes, insufficient legal regulation of mediation in Ukrainian legislation, lack of sufficient professional mediators who could provide quality mediation services, conservatism of both lawyers and participants in the administrative process at the moment of development of the legal system in Ukraine.

Practical aspects of determining the evidences obtained as a result of investigative (search) actions as inadmissible in the criminal proceeding.

The article is devoted to the study of theoretical and practical aspects of determining the evidences obtained as a result of investigative (search) actions as inadmissible in the criminal proceeding. The criminal procedural law of Ukraine formulates general requirements which must be followed during the evidence-collection process: 1) the legal sources of evidences; 2) the proper registration of the course and results of procedural actions during criminal proceedings; 3) the evidence-collection process fulfilled by appropriate authorities; 4) legal method for obtaining evidences. Failure to comply with these requirements results in the inadmissibility of evidences. However, further study of theoretical and practical aspects of determining evidences as inadmissible has shown that some requirements are not so obvious so it is difficult to identify them immediately. Analyzing the judicial practice of Ukraine, researching the scientific works of domestic scientists, as well as studying the works of foreign experts in terms of the general concept of admissibility of evidences, we can see the need for legal determinancy, which requires criminal procedure law. It causes subjectivism and different interpretations of admissibility or inadmissibility of evidences, which create an incredible number of problems that complicate the conduct of criminal proceeding at both pre-trial investigation and court hearing. This is confirmed by a large number of cases related to the recognition of admissibility or inadmissibility of evidences. Uncertainty of the categorical-conceptual apparatus not only leads to incorrect application of criminal procedural law during the course of investigative (search) actions by pre-trial investigation bodies in order to gather and obtain admissible evidences, but also helps to facilitate ways to circumvent certain provisions of law.

Basic principles of construction of methodical of criminalistic support judicial proceedings.

The article is devoted to the formation of key principles of construction of methodical criminalistic recommendations and their complexes, designed to optimize court proceedings, including: – the principle of legality, which means full and accurate compliance with the algorithms for resolving criminalistic situations, which are formed at the stage of court proceedings, the content of current legislation, ethical norms and moral principles; – the principle of theoretical validity and practical applicability, which requires a strong scientific substantiation and proven in practice the effectiveness of the proposed odical recommendations, which take into account both positive experience and errors and shortcomings in the work of judges in criminal cases; – the principle of specificity, which provides the reality of tactical recommendations for working with evidence, the completeness and effectiveness of the developed algorithms, the certainty and accuracy of their content and its compliance with modern judicial practice, objectivity and typicality of situations faced by subjects of criminalistic activity on stage of court proceedings; – the principle of promptness, which means the optimal combination of procedural and criminalistic tools in order to achieve the overall goal of criminal proceedings and aims to develop the methodical criminalistic complexes to ensure the optimal pace of litigation, when the least time achieves the greatest effect of procedural activities; – the principle of planning (phasing), which requires that all processes, actions, operations in court proceedings, carried out on a planned basis, ensuring its progressive movement towards the strategic goal of criminal proceedings, which requires differentiation of methodical algorithms developed by criminalistics in accordance with successive stages of court proceedings; – the principle of situationality (situational conditionality), which is the priority of creating algorithms for resolving typical situations that arise at the relevant stages of the proceedings and are characteristic of all or most criminal cases, regardless of the criminal qualification of the event under investigation.

Freedom of expression and reputation protection in the European Court of Human Rights practice.

The article is devoted to the issue of understanding freedom of expression and reputation protection by the European Court of Human Rights. New opportunities to exercise the right to freedom of expression arise and opportunities to implement the right to freedom of expression as well as the possibilities for defamation increase within a democratic and information society. It is emphasized that within a law-based state guarantees provided to the press are of particular importance, as the media should disseminate information and ideas of public interest, and the public has the right to receive such information and ideas. A clear understanding of the content of the right to freedom of expression and the right to reputation protection is the basis for resolving the issue of finding a balance between them, which designates the relevance of the study. The paper elucidates the results of the European Court of Human Rights decisions analysis under Articles 8 and 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (the right to privacy and the right to freedom of expression). Emphasis is placed on the various features of these rights and the peculiarities of their implementation in different circumstances. It is pointed out that the domestic judicial system actively uses the European Court of Human Rights practice in resolving cases related to reputation protection. Attention is placed on the fact that freedom of expression does not extend to hate speech. The spread of the right to reputation protection as for defamation of family members and relatives is analyzed. Emphasis is placed on the dynamic approach of the European Court of Human Rights towards the interpretation of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Even before the beginning of 2000, the European Court of Human Rights noted that the protection of reputation does not fall under the protection of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The study describes the genesis of the positions of the European Court of Human Rights on a person’s reputation protection. It is stated that a person’s right to protection of his or her reputation is covered by Article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as part of the right to respect for private life (provided that causing considerable damage to reputation if it affects a person’s private life).

Political and constitutional-legal transformations in Central Asia countries (1991–2021).

The aim of the article is to determine the specifics of political processes related to decommunization in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan), to study the variability of the main vectors of post-Soviet transformations of the respective societies. Reforms in Kazakhstan could theoretically pave the way for civil society, but so far they are more of an imitation. Uzbekistan is distinguished by the state's struggle against Islamic fundamentalism, which gave rise to Islam Karimov to pursue a tough internal policy. Democratization shifts after his death, but the prospects and irreversibility of these reforms are now highly questionable. Kyrgyzstan is the only society in which civil protest has real force, but the presence of clan-patriarchal system, ethnic conflicts, the tendency to use force and the weakness of the central government do not allow building a civil society in this country. Turkmenistan is characterized by boundless authoritarianism, and Tajikistan is the only country that has survived a fierce civil war in which the Islamic religion is most powerful. Each of the five Central Asian states has its own unique characteristics, but none of them has built a civil and democratic society, and the transformation cause of political regimes into democracies remains at the level of rhetoric. In these countries, political alterations have affected mainly the area of institutions, without changing the semi-feudal procedures and practices, and the process of democratization itself has been limited to pseudo-reforms. Civilizational and local-cultural features make the values of civil society unattractive not only for political elites, but also for the majority of the population, thus in the near future we can hardly expect significant progress in this direction. Moreover, Central Asian countries are under the influence of three powerful regional leaders –Russia, China and Iran – whose cultural and historical values are far from Western liberal-democratic ones. The situation is further complicated by the factor of Islamic fundamentalism, which will almost certainly intensify after the Taliban's victory in Afghanistan.

International legal mechanism for ensuring the right of women prisoners to health.

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of international legal acts regulating the right of women prisoners to health; focuses on problematic issues that need to be addressed, including: creating a safe environment for the health of women prisoners, provision of medical care, protection during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article highlights provisions of the following universal and regional acts of a general nature, which regulate the provision of medical care to prisoners and establish special rules on the status of women prisoners: the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules) (1955 amended); European Prison Rules (2006); the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) (2010). The materials of the international specialized structures of the United Nations, in particular the World Health Organization, namely its European Regional Office, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, etc., which focus on ensuring the right of women prisoners to health, have also been considered. They are: “Health in prisons. A WHO guide to the essentials in prison health” (2008), “Women’s health in prison. Action guidance and checklists to review current policies and practices” (2011), “Prisons and Health” (2014), Joint Statement of International Global Health Institutions, during the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime position paper outlining COVID-19 preparedness and responses in prisons etc. The emphasis is placed on practical significance of the webinars “Building Networks Behind Prison Walls” initiated by the United Nations and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which exchange positive practices, develop common approaches to prevention and treatment of certain diseases, continuity of providing medical care for those in need after release, reintegration of prisoners after release into local communities. Relevant conclusions and recommendations have been made in order to improve the situation in the area of ensuring the right of women prisoners to health and the provision of medical care.

Distant work as a new reality of labor relations.

The article is devoted to the study of the remote form of employment of workers as one of the forms of employment at a distance. The main problems of remote work development in Ukraine and ways of their solution on the legislative basis are given. The bases of transition of the worker to the remote form of work are considered. All positive and negative aspects of remote employment for both employees and enterprises are analyzed. Developed effective tips for employees who work remotely. It is concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic and the dynamic development of information and communication networks are a confirmation of the urgency of improving social and labor relations of remote employment. Remote work at home is more conducive to procrastination than in the office, so it is worth taking measures against this phenomenon. Namely, remove everything that can distract from work, turn off all voice messages. The opposite extreme of procrastination is also possible, especially for those who live at home alone. This is when you do not have to go anywhere during the day and in the evening, a person can easily immerse himself entirely in work, rework a lot, and eventually burn out. Working from home, especially when you live alone, you can easily start yourself. This applies not only to hygiene, but also to an attractive appearance, and socialization and basic needs of the body may also suffer. Having healthy freshly prepared food, the required amount of movement and sleep directly affect the health and well-being of the employee, which in turn affects his efficiency. Another disadvantage of working at home, which must be compensated for somehow, is informal conversations with colleagues. Such communication benefits each individual employee and the company as a whole. They are important for generating new ideas, inspiration; is a source of information about what is happening in others; help to feel part of a large team and not feel isolated. It is difficult to compensate for all this in the remote form of work, but it is necessary to try. You can create working group chats, video calls, virtual extracurricular meetings and in general it is very important not to lose contact with the team and the world around you.

Methodological aspects of digital communication of higher education institutions.

The article substantiates the need to study the methodological aspects of digital communication as a separate higher education institution and in the country as a whole. It is determined that one of the tools to increase the competitiveness of educational institutions is the development of communication policy and the use of modern digital technologies. And also that the formation of digital communication policy of higher education institutions is a key issue for the promotion of educational services at this stage of the country's development. The target audience of the market of educational services for the main users of the official site of the higher educational institution is outlined. The main tasks of information and social technologies in education, which provide general computerization of students and teachers, are listed. The author highlights the main components of educational sites and their general characteristics. The author also formed a complex analysis of the site using modern methods of analysis: general characteristics, design and description of the site; qualitative for quantitative analysis of the site; analysis of the site in accordance with the requirements for the sites of educational institutions at the legislative level regarding the disclosure of information; results of psychological verbal-communicative method of site research; SEO analysis (search engine promotion) of the site. The article presents the results of the application of the proposed comprehensive analysis on the example of a specific site of a higher education institution, namely the site of the State Dnipropetrovsk University of Internal Affairs, with a thorough explanation of the results. According to the results of the study, the author came to the conclusion that the development of communication policy using integrated marketing tools, namely site development, is achieved by successfully promoting higher education institutions in the market of educational services, image formation and competitiveness of educational institutions.

On the issue of labor relations in the gig economy of Ukraine.

The article discusses some of the issues of the application of labor (employment) law to regulate labor relations in the gig economy of Ukraine. In recent years Ukraine occupied one of the first places in the world by its growth rate. A small part of those employed in it work as employees on the basis of employment contract, and the overwhelming majority as self-employed contractors or without formalized legal relations. At the same time, there are signs of labor relations in the work of the latter. Therefore, the issue of legal regulation of their work by labor law is of great practical and theoretical importance not only in Ukraine, but also in the European Union and other countries. The author paid some attention to studying the experience of the European Union on the regulation of labor relations in the gig economy. Here, judicial practice, the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU, as well as legal acts of the Parliament and Council of the EU. According the author, these documents pursue the goal of extending the labor law to workers of gig economy, who are in fact not self-employed, but employees. The person is qualified by EU law as employee if his independent is merely notion, thereby disguising an employment relationship. Among the legal documents of Ukraine regarding these issues first of all, it is necessary to name the draft law “On Amendment to Labor Code on Definition of Labor Relationships and signs of their Existence”. It introduces 7 signs of employment: if three of them are present – a person is presumed to be an employee. In general, this draft law contains progressive provisions. At the same time, the Law “On Promoting the Development of Digital Economy in Ukraine” is quite contradictory. So if the whole world tries to provide labor rights for gig workers who have no signs of self-employed independent contractor, this Law introduces the terms “gig-specialist” and “gig-contract” and takes them outside the labor law, qualifying them as civil law. At the same time this Law grants “gig-specialists” their own separate labor rights instead of others, including collective. Thus, regulation of labor relations in the gig economy of Ukraine needs improvement based on the study and application of the positive experience of EU legislation and jurisprudence.