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DEMOGRAPHY AND POPULATION GROWTH IN 1970’s ROMANIA: AN OVERVIEW OF DEMOGRAPHIC STUDIES PUBLISHED IN ‘VIITORUL SOCIAL’ JOURNAL

Author(s): Oana Pop / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2022

Keywords: demography; knowledge production in state socialism; French demography; politics of reproduction; population planning;

This paper looks at how demographic knowledge was articulated in the 1970s in Romania in a context shaped by both a restrictive natalist agenda and the reestablishment of institutional affiliations with western academia. An account is given of the specific institutional affiliations that coordinated and made knowledge transfers possible between French and Romanian agencies. The text then focuses on the specific vocabulary and reasoning mechanisms employed in a series of texts published throughout the 1970s in the sociological journal Viitorul Social, a monthly magazine of socialist doctrine, culture and politics. The aim is to start a discussion about the possibility that the re-establishment of institutional connections with French demographic trends in the early ᾿70s lent Romanian demographers a type of conservative scientific reasoning and vocabulary that was attuned to the natalist politics of the time. In turn, this authorised a highly politicised portrayal of working-class women as culpable for the diminishing birth-rates in Romania. The text ends by suggesting other research paths that might help situate demographic knowledge production and its ties with reproduction politics.

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BALANCING EFFICIENCY AND PERSONAL TIME REQUIREMENTS FOR HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONALS AFTER TELECOMMUTING

Author(s): Andreea Țoiu / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2022

Keywords: human resources; telecommuting; “flexibility stigma”; work-life balance; productivity;

The exploitation of work and household responsibilities among women and men remains a pressing issue with significant impacts on employee productivity and satisfaction. This study sheds light on the patterns of exploitation and their consequences, with a specific focus on the experiences of HR professionals. The research emphasizes the prevalence of the “flexibility stigma” in society, which views flexible work arrangements, including teleworking, as less committed, motivated, and productive compared to traditional 9-5 work hours. The study also highlights the tendency for workers to extend their work hours when boundaries between work and personal life become blurred. In particular, the study highlights the increased likelihood of working overtime as a result of teleworking, which can further contribute to the exploitation of work and household responsibilities. For HR professionals, it is essential to understand these challenges and develop strategies that support employees’ work-life balance and well-being. The study concludes by calling for a comprehensive approach that considers the institutional and cultural contexts in which employees operate and that prioritizes their well-being and productivity.

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In Vitro Fertilization. The Rights of the Unborn Child according to the Regulations Contained in the National and European Legislation

Author(s): Carmen Ion,Alexandra Novac-Leca / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: in vitro fertilization; human rights; right to life; unborn child; human dignity; human being;

The in vitro fertilization procedure involves rigorous knowledge of the category of human rights which concerns, in particular, the right to life and health of the child and women. The protection of human life and dignity are part of the primary obligations of any rule of law, and this protection includes prenatal life, respectively the protection of the rights of the unborn child. Both European norms and national criminal legal provisions ensure the existence and observance of a functional legal framework to protect in case of need the rights of the fetus, the in vitro fertilization procedure being especially likely to give rise to legal situations involving the knowledge and observance of all the rights associated with the human being.

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Political Accountability Dilemma: Another Pandemic Post Covid-19?

Author(s): MT Mashilo,FKL Kgobe / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: Accountability; Governance; COVID-19; Political leadership; Stewardship theory;

In view of the unceasing global pandemic, centralized governments across the world have been put under the spotlight to account for all the provisions in the states they represent. Early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has dispersed worldwide with many repercussions, such as economic lockdown, that gave rise in important decline of international economic activities and gave escalation in social insecurity. This has disproportionally affected lot of countries if not all, leading to their citizen’s incapability to pay and maintain their necessities such as housing and further disrupted public services by government. This has called on to the government to provide basic services reliably and effectively. The study seeks to elevate a discussion on the need to address political accountability as it appears to be a massive dilemma in government. The study argues that the pandemic has created a conducive environment for lack of political accountability. Moreover, as a matter of urgency, accountability in governance should be re-evaluated, where more decisive actions should be taken to avoid another pandemic post COVID-19. The study adopted desk research method, the researcher used secondary data such as published report, books, previous studies, journal articles and other readily available materials to gain broad understanding of accountability dynamics. The study takes cognisance of the stewardship approach to broaden an understanding of accountability and political leadership. As remedy, the study calls for enforcement of harsh accountability mechanisms to avoid another pandemic post COVID-19.

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Social Integration through the Prism of Social Inclusion

Author(s): Mariana Pavlencu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: individual; inclusion; social inclusion; equal treatment; interdependence; exclusion; integration;

Social inclusion refers to respecting the status and rights of all people in a society, who must have the opportunity to participate in its life in a relevant way and enjoy equal treatment with others. Social inclusion is a process that provides people at risk of poverty and social exclusion with the necessary opportunities and resources to fully participate in the economic, social and cultural life of society, ensuring them a standard of living considered decent in the society in which they live. The social inclusion research process must take into account that forms of exclusion are interdependent and therefore the exclusion of a person or group in one area could lead to exclusion in other areas. The ultimate goal of social inclusion is to guarantee the integration of each individual into society, regardless of the presence of limiting elements.

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WAR AND SANCTIONS. SOME ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM MATERIALIST ANTHROPOLOGY

Author(s): Lucian T. Butaru / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2022

Keywords: materialist analysis; clean and dirty energy; sanctions; Russia; EU;

The political field seems to prefer the intellectual resources offered by Political Sciences and Economic Sciences because they fit well into the habits created by the daily practice of power. Assuming that it is not just about self-censorship, the current perspective offered by these scientific fields has some blind spots, and risks legitimizing an unfounded optimism regarding the effectiveness of the means used in the crisis generated by the Russian-Ukrainian war. That is why I consider the perspective offered by materialist anthropology to be very useful for describing the complexity of the power relations, and for a fine-tuning of what-is-at-stake. This perspective, which looks at long-term trends, can highlight the differences between imagined power (given by habits, abstractions and the assumption of continuities) and real power (given by the technologies and resources that matter, real scarcity and international competition). I concluded that the imagined power relations of today are a survival of the real power relations from the near past (when the GDP in the Western world was correlated with powerful local manufacturing and a complete dominance in high-tech research). Our mindset, habits and biases created a blind-spot that made difficult to grasp the complexity of the situation and to react accordingly.

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Constitutional Requirements regarding the Restriction of the Exercise of Fundamental Rights during the Pandemic

Author(s): Anca-Jeanina Niță / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: World Health Organization; Pandemic; Council of Europe; Romania;

Following the official recognition, by the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) of the COVID-19 pandemic, nation states have adopted specific measures to prevent infections and combat the pandemic The governments of a large number of states have reacted to the pandemic as a matter of national security; some member countries of the Council of Europe - including Romania have resorted to the right of derogation stipulated by the art. 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

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Ethics and Accountability in Governance: Panacea for Effective and Efficient Public Service Delivery in Nigeria

Author(s): Chuks Cletus Egugbo / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: public service; elections; government; poverty and insecurity;

Government all over the world exists to provide essential services to the citizens because that is the only way the citizens can feel the positive impact of governance. This paper examined the effects of ethics and accountability in governance on effective and efficient public service delivery. There cannot be effective and efficient public service delivery if there is the absence of ethics and accountability in governance in the public sector. Those who carry out the task of governance are given the power by the citizens and as such expected to ensure that the power given is used to deliver efficient and effective public services. This paper is qualitative in nature because data for the paper were gathered through secondary means and analyzed through the historical and descriptive methods. The paper adopted the social contract theory as theoretical framework. The paper found out that the low level of public service delivery in Nigeria which has manifested in high level of unemployment, poverty and insecurity is as a result of lack of strict adherence to ethics and accountability by those saddled with the responsibility of delivering public services in Nigeria. The paper recommended amongst other things that the citizens must be alive to their responsibility of ensuring they hold government and its officials to account for their actions and inactions and be ready to throw away inefficient government through elections and other legitimate means.

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BOOK REVIEWS

Author(s): Sorin Gog / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2022

Keywords: review; low-cost Housing; social housing project; ‘Vatra Luminoasă’; Andrei Răzvan Voinea; Irina Calota;

Review of: Locuințe pentru muncitori și funcționari. Casa Construcțiilor și parcelarea Vatra Luminoasă (1930-1949). Andrei Răzvan Voinea, Irina Calota, Editura Asociația Zona, București 2021 Idealul locuirii bucureștene: familia cu casă și grădină. Parcelările Societății Comunale pentru Locuințe ieftine - București (1908-1948), Andrei Răzvan Voinea, Editura Asociația Zona, București 2018

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A new bronze phalera from Dragu (Sălaj County, Romania)

O nouă phalera romană din bronz de la Dragu (jud. Sălaj, România)

Author(s): Horaţiu Cociș / Language(s): English / Issue: 36/2022

Keywords: Roman phalera; rural settlement; cavalry; Dragu

The present study aims to present a new bronze phalera, discovered on the surface of the Roman settlement at Dragu (Sălaj county). The phalera is part of a cavalry outfit, its dating being early, at the beginning of the 2nd century AD, probably immediately after the Roman conquest. The piece is an exception, very early for this environment, having a direct analogy with the phalera of the same type from Sarmizegetusa Regia.

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Moratory Damages and Compensatory Damages in the Context of the Return of Foreclosure

Author(s): Liviu Alexandru Narla / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2023

Keywords: moratory damages; compensatory damages; restitutio in integrum; the principle of full reparation of the damage;

The disposition of the return of the forced execution by the court, following the abolition of the enforcement title or the forced execution itself, leads to the creation of a new paradigm, in which the creditor of the forced execution, whose patrimony has increased, becomes the debtor of the obligation of restitution, to the debtor of the forced execution, and which in turn becomes the creditor of the restitution obligation. The natural consequence of the solution of admitting the return of enforced execution requires the restoration of the previous situation, which will be done in the register of the general provisions provided for in art. 1635-1649 of the Civil Code. The effective method of restoring the previous situation converges on the analysis of different civil law principles, with similar valences but different effects, especially the principle of restitutio in integrum and the principle of full repair of the damage, in the perimeter of good faith and bad faith of the debtor of the restitution obligation. In the context of the civil circuit, situations may arise, in which the main method of restitution of benefits, in kind, is no longer possible, so new practical difficulties arise in restoring the previous situation, in this framework, the incidence will be analyzed for interest - moratory damages and compensatory damages.

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Protection of Persons with Intellectual and Psychosocial Disabilities through Legal Counseling and Special Guardianship. The Conditions for Establishing These Measures

Author(s): Ramona Duminică / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2023

Keywords: Law no. 140/2022; protection of adults with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities; legal advice; special guardianship;

By Law no 140/2022 regarding some protection measures for persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities and the modification and completion of some normative acts, the Romanian legislator responded to the need for regulation in the field of protection of persons, bringing the provisions of civil legislation into agreement with the Decision no 601/2020 of the Constitutional Court of Romania. Through this Decision, the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional art 164 of the Civil Code which stated the institution of placing under prohibition the mentally retarded or mentally alienated natural person. The Court showed in its reasoning that this institution was not accompanied by sufficient guarantees to ensure respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms, as they are enshrined in the Romanian Constitution and interpreted by reference to international treaties, in this case the Convention on the Rights of people with disabilities. Starting from the actuality and particular practical relevance of the newly created mechanism for the protection of individuals with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, this article proposes an overview of the new measures, emphasizing in particular the distinction between the types of measures that make up the new protection system and analysis of the conditions under which they can be disposed. The study is not intended to be an exhaustive one but aims to identify the general lines in the matter, at the same time raising the question of whether the new provisions really constitute real legislative progress in the matter of civil legislation applicable to individuals.

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Extra-Marital Children (Walad Al Zina) and Their Inheritance Rights under Islamic Law: A Comparison of Islamic Law and South African Common Law

Author(s): Nqobizwe Mvelo Ngema,Desan Iyer / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2023

Keywords: extra-marital children under Islamic law; disqualification from inheritance; violation of equality rights;

Islamic law apportions different responsibilities to males and females because Allah created men with greater physical strength if compared to female counterparts. As a result of this men are mandated to be the protectors and financial providers to women and are given more inheritance if compared to women because of such responsibility. This justification of discrimination is likely to be challenged very soon. Any child born from unmarried parents and adultery (zina) is stigmatised as walad al zina (extra-marital child) for his entire life and is forbidden from inheriting an estate of his biological father. This exclusion constitutes an unfair discrimination against extra-marital children and is an affront to their human dignity. A comparison conducted shows that the South African common law does not discriminate between males and females and extra-marital child is not forbidden from inheriting the estate of his deceased biological father.

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The Kantian, Neo-Kantian, Hegelian and Historical School Regarding the Rule of Law

Author(s): Paul-Iulian Nedelcu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2023

Keywords: freedom; morality; rule of law; protection of law; doctrine;

Immanuel Kant, after formulating the inaugural dissertation - "De mundi sensibilis atque intelligibilis forma et principiis" - of the philosophy course from 1770, is no longer tributary to others, he is no longer either a rationalist or an empiricist, but surpasses both, reaching the pinnacle of a synthetic concepts that are only his. He promotes a dualistic conception and believes that there is a phenomenal world and a purely intelligible (noumenal) world. The latter is unknowable to the human intellect, which can only know the phenomenon. In this world, man can rise through morality, whose key concept is the concept of freedom. To define the concept of law, Kant first makes the distinction between what belongs to morality and what belongs to law; the distinction between what relates to exteriority and what is an internal principle that can also extend to exteriority, but never the other way around. In these conditions, law only acts on the external acts of people, those of human interiority are carried by moral acts, which are superior to the previous ones. Freedom, as seen by Kant, is based on moral acts, even if law is based on reason, it cannot extend its scope to purely internal acts, as they remain outside legal regulations. For an action to be what is called legal, it is enough that it conforms to the law, whatever its motive; but in order for it to be moral, it must, apart from this, have as its motive the idea of duty that the law prescribes.

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Incursion in the Study of New Protection Measures of People with Intellectual or Psychosocial Disabilities

Author(s): Valeria Gheorghiu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2023

Keywords: protection; minor; major; tutelage; counselling; special court; mandate;

In Romania, people with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities did not have the right to marry, divorce, be parents, adopt children and could not access a bank loan. According to the law, many of these people have been banned by the courts. The current legislative reform in the field emphasizes the degree of autonomy of the protected person, respect for specific needs, will and wishes. Currently, we are witnessing a new, modern legislative approach, in accordance with the needs felt at the social level, as well as in the practice of the courts, in harmony with the international and constitutional requirements in the matter.

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Request for Revision Declared Inadmissible in Principle, after the Constitutional Court Admitted the Exception of Unconstitutionality Invoked in That Case. Consequences in Terms of the Right of Access to the Court

Author(s): Angelica Roşu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2023

Keywords: exception of unconstitutionality; criminal sentence; request for revision; the Constitutional Court;

This article aims to analyze the limits of the judgment of the admissibility in principle of the extraordinary appeal of the revision of a criminal sentence and the delimitation of the judgment of the merits of such an appeal; we will emphasize, despite some jurisprudential interpretations, that between these two stages there is a link of interdependence, in the sense that the court cannot re-judge the merits of the case in the absence of a solution to admit in principle the review request, but it cannot also reject as inadmissible basically an application for review, with arguments that prejudge the merits of this application, much less the merits of the case. Another interpretation inevitably leads to the violation of a fundamental right, that of the right of access to the court.

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“Black Magic” Practices in African Academies: A 21st Century Socio-Legal Perspective

Author(s): Tapiwa Victor Warikandwa,Howard Chitimira / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2023

Keywords: African academies; black magic; academic narcists; corridor merchants; legal anthropology;

Chronic levels of narcissism, animosity, envy, and a fixation with toppling individuals who are thought to be making solid academic progress have grown common in African academies. Anti-progress proponents, whose egocentric behaviour and/or tendencies are linked to “black magic” tactics, no longer regard academic competence/excellence. These African academic “black magicians” place a greater emphasis on individuals than on academic matters, spend more time hopping from one office to the next for no apparent reason, and thrive on institutional politicking. They regard hardworking colleagues as threats or “academic fetishes” who must be “exorcised” from African academies to keep incompetent/sloppy individuals who represent no threat to their positions or minor interests and whom they can manipulate. Based on an examination of legislation limiting black magic in South Africa and Zimbabwe, the article contends that intellectual jealousy, narcissistic behaviour, and other associated evil conduct emanating out of envy in African academies should be categorised as black magic or witchcraft.

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The Public Administration and the Current Social and Political Environment in Romania

Author(s): Florin Cazacu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2023

Keywords: public administration; administrative law; political environment; decentralization;

Before talking about the structure of the public administration in Romania, we must consider the social and political environment of our country. Romania is a country with a democratic regime and it has been so for the last 30 years, but which has been under the umbrella of communism for several decades. Communism meant a centralized, closed administrative and economic system.

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Considerations Regarding the Crime of Determining or Facilitating the Suicide

Author(s): Andrada Nour / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2023

Keywords: determining or facilitating of the suicide; incrimination; Criminal Code; right to life;

Opposable erga omnes, the right to life is an absolute and intangible right of the human being and is protected by criminal law in the interest of the whole society, including for the purpose of ensuring human coexistence. In other words, the interest of the criminal law is to impose on all citizens the obligation to respect the life of each individual, to respect the human desire to live. Seen as an attempt on the person’s life, the act of determining or facilitating suicide could not remain outside the incrimination in the Criminal Code as a crime. The present paper is a study of this incrimination from the perspective of the defense of the right to life.

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Legal Issues Regarding the Compensations Granted by the Romanian State for the Children of Former Political Prisoners

Author(s): Adriana Moțatu,Ileana Constantinescu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2023

Keywords: decree-law; rights; special allowance; former political prisoners;

The article refers to certain changes that need to be made to the paragraphs (5) - (9) regarding article 5 of the Decree - Law no. 118/1990 on granting rights to persons persecuted for political reasons by the dictatorship established starting with 6 March 1945, as well as to those deported abroad or constituted as prisoners, as republished in the Official Gazette, Part I no. 1208 of December 10, 2020, with subsequent amendments.

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