Abstract The aim of the study was to analyse the mechanisms of constitutional and legal responsibility of high-ranking officials in the Kyrgyz Republic, based on legislation and law enforcement practice. To achieve this aim, regulatory legal acts defining the status of an official were studied, and specific cases of accountability were analysed. According to the results of the study, the current legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic defines the term official in general, but does not provide steps or justifications for holding senior public bodies accountable in accordance with the Constitution or the law. Such individuals were brought to court irregularly and often for political reasons, which undermined trust in state institutions, as confirmed by the review of practice over the past 10 years. The decisions of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court on these matters were fragmented and did not constitute long-term judicial practice. Furthermore, it was found that these procedures lacked sufficient legal transparency, while parliamentary and public oversight mechanisms were weak.

Abstract Much has been written about the Istanbul Convention and domestic violence. A vast literature also exists on child–parent relations, sometimes described as parental alienation, though the term itself involves a never-ending debate. This article does not seek to debate either the Istanbul Convention or Parental Alienation itself. Rather, it seeks to examine how legislation intended to combat domestic violence can potentially lead perpetrators, including the State itself, to commit some form of domestic violence against, in this case, the least favoured parent. While every legislation has its pros and cons, this article intends to make the case that, in some cases, domestic violence legislation can itself be abused and lead to forms of domestic violence, in particular, psychological violence against some children and some of their parents. The family law of a civilized country should strive to maintain child–parent relationships and repair them when they are broken, for whatever reason. If it does not, or if it fails for any reason, then Article 8 of the ECHR may come into play. A brief case study of the Maltese domestic violence legislation, namely Chapters 581 and 636 of the Laws of Malta, can be provided. Hence, does the Istanbul Convention need reform?

Abstract Retrospective legislation—laws that alter the legal consequences of actions committed before their enactment—poses a persistent challenge to the foundational principles of the rule of law. This article provides a doctrinal and comparative analysis of retrospective statutes, employing a dual analytical framework that examines the tension they create between parliamentary sovereignty and the requirements of legal certainty, non-arbitrariness, and fairness through both rule of law principles and human rights considerations. While the UK constitutional tradition recognizes the supremacy of Parliament to legislate retrospectively, this power remains controversial, especially when viewed through the lens of Diceyan orthodoxy and more recent conceptions of the rule of law articulated by Lord Bingham. The article begins by distinguishing between criminal and civil retrospective laws, and between truly and apparently retrospective measures, while acknowledging important exceptions such as war crimes legislation and curative retrospective laws. It then critically assesses leading UK case law, including Burmah Oil, War Damage Act 1965, ex parte Pierson, AXA General Insurance Ltd v HM Advocate, and recent legislation such as the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 and the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024, to examine the judiciary’s evolving stance on the legitimacy and limits of retrospective legislation. The discussion is enriched by a comparative perspective, drawing on legal frameworks in the European Union, Germany, and the USA—selected to represent distinct constitutional approaches ranging from formal prohibition to principle-based limitation—each of which imposes constitutional or judicial constraints on retroactive law-making. The article demonstrates that retrospective legislation is not inherently illegitimate but requires careful justification and procedural safeguards. The UK’s flexible constitutional order, while pragmatic, lacks sufficient institutional mechanisms to prevent the misuse of retrospective legislation, particularly in contexts involving fundamental rights or punitive effects. Rather than advocating for absolute prohibition, the article concludes by proposing enhanced procedural constraints, clearer doctrinal guidance, and the potential development of soft constitutional principles that can guide both Parliament and the judiciary in ensuring retrospective law-making remains exceptional, transparent, and aligned with rule of law values. The analysis reveals that the future of responsible retrospective legislation lies not in categorical prohibition but in principled governance through reason, clarity, and institutional accountability.

Abstract Nothing has caused such legal conundrums for governments across the globe than the ‘harms’ associated with social media usage. Many of these ‘harms’ dominate news headlines, with the same cry, ‘there should be a law against that’. Governments have responded with ‘new’ legal provisions in a bid to make the online world a safer place, including the United Kingdom with the implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023. This complex piece of legislation predominately regulates online platforms, including social media companies. However, Part 10 of the Act creates ‘new’ criminal offences in a bid to make the UK one of the safest places to go online. This article critically examines two of these ‘new’ offences: (1) threatening communications and (2) false communications, drawing firstly on why it was thought necessary to create such provisions, before turning to examine the actus reus and mens rea of both offences. The article provides an academic critique of each provision, highlighting the main flaws with each offence and why, with examples, the provisions will not overcome many of the issues previously raised against their predecessors, most notably s.1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and s.127(1) and (2) of the Communications Act 2003. The article suggests improvements which can be made to strengthen these ‘new’ offences.

Law Reform in small states does not always keep pace with larger jurisdictions. Small states will often suffer with resource constraints, in particular of legislative drafters. The Bailiwick of Guernsey, in the absence of a Law Commission, has seen a number of different approaches to updating its laws although a more comprehensive approach would be beneficial.

Abstract In the 25th of February 2024, four years since the first Act of Legislative Content of the Greek Government concerning the prevention and limitation of the spreading of coronavirus COVID-19 were completed. The regulatory production of this period is huge and has a series of unique characteristics with prevailing one the use of means of extraordinary legislation as foreseen in the Greek Constitution. All these measures are presented in a consolidated form in the “Special Administrative Codification of urgent regulatory measures to prevent and limit the spreading of coronavirus COVID-19 and to deal with relevant problems” under the short name of PANDEKTIS, conducted by the Department of Administrative Codifications – Raptarchis of the Secretariat General for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs of the Presidency of the Greek Government. The study of this monumental work gives rise to very interesting findings, about the way Hellenic Government handled the Pandemic crisis. This article presents the law-making process and the process of issuing secondary legislation during the Pandemic, its quantitative and qualitative characteristics with special comment on the fulfillment of the rules and principles of Better Regulation and discusses the use of administrative codification as a means of reflecting an holistic picture of the regulatory production during a period of crisis.

Journal Article Transposition and Application of EU Acts in the Cyprus Jurisdiction Get access Demetris Lysandrou Demetris Lysandrou dlysandrou@eudep.law.gov.cy Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Statute Law Review, Volume 45, Issue 2, August 2024, hmae031, https://doi.org/10.1093/slr/hmae031 Published: 12 July 2024

Abstract The purpose of the work is to study the principles of legality and justice in the practice of administrative proceedings of the Republic of Kazakhstan. For this, methods such as system and comparative analysis, logical analysis, deduction, induction, and formal-legal methods were used. During the implementation of the study, the significance, and role of legal principles in administrative justice in the Republic of Kazakhstan were investigated. After analysing the model of the transition of the countries of the former USSR to the system of administrative justice and the specifics of its implementation in Kazakhstan, it was concluded that the principles of legality and justice are legally fixed in the Administrative Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This article analyses the studies of both Kazakhstani and foreign scientists concerning the application of laws and principles in administrative proceedings. In addition, some aspects of improving the system of administrative justice in the context of legislative regulation of the application of legal principles are considered. The practical value of the results obtained is to provide recommendations that will have an impact on the activities of the administrative justice system of Kazakhstan and will allow it to be implemented more efficiently.

Abstract One of the most utilized methodologies in achieving goals out of projects is through project management methodology offered by Project Management Institute. It has shown tremendous positive outcomes and high control in planning, executing, and closing of projects, which made it a mandatory in operating many projects and monitoring large teams within a specific period. In the legal sphere, project management has been introduced to support law firms and in-house legal department in organizations, however, the legislative field in legislative bodies of many states in the world has not yet introduced this mean of management in their projects. The legislative drafting project goes through many stages and interacts with several stakeholders, which requires a high sophisticated management and control of deliverables on a timely manner within allocated budget. This paper will explore how project management could apply to the process of managing the legislative drafting work, starting from the planning stage until the appraisal of the legislative draft for Royal approval. It has been applied as per the Saudi government procedure for drafting legislative proposals in a way that introduces this technique of management in detailed stages to enhance the efficiency of such intellectual projects. Although it has been applied to the Saudi governmental structure, it could be utilized to fit different states that want to better manage legislative drafting projects. Aiming to show the usefulness of project management methodologies in legislative drafting projects by introducing project management (PM) way of administration to the field of legislative drafting.

Abstract Fake News is one of the major techno-policy challenges faced by modern societies. As popular discourse shifts to social media platforms, Fake News on the internet has increased drastically, generating significant costs for society. Consequently, there is a regulatory movement across the globe to mitigate fake news on these platforms. A law and economics analysis offers valuable insights towards devising an appropriate regulatory approach to tackling this issue. In economic terms, Fake News can be conceptualized as a negative externality, while Fact-Checking and Content Moderation Services may be defined as public goods. There exists a misplaced individual incentive to create fake news on social media platforms. A clear case of market failure and thus a need for state intervention can be made out. While direct state regulation of platforms is the preferred approach by regulators for mitigating fake news, this paper cautions against over-reliance on such a ‘negative state’ regime, due to censorship risks and enforcement costs. This paper recommends adoption of a multi-pronged strategy, including a statutory Pigouvian tax to internalize social costs of fake news on social media platforms within the market, by channelling resources towards promoting positive state measures to mitigate the broader effects of fake news on these platforms. This paper’s analysis is largely located in the Indian context, with references to other jurisdictions.