The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched by China in 2013, brings together over 65 countries in an infrastructure and trade development project with investments exceeding $1 trillion. The growth of cross-border transactions gives rise to disputes — commercial, investment, environmental — requiring effective settlement mechanisms. This paper analyzes the practice of resolving such conflicts with a focus on arbitration, examining international experience and Russian specifics. Cases from the practice of the SIAC, ICSID, CIETAC and Russian permanent arbitration centers have been studied. Based on the comparative legal method, problems of enforcement of decisions and jurisdictional conflicts are identified. The novelty of the study lies in its proposal of hybrid dispute resolution mechanisms combining arbitration and mediation, adapted for Russia. The recommendations for the creation of unified arbitration platforms are of practical significance for BRI participants. The relevance of the study is driven by the increasing number of disputes within the BRI and the need to analyze their resolution in the context of globalization and the strengthening role of Russia as China’s strategic partner in this project. The growth of cross-border operations has revealed significant gaps in legal mechanisms, especially where different legal traditions collide — from the civil law of Europe and Russia to the common law in Asian and African countries, as well as the Chinese legal system with its unique features. The purpose of this paper is to examine dispute resolution practices within the BRI, with a particular focus on arbitration mechanisms, analyze international experience and Russian specifics, and propose ways to improve these processes in light of modern challenges.

Digitalization, acting as the main driver of societal transformation, contributes to the popularization and demand for information systems in everyday life. This trend significantly influences the formation of a new criminal paradigm — an exponential increase in the number of crimes committed using deepfake technology. In this regard, the search for effective forensic tools for identifying, solving, and investigating crimes committed using content substitution technology is becoming increasingly relevant. Due to its ability to rapidly integrate advanced scientific and technical achievements and quickly adapt to innovative changes in society, modern forensic science holds a leading position in the fight against crime. The development of scientifically grounded recommendations and their application in the practical work of preliminary investigation bodies can significantly affect the quality and effectiveness of investigating crimes committed using deepfake technology. Based on the study and analysis of statistical data, scientific works, regulatory legal acts, and empirical material, the main stages of the crime commission mechanism have been identified, the methodological foundations of a special forensic investigation methodology for this category of crimes have been formulated, and an optimal investigation program has been proposed. The problem of the need to develop IT competencies among preliminary investigation officers requires further scientific consideration.

Based on scientific research on the typical profile of a participant in illegal drug trafficking (hereinafter referred to as DT), an analysis of judicial and investigative practice materials, and interviews with investigative agency personnel, the paper for the first time presents a typical forensic profile of a suspect (accused) in criminal cases on the illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, engaged in cooperation in accordance with Chapter 40.1 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. It is concluded that cooperation is most promising with the following participants in illicit drug trafficking: the distributor of wholesale batches of narcotic drugs; the organizer (leader) of a criminal group; and a person carrying out the organizer’s instructions. The characteristics of individuals with whom it is most advisable to conclude a plea agreement (hereinafter PA) are identified. These specified members of criminal groups possess skills in using crypto exchanges in 48.3% of cases, and in 42,4% of cases, they are skilled in using software tools for anonymizing online activity. Studying the personality of members of criminal associations with whom a plea agreement can be concluded contributes to a more accurate prediction of the application of PA provisions and the effective selection of tactical methods for identifying and uncovering all the activities and participants of criminal communities.

Fraud in the area of residential property transactions is becoming increasingly prevalent in the criminal environment, primarily due to the potential for substantial illicit profits. The number of such crimes continues to rise, driven not only by economic and geopolitical instability but also by evolving criminal methodologies in committing such crimes. The mode of operating any crime is intertwined with the perpetrator’s personality traits. This justifies a scientific analysis of profiles of fraudsters using modern IT/telecom technologies in residential property transactions. The study aims to identify common characteristics of these individuals linked to preparation, execution, and concealment methods in this particular type of fraud. Special focus is given to forensic analysis of “fraudulent call centers” and “droppers.” The paper provides recommendations for the prevention of this type of crime, taking into account legislation and law enforcement practice.

The paper analyzes the digital transformation of environmental law, risks and consequences of digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) implementation, highlighting the special role of environmental policy in the concept of digitalization of environmental law. The authors examine the role of morality and ethics, the role and place of man as a biological being, existing or potential legal systems, “digital legality,” the foundations of the rule of law in the context of the digitalization of law in general and environmental law in particular. Key application areas for digitalization in environmental law are identified. The features of digitalization of individual institutions of environmental law are considered. Principles for normative and non-normative approaches to AI implementation in environmental governance are formulated. The controversial issues of digitalization of environmental law, risks and threats accompanying this transformation are outlined. Approaches to building a digital legal ecosystem have been identified. The study concludes that both environmental law’s conceptual understanding and regulatory models are undergoing transformation.

Modern Russia emerged as a consequence of the geopolitical rupture of the system of legal relations that marked the dissolution of the USSR. The profound dismantling of a closed system of economic relations predetermined a period of social crises across the post-Soviet area, a natural outcome of which was the phenomenon of mass orphanhood. The adoption by the Russian Federation of internationally recognized principles for the protection of children led to the proclamation of a paradigm prioritizing family-based upbringing. The Soviet policy of all-encompassing institutional upbringing of children in the system of state agencies was substituted by the strategy aimed at deinstitutionalization of organizations for orphans and children deprived of parental care. The paper examines the evolution of legal approaches and the legislative framework ensuring the realization of children’s rights in the new legal and economic reality. It also identifies and characterizes specific contemporary forms of care for orphans and children without parental care at the current stage of Russia’s social development.

Despite mutual sanctions and international controversies, the 2020s have witnessed the establishment of an international consensus regarding measures to combat the erosion of the tax base and tax evasion. To date, in the evolution of the international tax regime and the role of the institutions governing it, a coherent tax policy for transnational taxation has acquired an independent status and has been integrated into the national legislations of not only G20/OECD countries but also the majority of nations with developed tax systems. However, the turbulent economic processes of the past two decades have compelled many countries to seek methods of supporting their national economies, including the provision of economic preferential treatment in investment and tax spheres, thereby undermining previously achieved agreements. The divergent positions of even G20/OECD countries and the United States, coupled with the use of sanctions as a pressure tool, threaten to dismantle the consensus reached by 2017 regarding the BEPS plan. Furthermore, developed economies and highly integrated entities are pursuing competing tax policies and enacting their own global legislation concerning transnational taxation. The scale of changes outlined in the final BEPS reports, along with the adoption of these competing legislative measures, is contributing to an increase in tax administration costs and a heightened economic burden.

The paper focuses on the constitutional connection between active and passive voting rights, a necessity that objectively arises when analyzing and scientifically characterizing the nature and essence of these rights. The paper demonstrates the complexity of the constitutional relationship between active and passive voting rights, which involves the simultaneous existence and mutual overlap of several types of connections: the unifying connection; the causal connection; the connection of states; correspondence between the consequences of a single cause; and correspondence between the consequences of different causes. The conclusion is substantiated by explanations regarding how doctrinal identification, differentiation, and interpretation of the aforementioned types of constitutional connections between active and passive voting rights can be used to achieve the goals of constitutional-legal regulation of electoral relations, as well as constitutional norm control.

The paper examines the problems of jurisdiction of courts in administrative cases arising when legal entities carry out activities directly related to their commercial activity. The author justifies the conclusion that Article 30.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation contradicts Arts. 46, 47 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Despite the fact that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation made attempts to fill the gap, on the basis of specific examples the author concludes that the problem of delimitation of jurisdiction between arbitrazh courts and courts of general jurisdiction for considering claims brought by legal entities against decisions of administrative bodies still exists and an ordinary interpretation of the norms of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation in their systematic relationship with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, Administrative Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, decisions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 24 March 2005 No. 5, the Review of Judicial Practice dated 24 December 2014 (approved by Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation) does not comply with the norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and fundamental international legal acts in the field of ensuring the right to judicial protection.

The article emphasizes that modern challenges require a revision of traditional approaches to the legal regulation of the technological sphere and the creation of flexible mechanisms capable of ensuring technological sovereignty without isolation from global progress. It highlights that the most important condition for achieving technological sovereignty is the training of qualified personnel capable of working in a digital economy. The transformation of the labor market, driven by automation and the emergence of new professions, necessitates a significant modernization of higher education and vocational training systems. In the legal field, this is reflected in the rise of new specializations and the need for lawyers to develop interdisciplinary competencies. The paper notes that ensuring Russia’s technological sovereignty requires a comprehensive approach to legal regulation, encompassing issues of scientific and technological development, personnel training, labor market modernization, and international cooperation.