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All attempts to uncover the true wealth of the Orbán family and the origin of this wealth have so far ended with an embarrassing lack of success—whether it be the activity of a parliamentary inquiry commission in 2005 or an audit by the national tax authority two years later.
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The conceptual apparatus of the mafia state desires to attain a circumstance when not only “ordinary” corruption dominates the government, and not“simply” the occurrence of state capture has to be taken into account. The essence of the “octopus” is political and economic power that builds onto and within itself. It is not an external interest group that puts the management of the state under its control, but a coterie that acquires it “directly,”with the goal of mobilizing the complete array of assets of the state, from financial resources to legislation, for its private benefit. In this world of legalized corruption, the far-reaching and unquestionable supremacy of the central government takes precedence over the rule of law.
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The author is trying to prove that although the economic crisis resulted in the polarization of inequality almost everywhere, the dramatic growth of the income gap in Hungary happened differently there than in other countries.
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The four-year term of the second Orbán government has ended (Viktor Orbán was prime minister between 1998 and 2002 for the first time, then between 2010 and 2014 for the second time), and following a dominating win in the elections, Orbán’s government can again start the command of a new four-year term with a two-thirds majority in parliament. It is about time for a multifaceted analysis and evaluation of how the Orbán regime operated, what it did, and what it achieved over the last four years.
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In December 2005, Viktor Orbán participated in an Advent conversation with Béla Balás, bishop of Kaposvár and Zoltán Balog, a Calvinist pastor (today Minister of Human Resources), where he talked about his own faith, his commitment to Christianity, his political mission, and also touched on topics like the fear of God, religious life, the relationship between government and Church, and the Church as an absolute standard of values, revealing to the audience his ars poetica as a politician and a leader.
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History has witnessed many revolts of serfs but never a revolt of the farm servants of large agricultural estates. Serfs, whether faring better or worse, were in charge, within certain limits, of their lives on their own lot. Farm servants, on the other hand, owned nothing at all. Even though provided with accommodation and shelter, they had no control over their lives since they were dependent on their landlords’ humanity for their well being.Serfs had the incentive to produce more so as to keep more. If their landlords tightened the rope around their necks, they had the consciousness to rebel. Servants, in contrast, received no more than their food and lodging, however hard they worked. Their resistance did not manifest itself in revolts but in sly individual acts such as punching the ox in the nose to slow it down in the furrows in order to make the work less exerting. At other times, they underhandedly spat or urinated into the landlord’s dish as a way of releasing their frustration. They cheated and thieved whenever they could to squeeze out just a bit more for themselves.
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The mafia state employs a multistep domestication methodology. Its first step is the centralization of funding and its control by a procurator. This move is “successful” with the majority of civil groups since they are primarily invested in realizing a given organizational goal rather taking a political stand. Therefore, in accepting the procurator’s response—funding or the promise of it in case of wait lists—they would not voice their discontent with this operational system. If the constrained funding does not suffice to reach its goal, the state deploys the media by, for instance, subjecting the oppositionally oriented civil society actors to communicational pressure. On this level all but those organizations would persist which, of the threefold task of civil society (participation, service, and control) would advocate the ethos of curbing the state’s dominance. Should the communicational pressure prove ineffective, the state will employ coercive means in order to enforce the government’s will, as exemplified by the intervention of the government’s Control Office and the police in the conflict with the NCTA. While the first method has been used more than a few times in the context of the Hungary’s incompletely realized democratic model, the second method’s application has been almost unprecedented. Finally, the deployment of central authority reveals how the octopus, an unequivocally nondemocratic system, works.
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Referring to minority rights, we refer to an endeavor to establish equality. What minorities want is what all of us want. It is promotion and development of minority rights that indicate to aspirations to bring about social equality so that each individual has same rights as the other. Minority rights are not something one should be afraid of, they are no threat whatsoever to a society's indivisibility, its integrity. Minority rights are, as I've said, an endeavor to establish equality, for there is no indivisibility unless there is equality. We are anxious to safeguard our society, we care for law and order, and that what equality is about. Unfortunately, we have social inequality in terms of human rights. We have weak, divided societies that - politically unstable as they are - might threaten international piece and security. So, by encouraging minority rights we, in a way, encourage peace and security. It is the European Commission's generosity that made this conference possible. Therefore, let me remind you, that funds supporting activities such is this one are provided by citizens of the European Union. These public funds, therefore, reflect their aspirations and the wish to uphold minority rights in this region. This conference also reflects cooperation between the Helsinki Federation and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia. I take pride in working together with the Helsinki Committee in Serbia. I see it as a most reliable organization that overdid itself at extremely hard times of this country's history. I think the Committee in Serbia has always had the right stuff and deserves to be both commended on and recognized for its courage, integrity and dedication to key principles. This prompts me to tackle the issue of civil society. Usually, whenever there is a political overturn civil societies have to cope with a special tension. Such was the tension ensuing Czechoslovakian velvet revolution. As you know, new people came to power, the people that used to advocate human rights. So, once elected, they thought there was no longer need for the Chapter 77 or the Helsinki Charter. However, people from the Helsinki Committee said, "Stop for a moment, there is such need and very much so”. For, who should protect rights of those that were hurt? Who should watch out for the way the government and people in power behave? Who should keep an eye on the respect of human rights and the government's attitude towards international standards? There certainly are problems in Yugoslavia and Serbia. They are many, and can only be settled if there are intellectual and moral resources, through support and assistance of various non-governmental organizations that keep a sharp lookout at steps taken by the state and attitudes of people in power, and watch out for respect of commitments the state took upon itself by signing international documents. No state that lacks a strong civil society can plume itself when it comes to the situation in the domain of human and minority rights.
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Referring to minority rights, we refer to an endeavor to establish equality. What minorities want is what all of us want. It is promotion and development of minority rights that indicate to aspirations to bring about social equality so that each individual has same rights as the other. Minority rights are not something one should be afraid of, they are no threat whatsoever to a society's indivisibility, its integrity. Minority rights are, as I've said, an endeavor to establish equality, for there is no indivisibility unless there is equality. We are anxious to safeguard our society, we care for law and order, and that what equality is about. Unfortunately, we have social inequality in terms of human rights. We have weak, divided societies that - politically unstable as they are - might threaten international piece and security. So, by encouraging minority rights we, in a way, encourage peace and security. It is the European Commission's generosity that made this conference possible. Therefore, let me remind you, that funds supporting activities such is this one are provided by citizens of the European Union. These public funds, therefore, reflect their aspirations and the wish to uphold minority rights in this region. This conference also reflects cooperation between the Helsinki Federation and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia. I take pride in working together with the Helsinki Committee in Serbia. I see it as a most reliable organization that overdid itself at extremely hard times of this country's history. I think the Committee in Serbia has always had the right stuff and deserves to be both commended on and recognized for its courage, integrity and dedication to key principles. This prompts me to tackle the issue of civil society. Usually, whenever there is a political overturn civil societies have to cope with a special tension. Such was the tension ensuing Czechoslovakian velvet revolution. As you know, new people came to power, the people that used to advocate human rights. So, once elected, they thought there was no longer need for the Chapter 77 or the Helsinki Charter. However, people from the Helsinki Committee said, "Stop for a moment, there is such need and very much so”. For, who should protect rights of those that were hurt? Who should watch out for the way the government and people in power behave? Who should keep an eye on the respect of human rights and the government's attitude towards international standards? There certainly are problems in Yugoslavia and Serbia. They are many, and can only be settled if there are intellectual and moral resources, through support and assistance of various non-governmental organizations that keep a sharp lookout at steps taken by the state and attitudes of people in power, and watch out for respect of commitments the state took upon itself by signing international documents. No state that lacks a strong civil society can plume itself when it comes to the situation in the domain of human and minority rights.
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Since its inception in 1948, with the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international human rights regime was based on traditional mechanisms of protection of rights developed by the United Nations (UN), which gave a significant role to the states. Namely, the states are primary actors not only in the international processes of implementation and monitoring of human rights but also in guaranteeing the rights and running the process of self-monitoring and reporting. In the absence of capacities of the UN bodies to directly monitor the human rights situation in all Member States, when member states fail to be sufficiently self-critical NGOs, whose fundamental role is to monitor and report on human rights protection and advocate for better protection thereof by local government institutions and international organizations, play an important role. Efficient protection of human rights requires a strong engagement of civil society at both, national and international levels, as civil society organizations are the only entities that continuously monitor the situation on the ground and work on raising awareness about existing rights and call the decision makers for accountability in case of their violation. Justice Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina defined the role of monitoring and reporting on human rights in domestic and international institutions as their primary form of action. Justice Network, which brings together 52 non-governmental organizations whose primary objective is to support government institutions in strengthening the efficiency, independence and accountability of the judicial system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as quality information, education and advocating for the interests of citizens in the justice sector, has identified monitoring and reporting on human rights as an essential mechanism by which it seeks to realize its goals. Development of judicial system in BiH, which effectively protects human rights and promotes the rule of law is not possible without a detailed and continuous evaluation of the system for monitoring of compliance of national legislation with international standards. Taking as a basis the results of monitoring of the human rights situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Justice Network will encourage the activities that allow a stronger influence of citizens through civil society organizations in the process of making of new decisions and implementation of existing regulations in the field of justice. In this way, the Justice Network will give its contribution in encouraging an active participation of its members and civil society in the development of an independent, efficient, accountable and lawful actions of the judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina. To this end, the Justice Network has created working groups tasked to analyze and monitor the work of justice sector institutions. The Working Group responsible for analyzing the public policies in the area of justice sector produced several research papers, which were published within a publication called Access to Justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These studies were intended to inform both professional and general public about the problem of access to justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina observed from different angles. They particularly deal with the evaluation of effectiveness of judicial system in BiH, when it comes to exercise of certain rights such as: right to free legal assistance, free access to information in the justice sector, protection of the rights deriving from labor relations; protection of the political rights of national minorities in BiH through the judiciary, protection of witnesses / victims of war crimes; re-socialization of juvenile offenders, and the necessity of harmonization of court practice in order to ensure an equal access to justice for all citizens. To complement this analytical work, a Working Group responsible for development of a “Universal Periodic Review” (UPR) on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina was established, as well as A Justice Network, which conducted a monitoring of justice sector institutions responsible for implementation of the recommendations from UPR, which Bosnia and Herzegovina assumed in the field of justice. Representatives of the Association for Democratic Initiatives, the Center for Information and Legal Aid of Zvornik, the Human Rights Centre of the University of Sarajevo, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in BiH, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Republika Srpska, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, the Association of associates and advisers in the courts and prosecutor offices in BiH, the BiH Association of Judges, the Association of Women Judges of BiH, and the Association “Women to Women” have worked jointly on monitoring the implementation of recommendations of the UN Council for Human Rights in judicial sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a result of this work a publication titled Human Rights and Judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina: A report on implementation of the recommendations for justice sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council (2010 - 2011) was developed. Recognizing the importance of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) as a new international instrument for fight for human rights, which the UN Council for Human Rights applies in the process of monitoring human rights in the UN member states, the Justice Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the UPR as a tool in their work already in April 2010. After consultations between the members, the Justice Network joined the UPR process through the development of UPR recommendations for BiH, which were presented by a three-member Delegation of the Justice Network on the 14th session of the UN Council for Human Rights held on 11 June 2010 in Geneva. In addition to the preparation of recommendations and presentation thereof in Geneva, the Justice Network organized and delivered training on this mechanism for representatives of civil society and the justice sector. Also, two roundtables were organized for the same target group, one in Sarajevo and one in Banja Luka, in which conclusions have been defined for effective implementation of UPR recommendations in the BiH judiciary. The Report on Human Rights and Judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a continuation of work on the application UPR mechanism, but at the same time, it is also a unique publication of this kind. The aim of publishing of this report is to give an insight into the process of implementation of recommendations issued by the UN Council for Human Rights, or by its member states, which were created in a process of Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Monitoring of implementation of the UPR recommendations by the members of the Justice Network focuses on the judicial system, and includes only those recommendations that have been identified as crucial for improving the justice sector in BiH. In addition to making a general review of protection of human rights through the judiciary, the authors also identified recommendations for decision makers aimed at encouraging the authorities to apply UPR recommendations in justice sector more efficiently and promptly in order to fulfill the assumed commitments of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards the international community and its citizens. We hope that this report will be a useful source of information not only to judiciary but also to NGO sector, and we hope it will initiate and develop the interest of civil society organizations in taking concrete actions in the field of justice. Justice Network will certainly continue its activities aimed at monitoring of human rights protection in the justice sector, and will seek to develop further activities related to reporting to local government institutions and international organizations within the Universal Periodical Review (UPR). We use this opportunity to thank all those who were involved in the preparation of analyses and development of this publication. Special thanks goes to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which provides technical support to the BiH Justice Network and its members through the Justice Sector Development Project II (JSDP II).
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Since its inception in 1948, with the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international human rights regime was based on traditional mechanisms of protection of rights developed by the United Nations (UN), which gave a significant role to the states. Namely, the states are primary actors not only in the international processes of implementation and monitoring of human rights but also in guaranteeing the rights and running the process of self-monitoring and reporting. In the absence of capacities of the UN bodies to directly monitor the human rights situation in all Member States, when member states fail to be sufficiently self-critical, NGOs, whose fundamental role is to monitor and report on human rights protection and advocate for better protection thereof by local government institutions and international organizations, play an important role. Efficient protection of human rights requires a strong engagement of civil society at both, national and international levels, as civil society organizations are the only entities that continuously monitor the situation on the ground and work on raising awareness about existing rights and call the decision makers for accountability in case of their violation. In this way, the United Nations (UN) revised the process of monitoring and reporting on human rights in 2008 by creating the Universal Periodical Review (UPR) as the new international instrument in fight for human rights, which the UN Human Rights Council applies in order to monitor condition of human rights in member states. Recognizing the importance of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) as a new international instrument for fight for human rights, as well as the new role non-governmental organizations got, the Justice Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the UPR as a tool in their work already in April 2010. After consultations between the members, the Justice Network joined the UPR process through the development of UPR recommendations for BiH, which were presented by a three-member Delegation of the Justice Network on the 14th session of the UN Council for Human Rights held on 11 June 2010 in Geneva. In addition to the preparation of recommendations and presentation thereof in Geneva, the Justice Network organized and delivered training on this mechanism for representatives of civil society and the justice sector. Also, two roundtables were organized for the same target group, one in Sarajevo and one in Banja Luka, in which conclusions have been defined for more effective implementation of UPR recommendations in the BiH judiciary. Starting from these conclusions, during strategic planinng activities of the Network in 2010 it was agreed that monitoring and reporting on human rights condition in domestic and international institutions as their primary form of action. In this way, Justice Network - which brings together 57 non-governmental organizations whose primary objective is to support government institutions in strengthening the efficiency, independence and accountability of the judicial system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as quality information, education and advocating for the interests of citizens in the justice sector - has identified monitoring and reporting on human rights as an essential mechanism by which it seeks to realize its goals. Development of judicial system in BiH, which effectively protects human rights and promotes the rule of law is not possible without a detailed and continuous evaluation of the system for monitoring of compliance of national legislation with international standards. To this end, a Working Group responsible for development of a “Universal Periodic Review” (UPR) on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina was established, which conducts monitoring of justice sector institutions responsible for implementation of the recommendations from UPR since 2010, which Bosnia and Herzegovina assumed in the field of justice. Representatives of the Association for Democratic Initiatives, the Center for Information and Legal Aid of Zvornik, the Human Rights Centre of the University of Sarajevo, the Association of Prosecutors of FB&H, the Association of associates and advisers in the courts and prosecutor offices in BiH, the BiH Association of Judges, and the Association “Women to Women” have worked jointly on monitoring the implementation of recommendations of the UN Council for Human Rights in judicial sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a result of this work a publication titled Human Rights and Judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina: A report on implementation of the recommendations for justice sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council (2011 - 2012) was developed for second time. The Report on Human Rights and Judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a continuation of work on the application UPR mechanism, but at the same time, it is also a unique publication of this kind. The aim of publishing of this report is to give an insight into the process of implementation of recommendations issued by the UN Council for Human Rights, or by its member states, which were created in a process of Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Monitoring of implementation of the UPR recommendations by the members of the Justice Network focuses on the judicial system, and includes only those recommendations that have been identified as crucial for improving the justice sector in BiH. In addition to making a general review of protection of human rights through the judiciary, the authors also identified recommendations for decision makers aimed at encouraging the authorities to apply UPR recommendations in justice sector more efficiently and promptly in order to fulfill the assumed commitments of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards the international community and its citizens. We hope that this report will be a useful source of information not only to judiciary but also to NGO sector, and we hope it will initiate and develop the interest of civil society organizations in taking concrete actions in the field of justice. Justice Network will certainly continue its activities aimed at monitoring of human rights protection in the justice sector, and will seek to develop further activities related to reporting to local government institutions and international organizations within the Universal Periodical Review (UPR). Taking as a basis the results of monitoring of the human rights situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina as evidenced in the Report, the Justice Network will implement advocacy activities, and also encourage activities that allow a stronger influence of citizens through civil society organizations in the process of making of new decisions and implementation of existing regulations in the field of justice. In this way, the Justice Network will give its contribution in encouraging an active participation of its members and civil society in the development of an independent, efficient, accountable and lawful actions of the judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We use this opportunity to thank all those who were involved in the preparation of analyses and development of this publication. Special thanks goes to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which provides technical support to the BiH Justice Network and its members through the Justice Sector Development Project II (JSDP II).
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Od svog nastanka, 1948. godine, sa nastankom Univerzalne deklaracije o ljudskim pravima, međunarodni režim za ljudska prava zasnivao se na tradicionalnim mehanizmima zaštite prava razvijenih od strane Ujedinjenih nacija (UN), koje su dale značajnu ulogu državama. Naime, države su primarni akteri u međunarodnim procesima provedbe, ali i monitoringa ljudskih prava, odnosno države i istovremeno garantuju prava, ali i vode proces samo-monitoringa i izvještavanja. U nedostatku kapaciteta UN tijela da direktno prate stanje ljudskih prava u svim zemljama članicama, onda kada zemlje članice propuste biti dovoljno samokritične, pokazalo se da važnu ulogu igraju nevladine organizacije, čija je jedna od osnovnih uloga monitoring i izvještavanje o zaštiti ljudskih prava i zagovaranje njihove bolje zaštite kod domaćih institucija vlasti i međunarodnih organizacija. Efikasna zaštita ljudskih prava zahtijeva snažan angažman civilnog sektora i na državnom, ali i na međunarodnom nivou, jer su organizacije civilnog društva jedini subjekti koji kontinuirano prate stanje na terenu, te rade na podizanju svijesti o postojećim pravima i pozivaju donosioce odluka na odgovornost u slučaju njihovog kršenja. U tom pogledu revidiran je i proces praćenja i izvještavanja o stanju ljudskih prava od strane Ujedinjenih nacija (UN) i od 2008. godine uspostavljen je novi instrument: Univerzalni periodični pregled (UPP) od strane Generalne skupštine UN-a rezolucijom 60/251 2006. godine, koja UPP definiše kao novi međunarodni instrument u borbi za ljudska prava kojeg UN Vijeće za ljudska prava primjenjuje u procesu praćenja stanja ljudskih prava u državama članicama UN-a. Svake četiri godine, svih 192 države članice UN-a, predstavljaju predmet UPP pregleda kroz koji se na univerzalan i jednoobrazan način vrši procjena ispunjavanja međunarodnih obaveza i opredjeljenja u pogledu ljudskih prava u cilju stvaranja demokratskog pritiska na vlade država da unaprijede situaciju u svojoj državi u pogledu ljudskih prava, te da se bore protiv neravnopravnosti i svih oblika diskriminacije. UPP se provodi kroz proces interaktivnog dijaloga kroz koji zemlja, čije se stanje ljudskih prava prati, prezentira svoj izvještaj, odgovara na pitanja i dobiva preporuke od drugih zemalja. Potom se neformalno usvaja izvještaj koji uključuje sve preporuke date zemlji u pregledu, a koji se ponovo zvanično usvaja na sljedećoj redovnoj sjednici Vijeća za ljudska prava. Oko 16 zemalja UN-a jesu predmet pregleda u okviru svake sjednice Vijeća, a 48 ih je predmet pregleda svake godine. Pored država, UPP pruža i mogućnost uključivanja nevladinih organizacija u ovaj proces. Naime, aktivnosti prije i nakon pregleda izvještaja ključne su za implementaciju konkretnih preporuka iz ishodnog dokumenta i tokom ovog perioda nevladine organizacije mogu ostvariti značajan uticaj kroz aktivnosti monitoringa, analize i zagovaranja. Neki od instrumenata učešća nevladinih organizacija u UPP procesu su: angažman u konsultacijama s vladom svoje države; podnošenje izvještaja interesnih grupa prema Vijeću za ljudska prava; lobiranje drugih država za davanje određenih preporuka; prisustvovanje sjednicama UPP radne grupe, kao i prisustvovanje i učestvovanje u sjednicama Vijeća za ljudska prava; te popratne aktivnosti vezane za zagovaranje za implementaciju preporuka. Prepoznavajući važnost novo-uspostavljenog mehanizma za praćenje ljudskih prava, ali i ulogu, koju su u istom dobile nevladine organizacije, Mreža pravde u BiH prihvatila je UPP kao instrument u svom radu, već u aprilu 2010. godine. Nakon konsultacija između članica, Mreža pravde se uključila u UPP proces kroz izradu UPP preporuka za BiH, koje su predstavljene od strane tročlane delegacije Mreže pravde na 14. sjednici UN Vijeća za ljudska prava, 11. juna 2010. godine u Ženevi. Pored pripreme preporuka i njihovog predstavljanja u Ženevi, u organizaciji Mreže pravde, održana je i obuka o ovom mehanizmu za predstavnike civilnog društva i sektora pravde. Također, za istu ciljanu grupu održana su dva okrugla stola u Sarajevu i Banja Luci na kojima su definisani zaključci koji naglašavaju potrebu za efikasniju primjenu UPP preporuka u pravosuđu BiH. Polazeći od ovih zaključaka, tokom strateškog planiranja Mreže pravde u 2010. godini, dogovoreno je da monitoring i izvještavanje o stanju ljudskih prava kod domaćih i međunarodnih institucija predstavlja primarni oblik djelovanja Mreže. Time je Mreža pravde - koja okuplja 64 nevladine organizacije, a čiji je osnovni cilj da pruža podršku institucijama vlasti u jačanju efikasnosti, neovisnosti i odgovornosti pravosudnog sistema Bosne i Hercegovine, kao i kvalitetnog informisanja, obrazovanja i zastupanja interesa građanki i građana u sektoru pravde - identificirala monitoring i izvještavanje o ljudskim pravima kao osnovni mehanizam pomoću kojeg nastoji realizirati svoje ciljeve. Razvoj pravosudnog sistema u BiH koji efikasno štiti ljudska prava i promiče vladavinu prava, nije moguć bez detaljne i stalne procjene rada sistema koja prati usklađenost domaćeg zakonodavstva i međunarodnih standarda. Sa ovim ciljem osnovana je i Radna grupa za izradu izvještaja „Univerzalni periodični pregled (UPP) o stanju ljudskih prava u Bosni i Hercegovini“ Mreže pravde, koja već od 2010. godine provodi proces monitoringa institucija sektora pravde na osnovu procjene provedbe UPP preporuka na koje se obavezala Bosna i Hercegovina u oblasti pravosuđa. Po treći put predstavnici nekoliko nevladinih organizacija – i to Asocijacije za demokratske inicijative, Centra za ljudska prava Univerziteta u Sarajevu, Inicijative mladih za ljudska prava BiH, organizacije TRIAL, Udruženja tužilaca FBiH, Udruženja stručnih saradnika i savjetnika u sudovima i tužilaštvima u BiH, i Udruženje sudija BiH - zajednički su radili na monitoringu provedbe preporuka UN Vijeća za ljudska prava u pravosuđu BiH u sektoru pravosuđa u periodu od 2012. do 2013. godine. Kao rezultat ovog monitoring rada objavljuje se već po treći put publikacija Ljudska prava i pravosuđe u Bosni i Hercegovini: Izvještaj o provedbi preporuka u sektoru pravosuđa u BiH iz Univerzalnog periodičnog pregleda Vijeća za ljudska prava Ujedinjenih nacija (2011. – 2012.). Izvještaj Ljudska prava i pravosuđe u Bosni i Hercegovini predstavlja nastavak već započetnog rada na primjeni UPP mehanizma i istovremeno predstavlja jedinstvenu publikaciju ove vrste. Cilj objavljivanja navedene publikacije jeste uvid u proces provedbe dobivenih preporuka UN Vijeća za ljudska prava, odnosno od strane njenih država članica, a nastalih kroz proces Univerzalnog periodičnog pregleda (UPP). Monitoring procesa provedbe UPP preporuka od strane članica Mreže pravde, fokusira se na pravosudni sistem, odnosno uključuje samo one preporuke koje su identifikovane kao krucijalne za unaprjeđenje sektora pravosuđa u BiH. Pored općeg pregleda zaštite ljudskih prava kroz pravosuđe, autori su identifikovali i preporuke za donosioce odluka s ciljem da podstaknu institucije vlasti na efikasniju i ažurniju primjenu UPP preporuka u sektoru pravde i kako bi ispoštovale obaveze koje je preuzela Bosna i Hercegovina prema međunarodnoj zajednici, ali i prema svojim građanima. Nadamo se da će Izvještaj biti koristan izvor informacija, ne samo predstavnicima pravosuđa, nego i nevladinom sektoru, te da će inicirati i razvoj interesovanja za konkretne akcije kod organizacija civilnog društva za djelovanje u oblasti pravosuđa. Mreža pravde će svakako nastaviti i u budućnosti sa aktivnostima monitoringa zaštite ljudskih prava u sektoru pravde, te će nastojati razviti i daljnje aktivnosti kada je u pitanju izvještavanje u okviru Univerzalnog periodičnog pregleda (UPP) prema domaćim institucijama vlasti ali, i međunarodnim organizacijama. Uzevši kao osnovu rezultate monitoringa o stanju ljudskih prava u Bosni i Hercegovini navedenih u Izvještaju, Mreža pravde će vršiti i zagovaračke aktivnosti, te će ohrabrivati aktivnosti koje omogućavaju jači uticaj građanki i građana kroz organizacije civilnog društva na proces donošenja novih odluka i implementaciju postojećih propisa u oblasti pravde. Na ovaj način, Mreža pravde će dati svoj doprinos u poticanju aktivnog odnosa svojih članica i civilnog društva u cjelini ka razvoju nezavisnog, efikasnog, odgovornog i zakonitog djelovanja pravosuđa u BiH. Koristimo ovu priliku da se zahvalimo svima koji su bili uključeni u realizaciju pripreme analiza i izradu publikacije. Posebno se zahvaljujemo Američkoj agenciji za međunarodni razvoj (USAID), koja kroz Projekat razvoja sektora pravosuđa II pruža tehničku podršku Mreži pravde u BiH i njenim članicama.
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The report was executed for the NATO StratCom COE by the Centre for Applied Research under the Estonian National Defence College. The objective of this research is to identify how the Russian media portrays the Ukrainian military and security structures, including the policies of the Kiev government and their ‘collaboration’ with the West. The research group looks at how messages disseminated in the media attempt to construct attitudes and advocate behaviours in parallel to political and military events on the ground in Ukraine. The research covers the period from 1 April until 31 December 2014 and analyses the following Russian media: Regnum, Komsomolskaya Pravda and TV Zvezda. These media are important because they target not only Russian internal audience but also the Russian-speaking communities in the former territory of the USSR. The researchers used standardised content analysis in accordance to a specially developed Coding Manual and enriched the findings with data from 25 structured interviews with Ukrainian representatives (media, political and military experts, as well as soldiers and officers involved in the military conflict). From December 2014 the Russian military has adopted a new doctrine that explicitly states that information superiority is essential to achieving victory on the physical battleground in the modern war. It is crucial for NATO to draw appropriate conclusions from the on-going conflict in Europe in order to further strengthen the unity of the alliance and avoid such conflict scenarios between Russia and NATO in the future. Russia’s information activities have played a significant role in the overall military operations carried out in the territory of East Ukraine since 2014. Information operations were used at all levels starting with the political level (against the state of Ukraine, state structures, politicians) up to the tactical level for justifying military actions initiated by pro-Russian forces. Information confrontation and a variety of psychological operations continue to play a substantial role in the current crisis in Ukraine. Russia uses various media channels to conduct its operations against Ukraine, including governmental and private TV channels (e.g. Pervyi Kanal, Rossija 1, NTV, Russia Today, LifeNews), radio (e.g. Radio Mayak), mobile phone operators (e.g. KyivStar), Internet sources (including online publications, e.g. Regnum, TV Zvezda, Кomsomolskaya Pravda, Itar Tass, RIA Novosti ) and social media networks (e.g. YouTube, Facebook, Vk.com, odnoklassniki.ru). Some Ukrainian sources hold pro-Russian attitudes and can also be used to spread disinformation (e.g. Vesti). The separatist People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk have their own channels producing anti-Ukrainian propaganda (e.g. dnrnews.com, novorus.info). The current study has focused on the media channels that represent the Russian mainstream—Komsomolskaya Pravda, TV Zvezda, Regnum. These mass media channels are generally critical against the Ukrainian government and armed forces, but do not offer a critical view of the Russian government; they justify Russian policy in Ukraine and see the Ukrainian crisis as a battlefield between Russia and West, referring to the clash of civilisations with the West (primarily the US and NATO, but also the European Union) allegedly intending to advance its sphere of influence towards Russian borders.
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The book concerns the fundamental questions set by the founder of Bulgarian sociology Ivan Hadjiiski: Where are we coming from? What have we gone through? How far have we reached? Where are we going? Sociology is a science in which the person puts his imagination and heuristic potential. Sociology is a craft, in the practice of which the outcome depends on the mastery of the techniques and methodologies, the correct observance of rules and procedures. Sociology is a business that requires certain resources and also can reproduce or increase them. Sociology, however, is something else; it is not only a knowledge of society, but it is a public activity. It loses its meaning beyond the public realization or changes it if this realization does not correspond to the scientific credibility.
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Over the past ten years, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (HCHRS) has conducted dozens of visits to prisons in Serbia, with the aim of making an assessment of the human rights conditions for imprisoned and detained citizens. Since 2001, the HCHRS has visited all 28 institutions for the execution of criminal sanctions, many of which several times. In a vast number of reports, the HCHRS has conducted analyses and noted non-compliance with solutions prescribed by national legislature and international law on the one hand, and with common practices in the system of execution of criminal sanctions on the other. During the first visits to prisons in 2001, it was determined that human rights conditions were extremely poor. At that time, there were around 6,500 convicted and imprisoned persons in Serbia. Ten years later, resulting from vast efforts by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations (OSCE, UN, CoE), but that of the state as well, the human rights conditions in prisons have been significantly improved, primarily when the decreasing practice of torture and introduction of new (contemporary) legal solutions in the field of criminal sanctions are concerned. The implementation of the institute of alternative execution of criminal sanctions has finally begun in 2011. It includes the possibility of serving a sentence in home confinement (with or without electronic monitoring) for persons serving prison sentences of up to one year, or the conversion of the prison sentence to community work. However, the number of sentenced and detained persons in prison has nearly doubled over the same period of time.
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CHAPTER 1 Historical, political and legal aspects of war crimes trials; CHAPTER 2 First 10 years of war crimes trials in the Republic of Croatia - from 1991 to 2000; CHAPTER 3 War crimes trials from 2000 to 2011/ Facing the mistakes from the 1990s; CHAPTER 4 Achievements and drawbacks of war crimes trials; sanctioning of hate speech until 2013; CHAPTER 5 The role and the influence of the ICTY on Croatian judiciary; The media and monitoring of the war crimes
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This paper aims to show the importance of one part of financial literacy that causes most problems in the Czech Republic. According to the latest data, there is quite a lot of Czech overindebted – they borrowed too much money, lost jobs, found a very inconvenient loan, etc. Those people were not able to analyze their financial situation in the broad context of having a loan. As we know from the start of last big financial crisis risky loans (e.g., Mortgages) can cause a worldwide problem. In general people with lower levels of debt, literacy tends to transact in high-cost manners, incurring higher fees and using high-cost borrowing. Due to the New Consumer Credit Act from 2016, there was expected a change in the loan amounts and risk. It is too early to judge the impact of that act, but we can see a basic tendency that shows us people are still willing to go in debts. This makes debt literacy still very important as there are many overindebted people in the Czech Republic.
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The aim of the article is to monitor and to analyze value and types of loans in the Czech Republic as a source of financing for business entities. The first section focused on statement of problem briefly describes the situation on the loan market. Main part is focused on results that analyzes the development of provided loans to entrepreneurial subjects in the Czech Republic. Interest is focused on the value of loans in the Czech currency and in foreign currency. Values and ratios of both sources of financing are compared in the article. Subsequently, the value of loans according to type of loan are analyzed. Data from the Czech National Bank were used to process the article. The results are clearly presented in processed graphs. Results show that entrepreneurs have used in the biggest value long-term loans instead short-term and medium-term loans to finance liabilities in recent years. Even in the context of increased foreign trade, the share of foreign currency financing is growing. Medium term loans have from 2010 the biggest ratio between Czech and medium currencies.
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This paper shall compare insurance portfolios in selected insurance companies operating in the Czech Republic based on the growth rate of premiums written and the expense ratio. It shall compare these insurance companies: ČSOB Pojišťovna, Komerční pojišťovna, Kooperativa pojišťovna, Pojišťovna České spořitelny and Česká podnikatelská pojišťovna. ČSOB Pojišťovna and Komerční pojišťovna were selected because they are subjects with a developed bancassurance model and because the previous research suggested that insurance companies applying this model achieve a lower expense ratio. Kooperativa pojišťovna, Česká podnikatelská pojišťovna and Pojišťovna České spořitelny were selected because they are members of the insurance group VIG in the Czech Republic and the group has cooperated with the Erste Group Bank since 2008 based on their Strategic Cooperation Agreement. The aim of this paper is to determine whether or not the selected insurance companies and the group VIG achieve lower expense ratio of the insurance portfolio than what is the average of the expense ratio of insurance portfolios on the Czech insurance market. The paper shall compare the expense ratio of selected commercial insurance companies and the average of the expense ratio on the Czech insurance market in the 2010-2017 period. The research confirms that ČSOB Pojišťovna and Komerční pojišťovna reach lower values of expense ratio in life insurance. The insurance companies belonging to the VIG group (with the exception of Česká podnikatelská pojišťovna) reach lower values of ER in life insurance than the overall insurance market on average.
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