The Israeli legal system is unique, combining principles and traditions from common law and civil law. Israel strives to see itself as a constitutional democracy. It is a democracy, as it is a system of government governed by the principle of the majority and in which fundamental values and at their core, the human rights, are guaranteed against the abuse of the power of the majority. It is a constitutional democracy, as the structure of governmental authorities and human rights are enshrined in basic laws, chapters of an entire though unfinished constitution. The state of Israel operates through three bodies: the legislature (“Knesset”), the executive (Government), and the judiciary (courts). The powers of these organs are enshrined in the Basic Law. There is a “checks and balances” relationship between the authorities designed to ensure that each authority operates within its mandate and that none of them has unlimited powers. And what about the judiciary? From the judges’ point of view, there is independence in several aspects that will be discussed. But from a budgetary and administrative point of view, the judiciary does not enjoy independence and autonomy from the executive branch. The executive branch is also litigating in the courts. Can the personal independence of the individual judge be complete as long as the independence of the judiciary is not complete?

Keywords: Israeli legal system, “checks and balances”, independence of judges, judiciary.

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The EU accession process is the main driver of judicial reforms in Western Balkan countries. The judicial reforms have been a continuous process for over 15 years, and each Western Balkan country adopted several strategies as a key policy document. As a result of reforms, all countries established new judicial bodies, transferred governance powers from executive to the judicial councils, introduced new judicial professions (notaries, bailiffs), adopted and strengthened rules and procedures for the appointment of judges and prosecutors, optimised court network, etc. Despite the fact that reforms were conducted with the aim to increase efficiency and integrity of judiciary, trust in the justice system across Western Balkans is still low, and position on international indices raises concerns on the impact of reforms. In the article, the author will analyse and compare the results of reforms in the Western Balkan countries in the key justice areas: efficiency, access and independence of the judiciary. The purpose of the analysis is to find out whether countries in the region are closer to the EU judicial standards and what has to be done to align the judiciary with EU standards.

Keywords: judiciary, independence, integrity, EU standards, judicial reform.

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Following a historic regime change in Montenegro in late 2020, changes to prosecutorial legislation have been initiated in Montenegro in the first half of 2021. The proclaimed aim of the legislative interventions was to tackle the issue of prosecution service being a captured institution, impervious to substantial prosecutorial accountability and reluctant to tackle corruption cases. The paper sets out to examine the extent to which the adopted changes to the Montenegrin Law on the State Prosecution Service are contributing to increased independence of the Prosecutorial Council and accountability of the Prosecutor General in Montenegro, assessing them against the relevant European standards and jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, taking also into account the opinions of the Venice Commission. Using the dogmatic, comparative, and exegetic method, the authors will critically analyse the normative solutions and provide recommendations for their further improvement.

Keywords: state prosecutors, European standards, prosecutorial independence, accountability.

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Assuming that the security issue has gained additional complexity and importance due to the COVID-19 disease that pandemically marked our time, the basic goal of this paper is to emphasise the benefits of establishing an adequate international treaty regime on pandemic preparedness as a response to this ongoing health and safety challenge of global proportions. The establishment of an international pandemic treaty framework under the auspices of the World Health Organization could enable individual countries to improve their capacity to act more productively in terms of preparedness and responsiveness to new security threats. The results of this research will show that the adoption of such a universal legal instrument would contribute to the greater transparency and accountability of the international response to security threats of this kind, as well as to more coordinated action of the international community in terms of early detection, warning and response to future pandemics.

Keywords: international community, pandemics, security, World Health Organization (WHO), international pandemic treaty.

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The purpose of the study is to analyze the general and regional context of the process of accession of the Western Balkans region to the European Union (EU). The Union (EU) is in a negative stage of its development, especially following Brexit, and even more since the pandemic has seriously shaken complete global economy and the economy of the EU as well. Those unfavourable factors added a bad momentum to the on-going monetary crisis that started in 2008. Therefore, the general context of the EU enlargement process is to be taken into consideration when analyzing the accession of each candidate country from the Western Balkans region. The next relevant context is the regional one. The dynamics of the accession process of these countries to the Union remains open. The EU is at the turning point in its evolution in contemporary conditions. Consequently, many authors are posing the question of the future of the EU. The enlargement process is not a priority for the Union, bearing in mind its internal problems, institutional, and even more, economic problems, especially after the outbreak of the pandemic. After The EU – Western Balkans Zagreb Summit of May 2020, this became evident. It remains to be seen in the upcoming period whether “Europe-Fortress” is on the scene, with semi-open doors to candidate countries from the Western Balkans region, or is it Europe without borders. Membership in the EU can be one, but not the only alternative to those countries that are committed to improving their relations with the Union.

Keywords: EU, enlargement, Western Balkans, crisis.

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The objective of this paper is to analyse the legal framework of the civil service salary system in the BiH institutions and to assess its compliance with international standards, in particular the SIGMA Principles of Public Administration. After a detailed assessment, the author concludes that the salary system of civil servants in the BiH institutions is to a moderate degree aligned with international standards. The principle of equal pay for equal work has still not been consistently introduced throughout the civil service, which undermines the fairness of the system. The existence of certain salary allowances (i.e. allowance for performing the work of another job), also poses a risk to ensuring the legality, fairness and transparency of the salary system. The performance related pay scheme envisaged by the Law on Salaries and Benefits of BiH institutions is in line with the SIGMA principles, but its effectiveness in practice has still not been properly assessed. In order to enhance the overall quality of the system, the author proposes that additional efforts be invested in carrying out job evaluation and increasing the transparency of the system, through publishing regular salary reports. Furthermore, the author proposes introduction of regular motivation surveys in the BiH institutions, which would assess the effectiveness of the analysed legal framework on the motivation of employees and ensure that the salary system has the capacity to attract and retain qualified staff.

Keywords: salary system, international standards, BiH institutions.

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Although the principle of legitimate expectations appeared in earlier drafts of the newest Serbian law on general administrative procedure, it was eventually downplayed to the level of guaranteeing predictability in administrative practice. The inclusion of the new principle was justified by harmonization of Serbian legislation with the principles of a common European Administrative Space. The contribution explores the notion of legitimate expectations in comparative law – ranging from so-called procedural to substantive expectations, with the possibility of contra legem effect of the principle. European administrative law scholars have long ago posed questions relating to the tension between the law and legal certainty and satisfying individual parties’ (legitimate) expectations. Parties to administrative proceedings should, in line with the request for legal certainty, be aware of what type of action they can expect from the administration. On the other hand, life often necessitates changes in legislation and, even on occasions before that, adaptations to administrative behaviour. In comparative analysis, particular attention shall be paid to legislation and caselaw of the former Yugoslav states, since they share a history of common administrative legislation. The author aims to situate the Serbian version of this legal institute within the given range and, with an optimistic view to existent caselaw of the Constitutional Court, to point towards possibilities for its future implementation in the caselaw of the Administrative Court and in administrative practice.

Keywords: administrative procedure, legitimate expectations, predictability, legal certainty, good administration.

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The implementation of both The Brussels and Washington Agreements is coming as a challenge for the respective Serbian and Kosovo governments, but for the EU as well. The very complex legal and administrative solutions are posing a threat regarding the time dimension of their application, where such core agreed elements as the Association/Community of Serbian municipalities have still not been formed. Also, the comparative environment of applying such measures is challenging in the environment of the Western Balkan countries and their potential EU path. Additionally, the agreements are posing another challenge as their application would not be welcome in such a form like in Kosovo regarding their conflict resolution capacity elsewhere. Overall, the agreed constructions and their limitation only to Kosovo will break this line and through various means find a way to other post-conflict communities, ignoring both the EU and USA enforcement mechanism or their shortcomings here or elsewhere. The only partial implementation of the Brussels Agreement is challenging the EU authority in Kosovo and the wider region. Additionally, the broad and somehow unclear requirements of the Washington Agreement are challenging the future role and interest of USA in Kosovo and wider, in this case not just locally or regionally but globally.

Keywords: Brussels Agreement, Washington Agreement, Serbia-Kosovo relationship, post-conflict development, Open Balkan initiative.

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The increasing emphasis on openness and transparency of policy making fits into the overall set of reforms stemming from the EU accession process of the Western Balkan countries. Such an approach is especially relevant in the context of the requirements related to the public administration reform, good governance, rule of law as well as civil society development. This paper will analyse the legal framework regarding the public consultation, as key to public participation, in the public policy process of the Western Balkan countries in the light to the EU accession and approximation of their legislation with the EU legal standards. The paper will explore if and how such a legal framework has contributed to better public policies in these countries, as well as to their EU integration progress. Even though all the Western Balkan countries are not in the same stage in the accession process, challenges remain similar. The methodology of monitoring and accountability mechanism of the public consultation process is of high relevance for fulfilling this specific requirement. The tools that will be explored through this paper are aimed to contribute into improving the process in the Western Balkan countries.

Keywords: public consultation, public policy, European integration, Western Balkan countries.

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This paper examines the role of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as a tool of the EU environmental legislation and an aid to the decision-making process aiming at prioritization of environmental interests over other interests. The EIA Directive has evolved after more than 35 years of implementation while at the same time, EU acquis has grown and new policies have developed along with the broadening of the European integration process. Hence, this contribution provides an overview of the application and effectiveness of the EIA process and of the main challenges that served as indications for further modifications in order to enhance the EIA as an effective instrument of environmental protection. Special emphasis is put on the judicial control imposed by the Court of Justice of the EU in the light of the environmental justice notion and articulation of environmental rights under the EIA Directive(s). The paper concludes with reflections on the environmental considerations raised by the EIA process, arguing that although the full potential of the EIA Directive has yet to be realized, having a separate directive that focuses on the likely environmental effects in the decision-making process ultimately makes a difference.

Keywords: European Union, environmental law, EIA, environmental policy, environmental justice.

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The main idea for this topic came as a reflection of the recent happenings that shocked the entire Region, especially Serbia. Actresses from Serbia, after several years, gathered courage and told the whole world how they survived rape. The cases were investigated, and some of them had a criminal proceeding as the epilogue. This paper will contain three chapters. The first chapter will give the definition of the “sexual assault” with special emphasis on consent, which is the key element that connects several sexual offences such as crimes “sexual harassment” and “raping”. The second chapter will provide an overview of European Court of Human Rights practice considering the crime of rape and the effect of ECtHR case law on national legislation. Finally, the final chapter will present the legislation regulating the “crime of rape” in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia. This chapter is important for showing the difference between the definition, processing and the punishment for raping a person. It is well known that, for example, in 2019, Serbia adopted “Tijanas law” which implies life imprisonment for the most serious crimes : aggravated murder of a child, rape with a fatal consequence, sexual intercourse with a helpless person with a fatal consequence, sexual intercourse with a child with a fatal consequence, sexual intercourse with a child with abuse of position with a fatal consequence. Finally, in the conclusion of the paper the authors will try to answer several questions, for example to what extent the courts respect the Strasbourg principles, why rape victims find it difficult to dare to press criminal charges, what should states improve in the judicial system when it comes to the crime of rape.

Keywords: gender equality, sex offences, rape, Istanbul Convention, European court for the human rights.

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The article deals with the critical assessment of the control of criminal prosecution in the legal systems of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia. For the purpose of this paper, criminal prosecution concerns only decisions to initiate, continue and discontinue criminal procedure but not to take individual investigative measures or other procedural actions. The normative and comparative methods are predominantly employed in the article to conduct a qualitative assessment of relevant provisions of criminal procedure acts of both countries. Additionally, the paper evaluates its subject through the lens of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. Albeit the mentioned countries belong to the same legal tradition, they have adopted different legal solutions regarding the conception of the control of criminal prosecution. B&H law primarily relies on the internal control of criminal prosecution through the use of a complaint filed with the prosecutor’s office. In contrast, besides establishing judicial control of criminal prosecution, Croatian law retained subsidiary prosecution as a form of external control of prosecutorial function. While the defendant has the right to be shielded from arbitrary criminal prosecution, the injured party as a person suffering harm from a criminal offense has the right to effective criminal prosecution in the case of serious violations of his/her human rights. Hence, the article aims to establish that the nonexistence of external control of criminal prosecution in B&H law violates the mentioned rights of the defendant and those of the injured person. The article also argues that the legal solutions in Croatian law regarding the external control of criminal prosecution could be used to some extent as a model for future reform of criminal procedure in B&H. Lastly, the article highlights that subsidiary prosecution as a corrective to prosecutorial function in Croatia has its shortcomings.

Keywords: Criminal procedure, the prosecutor, the injured party, criminal prosecution, control.

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In line with the Hungarian post-holocaust memory-laws I would like to ask some questions about the connection of the Hungarian laws and our memories: about the commemorate and the remembrance, about the legal ways of the commemorate or about it how the law can influence our memories. Memory laws can be examined by jurisprudence and also by psychology. The consequence of this two-fold situation is that the research is interdisciplinary. I have to approach the problem of the normativity (as the sine qua non of the law) and the weight of commemorate, or remembrance. I would like to demonstrate the relation between genocide and law and try to explain what the expression „memory law” means. The questions of memory laws can be examined from the standpoint of the practice of law, not only analysing the methods of legislation or the semiotics problems. On the one hand, I find the Holocaust is a starting point in this traumatic-commemorate-fold. I do not want to make a distinction between genocide and genocide; I do not say the holocaust (capitalised or not) is more outstanding than other genocides. But I claim that in the 20th century, it had a huge effect on the postmodern thinking in law, in literature, philosophy, psychology, and in historiography. With the help of this effect, the people are able to think about their life in other dictatorships. On the other hand, the history of Central Europe is unique: the region experienced two opposing dictatorships one after another– and hence, the remembrance of the genocides is different than in Western Europe or in the USA. In the region, Hungary included, the politics of the remembrance is stacked up with various feelings.

Keywords: memory laws, remembrance, legal philosophy, postmodernism, Holocaust

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Under Art. 3 of the Social Work Activity Act (NG 16/19) in the Republic of Croatia, representation, advocacy and empowerment are defined as the individual or group-oriented professional procedures in the social work activity. Representation, advocacy and empowerment are strategic processes of working with or on behalf of beneficiaries to achieve an equal position in society, the right to social services, or some other form of assistance that would not be available without them, which includes advocating for better social policy, better social legislation and social justice in society. Social workers can carry out different types of advocacy, such as legal and legislative advocacy, self-advocacy and advocacy systems. According to the principle of active participation, social workers represent clients’ best interests. One of the essential principles on which advocacy is based is empowerment. In the integration of understanding of the legal framework and advocacy through the academic year 2020/2021 at the Graduate School of Social Work at the Faculty of Law in Osijek, the course “Social Welfare Systems and Advocacy” was delivered for the first time. The course aimed to provide to students’ knowledge about different social welfare systems, critical analysis of these welfare systems, their evaluation and comparison with the social welfare system in the Republic of Croatia, and the acquisition of theoretical and practical knowledge and skills to represent clients’ interests in social work. This paper represents the advocacy process in social work that students worked on during the lecture. In addition to the concepts of advocacy in social work, this paper will show students’ self-assessment of acquired competencies for advocacy through education.

Keywords: advocacy in social work, empowerment, social justice, learning outcomes, competencies of social workers.

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The paper deals with the theoretical and fundamental conceptual foundation of new forms of work arrangements, i.e. so-called “platform work”, considering its practical application. The idea of matching the supply and demand for paid work through an online platform in the era of “platform capitalism” creates several legal discrepancies calling for urgent policy and legal answers. In the paper, we aim to analyse the so-called “platform work”, which is staying halfway between traditional subordinate work and self-employment, by applying the legal normative and comparative method, along with the holistic approach to the research subject regarding the identification of its legal nature. The standard elements of the employment relationship – a contract-based relation, the performance of work on another’s behalf, payment of remuneration and subjection to direction and supervision i.e. subordination – need to be considered in terms of the technological changes, transformations in the organisation of companies and, consequently, the flexibility of work arrangements. The importance of adjustment of the labour law theory and practice to a new reality by addressing the “products” of the gig economy represented in new digital forms of work supports the principles of social justice, equity, and dignity at work. The labour law needs to follow changes in the economy and society by expanding the scope of its core concepts to address the regulatory gaps and perform its mission of protection of employment-related rights and freedoms.

Keywords: gig economy, platform work, legal status, subordination, autonomy.

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The objective of the paper is to analyse the legal framework and key challenges in the recruitment and selection process in the civil service of Moldova. The effectiveness of the recruitment and selection is assessed against the standards laid out in the SIGMA Principles of Public Administration for European Neighbourhood Policy Countries and supporting Methodological Framework. The key finding of the paper is that the legal framework governing recruitment and selection is generally in line with the SIGMA standards. In spite of this, the attraction capacity of the Moldovan civil service is highly limited, as the number of candidates per vacancy is very low. The key reasons for this should, in the author’s view, be sought for in the low salary levels, especially at the entry civil service positions. The author concludes that Moldovan example clearly shows that legal regulation of different HRM functions cannot be analysed in isolation, as the effectiveness of the recruitment process is closely linked with the remuneration policies. In addition, existing budget constrains and limited general labour market capacities, caused by difficult economic conditions and large waves of immigration of Moldovan population, pose additional challenges for the Moldovan civil service to be able to compete for the best and the brightest.

Keywords: recruitment and selection, civil service, Moldova.

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Over the last decade, virtual currencies have captured an increasingly significant role in financial markets, introducing a new class of assets and revolutionizing market notions of issuing, trading, storing and transferring value. Hence, the author considers the legal consequences of financial growth and success of digital assets in the contemporary economy. The wave of general transition on the Internet in 2020 also affected cryptocurrencies, i.e. digital assets, which existed somewhere between two extreme positions: legal regulation and grey area. The unresolved legal status of cryptocurrencies has created vast problems for both legislators and investors. As digital assets and other blockchain applications mature, the global regulatory authorities work hard to keep pace and to adopt legal frameworks pertinent to regulating this new method of exchange. At the end of 2020, Serbia adopted the Law on Digital Assets, thus becoming one of the first countries that legally regulate the field of digital assets. The paper analyses specific features of theoretical comprehension and legal regulation of digital assets in the Republic of Serbia. Using the normative and comparative method, the author will explore the legal status of cryptocurrencies, issuance and trade of cryptocurrencies, emphasizing the similarities and differences with the issuance and trade of securities. Therefore, the main objectives of this article are the regulation of digital asset and the application of securities law to issuance and sale of digital assets. Accordingly, it is of substantial importance to develop a holistic and coherent understanding of digital assets and related market activities rooted in empirical evidence and deeper knowledge of the underlying mechanisms.

Keywords: digital assets; virtual currencies; token; securities law; legal regulation.

Abstract view

Over the last decade, virtual currencies have captured an increasingly significant role in financial markets, introducing a new class of assets and revolutionizing market notions of issuing, trading, storing and transferring value. Hence, the author considers the legal consequences of financial growth and success of digital assets in the contemporary economy. The wave of general transition on the Internet in 2020 also affected cryptocurrencies, i.e. digital assets, which existed somewhere between two extreme positions: legal regulation and grey area. The unresolved legal status of cryptocurrencies has created vast problems for both legislators and investors. As digital assets and other blockchain applications mature, the global regulatory authorities work hard to keep pace and to adopt legal frameworks pertinent to regulating this new method of exchange. At the end of 2020, Serbia adopted the Law on Digital Assets, thus becoming one of the first countries that legally regulate the field of digital assets. The paper analyses specific features of theoretical comprehension and legal regulation of digital assets in the Republic of Serbia. Using the normative and comparative method, the author will explore the legal status of cryptocurrencies, issuance and trade of cryptocurrencies, emphasizing the similarities and differences with the issuance and trade of securities. Therefore, the main objectives of this article are the regulation of digital asset and the application of securities law to issuance and sale of digital assets. Accordingly, it is of substantial importance to develop a holistic and coherent understanding of digital assets and related market activities rooted in empirical evidence and deeper knowledge of the underlying mechanisms.

Keywords: digital assets, virtual currencies, token; securities law, legal regulation.

Abstract view

Data protection has become a buzzword worldwide since the adoption of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its implementation in May 2018. The Regulation caused a significant effect on global dta protection regulation mainly due to high fines envisaged as well as its broad territorial scope. The result thereof was several national legislations being adopted globally reflecting most or some of new European data protection provisions. The Regulation, as well as other pertinent legal documents, quite expectedly affected all EU candidate countries that initiated respective harmonization processes. Each of them had their own pace, as well as challenges, in adjusting national legal regimes to Union acquis. The paper aims at identifying the challenges faced by respective national legislators in the Western Balkans countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia in their transposition of the GDPR, as well as the Law Enforcement Directive, into domestic law. In addition, the paper will try to examine the adaptiveness of national legislation to the EU regulation and the law-making processes in each country. Finally, the paper will estimate whether the sole reliance on the European legislation is suitable or may even cause confusion in the proper implementation and harmonisation with acquis, and where possible, suggest alternative approaches in respective WB countries to enable gradual compliance that may better serve the current state of data protection therein.

Keywords: data protection, GDPR, EU harmonisation.

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