Around the Bloc: Romanian Ex Mayor, Minister Jailed in Microsoft Case
The high-profile corruption case ended yesterday with stricter sentences than initially imposed by a lower court.
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The high-profile corruption case ended yesterday with stricter sentences than initially imposed by a lower court.
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The paper deals with a comparative analysis of membership regulation in the recent cooperative legislations within the European Economic Area (EEA) and in the United States of America (USA). In EEA, cooperatives can be established according to the national cooperative law or on the basis of supranational model of the European Co-operative Society (Societas Cooperativa Europaea, SCE), the general cooperative law in the USA is, in principle (if federal chartered credit unions are left out of account), encompassed by the legislative competence of individual States. In order to consolidate the equity base of cooperatives, recent provisions about cooperatives often allow cooperatives to admit as members not only users of their services (user-members or patron-members), but also persons, who have, exclusively on the basis of capital investment, certain property and governance rights (so called investor members or non-patron members). While the SCE Regulation refers, as far as the investor members are concerned, to national cooperative legislation of the Member State according to the registered office of SCE, investor membership is, as an alternative source of equity, regulated more in detail by the American Uniform Limited Cooperative Association Act, adopted in 2007.
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International order is based on the consent of states and the principle pacta sunt servanda, thus making the treaty override a serious problem. When one party unilaterally overrules treaty provision(s), other party may undertake measures prescribed in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties: termination or suspension. It is also possible to apply mutual agreement procedure. Usually, states avoid entering into re-negotiation of the treaties because it is time-consuming. The author differentiates between treaty override in monist and dualist states, and within the European Union, then makes conclusion about the absence of pure solutions and proposes global action for solving treaty overriding problem, which could have further impact on economic activity and wealth on national and global level.
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The question of applicable law is of essence in discussing access to justice and legal protection under the WTO dispute settlement system because it determines which disputes are suitable for resolving under the WTO framework. The WTO dispute settlement system is primarily oriented towards protection of rights under the covered agreements. One of the central problem in this discussion is the competence of the WTO judicial bodies (panels and the Appellate Body) to resolve disputes concerning rights and obligations that are not regulated by the covered agreements. According to the rulings of the WTO judicial bodies, they only have jurisdiction to examine covered agreements as the only relevant and applicable law in dispute settlement proceedings. Some scholars support a strict conception of the WTO judicial bodies’ jurisdiction pertaining only to the WTO law. Some other authors suggest a more flexible approach, given that the WTO is neither “a closed legal circuit” nor a self-contained regime. As a branch or a sub-system of Public International Law, the WTO has to interact with other branches or subsystems, such as human rights treaties and international environmental protection agreements. Many scholars and experts insist that the WTO bodies must take into account the “new dimensions of international trade”, like environmental protection and human rights. Hence, the rules of free trade cannot be legally and politically excommunicated from general international law. Nevertheless, this assertion must be taken with caution: it would be the only way for ensuring protection of security and predictability of the multilateral trading system under the WTO. Therefore, it is important to establish clear borderlines and situations in which interaction with extrinsic sources of law is necessary
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The author has focused on the need for meaningful incorporation of the provisions of the concept of sustainable development to the fundamentals of state ecological policy of Ukraine. The author considers the role of innovations in the preservation of the environment. The author determines basic functional impact areas of innovations on environmental protection and tasks of institutionalization the category of «ecological innovations», the need for clear legal certainty on appropriate conceptual and legal apparatus.
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The article highlights current civil law problems of gambling and lotteries regulating in the Republic of Latvia. The article consideres the concept of "gambling" in the doctrine of law, the legal definition of "gambling", "winnings" and "lotteries" in the normative acts of the Republic of Latvia.Characteristics of the gambling and lotteries regulation in European Union and Latvian Republic are looked into. Implementation of the tax policy on gambling and lotteries in the Republic of Latvia, object of tax, tax rates and state fees, calculation of the tax on gambling, proceeds from duty and tax are covered.
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This study comparatively analyzes economic effects of different negligence rules, contained in American law on the one hand, and Serbian law on the other. It is important to establish economic implications of the different negligence rules, based on the incentives for tortfeasor’s and victim’s precaution under the different negligence rules. Study of the efficiency of several different forms of negligence rules: simple negligence, negligence with a defense of contributory negligence, comparative negligence and strict liability with a defense of contributory negligence, is based on the economic models, which have been developed by Law and Economics scholars. The expected social costs of accidents represent the basic criterion for evaluation of the efficiency of negligence rules. The first part of the study deals with the economic implications of different negligence rules in respect to the preventive effects and the allocation of the tort liability. In the second part, the economic implications of the simple negligence, the negligence with a defense of contributory negligence and the comparative negligence are presented. The third part encompasses the economic implications of the strict liability with a defense of contributory negligence. The analysis of the negligence rules is followed by the examination of the American case law. Finally, the author states the general conclusion regarding the role of courts in the prevention of expected harm.
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The subject matter of this paper is the role of capital transactions taxes in reducing the financial instability on the market. In that context, the author first discusses the concept of a capital transaction tax and its modalities. Further on, the author analyses the requirements for implementing the Tobin’s tax, elaborating on the advantages and disadvantages of its application. Finally, the author makes specific suggestions for improving the economic efficiency of the capital transactions tax.
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In this paper, the author explores the current trend in the international tax law which is reflected in the exchange of tax information between the national tax administrations. The author first provides a brief chronological overview of the ongoing efforts of international organizations to promote and accelerate the international exchange of tax information. Then, the author provides an overview of models underlying this form of international legal assistance as envisaged in the relevant international documents. In the final part of this paper, considering the outstanding significance of this process for the fiscal sovereignty of national states, the author points out to the possible implications and consequences involved in this process particularly in terms of the demonstrated benefits and risks.
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An efficient insolvency system, facilitating the return of the debtor to normal activity after successful restructuring and supporting the recovery of the receivables by the creditors, is an essential factor for the growth of the market economy and for the creation of jobs, by setting the rules distributing the risk of bankruptcy in a predictable manner. At the same time, the insolvency facilitates the settlement of the conflicts between multiple creditors, as well as the elimination of the inefficient companies from the economy, thus allowing for the new companies to penetrate the market. The insolvency system also has other divergent functions, such as: allowing for the “saving” or reorganization of a business encountering temporary financial difficulties, but is worth being saved, since the reorganization procedures often become important during the financial crisis periods, when the economy is already affected by this global phenomenon. Although the regulatory base in itself is extremely important (and, at the same time, complex, as it combines the material and procedural norms), its implementation by the courts, insolvency specialists, banks and society in general is however, in essence, much more important.
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The amendment to the Polish Act on the Upbringing in Sobriety and Counteracting Alcoholism of 26 October 1982 modified the competences previously granted to local councils (in Polish: gminy) in regard to the regulation of alcoholic drinks. In particular, local councils became competent to issue new types of resolutions while, at the same time, involving their auxiliary units in the resolution process. The subject of this article is to present the results of the analysis of these changes together with a discussion of selected issues that raise interpretational doubts
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Subject of the commentary is the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (Fifth Chamber) of 21 December 2016 in Case C-119/15, Biuro podróży ‘Partner’ Sp. z o.o, Sp. komandytowa w Dąbrowie Górniczej v Prezes Urzędu Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów. In essence, the court expressed therein its opinion on whether European law (Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts, the Directive 2009/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on injunctions for the protection of consumers’ interests and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union) must be interpreted as precluding the use by another seller or supplier of standard contract terms with content identical to terms which have already been declared unlawful by a judicial decision having legal force. The Court considered if the use, by another entity, of terms which have earlier been entered into the register of unlawful standard contract terms can be considered an unlawful act for which a fine may be imposed. According to the judgment, the mentioned European regulations do not preclude such a possibility, provided – to be verified by Member States’ courts – that the seller or supplier has an effective judicial remedy against the decision declaring the equivalence of the terms when it comes to the question whether (in the light of all relevant circumstances particular to each case) those terms are in fact materially identical, having regard in particular to their harmful effects for consumers. The seller or supplier must also have an effective judicial remedy against the decision fixing the amount of the fine imposed, where applicable
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The purpose of this paper is to present the mechanisms of buying out the remnants after partial expropriation. In the first part, the author presents the Polish constitutional necessary conditions for expropriation. Afterwards he explains how to understand these conditions. Because the law regarding this subject can be described as ambiguous, it is not rare that to find a proper interpretation, one needs to consult particular cases. From there we can see that in praxis it might be difficult for the interested parties to receive proper and just compensation. It is further demonstrated by the author that vindicating such claims in the court is much more difficult than during the usual administrative processes.
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The article reflects on matters relating to the competence of the first-instance administrative court as instance competent to resolve the substance of the dispute in the proceedings for objecting to revision deeds. As a summary of the research a conclusion has been drawn that as an instance competent to rule on the substance of the dispute, the administrative court is capable of: repealing in full the revision deed, when the latter does not comply simultaneously to all conditions for validity, contemplated under Art. 160, para. 2 of the Tax and Social Security Procedure Code (TSSPC), but however is not null and void. This will form a repealing court resolution. With the second part of the court resolution, the court as an instance competent to rule on the substance of the dispute, shall determine the type, the grounds and the amount of the tax or social security public receivable. In these cases the court, on the rule of the provision of Art. 160, para. 5 of the TSSPC, cannot amend the deed to the detriment of the appellant; to partially repeal the revision deed in its substantive part, which contradicts the law. In his hypothesis there is no ruling by the court on the substance of the dispute and the public receivables are determined by the part of the revision deed that has been left in effect; to amend the revision deed, which would require a change in the legal grounds or to dismiss the appeal, by which it will validate the effect of the revision deed by which the stated facts and circumstances will be reshaped or by which the court will confirm the introduced new tax objects, as well as their size with respect to the addressee.
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Unit-linked contracts are wrapped with some death, maturity and accumulation guarantees such as the guaranteed minimum maturity benefit, the guaranteed minimum death benefit, the guaranteed minimum accumulation benefit, the guaranteed minimum income benefit, and/or the guaranteed minimum surrender benefit. According to Romanian legislation which regulates the unit-linked life insurance market, unit-linked life insurance contracts pass most of the investment risk to the policyholder and involve no investment risk for the insurer. Although the Romanian legislation authorizes the Romanian insurers to offer unit-linked contracts without investment guarantees, this research provides a proposal of a theoretical and empirical basis for modelling liabilities for unit-linked insurance contracts with incorporated investment guarantees. The aim of this study is to offer an optimal theoretical approach for simulating liabilities for unit-linked life insurance contracts with incorporated death benefit and maturity benefit.
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Demand is a major potential source of innovation in public procurement contracts, yet the critical role of demand as a key driver has still to be recognised in contracting authorities’ policy. This article discusses contract’s monitoring as one of the key elements of public procurement contract performance. The paper starts by signalling the requirements of the new European rules in public procurement. It than defines the public procurement contract and embeds this concept within the taxonomy of monitoring. The rationales and justifications of public procurement monitoring to spur performance are discussed, followed by a consideration of the challenges of contracting authorities in institutionalising it. The aim of this paper is to develop a framework for measuring the performance of public procurement contracts. It also provides significant insights into the development of key performance indicators for measuring the performance of a contract.
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Objectives: The aim of this paper is to address the cycle from monetary policy becoming the main instrumentof macroeconomic stabilisation to the current unexpected decline in its effectiveness.Research Design and Methods: This article analyses how preventing the risk of wage-price spirals unwinding becamethe main task of central banks. Such a perception of monetary policy role was a natural consequence of the GreatInflation of the 1970s and the substantial costs of disinflation of the 1980s. Then this paper highlights the causes behindthe recent unexpected emergence of persistently low inflation. Among the most important causes of this were structuralchanges which took place also in labour markets, being the outcome of the twilight of traditional manufacturing andincreasing globalisation.Findings: The structural weakening of the bargaining position labour creates situation in which the period whenmonetary policy was focused on preventing wage-price spirals has ended. If advanced economies are entering a longperiod of low inflation and low interest rates, it will necessitate a reformulation of the role that central banks playin stabilisation policies.Recommendation: This paper postulates that central banks should acquire a pivotal role in the macroprudential policy.The main argument is that the independence of central banks, which they obtained when fighting inflation, wouldincrease the effectiveness of the macro-prudential policy.Contribution: Usually success in lowering and stabilising inflation is attributed mainly to the changes in the wayin which central banks have been conducting their monetary policy since the early 1980s. This article highlightsthe fact that the role which was played in this process by the substantial weakening of the labour bargaining positionis still underappreciated.Article Classification: Theoretical article. Original literature review
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The paper deals with the current theoretical and practical problems of organization of self-regulation in the field of arbitration management and the activities of self-regulatory organizations of arbitration managers. The comparative analysis of the legal constructions of non-commercial partnership and self-regulatory organizations has been performed based on the following parameters: main objectives of establishment, participants, opportunities for entrepreneurial activities, and voluntary membership. It has been concluded that non-profit partnership and self-regulatory organizations are the independent organizational and legal forms of a non-commercial legal entity, rather than a type of some association (union). It has been proved that self-regulatory organizations of arbitration managers are characterized by the basic and superstructural status, which determines the formulation and solution of many problems of their functioning. It has been suggested to amend the current legislation, namely to transform the superstructural (subsidiary) status of self-regulatory organizations into the structural element of the organizational and legal form.
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Due to the lack of numerus clausus principle of financial instruments in Polish law and the possibility of admission to the trade on the territory of Republic of Poland of the assets recognized as financial instruments in other EU countries, deepened legal and comparative studies are very important in the this field. The term „financial instrument” itself can take have different definitions in foreign languages: from the English word „securities”, the French expression „titre”, the German “vertpapier”, or the Swiss “effekten”. Depending on the concept of a financial instrument adopted in a given country, the way in which this formulation will be understood will be either broader or much restrained than in Polish law. In addition, the Polish law of financial instruments represents, according to the author, a good example of the impact that the concepts of financial instruments developed in other countries have on the scope of the notions of security and a financial instrument. The above described process is reflected in the definition of the above mentioned concept by the Polish legislator, who often refers indirectly to the law of other countries. Given the the above, through the analysis of Polish regulations, the author tries to prove the thesis that a legal-comparative approach of the described field can contribute to the further discussion related to the Polish law of financial instruments.
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The phenomenon of business diversification, which takes place in many enterprises, is connected with the need to obtain information on the values generated by individual business segments. Information on operating segments included in financial statements is of interest to both external and internal users. The subject of interest in the article is the problem of availability and transparency of financial information of listed companies. The aim of the research was to determine the scope of disclosed information on operating segments in accordance with the guidelines of IFRS 8 Operating segments in listed companies belonging to the wood and paper industry. The research problem sets out the question about the extent to which the standard has been implemented in the financial statements of the surveyed entities. Conducting the analysis on the topic enabled the use of the following research methods: literature studies, and document analysis method and. The carried out research has shown that the companies have implemented IFRS 8 operating segments, but this has not contributed to a larger spectrum of information relating to operating segments and improvement of their quality.
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