The protection of national minorities forms a constituent part of the international protection of human rights. General human rights treaties (the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and others) create guarantees for the protection of persons belonging to national minorities on the basis of individual human rights. Although the mentioned treaties are not specifically devoted for the protection of national (...) minorities, it is important to underline that non-minorities treaties establish articles of special relevance for persons belonging to national minorities. Non-minorities treaties on the basis of non-discrimination and equality oblige the contracting states to ensure equal treatment of persons, including those belonging to national minorities. It may be noticed that non-minorities treaties provide the protection for persons belonging to national minorities indirectly through the interpretation of the ambit of general human rights. The core question is whether the protection granted on the basis of general human rights is sufficient for the effective protection of persons belonging to national minorities. The aim of the article is to analyze general and specialized international legal grounds of special significance for persons belonging to national minorities in order to determine the particularities of the protection granted for them. The conclusion is drawn that general human rights alone do not effectively protect national minorities: general human rights contribute to the protection of persons belonging to national minorities as a supplement element that inextricably interrelates with specialized rights together comprising the protection devoted to national minorities. (shrink)

In this article the author analyses specific reservations that are being done to the international documents for the protection of human rights and whether Vienna Convention on the Law of the Treaties applies to those human rights treaties or not. Also, the author analyses if reservations, which are incompatible with object and purpose of the treaty, can be done or not and what consequences they might bring. For this reason the author describes the practice of the state members under the (...) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. These treaties were chosen not only because they laid down the most significant principles of the protection of human rights, but also due to the great number of reservations made to the fundamental provisions of these treaties. The importance of the topic is that in the human rights treaties the implementation of Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties provisions on reservations brings several issues, even though on theoretical level the regulation of reservations seems unproblematic. Firstly, there is a major group of states (especially Islamic countries, which base their explanation on the incompatibility with Islamic law), which want to become parties to the treaties that protect human rights and make reservations to fundamental provisions of them at the same time. Secondly, the state parties that make objections to the reservations have to decide if the reservation is compatible with the object and purpose of the treaty or not. The regulation that is laid down in Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties creates difficulties for the state parties and withdrawal of reservations seems to be more problematic in reality than it is in theory. In order to find the solutions for the above mentioned issues, the author analyses whether the Vienna Convention on the Law of the Treaties regime works properly within the mechanism of making reservations to the human rights treaties or not, what reservations should be kept invalid under the human rights treaties and what could be the solutions for the most effective protection from the invalid reservations that address fundamental rights of human beings in the human rights law. (shrink)

The article discusses the rights of minorities in the system of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It establishes a conceptual distinction between universal rights, specific rights of minorities in general and specific rights of particular minorities. Universal rights correspond to all individuals (e,g,, “no one shall be subjected to torture”) or all groups of a certain class (e.g., “all families are entitled to protection”). Minority groups and their members are entitled to these rights in the same way (...) as any other individual or group. Specific rights of minorities in general are granted to minority groups (e.g., “minority groups have the right to speak their own language”) or their members (e.g., “persons belonging to a minority group have the right to speak the language of the group”). Finally, specific rights of particular minorities are granted to specific groups identified by their characteristics (e.g., “the linguistic minority X has the right to speak the X language”) or their members (e.g., “any member of the linguistic minority X has the right to speak the X language”). Treaties and international declarations often refer to universal rights and specific rights of minorities in general. However, these rights are usually recognised in broad terms, and their implementation may lead to the recognition of specific rights in favour of particular minorities or their members. Protection of minorities (in the broad sense of the expression) is based on two pillars: on the one hand, the protection against discrimination; on the other hand, the protection of minorities in the strict sense. The first pillar is an aspect of the general principle of nondiscrimination and requires respect for both formal and substantive equalities. The protection of minorities in the strict sense involves the preservation of their particular identity. The purpose of the equality in a formal sense is achieved through universal rights, to the extent that these are granted to minority groups and their members. On the contrary, to achieve equality in a substantive sense, it could be necessary to implement positive measures. The implementation of these measures will usually lead to the recognition of specific rights of minority groups or their members. Finally, the protection of the distinctive characteristics of the minorities will also be done through specific rights. Thus, on the one hand, there are rights, which are intended to protect the minority forms of life (i.e. to protect differences), and, on the other hand, those that are intended to allow minorities equal access to different uniform social goods (i.e. to protect equality). Whereas the former ones seek to protect and promote the particularities of the minority culture (e.g., the right to receive education in their own language), the latter ones are recognised to overcome the disadvantages that minority groups and their members face and are not intended to promote peculiarities, but rather to permit equal access to resources and social opportunities. Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights enshrines specific rights of minorities intended to protect and promote their own forms of life. Although economic rights are not mentioned (the article refers to the rights “to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, [and] to use their own language”), they may stem from the explicitly recognised rights. The rights recognised by the Covenant are not collective, but individual rights (“in those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right [...]”). The rights recognised in the Declaration of the United Nations General Assembly on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities are of the same nature. The principle of equality and non-discrimination is contained in Articles 2.1 and 26 of the Covenant. This principle forbids direct and indirect discrimination, be it de iure or de facto. As this is a universal right, minorities can also benefit from it. According to the Human Rights Committee, Article 27 imposes on States the adoption of positive measures that exceed an attitude of mere abstention. In the same way, positive measures may be necessary to make the principle of equality and non-discrimination effective. Although neither Article 27 nor Articles 2.1 and 26 refer to individuals belonging to a specific minority, the concrete implementation of these articles through positive measures may produce specific rights for persons belonging to particular minority groups. (shrink)

Straipsnyje analizuojama, ar liudijimo literatūra galėtų papildyti esamą diskusiją dėl žmogaus teisių prigimties. Šiuolaikinės žmogaus teisių teorijos yra susiskirsčiusios į dvi pagrindines grupes – etines ir politines teorijas. Joms būdingas ir skirtingas žmogaus orumo supratimas. Straipsnyje teigiama, kad liudijimo literatūra, dažnai sutelkianti dėmesį į žmogaus orumo klausimą, gali padėti įvertinti etinių ir politinių teorijų pateikiamus argumentus ir taip prisidėti prie esamos diskusijos plėtojimo bei geresnio žmogaus teisių supratimo.

Straipsnyje, remiantis kokybinių interviu su lenkų savanoriškų organizacijų lyderiais Pietryčių Lietuvos miestuose duomenimis, diskutuojama, kokie pagrindiniai etniniu pagrindu susikūrusių savanoriškų organizacijų tikslai ir veiklos pobūdis bei dalyvavimo jose motyvai. Saviorganizacija pilietiniu lygmeniu ir ją lemiantys veiksniai analizuojami žvelgiant iš keleto teorinių perspektyvų – kultūrinės, politinės ir ekonominės. Taip pat diskutuojama, ar etninių grupių pilietinė saviorganizacija turi įtakos etniniam identitetui ir kolektyvinei bei politinei mobilizacijai. Tyrimu atskleista, kad etninių grupių pilietinė saviorganizacija yra motyvuota tiek kultūrinių, tiek politinių, tiek ir ekonominių (...) veiksnių. (shrink)

Straipsnyje aptariamos visuomenės ir valstybės modelių paieškos XX a. pradžios katalikų intelektualų darbuose. Teigiama, kad lietuvių katalikų intelektualai (A. Kaupas, S. Šultė, A. Civinskas, K. Šaulys, J. Staugaitis ir kt.) savivaldą laikė efektyviausia visuomenės narių valdymo forma. Atskleisdami krikščioniškai suprantamos demokratinės savivaldos teigiamybes ir keliamus reikalavimus individui, katalikai rodė priešingumą bolševikų propaguojamai vienintelei „teisingai visuomenės valdymo formai“ – proletariato diktatūrai, uzurpuojančiai individo teises klasės naudai, ugdė demokratijos ir atitinkamo valstybės sutvarkymo bei valdymo poreikį. Aukščiausias teisines galias galinti turėti tik visa (...) tauta, kurios gerovės ir tvarkos siekiams subordinuojama politinė valdžia. Teisė ir įstatymas, taip pat valstybinė administracinė veikla legitiminiais laikytini tik tada, jei jie yra subordinuoti aukštesnei, t. y. viršvalstybinei, teisei (žmogaus prigimtinėms teisėms)ir visų pirma moralei. Politinės demokratijos įgyvendinimą katalikų intelektualai siejo su tokiu valstybės ir visuomenės gyvenimo sutvarkymu, kuris užtikrintų kiekvienam piliečiui teisę ir galimybę naudotis rinkimų teise, spaudos ir žodžio laisve. Koks tos valstybės sutvarkymo ir valdymo būdas – konstitucinė monarchija ar respublika – ne tiek jau svarbu. Pagrindinis jo priimtinumo kriterijus – kiek jis padeda siekti žmogui gerovės pagal krikščionybės nuostatas ir nepažeidžia žmogaus prigimtinių teisių. O tai priklauso ir nuo valdančiųjų išminties, ir nuo valdomųjų pilietinės brandos. (shrink)

Straipsnyje analizuojami Maskvos patriarchatui pavaldžios Lietuvos ortodoksų arkivyskupijos bendruomenės etninis ir religinis identitetai, šių identitetų pobūdį ir sąveiką lemiantys istoriniai veiksniai, šiuolaikiniai demografiniai, socialiniai ir geopolitiniai aspektai. Analizei pasitelkti 2019–2021 m. atlikti kokybiniai interviu su įvairaus amžiaus ortodoksų tikėjimą išpažįstančiais rusais arba mišrios tapatybės rusakalbiais bei ortodoksų bažnyčios atstovais (dvasininkais, religinių organizacijų atstovais, kt.) ir oficialaus arkivyskupijos žurnalo „Vestnik“ (2012–2022 m.) tekstai. Atskleista, kad tyrimo laikotarpiu šiai ortodoksų bendruomenei Lietuvoje buvo svarbūs istoriškai susiklostę glaudūs ryšiai su Rusija, rusų etninis identitetas (...) ir Rusijos ortodoksų tradicija, bet nemaža dalis šios bendruomenės tapatinosi su visuotine (Bizantijos) ir (ar) vietine (Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės) ortodoksų tradicijomis, taip pat susidūrė su iššūkiu prisitaikyti prie dabartinėje Lietuvos visuomenėje vykstančių socialinių demografinių ir politinių procesų (asimiliacija, mišrios šeimos, lietuvių kalbos vartojimas, geopolitiniai pokyčiai). (shrink)

Straipsnyje analizuojamos Europos ir Lietuvos socialinės-politinės sąlygos kuriant gerovės valstybes. Teigiama, kad socialine-politine prasme pastebimi akivaizdūs poslinkiai iš „pasyvių“, tik į socialines išmokas orientuotų gerovės valstybių į įgalinančias, „aktyvią“ socialinę politiką propaguojančias gerovės valstybes. Tačiau neoliberalizmo puolimas, kuris tęsiasi jau kelis dešimtmečius tiek Vakaruose, tiek Rytų Europoje bei Lietuvoje, dažnai suponuoja tik gynybines pozicijas aktyvios socialinės politikos formavimo ir vykdymo atžvilgiu. Tokią nepalankią socialiniams procesams situaciją į palankesnę potencialiai galėtų pakeisti labiau tradicinės „kairiosios“ politikos vykdymas, tačiau tam nei Vakarų Europos, (...) nei tuo labiau Lietuvos socialdemokratinės jėgos nėra pasiruošusios ir nusiteikusios. Susidaro paradoksali situacija, kai neatidėliotiniems socialiniams uždaviniams spręsti nėra tinkamų politinių jėgų, o į tarptautinių socialinę apsaugą reglamentuojančių institucijų rekomendacijas neatsižvelgiama arba atsižvelgiama tik iš dalies. (shrink)

Lyčių lygybė ir atitinkamai moterų teisės – vienas esminių demokratijos principų. Atskleidus tam tikros šalies gyventojų lyčių lygybės suvokimą, galima svarstyti apie demokratizacijos procesų eigą šalyje. Straipsnyje1, remiantis kiekybinių tyrimų duomenimis, siekiama sociologiškai įvertinti Lietuvos demokratizacijos procesus lyčių lygybės principo taikymo atžvilgiu atskleidžiant moters teisių bei lygybės atspindžius bendroje demokratijos sampratoje, visuomenei būdingą lygių teisių ir galimybių garantų vertinimą, lyčių teisių svarbos ir jų įgyvendinimo lygio supratimą bei lyčių diskriminacijos suvokimą.Teigiama, kad nors Lietuvos gyventojų požiūriu šalyje dideliu (...) mastu įgyvendinta lyčių lygybė, vis dėlto viešajame diskurse padėtis vyrų teisių įgyvendinimo srityje dažniau suvokiama esanti geresnė nei moterų. Pažymima, kad beveik trečdalis Lietuvos gyventojų suvokia lyčių lygybės principo ir žmogaus teisės į lygybę pažeidimus bei diskriminacijos dėl lyties egzistavimą. (shrink)

Neįmanoma aprėpti visą temų ir kontroversijų, sutelktų aplink dialoginį ir eventualiai poli-loginį mąstymą įvairovę. Šis tematinis horizontas skleidžiasi nuo nekvestionuotinų racionalaus diskurso pagrindų paieškų iki socialinių struktūrų steigties anapus kalbinio tarpininko galimybių tyrinėjimų. Šis straipsnis nėra sumanytas kaip lakoniška begalės darbų apžvalga. Jo paskirtis veikiau yra atskleisti pagrindinių debatų tarp Vokiečių teoretikų plėtotę, reflektuojant pamatines komunikatyvinės praktikos problemas. Pirmiausia straipsnyje pristatomos su įvairiais bandymais pagrįsti poli-logines praktikas susijusios kontraversijos. Tačiau tai nėra prieštara tarp fundacionistų ir įvairių jiems oponuojančių antifundacionistų. Veikiau (...) taip stengiamasi užaštrinti poziciją ir nužymėti jos lūžio tašką. Antra, straipsnyje bus atidengtos kai kurios normatyvioje sferoje iškylančios kontraversijos, kuriose susikerta įvairūs politiniai, socialiniai ir techniniai klausimai. Dėmesio centras bus sutelktas ties problemomis, susijusiomis su tam tikrų principų, numatomų poli-loginės praktikos konteksto teisių ir pareigų, adekvatumu arba neadekvatumu.Esminiai žodžiai: dialogas, kalba, poli-loginė praktika, komunikacinė praktika.The diversity of themes and controversies focusing on the dialogical and by extension on poli-logical thought can be hardly surveyed. Topics range from ultimate founding of poli-logical to investigations in the way the social fabric might appear without the mediation of language. This essay is not designed to offer one paragraph surveys of numerous works, but to unfold some of the main debates among German theorists focusing on some crucial issues in communicative praxis. First, the essay will present the controversies concerned with the efforts at founding of poli-logical praxis. This is not to be seen as a controversy between foundationalists and their various antifoundationalist opponents. Rather, it is more like an effort to push a thesis to a limit and to note its breaking point. Second, the essay will present some of the controversies in the normative area which is criss-crossed by various political, social, and technical concerns. The emphasis will be placed on the problems concerning the adequacies or inadequacies of some of the principles involved in the rights and duties in the context of poli-logical praxis.Key words: dialog, language, poli-logical praxis, communicative praxis. (shrink)

Lietuva 2013 m. pasirašė Europos Tarybos konvenciją dėl smurto prieš moteris ir smurto artimoje aplinkoje prevencijos ir kovos su juo (toliau – Stambulo konvencija arba Konvencija), tačiau iki šiol vis dar nėra jos ratifikavusi. 2024 m. kovo 14 d. Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinis Teismas priėmė išvadą dėl kai kurių Stambulo konvencijos nuostatų atitikties Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucijai. Straipsnyje Stambulo konvencijos atitikties Konstitucijai klausimas yra nagrinėjamas platesniame Rytų ir Vidurio Europos valstybių kultūrinių, politinių, teisinių nesutarimų kontekste. Aptariamos šią Konvenciją supančios abejonės Rytų (...) ir Vidurio Europos valstybėse, šių valstybių konstitucinių teismų sprendimai dėl Stambulo konvencijos nuostatų konstitucingumo, taip pat analizuojamos Lietuvos abejonės dėl šios Konvencijos atitikties Konstitucijai ir Konstitucinio Teismo požiūris į jas. (shrink)

Teoriniame straipsnyje analizuojama socialinių judėjimų sampratos kaita ir problematika. Mokslinėje literatūroje nėra vieningo socialinių judėjimų apibrėžimo. Socialinio judėjimo traktavimas priklauso nuo taikomų socialinių judėjimų teorijų bei nuo politinių ir socialinių aplinkybių. Straipsnyje siekiama identifikuoti pagrindines socialinių judėjimų sampratas ir jas tarpusavyje palyginti. Analizuojamos keturios pagrindinės socialinių judėjimų teorijos ir pateikiamos jų socialinių judėjimų sampratos – kolektyvinio elgesio, resursų mobilizacijos, politikos proceso ir naujųjų socialinių judėjimų teorijos.

The article offers a concise view on the problems related to the Church and State relationship in Latvia. The article presents the author’s hypothesis that under the new circumstances when special legal provisions apply to traditional churches, it must discussed whether the rest of religious organizations could be classified as religious societies, operating in accordance with the Law on Societies and foundations. The author also holds an opinion that it is important for every country to follow the principle of separation (...) of church from state; however, it must be combined with religious freedom. Nevertheless, the article reveals that the task is difficult to follow in practice, in Latvia and in other EU member states alike. (shrink)

Straipsnyje pateikiama transnacionalinės socialinės erdvės koncepcijų apžvalga ir socialinio mobilumo analizė transnacionalizmo kontekste gydytojų profesijos atveju. Kadangi ilgainiui teritorinį mobilumą keičia socialinis mobilumas, svarbu įvertinti migracijos kaip socialinio mobilumo kanalo reikšmę strategiškai svarbiai gydytojo profesijai. Taikant grafinę empirinių duomenų analizę buvo nustatyti reikšmingi šalių skirtumai gydytojų išsilavinimo, įgyto kitoje valstybėje, ar užsienio kilmės gydytojų atžvilgiu, todėl nepakanka kalbėti apie socialinį mobilumą vienos valstybės ribose. Transnacionalinės socialinės erdvės reikšmė auga dėl įvairių veiksnių: greičio įveikiant geografinius atstumus pokyčių, politinių sprendimų, ryškėjančių (...) ekonominių skirtumų tarp valstybių, socialinių tinklų plėtros ir kt. (shrink)

The paper focuses on the general principles established in the caselaw of the European Court of Human Rights while applying and interpreting the Article 3 of the First Protocol of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which provides: „The High Contracting Parties undertake to hold free elections at reasonable intervals by secret ballot, under conditions which will ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature.“ Article 3 of (...) the First Protocol enshrines a fundamental principle for effective political democracy, and is accordingly of prime importance in the Convention system. It refers not only to positive obligation of the Contracting State to organize democratic elections, but also guarantees individual rights, including the right to vote and the right to stand for election, although this is not explicitly stated in it. These rights are not absolute; there is room for “implied limitations” and Contracting States are given a wide margin of appreciation in this sphere. However, these limitations must be such that the rights in question were not curtailed to such an extent as to impair their very essence and deprive them of their effectiveness, should be imposed in pursuit of a legitimate aim and should not be disproportionate. (shrink)

Straipsnyje atskleidžiamos mokinių sociopsichologinės adaptacijos problemos, kylančios integruoto ugdymo aplinkoje siekiant sėkmingos inkliuzinio ugdymo perspektyvos. Mokslinio tyrimo prielaidos rėmėsi asmens apsisprendimo teorijos nuostata, kad išsikeltų gyvenimo tikslų įgyvendinimas ir psichologinė gerovė priklauso nuo asmens savikontrolės. Lietuvoje neįgaliųjų integracijos procesas prasidėjo 1993 m., išleidus Švietimo ir mokslo ministerijai pirmąją instrukciją dėl integruoto ugdymo bendrojo lavinimo mokyklose. Šiuo metu, vadovaujantis teisiniais dokumentais, skirtais neįgaliesiems suteikti galimybę gauti vienodas sąlygas gyventi pilnavertišką ir orų gyvenimą, turime pažymėti, kad Lietuvoje dar nėra sukurto neįgaliųjų integracijos (...) visuomenėje modelio, kuris veiktų kaip vientisas politinių, ekonominių, socialinių interesų bei neįgaliųjų ugdymo ir išsilavinimo mechanizmas. Tyrimo metu sukaupta naujų duomenų apie įgalių ir neįgalių mokinių, besimokančių integruoto tipo ugdymo mokykloje, sociopsichologinės adaptacijos problemas, kylančias bendraujant ir bendradarbiaujant bendroje ugdymo aplinkoje. (shrink)

Various special investigative methods are more often applied nowadays; their use is unavoidably induced by today’s reality in combating organised crime in the spheres such as corruption, prostitution, drug trafficking, trafficking in persons, money counterfeit and etc. Therefore, special secret investigative methods are more often used and they are very effective in gathering evidence for the purpose of detecting and investigating very well-organised or latent crimes. Both the Convention on the Protection on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms itself, i.e. its (...) Article 6, and other international instruments, such as the Council of Europe’s Criminal Law Convention, the Council of Europe’s Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and others, do not prohibit the use of special investigative methods, provided that their use does not violate human rights. The use of special investigative methods, such as undercover agents or other undercover investigative methods, cannot in itself infringe human rights and the right to a fair trial; however, its use must have clear limits and safeguards. The recent judgements of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the use of undercover agents confirm that the use of undercover agents in certain types of cases is often unavoidable and also very problematic, because the Court imposes on the member states of the Convention increasingly wider obligations. Partly this is determined by the fact that the current jurisprudence of the Court is still in the state of formation, therefore many questions are left unanswered. (shrink)

The constitutional right to self-expression, used by societies professing democratic values (Constitution, Article 25), is a highly important feature for forming the political will of the citizenry. A broad, multi-sided public discussion on all issues of public interest is only possible with the existence of an appropriate amount of freedom of information. A strong mechanism for disseminating information that operates between citizens and the parliament is able to generate a sphere for discussion and mutual influence which are essential for indirect (...) democracy. A discussion’s depth, quality and comprehensiveness constitute important factors which determine the correctness of choices made by citizens and politicians. Mainly, it is the free press which fosters communication between political parties and citizens. The role of the “watchdog” is fundamental to revealing the circumstances under which politicians or other public persons make different political and administrative decisions. This is what permits the identification of motives for rulings and the circumstances under which they were approved. (shrink)

For the purposes of this article, the right to confidentiality of communications between a lawyer and a client (legal professional privilege) is analysed and understood as a rule under which, in judicial or administrative proceedings, the content of communications between a lawyer and his client shall not be disclosed; if this rule is breached, the content of the communications in question is not treated as evidence in the process. Legal professional privilege is related to several articles of the Convention for (...) the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The European Court of Human Rights has found that the violation of the right of an accused to communicate with a lawyer without a third party departs from Article 6(3)(c) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which entitles to defend oneself in person or through a legal assistant. This kind of communication also relates to the Article 8 of the Convention, which provides a right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence. In the opinion of the European Court of Human Rights, according to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms there is no difference if a lawyer representing a client is a practitioner or not. However, when dealing with the violations of EU competition law, the Court of Justice of the European Union acknowledges the protection of legal professional privilege only with regard to the communications between an accused companies and an independent lawyer (who does not work for his client on an employment contract basis). When the protection of legal professional privilege is not granted for communications of the accused company with its own legal personnel, a question may arise whether it is considered that sufficient level of confidentiality is ensured for these companies. (shrink)

During the last twenty – thirty years there has been unprecedented demand for new legal regulation in the field of environmental protection, which influenced the immense growth in both the body of environmental legislation and in re-thinking the idea and principles of the environmental protection itself. The provisions of environmental law are passed, accepted and obeyed with a great resistance in the society. On the one hand, environmental law may be defined as a value system that seeks to induce humans (...) to act as stewards of nature rather than only its exploiters, and therefore the environmental provisions are construed in a manner that the main instruments are limitations of different activities in order to prevent the disruption of natural systems. On the other hand, by doing so the environmental law places nature and future generations (those categories commonly do not have any legal personality) and not the human (the sole addressee and the beneficiary of the traditional legal system) in the centre of environmental regulation. This concept radically transforms the relationship between nature and mankind by subordinating the initiative to benefit from legal regulation. By doing so, the environmental provisions make the opposite and evolve tension in respect of such rights as the right to property, the right to personal life, or individual welfare. In the present research the aim is to disclose the origins and the most important principles of international and regional legal regulation of environmental protection, and to analyse the essence of environmental law in the context of public interest. The environmental law is analysed in the context of such human rights as the right to property and the right to personal life. (shrink)

Whilst the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which became part of binding primary EU law on 1 December 2009, constitutes an important codification and clarification of fundamental rights as they exist in the European Union, the field of application of the Charter is limited in a significant way: the Charter only applies when EU law is at stake. When national courts and authorities in the EU Member States are confronted with problems of purely national law, they are (...) not obliged to apply the Charter but should instead rely on the national constitutional Bill of Rights as well as the international human rights instruments which are binding on the Member State in question. The borderline between EU law and national law is not always easy to establish in a concrete case. This article discusses theoretical and practical problems arising out of the application and interpretation of Article 51(1) of the Charter, according to which the Charter is addressed to the Member States ‘only when they are implementing Union law’. It is suggested to adopt a pragmatic case-by-case approach, asking oneself if there is another norm of Union law than a Charter provision which is directly relevant to a case in concreto. If the answer is yes, also the Charter should be applied, supposing that there is a Charter provision which could influence the outcome of the case. If the answer is in the negative, national courts and authorities are only obliged to apply national law, including the constitutional Bill of Rights and the international human rights obligations of the Member State concerned. (shrink)

The article deals with the exception to copyright for the purposes of parody and caricature. This exception is one of the tools ensuring the balance between the authors’ interest to have the monopoly on the use of their works and the right of the members of the society to the freedom of expression. Another aim of parody exception is the promotion of creativity by the permission of the transformative use of copyrighted works. Three main aspects of this issue are discussed (...) in this article. The first one deals with the legal regulation of parody exception. The parody exception is one of the exceptions permitted by the Information Society Directive. The countries under investigation have two main schemes of legal regulation related to the parody exception. The first group are droit d’auteur countries (France and Belgium) which have a special parody exception provision in their Copyright laws. The second group are copyright countries (the United States and the United Kingdom) with no special provision regarding the parody exception in their laws; however, in the case law of these countries this exception is recognised as one of the acts of fair dealing or faire use. The Lithuanian Copyright Act permits the use of copyrighted works for the purposes of caricature and parody. (shrink)

[1] Ḥeleḳ ha-moʻadim -- [2] Ḥeleḳ parashiyot ha-Torah -- ḥeleḳ 3. Be-ʻinyene midot.

Socio-philosophical work in response to the philosophy of Pitirim Aleksandrovich Sorokin.

An exploration of the features and methods of Imāmī exegesis. Principally, it offers a description and analysis of the major tenets of Imāmī doctrine, as reflected in the earliest Imāmī works of exegesis and related sources, up to the Major Occultation of the twelfth Imam in 329/941.

An academic anthology on Jewish studies and education in memory of dr. Avraham Zalkin.

On sayings and teachings of 11th century Fatimid Caliph.

ḥelek 1. kolel beʼurim ʻal pereḳ ha-haḳdamah le-Shaʻar ha-yiḥud ṿeha-emunah. "Ḥanokh la-naʻar" --.