Suchergebnisse

В статье анализируется система законодательных и других нормативных правовых актов, устанавливающих порядок представления сведений о расходах, новые правила контроля за соответствием расходов лиц, замещающих государственные и муниципальные должности, должности государственной и муниципальной службы, другие должности, их доходам. Сопоставляются новые законодательные положения по вопросам контроля за расходами с действующей системой представления сведений о доходах, имуществе и обязательствах имущественного характера для указанных категорий лиц, рассматриваются возможные проблемы правоприменения и предлагаются пути их решения. ; The article "Government and Other Officials' Expenditures Control: New in Legislation" is focused on the analysis of new legal regulations concerning officials' expenditures control under Russian law. In accordance with the article 20 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption subject to its constitution and the fundamental principles of its legal system, each State Party of the abovementioned Convention shall consider adopting such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as a criminal offence, when committed intentionally, illicit enrichment, that is, a significant increase in the assets of a public official that he or she cannot reasonably explain in relation to his or her lawful income. On January 1, 2013 the Federal Law No 230-FZ of December 3, 2012 "On control over consistency of expenditures of government officials and of other individuals to their incomes" (hereinafter – the "Law No 230-FZ") came into force. Aimed at the partial implementation of the article 20 of the UN Convention against Corruption, the Law No 230-FZ obliges federal and regional government officials (ministers, deputies, governors, etc.), municipal officials (mayors, other local public officials), government and municipal servants in accordance with special lists of offices (additional enactment required), specified employees of state-owned corporations, state non-budgetary funds, the Central Bank of Russia, some other officials (hereinafter – "Controlled Officials") to declare their expenditures and their spouses and non-adult children expenditures related to acquisitions of fixed assets (including parcels of land), vehicles, securities and shares of corporate stock as well as the sources of income for purchasing these assets. If the amount of expenditures exceeds total income of Controlled Official and his or her spouse over a three-year period prior to the acquisition such transaction should be declared. Controlled Officials is required to report on their purchase and purchase of his or her spouse and non-adult children. The new legislation introduces the control procedure carrying out by the personnel or compliance control departments of the government agencies (or the other aforesaid entities). The Law No 230-FZ requires enacting some regulations and regional laws in order to define agencies and departments responsible for expenditures control, procedures, terms and forms of reporting, etc. According to the Law No 230-FZ if Controlled Official fails to prove legality of his or her revenue authorized agency or department refers a case to the public prosecutor's office. Then, the prosecutor brings an action against the Controlled Official in order to appropriate the unlawful property for the benefit of the public treasury. In this article we also analyze some controversial points of the Law No 230-FZ, compare it with the previous expenditures control regulations for individuals. To our opinion, the Law No 230-FZ provides good opportunities to prevent corruption. However, we argue that abovementioned Law should be improved and offer recommendations for such improvement.

Le considerazioni sviluppate in questo scritto si pongono come obiettivo quello di fare chiarezza sul delicato tema delle opere di urbanizzazione a scomputo. La normativa concernente la realizzazione delle opere pubbliche a scomputo totale o parziale degli oneri di urbanizzazione è stata oggetto di svariate modifiche e interpretazioni giurisprudenziali, che si sono susseguite dopo l'importante pronuncia della Corte di Giustizia Europea. E' con questa sentenza che i Giudici del Kirchberg introducono un particolare obbligo procedurale a carico dei privati: nel caso in cui singole opere superino i valori di rilevanza europea, esse devono essere affidate, applicando le procedure di gara previste dalla direttiva 37/93/CEE. Va precisato che sino a quel momento l'affidamento diretto delle opere al privato costituiva nell'ottica del Legislatore lo strumento per realizzare le infrastrutture necessarie per consentire gli insediamenti edilizi che la pubblica amministrazione spesso non era in grado di effettuare. In questo panorama legislativo la sentenza della Corte di Giustizia, appare del tutto dirompente. Infatti, introducendo il principio secondo cui anche la realizzazione diretta delle opere di urbanizzazione da parte del privato deve sottostare alle regole delle procedure europee in materia di appalti, mette inevitabilmente a confronto due normative, quella degli appalti pubblici e quella dell'urbanistica, che sino a quel momento erano riuscite a viaggiare in modo parallelo, senza dar luogo a reciproche sovrapposizioni. Il Legislatore nazionale ha, con molta fatica, recepito il principio comunitario ed è stato negli anni quasi costretto, attraverso una serie di modifiche legislative, ad ampliarne la portata. La presente ricerca, dopo aver analizzato i vari correttivi apportati al Codice degli appalti pubblici vuole, quindi, verificare se l'attuale quadro normativo rappresenti un vero punto di equilibrio tra le contrapposte esigenze di pianificazione del territorio e di rispetto dei principi comunitari di concorrenza nella scelta del contraente. ; The arguments developed have as their aim to to clarify the issue of primary and secondary urbanization costs In the last fifteen years, the field of urban development law has, in fact, undergone a radical transformation. In particular, the legislation on primary and secondary urbanization costs have been the subject of several amendments and judicial interpretations, that have taken place after the important decision of the European Court of Justice (case "Bicocca" 12 / 07/2001 - C 399/98). It should be noted that until that time the direct assignment of the works on the property developer represented, for the Legislator the tool to create the necessary infrastructure to allow the building settlements that the government was often not able to make. In this scenario the judgment of the Court of Justice has a major impact. In fact, by introducing the principle according to which even the direct execution of urbanization by the private party must submit to the rules of European procedures for procurement, inevitably puts comparing two laws, the public works and the planning, which until at that time were able to go in parallel, without giving rise to mutual overlapping. The present study, after analyzing the various amendments over the Code of public contracts will, therefore, determine whether the current regulatory framework provides for a true point of balance between the conflicting requirements for land use planning and compliance with the principles of competition in the Community choice of contractor.

На основе опубликованных материалов и архивных документов освещается деятельность Алтайской Горной думы в системе новых органов власти, создаваемых в 1917 г.; освещаются основные направления деятельности в течение восьми месяцев; показано, каким образом складывались отношения Алтайской Горной думы с Советами, ставшими в октябре 1917 г. органами власти. ; In this paper the considered on the basis of published historical works, other materials, as well as archival documents, activities Altai Gorny Council in the system of new government, created in the country. Altai City Council was established in July 1917 in Biysk at a congress of representatives of foreign parishes Biysk and Kuznetsk counties. The establishment of the Altai City Council took place with the assistance of the authorities Biysk County and the local community. In the period 1917-1922., in the territory of the Altai Gorny occurs becoming primary controls indigenous people on the basis of the national idea. This process was difficult, how at throughout the territory of Russian state. Highlights the main directions of activity Altai Gorny Council, for example, not only the decision of the national and the agrarian questions, but also changes in the field of culture, education and other areas. Altai Gorny Council as one of the organs of the Provisional Government realized in life of all the orders and laws, emanating from the central Popular Power, and was in charge of all needs and beautification of life of the Altai people. Shows the process of folding of relations Altai Gorny Council with Soviets. On the territory of the Altai Gorny Soviets were created autumn 1917. One feature was that even before the proclamation Soviet regime in the cities and counties in the region, Altai Gorny Council start to create Soviets at the places. To the point, politically Altai City Council thought at the first instance focused on the Socialist-Revolutionary Party. To achieve its objectives considered the possibility of achieving the convening of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly. In the Altai City Council thoughts were not defined the legal position and status. Altai City Council has positioned itself in different ways. The first place. Altai Mountain City Council is the central body of the national territory of the foreign population Biysk and Kuznetsk counties (in august 1917 discussed the issue of administrative subordination of the southern townships of the Biysk county). Second, the fall of 1917 Altai City Council positioned as the local government of the new county, which she planned to form in the mountainous part of Biysk County. This idea has received support from the county and the Altai Biysk provincial district council, and the central authorities. The central authorities have opposed the creation of an independent district council. During the eight months of existence she was unable to perform all decisions of the Congress members of other parishes Altai, but over the short term of has become effective organ of power in the investigated of us region. She managed to create the administrative and judicial department, the land council, the department of education, food, economic and financial departments. In addition, the Duma and its departments are engaged in gathering information to determine the boundaries of the territory and the future of the county.

For sustainable business strategies to be effective, they need to be authentic, and successfully implemented with active participation from management and staff throughout the organisation. This process has been under researched in the environmental and strategic management literature. The tourism industry provides an ideal context to examine this process when it is based on a 'green' image, as it relies on the 'authentic' imagery of and engagement with the natural environment to differentiate destinations and to create competitive advantage. As the outcomes of these strategies are dependent on the active participation and engagement of front-line staff, and are observable by consumers, poorly implemented strategies will not be authentic and can open organisations to allegations of 'greenwash.' This paper investigates the translation of the 100% Pure New Zealand branding campaign into authentic sustainability strategies, and the implementation process to embed these strategies. The study was undertaken using the qualitative research based on of multiple case studies, where information was gathered using semi structured interviews with the manager and front-line employees of four i-SITEs, as well an observation of the i-SITE buildings, where tourists interact with the 100% Pure brand. The results were examined using thematic analysis, where a number of themes emerged, including: sustainability, the definition, policies, practices and procedures, as well as an identification of barriers to implementation; the perceptions and relevance of third party accreditation, in particular the Qualmark Enviro Awards; an exploration of authenticity in a tourism industry context; the communication of sustainability top-down from council and ground-up, including with tourists; and an exploration to identify an understanding of imagery and concepts of 100% Pure campaign. Four concepts were identified for further discussion. First, the constraints and barriers to sustainability strategies: with reference to the council, the building, and a discourse between the participant's home sustainability actions and work implementation. Second, how Tourism New Zealand translates the 100% Pure campaign into a strategic vision. Third, an exploration of the understanding and meaning of authenticity. Fourth, a discussion on implementing and embedding authentic sustainability strategies. The study makes contributions to theory, policy and practice. For the implementation of authentic strategies the study suggests that a whole organisation approach, that combines top-down and bottom-up approaches, is necessary to implement and embed successful sustainability strategies. These theoretical insights are elaborated from two perspectives: top-down and from bottom-up, resulting in two levels of policy implications. The top-down perspective focuses on how Tourism New Zealand and local councils can better communicate the strategic vision created using the 100% Pure brand, as well as suggestions for more effective dissemination of information and knowledge about sustainability, and related policy. The bottom-up perspective focuses on employee empowerment, to engage in the creation, implementation and review of sustainability strategy to enable authentic implementation and embeddedness. Specific recommendations are offered for management practice that there must be an involvement and commitment of time and resources, not just financial resources, by the management and staff at the i-SITEs, the local councils, as well as central government through Tourism New Zealand to more effectively embed authentic strategies throughout the organisations involved.

Обсуждая методологические проблемы научного познания в юриспруденции, автор анализирует ценность методологического инструментария в науке, обозначая его как тот необходимый регламент, который является правилом применения всех иных правил, лежащих в основе научного познания. Научная и практическая значимость методологического обеспечения любой познавательной деятельности несомненна, поскольку результаты каждого исследования заранее обусловливаются тем набором способов и средств, которые будут использованы исследователем в ходе изучения соответствующего правового феномена. Достигнутое в теории наличное знание о методологии характеризует ее как содержательно-теоретическую сторону процесса познания или как науку о компонентах научного познания. Опираясь на эти теоретические суждения, автор стремится отграничить родственные или смежные понятия, с которыми часто смешивают методологию. В их числе такие однокоренные понятия, как «метод» и «методика». Они имеют с методологией общие корни, но каждое при этом несет самостоятельную смысловую нагрузку. В философской науке метод определен как путь, способ, логическое орудие, с помощью которого ум человека стремится к познанию истины. В области правовой науки метод обоснованно рассматривается в качестве одного из уровней методологического пространства. Понятие «методика», не имея формально-устойчивого определения, наиболее часто используется в общеупотребительном значении как техника, внешние правила выполнения какого-либо действия со знанием конкретных операций, на которые разлагаются действия. Применительно к исследовательской деятельности в области права автор рассматривает методику как набор последовательных процедур накопления, систематизации и обработки доктринального, правового, эмпирического материала. ; Discussing methodological problems of scientific knowledge of law the author analyzes the value of methodological tools in science, designating it as those necessary regulations which is the rule of application of all other rules underlying scientific knowledge. The scientific and practical importance of methodological ensuring any informative activity is undoubted as results of each research are caused in advance by that set of ways and means which will be used by the researcher during studying of the corresponding legal phenomenon. The cash knowledge reached in the theory of methodology characterizes it as the substantial and theoretical party of process of knowledge or as science about components of scientific knowledge. Relying on these theoretical judgments the author seeks to delimit related or adjacent concepts with which often mix methodology. Among them such single-root in the Russian language concepts as "method" and "technique". They have the general roots with methodology, but everyone, thus, bears independent semantic loading. The method is defined in the philosophical science as the way, the logical tool by means of which mind of the person aspires to truth knowledge. In the field of legal science the method is reasonably considered as one of levels of methodological space. The concept "technique" is most often used in common value without having formal and steady definition as equipment, external rules of performance of any action with knowledge of concrete operations on which actions decay. In relation to research activity in the field of the law the author considers technique as a set of consecutive procedures of accumulation, systematization and processing of doctrinal, legal, empirical material. Refusal of system techniques in the theory often attracts mistakes and is capable to turn back practical powerlessness of legal science to please interpretation instead of legislation creation as a result. Subjective characteristics of the researcher gain the most essential value at the level of the technique. In the ratio analysis with methodology the technique acts as one of elements of methodological space as well as the method.

La Unión Patriótica como movimiento político marcó todo un acontecimiento sin precedentes en la historia reciente de Colombia, pues significó el inicio de la participación en la vida política de partidos de oposición, y uno de los primeros intentos por parte del gobierno nacional para poner fin al conflicto armado, que por tantas décadas ha golpeado al país. A pesar de la notoria acogida que tuvo dentro de la sociedad civil colombiana, este partido representó una inminente amenaza para algunos sectores, que desencadenaron hechos tendientes a conseguir el deterioro y exterminio de esta fuerza política, generándose todo tipo de vulneraciones a los Derechos Humanos y dejando  cifras incalculables de víctimas, las cuales hasta la fecha solo las ha perseguido la impunidad. Frente a esta situación se hace necesario explicar cómo se afectan los derechos a la verdad, la justicia y la reparación de las víctimas del genocidio de la Unión Patriótica en Colombia, como consecuencia de la responsabilidad de los organismos estatales en el país, y la incertidumbre a nivel internacional en la búsqueda de la protección de estos. En este punto será necesario primero identificar los parámetros mínimos de protección de los derechos, para así poder evaluar su efectiva protección. Es de suma importancia el papel que desempeña el Estado colombiano, puesto que de este depende que exista una real protección de los derechos, ya que debe asumir dentro de su organización gubernamental los mecanismos y organismos necesarios para evitar la vulneración o propiciar la efectiva protección en caso de encontrarse violentando uno de estos derechos. Para explicar estas situaciones es necesario dar un manejo jurisprudencial y legal, tanto a nivel nacional como internacional y los mecanismos que existen para hacerlos efectivos. ; The Patriotic Union as a political movement traced an unprecedented event in Colombian recent history because it represents the beginning of opposition Parties participation in political life and one of the first attempts by the national government to end the armed conflict that has afflicted the country for so many decades. Despite the remarkable reception it had in Colombian civil population, this party also represented an imminent threat to some sectors of the society, triggering a series of events aimed to the deterioration and destruction of this political force, generating all kinds of infringements to Human Rights leaving incalculable number of victims, up to date only prosecuted by impunity. Against this situation it is necessary to explain how the Right to truth justice and reparation for the genocide victims of the Patriotic Union in Colombia is affected, as a consequence of the responsibility of the State organisms in the country and the international uncertainty in the search for their protection. At this point it is necessary to identify first the minimum standards for the rights protection, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of this protection. At this point the role of Colombian government in the investigation is very important since the protection of the Rights depend on this though it must assume within the governmental organization, the mechanisms and necessary structure to avoid their infringement providing effective protection in case they are endangered. To explain these situations it is necessary the provision of legal management both international and national and the mechanisms to make them effective.

In the 1970s, the process of European integration induced discussions about the deficit of democracy in the European Union (EU). The decrease of national parliaments' powers and the increase of the autonomy of executive branches are named as one of the aspects of this problem. As this problem has been realised, national parliaments began to create different mechanisms for scrutinizing the activity of national governments at the level of EU institutions. Gradually, the European Affairs Committees (EAC) were founded in all EU member states. However, despite the role given to these innovations, the academic society, political analysts and politicians have doubts as to the effectiveness of these scrutiny mechanisms. When analyzing the issue of the parliamentary scrutiny of the EU affairs, very often the parliament is perceived as an undivided, integral object. However, the parliament is composed of different political parties that can have very different or similar attitudes and may form coalitions or become an oppositional power. When a government is composed of more than one political party, the informational asymmetry is increasing. Therefore, the need for the parliamentary scrutiny increases, too. Not only oppositional parties, but also the parties that have formed a coalition become the actors that scrutinize the government. These parties feel the need to scrutinize ministers and their subordinates who represent their coalitional partners in the government. This need increases even more when there is a high level of preference divergence within a coalition of political parties. The main issue of this study was to elucidate whether the level of preference divergence within a coalition determines the intensity of parliamentary scrutiny of the EU affairs. The Lithuanian case study is analysed. Results of the research show that, depending on the parties' position in the economic and ideological left–right scale, the level of preference divergence in the 2006–2008 coalition was higher that in the 2008–2012 coalition. However, in the 2008–2012 coalition there was a higher disagreement in the area of socio-cultural issues (in the area of human rights and liberties). Both coalitions had very similar attitudes towards the process of the European integration. Almost all parties could be named as euro-optimistic parties. A nalysis of the protocols of EAC meetings showed that in the period 18.11.2008–30.04.2012 there was implemented a more intensive parliamentary scrutiny than in the period 06.07.2006–17.11.2008. Thus, despite the lower level of preference divergence in the 2008–2012 coalition, during the period of its governing the instruments of parliamentary scrutiny were used more often than in 2006–2006. A more detailed analysis allows to conclude that a more intensive scrutiny in the second period was determined by a more active participation of the Seimas member V. Valkiūnas (who has a very skeptical attitude towards the EU) in the meetings of the EAC and the more intensive role of opposition in the activities of this committee. The number of cases when coalition partners could not reach a consensus during the EAC sessions was very small both in 06.07.2006–17.11.2008 and in 18.11.2008–30.04.2012. The cases when this consensus was not reached were related to spiritual, very ideologised issues and to the issues that were very important to interest groups. Moreover, in Lithuania, the EAC is not perceived as an area or the instrument to control coalitional partners despite the differences in the positions of the coalitional parties.

In the 1970s, the process of European integration induced discussions about the deficit of democracy in the European Union (EU). The decrease of national parliaments' powers and the increase of the autonomy of executive branches are named as one of the aspects of this problem. As this problem has been realised, national parliaments began to create different mechanisms for scrutinizing the activity of national governments at the level of EU institutions. Gradually, the European Affairs Committees (EAC) were founded in all EU member states. However, despite the role given to these innovations, the academic society, political analysts and politicians have doubts as to the effectiveness of these scrutiny mechanisms. When analyzing the issue of the parliamentary scrutiny of the EU affairs, very often the parliament is perceived as an undivided, integral object. However, the parliament is composed of different political parties that can have very different or similar attitudes and may form coalitions or become an oppositional power. When a government is composed of more than one political party, the informational asymmetry is increasing. Therefore, the need for the parliamentary scrutiny increases, too. Not only oppositional parties, but also the parties that have formed a coalition become the actors that scrutinize the government. These parties feel the need to scrutinize ministers and their subordinates who represent their coalitional partners in the government. This need increases even more when there is a high level of preference divergence within a coalition of political parties. The main issue of this study was to elucidate whether the level of preference divergence within a coalition determines the intensity of parliamentary scrutiny of the EU affairs. The Lithuanian case study is analysed. Results of the research show that, depending on the parties' position in the economic and ideological left–right scale, the level of preference divergence in the 2006–2008 coalition was higher that in the 2008–2012 coalition. However, in the 2008–2012 coalition there was a higher disagreement in the area of socio-cultural issues (in the area of human rights and liberties). Both coalitions had very similar attitudes towards the process of the European integration. Almost all parties could be named as euro-optimistic parties. A nalysis of the protocols of EAC meetings showed that in the period 18.11.2008–30.04.2012 there was implemented a more intensive parliamentary scrutiny than in the period 06.07.2006–17.11.2008. Thus, despite the lower level of preference divergence in the 2008–2012 coalition, during the period of its governing the instruments of parliamentary scrutiny were used more often than in 2006–2006. A more detailed analysis allows to conclude that a more intensive scrutiny in the second period was determined by a more active participation of the Seimas member V. Valkiūnas (who has a very skeptical attitude towards the EU) in the meetings of the EAC and the more intensive role of opposition in the activities of this committee. The number of cases when coalition partners could not reach a consensus during the EAC sessions was very small both in 06.07.2006–17.11.2008 and in 18.11.2008–30.04.2012. The cases when this consensus was not reached were related to spiritual, very ideologised issues and to the issues that were very important to interest groups. Moreover, in Lithuania, the EAC is not perceived as an area or the instrument to control coalitional partners despite the differences in the positions of the coalitional parties.

Статья посвящена наименее изученному аспекту гражданско-правовой ответственности – ее применению. Фокус современных цивилистических исследований в этой сфере направлен прежде всего на проблемы понятия ответственности, перечня мер ответственности, оснований и условий их применения. В то время как теоретически обоснованная концепция механизма применения мер ответственности в гражданском праве отсутствует. Нормы гражданского законодательства о применении мер ответственности разрозненны, непоследовательны, казуистичны. Предлагается разработать единый институт применения гражданско-правовой ответственности и включить в него регулирование принципов определения размера ответственности, оснований освобождения от нее и постприменения ответственности (оснований освобождения от уже назначенной меры гражданско-правовой ответственности). ; The article is devoted to the least studied aspect of the civil and legal liability – to its application. The modern civil research of this sphere is mostly aimed at the problems of the liability notion, the list of liabilities, reasons and conditions of their application. The realization of any liability passes through three principal phases. The first one is associated with settling the fact of the offence and its qualification (reasons, conditions of liability, circumstances excluding the illegality of the behavior). At the second phase, the amount of liability is defined (type and size of the penalty). The third phase is the direct assignment (application) of the legal liability. With this, there is no theoretically justified concept of liability application in the civil law. The civil legislation norms on liability application are segmental, inconsistent and lacking general concept. It is necessary to develop a single institute of the civil and legal liability application and complement it with the regulation of the liability amount definition principles, reasons for relieving from liability and liability post-application (reason for escaping the already awarded civil and legal liability). When defining the amount of the liability it is necessary to keep in mind that it is based on the principle of full compensation of the caused negative effect, but it can be limited in sanction of the corresponding article for a separate offence. In the civil law, there are the elements of the general legal institution of the mitigating circumstances and so as a consequence – circumstances influencing the amount of liability: the guilt of the complainant, the property status of the harm-doer, a vivid non-compliance of the forfeit and the consequences of breaking the obligation, the character of corporal and mental hurt of the complainant, as well as the extent of guilt of the mental harm-doer in case of bearing the liability for the guilt. The reasons for relieving from the civil and legal liability are the expiry of the limitation periods with the corresponding claim of a party in an argue, low significance of the offence, refusal of the creditor to bring the offender to liability (forgiving a debt), conciliation with the offender. In the civil law, the situations are possible when the offender is to compensate for the damage in accordance with the decision of the court, the official enforcement is activated, but with this subsequently he is relieved from this compensation partially or fully. As the size of the already defined amount is being changed, it is practicable to use term "post-application" of the civil and legal liability.

The three papers that form this thesis are about higher education. It question 3 fact that are considered commmon wisdom. The first chapter analysis the importance of credit constraints on college enrollment, the scecond chapter analyses the effects of acces to credit market to survive in college education and the third analyses the effects of higer education on civic participation. The first paper re analyse the comon wisdom thta stablish that credit access do not matter to make distintions among studetn in enrillment.The three aspect are related with market failures in the market of education. The first 2 indicates that the access to credit markets are key determinent of the enrollment gap observed in many countries. Befiore these paper the common wisdom mainly driven from evidence from the united States indicated that the enrollment gap iss minaly driven by family characteristics and ability. That access to credit market if they do not exist did not play any relevant role determining who enter into higher education.The third paper points to another market failure. the presence of externatilities. I feducation have externalities therefore justify the government intervention to increase the amount of educaiton in the society. contraty to the common wiodom I find that education do not have an externality on civic participation.Does limited access to credit explain some of the gap in schooling attainment between children from richer and poorer families? I present new evidence on this important question using data from two loan programs for college students in Chile. Both programs offer loans to students who score above a threshold on the national college admission test, providing the basis for a regression discontinuity evaluation design. I find that students who score just above the cutoff have nearly 20 percentage points higher enrollment than students who score just below the cutoff, which represent a 100% increase in the enrollment rate. Access to the loan program effectively eliminates the family-income gradient in enrollment among students with similar test scores. Moreover, access to loans also leads to higher enrollment in the second and third years of college, and lower dropout rates. These findings suggest that differential access to credit is an important factor behind the intergenerational transmission of income. The relationship between education and political participation is one of the strongest relationships in political sciences. Nevertheless, recently some papers have suggested that the relationship is not causal. In this paper I use the eligibility criteria for a loan program in Chile, which produces an exogenous variation on higher education to test the causal effects of higher education on registration to vote and affiliation on a political party. I also use the discontinuity on higher education to explore different channels that have been mentioned in the literature as the mechanisms underlying the relation. I instrument higher education, college education and years of education to test the hypothesis that higher cognitive skills cause political participation. I also construct measures of the network quality (proportion of students registered to vote, presenting interest for history, having higher abilities or knowledge of history and language), to test the social network hypothesis, that exposure to better peers allowed by education implies higher participation rates. All the channels explored in the paper indicate that the relation between higher education and political participation is a spurious correlation.

In the 1970s, the process of European integration induced discussions about the deficit of democracy in the European Union (EU). The decrease of national parliaments' powers and the increase of the autonomy of executive branches are named as one of the aspects of this problem. As this problem has been realised, national parliaments began to create different mechanisms for scrutinizing the activity of national governments at the level of EU institutions. Gradually, the European Affairs Committees (EAC) were founded in all EU member states. However, despite the role given to these innovations, the academic society, political analysts and politicians have doubts as to the effectiveness of these scrutiny mechanisms. When analyzing the issue of the parliamentary scrutiny of the EU affairs, very often the parliament is perceived as an undivided, integral object. However, the parliament is composed of different political parties that can have very different or similar attitudes and may form coalitions or become an oppositional power. When a government is composed of more than one political party, the informational asymmetry is increasing. Therefore, the need for the parliamentary scrutiny increases, too. Not only oppositional parties, but also the parties that have formed a coalition become the actors that scrutinize the government. These parties feel the need to scrutinize ministers and their subordinates who represent their coalitional partners in the government. This need increases even more when there is a high level of preference divergence within a coalition of political parties. The main issue of this study was to elucidate whether the level of preference divergence within a coalition determines the intensity of parliamentary scrutiny of the EU affairs. The Lithuanian case study is analysed. Results of the research show that, depending on the parties' position in the economic and ideological left–right scale, the level of preference divergence in the 2006–2008 coalition was higher that in the 2008–2012 coalition. However, in the 2008–2012 coalition there was a higher disagreement in the area of socio-cultural issues (in the area of human rights and liberties). Both coalitions had very similar attitudes towards the process of the European integration. Almost all parties could be named as euro-optimistic parties. A nalysis of the protocols of EAC meetings showed that in the period 18.11.2008–30.04.2012 there was implemented a more intensive parliamentary scrutiny than in the period 06.07.2006–17.11.2008. Thus, despite the lower level of preference divergence in the 2008–2012 coalition, during the period of its governing the instruments of parliamentary scrutiny were used more often than in 2006–2006. A more detailed analysis allows to conclude that a more intensive scrutiny in the second period was determined by a more active participation of the Seimas member V. Valkiūnas (who has a very skeptical attitude towards the EU) in the meetings of the EAC and the more intensive role of opposition in the activities of this committee. The number of cases when coalition partners could not reach a consensus during the EAC sessions was very small both in 06.07.2006–17.11.2008 and in 18.11.2008–30.04.2012. The cases when this consensus was not reached were related to spiritual, very ideologised issues and to the issues that were very important to interest groups. Moreover, in Lithuania, the EAC is not perceived as an area or the instrument to control coalitional partners despite the differences in the positions of the coalitional parties.

It is estimated that there are more than 86 million migrant workers worldwide, the vast majority of whom suffer poor living and working conditions. In the United States, more than 3 million migrant farmworkers, including at least 100,000 children, are estimated to labor in fields every year, many of whom lack access to justice, earn sub-living wages, and exist in dehumanizing circumstances. Farmworkers are among the most exploited and vulnerable populations in the United States; yet, distressingly, they are also the least protected by U.S. law and law enforcement. Legal aid advocates in the United States attempt to raise awareness and educate this starkly poor, mobile, and isolated population about the legal protections and remedies available to them, only to have employers either outright deny access or prevent meaningful communication with farmworkers in the migrant labor camps where migrants and their families often reside during the course of their employment. One nonprofit law firm that provides such services, Maryland Legal Aid Bureau, spearheaded the submission of a joint legal aid complaint on the issue to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights. The advocates, who reach out to and represent migrant farmworkers, argue that the lack of federal law mandating access to migrant labor camps, combined with discriminatory treatment of migrant farmworkers under U.S. labor laws and lackluster enforcement of those laws that would apply, violates a panoply of farmworkers' human rights, including their right to access justice. The complaint, which is the basis for this Article, is notable because it is the first-ever joint effort among U.S. legal aid organizations to utilize the Special Procedures provided through the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner of Human Rights to shine an international spotlight on an entrenched local issue. It comes on the heels of a new partnership between Maryland Legal Aid, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, and the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at the Washington College of Law (the "Center") at American University. One of the the Center's programs, the Local Human Rights Lawyering Project, aims to normalize human rights at the state and local level and help legal aid lawyers integrate human rights into their daily work. Such partnerships are part of a larger push among social justice advocates in the United States to galvanize a domestic human rights movement so as to bring human rights home, rather than only applying them oversees, as has thus far been more common. As described more fully below, the joint legal aid complaint submitted to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights argues that the denial of access to migrant labor camps ostensibly equals an inability for the farmworkers to access justice, as well as other human rights, especially the right to health and the right to family and community. The complaint argues that the United States, as a State Party to various human rights treaties, is required to protect, respect, and fulfill the human rights of all people, including migrants. By refusing to uphold the right to access to justice for farmworkers in the United States, the U.S. government, as well as state and local governments, violate human rights law, thereby allowing millions of farmworkers to continuously suffer inhumane conditions and assaults on human dignity.

La tesi di Marco Perez intitolata "Luis Arana e i veterani di Euzkeldun Batzokija: la corrente ortodossa del nazionalismo basco", può essere considerata come la biografia politica di uno dei personaggi più importanti del nazionalismo basco. Il lavoro di ricerca si centra fondamentalmente sull'ispiratore del nazionalismo euskaldun (e cofondatore del Partido Nacionalista Vasco) e della corrente che ne accompagnò e sostenne l'azione politica. Euzkeldun Batzokija fu il nome dato al primo circolo del PNV, fondato da Luis e Sabino Arana nel 1894. Successivamente, gli statuti del circolo e i suoi membri veterani furono presi come modello del nazionalismo primordiale (che si pretendeva definire sull'esempio dell'Ordine gesuita). Sul piano organizzativo la tesi si divide in sette capitoli che ricostruiscono il percorso politico di Luis Arana, dai primi documenti del 1879 fino alle ultime lettere inviate negli anni quaranta. Si tratta di un lungo periodo, che comprende momenti diversi della storia spagnola (dalle guerre carliste alla Guerra Civile spagnola) e del movimento aranista. In questo senso, sulla base di una generale e comparata riflessione sul nazionalismo, si analizza il movimento basco nei suoi rapporti con la modernità. Una realazione costruita attraverso concetti "diacronicamente" legati a un passato mitico e leggendario e comunque subalterna ai rapporti di forza tra le correnti del PNV. La corrente ortodossa fece sempre riferimento al nazionalismo "originario" (definito dai fratelli Arana nei primi anni del movimento) che fu un'espressione regionale del nazionalcattolicesimo spagnolo. Fu proprio Luis Arana a ricordare la finalità religiosa ed etnica del nazionalismo basco, respingendo qualsiasi aggiornamento teorico e organizzativo del PNV, intesi come una grave violazione dell'ortodossia aranista. ; Marco Perez's thesis entitled "Luis Arana and the Veterans of Euzkeldun Batzokija: The Orthodoxy of the Basque Nationalism", can be considered as a political biografy of one of the most important figure of basque nationalism. The research focuses primarily on the co-founder of the PNV (Basque National Party) and those people who accompanied and sustained his political action. Euzkeldun Batzokija was the name given to the first circle of the PNV, founded by Luis and Sabino Arana in 1894. Thereafter, the statutes of the association and its veteran members were taken as a model of primordial nationalism. In the organizational field the thesis is divided into seven chapters that reconstruct the political career of Luis Arana, from early 1879 until the final letters of 1951. This is a long period, which includes several moments in spanish history (from the Carlist Wars to the Spanish Civil War). In this sense, on the basis of a general and comparative reflection on nationalism, basque movement is analyzed in its relationship with modernity. A relationship constructed through concepts "diachronically" linked to a mythical past, however legendary, and subordinate to the power relations inside the PNV. The orthodox nationalism had always refer to the "original" nationalism (defined by Arana brothers in the early years of the movement), which was a regional expression of spanish nationalcatolicism. It was Luis Arana to remember the religious and ethnic purposes of basque nationalism, rejecting any different way to understand the theory and organization of PNV (as a serious violation of aaranist orthodoxy).

La implementación de un modelo de gestión de la calidad como ISO 9001 o NTCGP 1000 desarrolla capacidades institucionales para entender y responder en forma consistente a las expectativas de un grupo de interés clave para las organizaciones, como lo son sus clientes. Se plantea la posibilidad entonces de que esas capacidades ya desarrolladas se puedan utilizar para gestionar las relaciones de una organización con otras de sus partes interesadas, como las que se plantean en la Guía sobre Responsabilidad Social GTC 180 desde un punto de vista que considera a la responsabilidad social como una frontera ampliada de la gestión de la calidad.La presente investigación explora las posibilidades de articulación entre el sistema de gestión de la calidad implementado en municipios colombianos del departamento del Valle del Cauca bajo el modelo NTCGP 1000 y el modelo de responsabilidad social colombiano GTC 180, a partir de las capacidades desarrolladas en la implementación del sistema de gestión de la calidad.Para ello se utilizó el método de investigación descriptiva determinando los principios, los elementos y las prácticas que puedan contribuir a la articulación y facilitar la implementación de la responsabilidad social en los municipios, a partir de la identificación de los elementos de convergencia, divergencia y complementariedad en los planteamientos de estas dos normas.Se determinó la percepción de la población interna y externa de los municipios incluidos en el estudio, para obtener información sobre la forma como opera el sistema de gestión de la calidad y sobre su conocimiento de diversos aspectos de la responsabilidad social.Finalmente, se elaboró una propuesta metodológica para la implementación de la responsabilidad social, con base en la guía GCT 180, en los municipios que tengan implementado un sistema de gestión de la calidad con base en la NTCGP 1000. ; Implementing a model of quality management whether ISO 9001 or NTCGP 1000, develops the institutional capacity to understand and respond consistently to the expectations of an interested party such as customers, very important for any organization. It raises the possibility that these capabilities can be used to manage an organization's relationships with its other interested parties, such as those arising in the Guide to Social Responsibility GTC 180, under a perspective which views social responsibility as an extended frontier of quality management.This research explores the possibilities for linking the quality management system implemented in Colombian municipalities of Valle del Cauca under the NTCGP 1000 model and the Colombian GTP 180 model for social responsibility, based on skills developed in the implementation of the quality management system.We used the descriptive research method of determining the principles, elements, and practices that may contribute to the articulation and can facilitate the implementation of social responsibility in the municipalities, based on the identification of the elements of convergence, divergence and complementarities in the approaches of these two standards.We determined the perception of the internal and external population of the municipalities included in the study, for information on how the quality management system operates and on their knowledge of various aspects of social responsibility.Finally we developed a methodology for the implementation of social responsibility based on the GCT 180 guide in municipalities that have implemented a quality management system based on NTCGP 1000.

In the 1970s, the process of European integration induced discussions about the deficit of democracy in the European Union (EU). The decrease of national parliaments' powers and the increase of the autonomy of executive branches are named as one of the aspects of this problem. As this problem has been realised, national parliaments began to create different mechanisms for scrutinizing the activity of national governments at the level of EU institutions. Gradually, the European Affairs Committees (EAC) were founded in all EU member states. However, despite the role given to these innovations, the academic society, political analysts and politicians have doubts as to the effectiveness of these scrutiny mechanisms. When analyzing the issue of the parliamentary scrutiny of the EU affairs, very often the parliament is perceived as an undivided, integral object. However, the parliament is composed of different political parties that can have very different or similar attitudes and may form coalitions or become an oppositional power. When a government is composed of more than one political party, the informational asymmetry is increasing. Therefore, the need for the parliamentary scrutiny increases, too. Not only oppositional parties, but also the parties that have formed a coalition become the actors that scrutinize the government. These parties feel the need to scrutinize ministers and their subordinates who represent their coalitional partners in the government. This need increases even more when there is a high level of preference divergence within a coalition of political parties. The main issue of this study was to elucidate whether the level of preference divergence within a coalition determines the intensity of parliamentary scrutiny of the EU affairs. The Lithuanian case study is analysed. Results of the research show that, depending on the parties' position in the economic and ideological left–right scale, the level of preference divergence in the 2006–2008 coalition was higher that in the 2008–2012 coalition. However, in the 2008–2012 coalition there was a higher disagreement in the area of socio-cultural issues (in the area of human rights and liberties). Both coalitions had very similar attitudes towards the process of the European integration. Almost all parties could be named as euro-optimistic parties. A nalysis of the protocols of EAC meetings showed that in the period 18.11.2008–30.04.2012 there was implemented a more intensive parliamentary scrutiny than in the period 06.07.2006–17.11.2008. Thus, despite the lower level of preference divergence in the 2008–2012 coalition, during the period of its governing the instruments of parliamentary scrutiny were used more often than in 2006–2006. A more detailed analysis allows to conclude that a more intensive scrutiny in the second period was determined by a more active participation of the Seimas member V. Valkiūnas (who has a very skeptical attitude towards the EU) in the meetings of the EAC and the more intensive role of opposition in the activities of this committee. The number of cases when coalition partners could not reach a consensus during the EAC sessions was very small both in 06.07.2006–17.11.2008 and in 18.11.2008–30.04.2012. The cases when this consensus was not reached were related to spiritual, very ideologised issues and to the issues that were very important to interest groups. Moreover, in Lithuania, the EAC is not perceived as an area or the instrument to control coalitional partners despite the differences in the positions of the coalitional parties.