Suchergebnisse

This open access book presents global perspectives and developments within the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, and discusses the bearing they have on policy initiatives that are relevant to the larger digital technology and communications industry. Drawing on key developments in India, the USA, UK, EU, and China, it explores whether key jurisdictions need to adopt a different legal and policy approach to address the unique concerns that have emerged within the technology-intensive industries. The book also examines the latest law and policy debates surrounding patents and competition in these regions. Initiating a multi-faceted discussion, the book enables readers to gain a comprehensive understanding of complex legal and policy issues that are beginning to emerge around the globe.

The Dutch legislature has recently (2012) altered the legislation for post-conviction revision of criminal cases. The legislature aimed to improve the balance between the competing interests of individual justice and the finality of verdicts, by making post-conviction revision more accessible. In this article we describe the current legal framework for revising cases. We also study how the revision procedure functions in practice, by looking at the types and numbers of (successful) requests for further investigations and applications for revision. We observe three challenges in finding the right balance in the revision process in the Netherlands. These challenges concern: 1) the scope of the novum criterion (which is strict), 2) the appropriate role of an advisory committee (the ACAS) in revision cases (functioning too much as a pre-filter for the Supreme Court) and, 3) the difficulties that arise due to requiring a defence council when requesting a revision (e.g., financial burdens).

The intertwinement of EC law and national law may create unforeseeability in situations where EC law invades the national cases, which gives rise to the very question of legal certainty in EC law. This study contributes to the contemporary discussion, which wrestles with the following questions in particular: - What have been the visions and objectives for European integration in the last decades? - How to describe European Union as a political entity and a legal system? - What is the relationship between legal certainty, rule of law, various general principles and human rights? - What is the core of legal certainty on the basis of the case study? - What kind of legal arguments and patterns of justification are there from a comparative perspective? - How has the term 'legal certainty' been defined in the Nordic legal theory? - How predictable and acceptable are the interpretations of the European Court of Justice - is it "running wild"? Legal certainty relates to the principle of non-retroactivity and the protection of legitimate expectations in particular, but more profoundly it can be related to the conceptual scale for weighing up and balancing between formal justice and material fairness in legal decision-making. This scale is illustrated by presenting the terms 'formal', 'factual' and 'substantive' legal certainty

The article addresses the analyses of adherence to the legal certainty principle while the local government exercises its powers, which are enlarged during the reform of decentralization. It is stated that while the powers belonged to state government, the adherence of the legal certainty principle was found as very important to protect citizens from unpredictable and unequal treatment. So as soon as the powers were handed over to local government the protection of legal certainty principle still remains actual. Legal certainty requires clarity and legibility of legal provisions, limitation of discretive powers, promulgation and publication of legal acts in advance etc. These elements must be adhered realizing local powers. One of the elements legal certainty requires is protection of the legitimate expectations of citizens. A number of court decisions which are analyzed in the article prove that breaking of legitimate expectations happens frequently. Emphasis is made on preventing such practices and on the need to respect legal certainty as a mandatory requirement of the rule of law. The necessity of observance of the requirements of legal certainty at promulgation of acts by local self-government bodies and making the citizens know about them is determined.

Within the context of digital automation and profiling in the public sector, the rule of law and its inherent principle of legal certainty are highly debated concepts in relation to the desirable values and norms of equal treatment, transparency, and impartiality. However, scholars and policymakers disagree over whether automated decision-making (ADM) is beneficial for legal certainty. This debate highlights the ambiguity embedded in the substantive meaning of legal certainty. This article aims to analyze how the principle of legal certainty is interpreted and defined during the practical application of ADM in welfare services and to discuss the theoretical prerequisites for these definitions to be realized in ADM processes. The empirical case is the Swedish Public Employment Service, which makes extensive use of a statistical ADM tool for decision-making about whether or not to provide support to jobseekers. While the implementation of ADM by welfare institutions has been encouraged due to the assumption that it strengthens public and democratic principles, the study shows that, in practice, ADM processes are perceived as non-transparent and generate a relatively large proportion of incorrect decisions. This may be specifically disadvantageous for vulnerable individuals, who run the risk of being incorrectly denied the right kind of support while at the same time having a greater need for welfare support. The widespread future use of ADM in welfare services may affect how welfare rights and obligations and public principles are met in a new technological era.