Добірка наукової літератури з теми "Substantive public law"

The division of material and procedural law has its deep traditions both in the law and in the legal science. Until recently in the continental legal system had primacy substantive law and the procedural law was perceived as something secondary, as a technology whose task is to serve the substantive law. However, in recent years, more and more widespread is the understanding that both substantive and procedural law are equally important. There is no basis for the material right to be considered as primary and priority, and the process as secondary and subordinate. Substantive law is inextricably linked with procedural law. They can be considered as two sides of the legal category - legal regulation and procedural means for administrative and judicial protection of subjective rights in regulated public relations. In the substantive law, the legal norm determines what the rights and obligations of the legal entity are. The process law determines how these rights and obligations will be realized, that is, the procedure.

U.S. environmental law is almost exclusively positive and procedural. The foundation is the pollution control and biodiversity conservation statutes enacted primarily between 1969–1980 and judicial decisions interpreting them. This law has created detailed processes for making decisions but has produced few substantive constraints on private and public decisions which impair the environment. Several substantive candidates have been proposed, such as the common law, a constitutional right to a healthy environment, the public trust, and the extension of rights to fauna and flora. However, these candidates have not produced the hoped for substantive law. Many argue that a substantive U.S. environmental law is not possible because the law can only serve to establish rational processes for resolving deep and bitter resource use conflicts. This Article argues that international environmental law can serve as a source of mixed procedural substantive principles because it has taken a much more holistic view of the environment, developed a set of overarching norms—soft as they are—that apply to almost all environmental problems, and has done a better job of linking procedure with substance in order to constrain decisions that adversely impact human and ecosystem “health.” The Article offers three proposed principles to strengthen the unfulfilled project of environmental protection. First, procedural duties must be linked to the implementation of substantive outcomes. Second, incomplete information must be a basis for regulatory actions, provided that a minimal scientific threshold of risk is established, processes are in place to acquire additional information, and the decision maker can adjust to changed circumstances. Third, decisions should exhibit planetary stewardship by applying the best available technology, utilizing the polluter pays principle, promoting an accepted standard of sustainable development, adopting the least intrusive resource use option with adaptive feedback, and restoring degraded ecosystems.

The article outlines the general problems arising in the system of the Russian legislation associated with the contradiction between the legal forms set forth in the Civil Code and the forms of legal entities that were actually formed in public law. As a specific example, it was impossible to inscribe those entities which had special legal status (Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the Pension Fund of Russia, Vnesheconombank of the USSR, Bank for Foreign Trade of the RSFSR) in the proposed by Civil Code classification. The emergence of the legal form of a public corporation is seen in the article as an attempt to remove the existing contradictions in legislation.

The doctrine of substantive legitimate expectation is rooted in administrative law. Initiated in United Kingdom, it is originally intended to provide relief for claimants who suffered public wrong, but who may not have any legal claim procedurally or substantively under the main administrative or public law principles. Basically, by the principles in promissory estoppel, a public authority will not be allowed by rescind its promise if a suspecting member of society relies on such a promise to alter his position. This paper analyses the genesis of legitimate expectation in its both substantive and procedural forms in view of a number of cases decided by English courts.

The topic is the private law consequences of breaches of EU law as developed in legislation and case law, and the links with ongoing efforts to establish principles and model rules of European private law. The fields covered in the discussions included competition law, public procurement law, intellectual property law and rules on free movement, with remedies ranging from injunctions and termination of contract to damages and restitution. The papers confirm the underlying assumption that there is a need to develop general doctrines and principles of remedies in EU law and national law.

Summary Substantive human right to environment represents a relatively new element in international human rights catalogues. This human right has gradually become established in international public law since the 1970s. This paper deals with the identification and analysis of the formal sources of two branches (or, according to some opinions, subbranches) of international public law – international environmental law and the international human rights law that enshrine substantive human right to environment as well as with the identification of the relevant international law mechanisms of direct and indirect protection of this right.

This thesis contributes to academic debate about the question: how much substantive protection should investment treaties (IITs) provide to foreign investment? Chapters 5 and 6 argue that arbitral tribunals have interpreted fair and equitable treatment and indirect expropriation provisions of existing IITs in several different ways. Each of these interpretations is sketched as a model level of protection that could be explicitly adopted by states in the future, either through inclusion in new IITs, or through amendment to existing IITs. In this way, the thesis defines a range of prospective options available to states concerning the level of protection to provide to foreign investment through IITs. The thesis evaluates the relative desirability of these different levels of protection. The thesis argues that different levels of protection should be evaluated according to their likely consequences. The thesis develops a framework for inferring and understanding the likely consequences of adopting different levels of protection. The framework proposes that the consequences of a given level of protection can be understood in terms of its likely effect on: economic efficiency; the distribution of economic costs and benefits; flows of foreign direct investment into host states; the realisation of human rights and environmental conservation in host states; and respect for the rule of law in host states. Within this framework, the thesis provides an assessment and synthesis of existing empirical evidence and explanatory theory so far as they relate to the consequences of IIT protections. It also specifies the normative criteria by which these consequences should be evaluated. Through the application of this framework, the thesis concludes that lower levels of protection of foreign investment are, in general, likely to be more desirable than higher levels of protection.

Thesis (LLD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Substantive equality is a constitutional imperative, hence the need for strategies that attempt to realise it for the sake of genuine social reconstruction. The principle of equality runs through all other rights in the South African Constitution. Be that as it may, equality is an elusive concept, which makes its achievement an ambitious task. Nonetheless, there are strategies that attempt to bring to the fore the ‘substance’ of the concept in order to ensure the actual realisation of socio-economic benefits. Such strategies include, among others: social security, education, economic empowerment, skills development and affirmative action. This study will focus on the latter of these strategies, namely affirmative action. Although affirmative action is practised around the world, one of the (many) criticisms of the policy is that it fails to bring about substantive or structural change. In other words, it may change the racial and gender composition of the classroom or the workplace, but does not address the challenges that cause the disadvantages of marginalised groups in the first place. It is arguable that affirmative action has increased inequality in South Africa by benefiting the apex of the class structure and not the majority of the population living in abject poverty. This study develops a theoretical analysis of the link between status (race, sex and ethnicity) and socio-economic disadvantage, and the central question that the study addresses is the following: How can the policy of affirmative action be redesigned to ensure that it benefits the socio-economically disadvantaged? A secondary question that is investigated is whether affirmative action can contribute to the development of human capacities in the context of poverty alleviation. It is arguable that substantive equality facilitates the adoption of strategies (such as affirmative action) to address socio-economic inequality, poverty and social exclusion. The research suggests that a paradigm shift is necessary in order to reconceive of affirmative action as a policy that does not only focus on ensuring ‘equitable representation’ of disadvantaged groups in the workforce or the classroom, but also provides for the development of human capacities. This can be achieved if one adopts an expansive view of affirmative action and if one utilises class as one of the numerous criteria for determining the beneficiaries of the policy.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Substantiewe gelykheid is ′n grondwetlike vereiste, vandaar die behoefte om strategieë te ontwikkel wat poog om dit te realiser in die belang van daadwerklike sosiale rekonstruksie. Die beginsel van gelykheid is vervleg met alle ander regte in die Suid-Afrikaanse Grondwet. Gelykheid is nietemin ′n ontwykende konsep, en dit maak die bereiking daarvan ′n ambisieuse taak. Daar is egter strategieë wat gemik is daarop om sosio-ekonomiese voordele te bereik. Voorbeelde van sodanige strategieë sluit in sosiale sekuriteit, opvoeding, ekonomiese bemagtiging, die ontwikkeling van vaardighede, en regstellende aksie. Hierdie studie fokus op laasgenoemde strategie, naamlik regstellende aksie. Ten spyte van die feit dat regstellende aksie regoor die wêreld toegepas word, word die beleid nietmin gekritiseer as sou dit nie werklik wesenlike of strukturele verandering teweeg bring nie. Met ander woorde, dit bring moontlik ‘n verandering teweeg in die rasse-en geslagsamestelling van die klaskamer of die werkplek, maar spreek nie die uitdagings aan wat in die eerste plek lei tot die posisie van relatiewe benadeling waarin gemarginaliseerde groepe hulself bevind nie. Sommige argumenteer dat regstellende aksie bydra tot ongelykheid in Suid-Afrika deur voordele te beperk tot diegene wat hulself aan die toppunt van die klasstruktuur bevind terwyl dit die meerderheid van die bevolking wat in armoede leef ignoreer. Hierdie studie ontwikkel ′n teoretiese ontleding van die verband tussen status (ras, geslag en etnisiteit) en sosio-ekonomiese benadeling. Die sentrale vraag van die studie is die volgende: Hoe kan die beleid van regstellende aksie herontwerp word om te verseker dat dit lei tot die bevoordeling van die sosio-ekonomiese benadeeldes? ’n Sekondêre vraag wat in die studie onder die loep kom is of regstellende aksie ’n bydrae kan maak tot die ontwikkeling van menslike vermoë in die konteks van armoedeverligting. Daar kan geragumenteer word dat die strewe na substantiewe gelykheid strategieë (soos regstellende aksie) na vore bring om sosio-ekonomiese ongelykheid, armoede en sosiale uitsluiting aan te spreek. Die navorsing dui daarop dat ′n paradigmaskuif nodig is om regstellende aksie te herkonseptualiseer as ′n beleid wat nie net fokus op die bereiking van ‘billike verteenwoordiging’ van benadeelde groepe in die werkplek of klaskamer nie, maar ook voorsiening maak vir die ontwikkeling van menslike vermoë. Dit kan bereik word deur die aanvaarding van ’n uitgebreide siening van regstellende aksie en deur die benutting van klas as een van menige faktore wat in ag geneem word om die bevoordeeldes van die beleid te identifiseer.
Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Law
National Research Fund

In this article, the author introduces the main features and fundamentals of Private Law. Then, he makes a brief tour of the areas covered by private law within the system. Finally, through a comparison between the operation of private law and public law, the different logic to which each responds is emphasized.
En el presente artículo, el autor realiza una introducción a las principales características y fundamentos del Derecho Privado. Luego, hace un breve recorrido sobre las áreas que abarca el derecho privado dentro del ordenamiento. Finalmente, a través de una comparación entre el funcionamiento del derecho privado y del derecho público, se enfatiza la lógica distinta a la que cada uno responde.

Le droit anglais ne connaît ni propriété publique ni service public, personnalité morale de droit public ou dualisme juridictionnel. À défaut, le droit anglais met en œuvre une "échelle" de publicisation des biens. Pour identifier les biens publics, cette étude s'appuie sur l'existence d'un droit public substantiel, qui n'a pas encore fait l'objet d'une reconnaissance formelle en droit anglais. Ce droit public substantiel doit être distingué du judicial review, qualifié par les juristes anglais d'administrative law, mais qui ne constitue qu'un droit public processuel. La substantialité du droit public anglais réside dans l'exorbitance diffuse de règles par rapport au droit commun, lequel comprend les règles de common law et d'equity, mais aussi les règles issues du corpus législatif. Grâce à ce régime exorbitant, nous identifions deux catégories de biens publics sur le fondement des critères organique et fonctionnel. D'abord, les biens sont publics sur le fondement du critère organique, en raison du caractère public de la qualité de leur propriétaire. En droit anglais, il existe, selon nous, deux catégories de propriétaires publics : la Couronne, propriétaire public par les privilèges dont elle bénéficie par la logique organique inhérente au souverain ; et, en raison de l'acception anglaise de la propriété, le public lui-même. Ensuite, les biens sont publics sur le fondement du critère fonctionnel en raison de l'intérêt public poursuivi par leur affectation. C'est le cas des entités ayant un objet charitable, ou bien encore des sociétés privatisées - étant précisé qu'en l'absence de personnalité morale de droit public, la privatisation ne peut être conçue dans son sens continental
Against the backdrop of French public law with its separate administrative and ordinary courts, French lawyers often assume that English law does not have a system of public law. This is inaccurate. This thesis aims to demonstrate the existence of a substantive public law in the English legal system. It does so by identifying a number of public assets. Substantive public law should be distinguished from judicial review, which is not substantive but procedural public law. The substance of English public law lies in a multitude of rules that deviate from the rest of the legal system. These rules are found not only in common law and equity, but also in statute and in delegated legislation. From the analysis of these derogative rules, it appears that public assets enjoy privileged legal treatment. This is triggered either by the "publicness" of the asset, such as the Crown or the public itself, or by the pursuit of the public interest, regardless of the public nature of the owner. My research reveals two sets of substantive public law rules applying to public assets. The first comprise adverse possession when applied to Crown lands and town or village greens. The second set encompasses charities, and assets owned by privatised services

Les règles de conflit de lois n’ont pas toutes la même autorité. Les parties, et même le juge, peuvent être autorisés à passer outre à la désignation opérée par la règle de conflit. Les parties sont parfois libres d’écarter par convention la loi objectivement désignée (règles de conflit supplétives), parfois tenues par la désignation opérée, qui s’impose à elles (règles de conflit impératives). Le juge est tantôt tenu, tantôt libre de relever d’office l’internationalité du litige, et d’en déduire l’application de la règle de conflit. Le choix d’envisager ensemble des questions aussi variées peut étonner, mais c’est celui de la jurisprudence. L’autorité des règles de conflit y est définie de manière conjointe, à l’égard des parties comme du juge, à l’aune de considérations substantielles. Ainsi, parce qu’une demande en recherche de paternité relève, en droit substantiel, d’une matière d’ordre public, et qu’elle intéresse l’état des personnes, réputé indisponible, la règle de conflit qui lui est applicable sera impérative et mise en œuvre, au besoin d’office, par le juge. Inversement, si la prétention relève d’une matière largement supplétive ou vise des droits disponibles, la règle de conflit applicable sera supplétive, et le juge ne sera pas tenu de la relever d’office. Ce sont donc des considérations substantielles qui définissent, en jurisprudence, l’autorité des règles de conflit à l’égard des parties comme du juge.Cependant, ce régime n’est plus celui du droit international privé européen. D’abord, les règlements européens n’ont défini l’autorité des règles de conflit qu’à l’égard des parties, laissant à chaque Etat membre le soin de déterminer leur autorité à l’égard du juge. Ensuite, la définition européenne de l’impérativité des règles de conflit fait abstraction de toute considération substantielle, en retenant une supplétivité de principe pour l’ensemble des règles de conflit unifiées à l’échelle européenne. La jurisprudence a-t-elle raison de définir l’autorité des règles de conflits exclusivement à l’aune de considérations substantielles ? Non, car cela revient à nier que l’effet juridique des règles de conflit est imputé selon des considérations propres à la justice conflictuelle. Pour autant, on ne saurait, à l’instar du législateur européen, exclure toute considération substantielle. Le présupposé des règles de conflit vise des questions de droit substantiel. Les règles de conflit sont donc construites en contemplation de considérations substantielles. Dès lors, si ces dernières ne sauraient dicter à elles seules l’autorité des règles de conflit, on ne saurait, non plus, en faire totalement abstraction
Choice-of-law rules do not all have the same authority. The parties, and even the judge, may be allowed to override the designation made by the conflict rule. The parties are sometimes free to depart, by convention, from the designated law (suppletory choice-of-law rules), sometimes bound by the designation made (imperative choice-of-law rules). The judge is sometimes obliged, sometimes free to raise ex officio the internationality of the dispute, and to deduce from it the application of the choice-of-law rule. Considering together such varied questions may be surprising, but it is the approach adopted by French case law. The authority of choice-of-law rules is defined jointly, according to substantive considerations. As a matter of example, an affiliation proceeding is, in French substantive law, a matter of public policy regarding someone’s family status, and deemed to concern an unwaivable right. Therefore, the applicable choice-of-law rule will be imperative and applied ex officio by the judge. Conversely, if the claim falls within a largely suppletory subject matter or relates to waivable rights, the applicable choice-of-law rule will be suppletory, and the judge will not be required to apply it ex officio. Therefore, the authority of choice-of-law rules is defined, with respect to both the parties and the judge, according to substantive considerations.However, this regime is no longer that of European private international law. Firstly, the European regulations have only defined the authority of their choice-of-law rules with respect to the parties, leaving it up to each Member State to determine their authority over the judge. Secondly, the European definition of their authority over the parties disregards any substantive consideration, and retains a whole set of suppletory choice-of-law rules, regardless of the subject-matter. Is case law justified in defining the authority of choice-of-law rules solely on the basis of substantive considerations ? No, because choice-of-law rules designate the applicable law according to choice-of-law considerations. However, one cannot, like the European legislator, exclude any substantive consideration. The supposition of choice-of-law rules concerns substantive law issues. Choice-of-law rules are, thus, devised according to substantive considerations. Therefore, if these alone cannot define the authority of choice-of-law rules, they cannot be totally ignored either

Após 15 anos de sua adoção pelos Membros da Organização Mundial do Comércio, o Acordo sobre os Aspectos da Propriedade Intelectual Relacionados ao Comércio (TRIPS) ainda permanece como um dos pilares das modernas instituições do sistema internacional da propriedade intelectual e merece contínua análise de seus efeitos sobre países em desenvolvimento. Nesse sentido, tendências expansionistas e níveis mais elevados de proteção dos direitos de propriedade intelectual, nas distintas esferas do multilareralismo, bilateralismo e regionalismo, são, no entanto, confrontadas com as necessidades reais dos países em desenvolvimento, que ainda devem explorar as flexibilidades existentes no Direito Internacional da Propriedade Intelectual. Isso parece ser evidente após a fase de transição do Acordo TRIPS. A implementação de obrigações relacionadas à proteção substantiva e procedimentos de aplicação efetiva da proteção (observância) dá lugar para controvérsias resultantes das demandas pelo acesso aos bens do conhecimento - bens da tecnologia e informação na ordem internacional. O presente trabalho oferece contribuição para o estudo do Direito Internacional da Propriedade Intelectual na Era Pós-OMC e propõe uma análise e reavaliação de seus elementos, princípios e objetivos. Enfatiza a tarefa imperativa de redefinição do equilíbrio intrínseco da propriedade intelectual e a manutenção e expansão do domínio público, concebidos como valores de ordem pública internacional. Nesse contexto, o trabalho propõe analisar os objetivos futuros de um regime internacional da propriedade intelectual, em parte consolidados pelos proponentes da Declaração de Doha sobre TRIPS e Saúde Pública e a Agenda da OMPI para o Desenvolvimento. Em sua estrutura, o trabalho divide-se em três partes. A primeira parte (Status Quo: O Presente e o Passado dos Direitos de Propriedade Intelectual na Ordem Internacional) analisa as políticas e objetivos justificam o regime internacional da propriedade intelectual, seus fundamentos no Pós-OMC/TRIPS e convergência das competências relacionadas à propriedade intelectual na ordem internacional. A segunda parte (O Passado Revisitado rumo ao Futuro dos Direitos de Propriedade Intelectual) aborda as implicações das tendências expansionistas e fortalecimento dos padrões de proteção da propriedade intelectual, concentrando-se em dois casos principais: a harmonização substantiva e os sistemas globais de proteção e observância dos direitos de propriedade intelectual. A terceira parte (Futuro dos Direitos de Propriedade Intelectual na Ordem Internacional) propõe a redefinição dos princípios e objetivos centrais do Direito Internacional da Propriedade Intelectual no Pós-OMC (equilíbrio, transparência, cooperação internacional e transferência de tecnologia) e a manutenção e expansão do domínio público, flexibilidades e opções para acesso aos bens da tecnologia e informação.
After 15 years from its adoption by the Member States of World Trade Organization, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) still remains as one of the main pillars of the modern institutions of international intellectual property system and deserves a continuous assessment analysis of its overall impacts on developing countries, their innovation systems and developmental concerns. In this sense, expansionist trends and higher levels of protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in multilateral, regional and bilateral levels - are nevertheless confronted with the actual needs of developing countries in exploring existing and pending flexibilities within the international intellectual property legal regime. This appears to be true particularly after the post-transitional phase of TRIPS Agreement, where implementation of the multilateral obligations related to substantive protection and enforcement procedures gave rise to considerable contentious issues emerging from demands for access to global public goods, knowledge goods. This Doctoral Thesis offers a contribution to the current debate on International Intellectual Property Law in Post-WTO Era and proposes an analysis and reappraisal of its elements, principles and objectives. The work aims at focusing the imperative task of redefining the intrinsic balance of intellectual property and maintenance and expansion of the public domain as values of an international ordre public. In this context, we analyze the systemic objectives of a prospective international intellectual property regime, which were in part consolidated by the proponents of Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health of 2001 and WIPO Development Agenda. In the first part (Status Quo: Past and Present of Intellectual Property in International Order) we analyze the main development of the current international intellectual property regime, its foundations in Post WTO/TRIPS, and convergent intellectual property related competences in international legal order. The second part (Present revisited towards the future of intellectual property rights) approaches the implications of expansionist trends and strengthening of standards of IP protection. In this case, our work focuses on two particular cases: the substantive harmonization and global protection systems and enforcement of intellectual property rights. The third part (Future of Intellectual Property Rights in International Legal System) further analyses core objectives and principles of International Intellectual Property Law in Post-WTO (balance, transparency, international cooperation and transfer of technology) and proposals for the maintenance and expansion of public domain, flexibilities and options for the access to the knowledge goods.

In view of the fact that the obligational relationship can no longer be perceived as a static legal category and yet, due to the fact that the obligation no longer shows a mere interaction between opposing parties whose willful imperative overrode the righteousness of the negotiation based on general duties of demeanor, there arises the need to assess the Substantial Performance Doctrine in light of an open legal system that is aimed at turning the dictates of the 1988 Constitution into reality when it comes to private dealings, thus resulting in what is commonly referred to as Civil-Constitutional Law. Therefore, one chooses to look into the said doctrine by taking obligation as a proceeding focused on disrupting obligational relationships. Furthermore, an assessment is needed of how the Substantial Performance Doctrine works when it comes to external procedures, how it becomes known, and what its impact on procedural rules that deal with Substantive Law exceptions is. In conclusion, boundaries are drawn that home in on the Theory, allow its historical development in the Superior Court of Justice to be assessed, and work as a foundation for the entire Brazilian legal system.
Tendo em vista que a relação obrigacional já não pode mais ser percebida como uma categoria jurídica estanque e, ainda, devido ao fato da obrigação já não representar uma mera interação entre sujeitos opositores cujo imperativo volitivo subjugava a retidão negocial amparada em deveres gerais de conduta, desperta-se a necessidade de avaliar a Teoria do adimplemento substancial à luz de um sistema jurídico aberto e imbuído do propósito de concretizar os ditames da Constituição de 1988, nas relações entre particulares, resultando no que se convencionou chamar de Direito Civil-constitucional. Para tanto, opta-se por iniciar a investigação da referida Teoria pela obrigação vista como processo com foco na perturbação das relações obrigacionais. Ademais, busca-se a verificação do comportamento da Teoria do adimplemento substancial em caráter processual externo, sua veiculação e impacto nas regras processuais na linha das exceções de direito material. Por fim, propõe-se organizar balizas de reconhecimento da Teoria para analisar seu desenvolvimento histórico no Superior Tribunal de Justiça e que sirvam como base para todo o sistema jurídico brasileiro.

Contrairement aux autres biens meubles, les navires, les aéronefs et les objets spatiaux affectés à la navigation internationale sont rattachés à un Etat. Le lien de droit public établi entre ces engins et l’Etat est communément appelé « nationalité ». Mais ce terme n’exprime pas à leur propos une institution à tous égards identique à la nationalité des personnes. Le rattachement examiné ne repose en effet pas sur des éléments de fait (naissance, ascendance etc.), mais uniquement sur un acte administratif interne, l’immatriculation. L’étude de la pratique, notamment des conventions internationales et des législations nationales, montre clairement que – contrairement à ce qu’on soutient souvent – il n’y a pas lieu de subordonner ce rattachement à un lien effectif. Ce qui importe, compte tenu notamment du fait que ces engins évoluent dans des espaces soustraits à toute compétence territoriale, est d’identifier l’Etat qui est seul compétent à l’égard de l’« ensemble organisé » formé par le véhicule, les personnes et la cargaison à bord, et qui est responsable de ses activités. Le droit international interdit dès lors la double immatriculation, mais il laisse aux Etats le pouvoir discrétionnaire de déterminer les conditions d’attribution de leur « nationalité », sans subordonner l’opposabilité internationale de celle-ci à quelque autre exigence que ce soit. Le danger est toutefois que cela favorise un certain laxisme de l’Etat d’immatriculation, ce qui exposerait au risque que des dommages graves soient causés aux personnes impliquées dans les activités de ces engins et – surtout – aux tiers. Mais ce sont les obligations internationales imposées et les droits corrélatifs reconnus dans le chef de l’Etat d’immatriculation qui sont déterminants à cet égard et non quelque mystérieuse « effectivité » du rattachement. Autrement dit, s’il n’est pas nécessaire d’imposer à l’Etat d’immatriculation des conditions internationales limitant sa liberté dans l’attribution de sa « nationalité » aux engins, il est indispensable d’exiger que celui-ci respecte ses obligations, c’est-à-dire exerce effectivement son contrôle et sa juridiction. Cette constatation se vérifie quel que soit l’engin en cause. Le rattachement créé par l’immatriculation constitue donc une institution "sui generis", commune aux navires, aéronefs et objets spatiaux et dont le régime juridique est encadré par le droit international
Unlike any other movable property, ships, aircraft and space objects that are engaged in international navigation are linked to a State. The legal connection established between these craft/vessels and the State is commonly referred to as “nationality”. However, in this case the term does not represent an institution identical in all respects to the nationality of persons. With regard to vessels, the legal connection to a State is not based on factual elements (such as birth, descent etc.), but merely on the internal administrative act of registration. The study of State practice, notably international conventions and national laws, clearly shows that – contrary to what is often argued – there is no need to make this connection dependent on a pre-existing effective link. What matters most, given that these craft navigate in international space beyond the territorial jurisdiction of sovereign States, is to identify the State that holds sole jurisdiction over said “organized entity” consisting of the vehicle, the persons and the cargo on board and that is responsible for its activities. Public international law therefore prohibits dual registration, but leaves States free to determine the conditions under which they will confer their “nationality”, without imposing any other requirement for the opposability of this legal bond to third States. The danger is that this situation encourages laxity on the part of the States of registry and therefore creates the potential for serious damage incurred by persons involved in these vessels’ activities and – mostly – by third persons. In this regard, it is the international obligations and corresponding rights of the States of registry which are critical, and not a mysterious “effectiveness” of the legal bond. In other words, it is not necessary to impose on the State of registry any international conditions which would limit its freedom with regard to the conferral of its “nationality” upon vessels. It is however indispensable to require that said State complies with its obligations, meaning that it has to effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control over those craft. This statement holds true regardless of the craft concerned. The legal bond created by the registration therefore constitutes a "sui generis" institution, common to ships, aircraft and space objects, and whose legal regime is governed by international law

This thesis examines the doctrine of public law estoppel and similar doctrines, such as substantive legitimate expectation, which seek to give substantive protection to people's expectations arising from their dealings with public bodies and officials. The substantive protection of expectations in public law is controversial and this thesis considers whether the concerns raised about its application have any sound basis. I review the case-law in which the courts have considered whether to apply estoppel in public law or otherwise extend the doctrine of legitimate expectation to substantive outcomes. Particular attention is paid to the "spill-over" of estoppel from private law into public law. I discuss whether there is any real difference between the doctrines which seek to give substantive protection to expectations. I conclude there is no material difference between the approaches or their inherent ability to respond to the concerns raised by the opponents of substantive protection. I then consider the notion of legal certainty in the law - the conceptual principle on which the doctrines of estoppel and legitimate expectation are based. I conclude that this principle has a strong foundation and creates a powerful argument for protecting expectations. I then examine the apparent concerns that arise from achieving legal certainty in public law and draw out the specific objections to applying public law estoppel and substantive legitimate expectation. I critique each of these objections and conclude that none of them present an insurmountable hurdle to the application of estoppel or substantive legitimate expectation in public law. I conclude by setting out a number of "touchstones" to assist in the case-by-case assessment of whether expectations should be protected. The touchstones attempt to place a greater emphasis on the underlying theoretical justification for protecting expectations and to ensure the assessment deals with the concerns that were raised about bringing the concept of legal certainty into public law.

Public procurement-related crimes (in Czech republic) (summary of the dissertation) Vladislav Hřebíček In his paper, the author focuses on the area of public procurement-related crimes in the Czech Republic. As there has been no comprehensive coverage on the subject so far, the paper's primary ambition is to sum up the current state of knowledge while critically considering particular resources (mainly legislation and practice of courts), overlapping significantly into the area of daily practice of detecting such crimes and gathering evidence. In the first chapter, the author provides definitions for key terms and examines the term procurement from the perspectives of its legal definition as well as its interpretation based on court practice. Furthermore, the chapter specifies what is to be understood as procurement-related crime, placing this type of crime within the broader context of economic crime. At the same time, it offers answers to the related criminological questions and presents statistical data provided by the Police of the Czech Republic and the Czech Ministry of Interior. The second chapter gives the reader a historical overview of this area of law mainly from the perspective of criminal law. Covering the timeframe of 1918 (when the previous legislation was adopted) until the present day, it...

The scientific and practical guide is devoted to the formation of a comprehensive and systematic approach to improving the activities of the court and preliminary investigation bodies in cases of crimes committed in the field of business and other economic activities (including taking into account the experience of law enforcement practice in criminal prosecution of entrepreneurs in a number of foreign countries). The problem of establishing a balance between the duties of judicial and investigative bodies within their competence to take measures to ensure economic security and to respect the rights and legitimate interests of entrepreneurs involved in criminal proceedings is considered. The author defines the main directions and forms of modern criminal policy in this area; gives a General description of the criminal legal situation in terms of ensuring economic security; identifies additional guarantees of the rights and legitimate interests of entrepreneurs provided in the implementation of law enforcement activities. Particular importance is attached to the study of substantive and criminal procedural mechanisms used in criminal proceedings on economic crimes. For researchers, practicing lawyers, representatives of the business community, teachers, postgraduates, students of law schools and faculties, as well as for a wide range of readers interested in this issue.

The monograph is devoted to the search for ways to improve the efficiency of public administration in crisis situations. The interrelation of the crisis situation with the problems of legal uncertainty and legally significant risks is traced. The article considers the substantive characteristics of the crisis as a social phenomenon, the causes and types of crisis situations, the problems of their legal definition, as well as the impact of the crisis on changes in the activities of public authorities and local self-government. A universal means of coordinating the activities of authorities and their officials in a crisis period is proposed - a mechanism of legal coordination. The analysis of the main shortcomings of the work of public authorities in a crisis, including in the situation of a pandemic of coronavirus infection, is made. The issues of the legality of restricting the constitutional rights of citizens in a crisis, the introduction of special legal regimes providing for other than usual ways, forms and limits of citizens' realization of their subjective rights are studied. Developed full-fledged detailed recommendations for improving law-making (proposed drafts of the necessary regulatory legal acts), the practice of interpretation and systematization of law, law enforcement, as well as control (supervisory) legal practice. For a wide range of readers interested in public administration issues in crisis situations. It can be useful for students, postgraduates and teachers of law schools.

The chapter surveys various typological divisions of Roman law that invoke terminology such as “criminal” and the like—based on explicit ancient categorisation; sets of procedural features; organization of juristic texts; and/or substantive features—and suggests that the implicit analogies to modern criminal law are not useful. The various Roman categories are less well defined than is usually imagined, and the various means of categorisation are often at cross-purposes. Even the most plausible composite Republican-era category is significantly narrower than the “criminal”, and at any rate the composition would be under-motivated. Imperial law develops a superficially more similar jurisdiction over time, but it is increasingly shaped by factors that have little to do with any particular conceptualization of the subject matter.

This chapter examines the patterns of amendments to the Indian Constitution, especially to the fundamental rights, throughout the country’s constitutional history. Instead of resorting to conventional doctrinal analysis, the discussion focuses on the issue of constitutional design by highlighting the costs and benefits imposed by different constitutional rules. It presents an analytical framework for constitutional amendments in order to elucidate the interaction of constitutional rules, along with the increase in the relative price of seeking formal amendments to the Constitution and how this has incentivised interest groups to seek rule changes through the judiciary. It explains how revisions in substantive and procedural rules changed the costs and benefits of amending the Indian Constitution, forcing interest groups to shift the form and forum while seeking rule change.

AbstractThe doctrine of state immunity occupies a fundamental place in international law. The application of the doctrine, largely left to the national laws of states, is not consistent. One particular area of inconsistency is the treatment of the plea of state immunity from execution of arbitral awards resulting from investor-state disputes. The issue of state immunity from execution has come to the fore in light of a number of recent attempts by award-creditors to attach their awards against the assets of a foreign state located in jurisdictions considered to be “pro-enforcement”, such as France and Belgium. This chapter considers the plea of state immunity and the execution of investment arbitration awards from the perspective of the forum state. In particular, it addresses the introduction of procedural and substantive amendments to French and Belgian laws on state immunity following these attempts by award-creditors to seize foreign state assets located in their respective jurisdictions. The chapter posits a way forward for investors seeking to navigate the landscape governing state immunity from execution.

AbstractEU law and the national laws of the EU Member States are closely interwoven. From a historical point of view, they form two different legal orders, but they may today be viewed as forming part of the same legal system. The chapter explains the relationship between EU law and national law by looking first at the status of EU law in national law and then at the relevance of national law to EU law. The status and impact of EU law in domestic legal systems have already received a great deal of attention in the legal doctrine, and the chapter therefore particularly focuses on the second aspect, which has to date received far less attention. The role domestic laws play at the EU level is examined here by looking at the different functions that Member State national laws have in an EU law context by examining the relevance of national material (substantive) and procedural and institutional laws at the EU level. This chapter concludes that the relationship between EU law and domestic laws is fundamentally different from the traditional dichotomy between public international law and domestic law. Member State national laws have directly impacted, and continue to impact, the substance of EU law. Furthermore, the way in which EU law instrumentalises domestic laws—in particular domestic institutional law—for its own purposes and harnesses national administrative bodies to the same end suggests that EU law and national law are best understood as forming a single complex system of multi-level governance.

The unification of the conflict-of-law rules in matters of matrimonial property regimes at EU level seeks to mitigate differences in substantive law in particular legal systems. The aim of this contribution is to analyse the doctrine of overriding mandatory provisions and consider the applicability of the public policy exception, which limit the application of the law otherwise applicable determined in compliance with the unified conflict-of-law rules. The question author addresses in this paper is whether these institutes of the general part of private international law provide for sufficient safeguards to protect the fundamental values and public interests of the forum law in matters of matrimonial property regimes.

This chapter shows that judges must substitute their own judgment for that of an administrative authority on some issues, in order to give effect to the principle of legality. When there is reason for non-deferential judicial review, deference would mean abandoning the rule of law. The more interventionist grounds on which judges will control the substance of some decisions—relevance, proportionality, and legitimate expectations—may involve little deference, depending on the type of decision and the context in which it is made. Each of the interventionist doctrines gives the judges the opportunity to do justice for a claimant and to improve public administration. For the very same reasons, each doctrine poses a danger that the judges will make themselves into surrogate administrators by overextending the grounds of judicial review

This chapter shows that judges must substitute their own judgment for that of an administrative authority on some issues, in order to give effect to the principle of legality. When there is reason for non-deferential judicial review, deference would mean abandoning the rule of law. The more interventionist grounds on which judges will control the substance of some decisions—relevance, proportionality, and legitimate expectations—may involve little deference, depending on the type of decision and the context in which it is made. Each of these interventionist doctrines gives the judges the opportunity to do justice for a claimant and to improve public administration. For the very same reasons, each doctrine poses a danger that the judges will make themselves into surrogate administrators by overextending the grounds of judicial review.

Chapter 8 shows ways to meaningfully connect the various jurisdictional tools to protect animals abroad to substantive law, and determines whether substantive law puts constraints on them. A central question at this intersection is whether states can use extraterritorial jurisdiction to lower standards abroad, for example, as a side effect to lucrative trade deals. Insights from general international, trade, and animal law will help illuminate this question. The author then determines the level of consistency animal laws must maintain to survive the scrutiny of international law. The author creates a hierarchy of presumptions to guide public authorities in their decisions about which animal laws, at a minimum, meet the requirements of beneficence and consistency. The chapter concludes with an argument that states should have a duty to protect animals abroad, and that corporations should have a duty to respect animals abroad, akin to the obligations set up under the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” framework.

This chapter starts by defining the rule of law, explaining its importance, and placing its origins in Ancient Greece and the writings of Aristotle. Following a brief consideration of how the principle has developed since that time, it discusses the consideration provided by Dicey who, writing his seminal text An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution—(1885), explored the meaning of the rule of law and its place in the UK Constitution. The chapter then considers broader theories of the rule of law, dividing these into those that support what are known as ‘formal conceptions’ of the rule of law, and ‘substantive conceptions’ of the rule of law. Finally, it explores the way in which the rule of law can be said to apply in the UK Constitution, both historically and in terms of modern-day authorities.

This chapter starts by defining the rule of law, explaining its importance and placing its origins in Ancient Greece and the writings of Aristotle. Following a brief consideration of how the principle has developed since that time, it discusses the consideration provided by Dicey who, writing his seminal text An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution — (1885), explored the meaning of the rule of law and its place in the UK Constitution. The chapter then considers broader theories of the rule of law, dividing these into those that support what are known as ‘formal conceptions’ of the rule of law, and ‘substantive conceptions’ of the rule of law. Finally, it explores the way in which the rule of law can be said to apply in the UK Constitution, both historically and in terms of modern day authorities.

This chapter starts by defining the rule of law, explaining its importance, and placing its origins in Ancient Greece and the writings of Aristotle. Following a brief consideration of how the principle has developed since that time, it discusses the writing of Dicey, whose seminal text, An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885), explored the meaning of the rule of law and its place in the UK Constitution. The chapter then considers broader theories of the rule of law, dividing these into those that support what are known as ‘formal conceptions’ of the rule of law, and ‘substantive conceptions’ of the rule of law. Finally, it explores the way in which the rule of law can be said to apply in the UK Constitution, both historically and in terms of modern-day authorities.

The General Administrative Procedure Act of 2016 is a truly new law that introduced a number of innovations in the system of legal remedies as well as some new types of administrative actions, such as the adoption of guarantee acts, the conclusion of administrative contracts, the provision of public services. (Admittedly, these are not the only new things, and of these, the author only pays attention to some taking into account the topic of the title work.) In the article, the author touches on a new legal remedy - a complaint. The question arises whether it is at all substantive a legal remedy or an initial act to initiate administrative proceedings. It may also be questioned whether the complaint is a apropriated form of protection for public service users. When it comes to the provision of public services, the author points out that they are not performed in the administrative procedure, and if a less detailed analysis could lead to the conclusion that this is precisely the case. There are differences between the administrative procedure and the provision of public services. The provision of public services should not be regulated by a procedural law aimed at making a decision - an administrative act in this case. The administrative procedure gives legal protection to users of public services. The author doubts the effectiveness of legal protection.

Remuneration of politicians is a relevant social issue that is worth to research. Salaries of local representatives in the Czech Republic are set by law and their size is in case of municipalities derived by municipal population. At the same time municipal councils are free to choose, how many elected officials will serve full time and get paid for that service and how many will keep their proper jobs or entrepreneurships and serve only part time and get quite symbolic remuneration. This choice may result in substantial differences in total related budget expenditure in otherwise similar municipalities. The purpose of the paper is to describe the system of local elected officials’ remuneration and its evolution since 2010 and to analyse municipal expenditure on elected officials’ remuneration in Czech towns with 10 to 50 thousand inhabitants between 2010 to 2018. A key part of the research is the collection of data from local government budgets, their processing and construction of appropriate indicators. Subsequently, these indicators will be analysed through the basic statistical methods resulting in comparison of the selected municipalities.

Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health issues of the twenty-first century. Obesity in children can be influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. The aim of this study is to determine the association between birth weight and obesity in children, as well as the impact that residence has on this relationship. The 2018 Riset Kesehatan Dasar (or Basic Health Research), cross-sectional, Indonesian population survey with a nationwide representative sample, was subjected to secondary analysis. In 2018, parents of children aged 0 to 5 years (n = 71,925) provided height, weight, child's birth weight, and other basic characteristics. With LBW, there was a substantial rise in weight, BMI z-score, and the likelihood of pediatric obesity. LBW children from rural had higher BMI z-scores (mean + Standard Error (SE): 1.39 + 0.03) and higher odds of obesity (odds ratio (OR) (95 percent confidence interval (CI)): 7.45 (6.76 – 8.21)), than those from urban areas. Childhood obesity must be adequately prevented and addressed as soon as possible. Initiatives, policies, and goals are needed to reduce LBW prevalence. According to our findings, children born to LBW in rural areas should be treated as soon as possible with forceful intervention.

The Low Power & Shutdown (LPSD) PRA Standard (ANS-58.22) is currently being drafted by a Writing Group under the auspices of the Risk Informed Standards Committee of the American Nuclear Society. The Writing Group includes representatives from nuclear utilities, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, national laboratory, university, and consultants with substantial experience producing LPSD PRAs. This draft standard is scheduled to be released for public comment in the second quarter of 2004, with publication by the end of 2004. This paper presents the current status of this standard in preparation for its public release.

The paper examines the specifics of teaching legal disciplines at public universities, emphasizing law education. The universities are not specialized in law education. Nevertheless, legal studies, especially public law, form a substantial part of their curricula. The pandemic brought a fundamental change of approach to university education of both parts students and academicians. The author presents the experience of two semesters of online legal teaching. The paper highlights the positives, including the possibility of interuniversity and cross-border education. The author points out the negatives of teaching in big groups, which disables the personal interaction and immediate modification of the subject matter according to the demands and needs of students. The author conducted a short survey about issues and challenges of online teaching among academicians. The author was interested in which methods they used online they would keep in the future contact teaching. The survey also examines how online teaching influenced academicians' private life. Based on its results and lessons from the pandemic university teaching, the paper concludes with practical proposals for online education of legal disciplines for non-lawyers.

Existing reinforced concrete structures feature, as a rule, a relatively low resistance to various sorts of impact loading, such as shock, collision, or explosion. To this aim, the primary goal of the Research Training Group (in German: Graduiertenkolleg, GRK) 2250, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), is to bring substantial improvements in the impact resistance of existing buildings by applying thin layers of strengthening material. By using innovative mineralbonded composites, public safety and reliability of vitally important existing structures and infrastructure should be significantly enhanced. The scientific basis to be developed will additionally enable to build new, impact-resistant structures economically and ecologically. The framework of the GRK 2250 as well as some achievements are herein briefly presented.

Many local governments have been promoting a series of urban transformations linked to the conversion of obsolete or disaffected areas from their original uses, and linked to the rehabilitation of specialized areas that require substantial improvements. These urban projects are proposed as new centralities or areas of new centrality. The character and quality of the public space is a key factor on its shaping. A situational analysis is carried out in three Urban Renewal Centers in Rosario, Argentina: the former Battalion 121 State, the Rosario University Center and the Raul Scalabrini Ortiz Housing Park. The provisions of urban regulations regarding public spaces are investigated in general and in the three cases, as well as a series of categories and indicators of habitability of this type of spaces are defined, from which the bases for a diagnosis are laid in each case. Keywords: urban centrality, public space, urban projects, Latin America. Topic: public space and urban project in the contemporary metropoly. Muchos gobiernos locales vienen impulsando una serie de transformaciones urbanas ligadas a la reconversión de áreas obsoletas o desafectadas de sus usos originales, y a la rehabilitación de áreas especializadas que requieren mejoras sustanciales. Estos proyectos urbanos son propuestos como nuevas centralidades o áreas de nueva centralidad y el carácter y calidad del espacio público constituye un factor clave en su conformación. Se comienza a efectuar un análisis situacional en tres Centros de Renovación Urbana de la ciudad de Rosario, Argentina: el Predio del ex Batallón 121, el Centro Universitario Rosario y el Parque Habitacional Raúl Scalabrini Ortiz. Se indaga lo dispuesto por la normativa urbana en general y en cada caso respecto de los espacios públicos, así como se define una serie de categorías e indicadores de habitabilidad de este tipo de espacios, a partir de la que se sientan las bases para un diagnóstico en cada caso. Palabras clave: centralidad urbana, espacio público, proyectos urbanos, Latinoamérica. Bloque temático: espacio público y proyecto urbano en la metrópolis contemporánea.

A common concern with Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) systems is that the wireless subsystem (usually referred to as the data communications subsystem or DCS) is susceptible to radio frequency (RF) interference from the plethora of wireless devices (especially wireless local area networks or WLANs) that generally share the same 2.4 GHz spectrum as that used by the DCS. This concern is investigated in greater detail given the operational histories of two CBTC-equipped public transit lines: NYCT’s “L” or Canarsie Line in New York City and the Las Vegas monorail. Measurements of the RF environment in both locations showed a substantial level of activity in the 2.4 GHz band from WLANs and other devices but with no obvious adverse impact on the operational performance of either line. This paper presents RF measurements at 4 locations in New York City and 1 location in Las Vegas, discusses the relative severity of the RF noise and interference environment and explores why both CBTC systems are able to perform in the presence of in-band RF noise and interference without any obvious adverse impact.

Abstract The rates of oil and natural gas production in the United States have increased dramatically during the past decade, largely due to the use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. This has benefitted the U.S. economy and generated hopes that the “shale revolution” could be replicated elsewhere. At the same time, however, public concern has grown regarding potential adverse impacts that fracing or other operations like gas flooding, waterflooding, waste disposal, and other production processes may have. One of the main public concerns relates to induced seismic events – that is, man-made earthquakes. Geologists have concluded that a variety of human activities can induce seismic events. Such operations include the operation of injection disposal wells, though a relatively small fraction of such wells are suspected of inducing seismic activity. Further, available public data shows that, on very rare occasions, hydraulic fracturing itself has caused tangible seismic activity. Although such events have been uncommon, they have attracted significant public attention and strengthened the opponents of oil and gas development. Further, although seismic events induced by oil and gas activity appear to have caused little damage, the potential legal liability could be substantial if such an event ever caused significant damage. Accordingly, industry should give increased attention to minimizing the likelihood of such events. The paper provides context for this issue by briefly reviewing information regarding recent cases of induced seismic activity, current technology for monitoring these events, and the inherent limitations in measurements and interpretation involved in using these techniques. This paper also discusses techniques that operators can use to reduce the likelihood of induced seismic events at hydraulic fracturing sites and at injection disposal wells. These include use of pretreatment geomechanical analyses to assess the likelihood of significant seismic events and, in appropriate circumstances, to guide a modification in perforation clusters design to reduce the likelihood of nearby fault reactivations. Finally, the article provides additional context by discussing relevant laws, including regulatory responses to suspected events of induced seismic activity and the possible legal theories for imposing liability for such events. The new regulations will compel operators to take certain actions and the potential for legal liability may incentivize additional action.

Abstract A fully implicit, three-dimensional simulator with local grid refinement around the wellbore is developed to solve reservoir and horizontal well flow equations simultaneously, for single-phase liquid and gas cases. The model consists of conservation of mass and Darcy’s law in the reservoir, and mass and momentum conservation in the wellbore for isothermal conditions. Establishing the continuity of pressure and preserving mass balance at the sandface satisfy the coupling requirements. The proposed simulator is tested against and verified with the results obtained from a commercial code ECLIPSE-100™, and available public domain simulators and semi-analytical models. The proposed model can be used for multiple purposes such as well productivity prediction, well length optimization, completion design and optimization, and production logging interpretation. Different completion scenarios and reservoir anisotropy are simulated and their effects on the productivity of the horizontal wells are discussed. Completion cases include open-hole, partial and full completions with perforations and slotted liners. During the production logging of a horizontal well, the coil tubing reduces the wellbore cross sectional area and may cause substantial changes in the wellbore flow behavior. Depending on the well and coil tubing diameters, a significant difference between the actual production rates and the rates obtained from a production log can be observed.

For at least a decade, States, humanitarian bodies, and civil-society actors have raised concerns about how certain counterterrorism measures can prevent or impede humanitarian and medical activities in armed conflicts. In 2019, the issue drew the attention of the world’s preeminent body charged with maintaining or restoring international peace and security: the United Nations Security Council. In two resolutions — Resolution 2462 (2019) and Resolution 2482 (2019) — adopted that year, the Security Council urged States to take into account the potential effects of certain counterterrorism measures on exclusively humanitarian activities, including medical activities, that are carried out by impartial humanitarian actors in a manner consistent with international humanitarian law (IHL). By implicitly recognizing that measures adopted to achieve one policy objective (countering terrorism) can impair or prevent another policy objective (safeguarding humanitarian and medical activities), the Security Council elevated taking into account the potential effects of certain counterterrorism measures on exclusively humanitarian activities to an issue implicating international peace and security. In this legal briefing, we aim to support the development of an analytical framework through which a State may seek to devise and administer a system to take into account the potential effects of counterterrorism measures on humanitarian and medical activities. Our primary intended audience includes the people involved in creating or administering a “take into account” system and in developing relevant laws and policies. Our analysis zooms in on Resolution 2462 (2019) and Resolution 2482 (2019) and focuses on grounding the framework in respect for international law, notably the U.N. Charter and IHL. In section 1, we introduce the impetus, objectives, and structure of the briefing. In our view, a thorough legal analysis of the relevant resolutions in their wider context is a crucial element to laying the conditions conducive to the development and administration of an effective “take into account” system. Further, the stakes and timeliness of the issue, the Security Council’s implicit recognition of a potential tension between measures adopted to achieve different policy objectives, and the relatively scant salient direct practice and scholarship on elements pertinent to “take into account” systems also compelled us to engage in original legal analysis, with a focus on public international law and IHL. In section 2, as a primer for readers unfamiliar with the core issues, we briefly outline humanitarian and medical activities and counterterrorism measures. Then we highlight a range of possible effects of the latter on the former. Concerning armed conflict, humanitarian activities aim primarily to provide relief to and protection for people affected by the conflict whose needs are unmet, whereas medical activities aim primarily to provide care for wounded and sick persons, including the enemy. Meanwhile, for at least several decades, States have sought to prevent and suppress acts of terrorism and punish those who commit, attempt to commit, or otherwise support acts of terrorism. Under the rubric of countering terrorism, States have taken an increasingly broad and diverse array of actions at the global, regional, and national levels. A growing body of qualitative and quantitative evidence documents how certain measures designed and applied to counter terrorism can impede or prevent humanitarian and medical activities in armed conflicts. In a nutshell, counterterrorism measures may lead to diminished or complete lack of access by humanitarian and medical actors to the persons affected by an armed conflict that is also characterized as a counterterrorism context, or those measures may adversely affect the scope, amount, or quality of humanitarian and medical services provided to such persons. The diverse array of detrimental effects of certain counterterrorism measures on humanitarian and medical activities may be grouped into several cross-cutting categories, including operational, financial, security, legal, and reputational effects. In section 3, we explain some of the key legal aspects of humanitarian and medical activities and counterterrorism measures. States have developed IHL as the primary body of international law applicable to acts and omissions connected with an armed conflict. IHL lays down several rights and obligations relating to a broad spectrum of humanitarian and medical activities pertaining to armed conflicts. A violation of an applicable IHL provision related to humanitarian or medical activities may engage the international legal responsibility of a State or an individual. Meanwhile, at the international level, there is no single, comprehensive body of counterterrorism laws. However, States have developed a collection of treaties to pursue specific anti-terrorism objectives. Further, for its part, the Security Council has assumed an increasingly prominent role in countering terrorism, including by adopting decisions that U.N. Member States must accept and carry out under the U.N. Charter. Some counterterrorism measures are designed and applied in a manner that implicitly or expressly “carves out” particular safeguards — typically in the form of limited exceptions or exemptions — for certain humanitarian or medical activities or actors. Yet most counterterrorism measures do not include such safeguards. In section 4, which constitutes the bulk of our original legal analysis, we closely evaluate the two resolutions in which the Security Council urged States to take into account the effects of (certain) counterterrorism measures on humanitarian and medical activities. We set the stage by summarizing some aspects of the legal relations between Security Council acts and IHL provisions pertaining to humanitarian and medical activities. We then analyze the status, consequences, and content of several substantive elements of the resolutions and what they may entail for States seeking to counter terrorism and safeguard humanitarian and medical activities. Among the elements that we evaluate are: the Security Council’s new notion of a prohibited financial “benefit” for terrorists as it may relate to humanitarian and medical activities; the Council’s demand that States comply with IHL obligations while countering terrorism; and the constituent parts of the Council’s notion of a “take into account” system. In section 5, we set out some potential elements of an analytical framework through which a State may seek to develop and administer its “take into account” system in line with Resolution 2462 (2019) and Resolution 2482 (2019). In terms of its object and purpose, a “take into account” system may aim to secure respect for international law, notably the U.N. Charter and IHL pertaining to humanitarian and medical activities. In addition, the system may seek to safeguard humanitarian and medical activities in armed conflicts that also qualify as counterterrorism contexts. We also identify two sets of preconditions arguably necessary for a State to anticipate and address relevant potential effects through the development and execution of its “take into account” system. Finally, we suggest three sets of attributes that a “take into account” system may need to embody to achieve its aims: utilizing a State-wide approach, focusing on potential effects, and including default principles and rules to help guide implementation. In section 6, we briefly conclude. In our view, jointly pursuing the policy objectives of countering terrorism and safeguarding humanitarian and medical activities presents several opportunities, challenges, and complexities. International law does not necessarily provide ready-made answers to all of the difficult questions in this area. Yet devising and executing a “take into account” system provides a State significant opportunities to safeguard humanitarian and medical activities and counter terrorism while securing greater respect for international law.

This paper analyzes how substantial fiscal policy stimulus in response to COVID-19, combined with the impact of the downturn on revenues, has severely weakened public finances in many developing Asian economies. Analysis drawing on newly compiled data shows that while tax revenues in developing Asia steadily rose in the 2 decades before the COVID–19 pandemic, they continued to lag well behind high-income economies and some developing peers. The region relies on indirect taxes, creating a relatively efficient but less progressive tax structure, while government expenditures on education and health were comparatively modest.

Using rich panel data from Pakistan, we compute test score based measures of quality (School Value-Addeds or SVAs) for more than 800 schools across 112 villages and verify that they are valid and unbiased. With the SVA measures, we then document three striking features of the schooling environment. First, there is substantial within-village variation in quality. The annualized difference in learning between the best and worst performing school in the same village is 0.4 sd; compounded over 5 years of primary schooling, this difference is similar in size to the test score gap between low- and high-income countries. Second, students learn more in private schools (0.15 sd per year on average), but substantial within-sector variation in quality means that the effects of reallocating students from public to private schools can range from -0.35sd to +0.65sd. Thus, there is a range of possible causal estimates of the private premium, a feature of the environment we illustrate using three different identification approaches. Finally, parents appear to recognize and reward SVA in the private sector, but the link between parental demand and SVA is weaker in the public sector. These results have implications for both the measurement of the private premium and how we design and evaluate policies that reallocate children across schools, such as school closures and vouchers.

As they increasingly adopt digital infrastructure, public administrations worldwide are increasingly collecting, generating and managing data. Empirical researchers are, at the same time, collaborating more and more with administrations, accessing vast amounts of data, and setting new research agendas. These collaborations have taken place in low-income countries in particular, where administrative data can be a valuable substitute for scarce survey data. However, the transition to a full-fledged digital administration can be a long and difficult process, sharply contrasting the common leap-frog narrative. Based on observations made during a five-year research collaboration with the Senegalese tax administration, this qualitative case study discusses the main data management challenges the tax administration faces. Much progress has recently been made with the modernisation of the administration’s digital capacity ,and adoption of e-filling and e-payment systems. However, there remains substantial scope for the administration to enhance data management and improve its efficiency in performing basic tasks, such as the identification of active taxpayers or the detection of various forms of non-compliance. In particular, there needs to be sustained investment in human resources specifically trained in data analysis. Recently progress has been made through creating – in collaboration with the researchers – a ‘datalab’ that now works to improve processes to collect, clean, merge and use data to improve revenue mobilisation.

This human campylobacteriosis sentinel surveillance project was based at two sites in Oxfordshire and North East England chosen (i) to be representative of the English population on the Office for National Statistics urban-rural classification and (ii) to provide continuity with genetic surveillance started in Oxfordshire in October 2003. Between October 2015 and September 2018 epidemiological questionnaires and genome sequencing of isolates from human cases was accompanied by sampling and genome sequencing of isolates from possible food animal sources. The principal aim was to estimate the contributions of the main sources of human infection and to identify any changes over time. An extension to the project focussed on antimicrobial resistance in study isolates and older archived isolates. These older isolates were from earlier years at the Oxfordshire site and the earliest available coherent set of isolates from the national archive at Public Health England (1997/8). The aim of this additional work was to analyse the emergence of the antimicrobial resistance that is now present among human isolates and to describe and compare antimicrobial resistance in recent food animal isolates. Having identified the presence of bias in population genetic attribution, and that this was not addressed in the published literature, this study developed an approach to adjust for bias in population genetic attribution, and an alternative approach to attribution using sentinel types. Using these approaches the study estimated that approximately 70% of Campylobacter jejuni and just under 50% of C. coli infection in our sample was linked to the chicken source and that this was relatively stable over time. Ruminants were identified as the second most common source for C. jejuni and the most common for C. coli where there was also some evidence for pig as a source although less common than ruminant or chicken. These genomic attributions of themselves make no inference on routes of transmission. However, those infected with isolates genetically typical of chicken origin were substantially more likely to have eaten chicken than those infected with ruminant types. Consumption of lamb’s liver was very strongly associated with infection by a strain genetically typical of a ruminant source. These findings support consumption of these foods as being important in the transmission of these infections and highlight a potentially important role for lamb’s liver consumption as a source of Campylobacter infection. Antimicrobial resistance was predicted from genomic data using a pipeline validated by Public Health England and using BIGSdb software. In C. jejuni this showed a nine-fold increase in resistance to fluoroquinolones from 1997 to 2018. Tetracycline resistance was also common, with higher initial resistance (1997) and less substantial change over time. Resistance to aminoglycosides or macrolides remained low in human cases across all time periods. Among C. jejuni food animal isolates, fluoroquinolone resistance was common among isolates from chicken and substantially less common among ruminants, ducks or pigs. Tetracycline resistance was common across chicken, duck and pig but lower among ruminant origin isolates. In C. coli resistance to all four antimicrobial classes rose from low levels in 1997. The fluoroquinolone rise appears to have levelled off earlier and among animals, levels are high in duck as well as chicken isolates, although based on small sample sizes, macrolide and aminoglycoside resistance, was substantially higher than for C. jejuni among humans and highest among pig origin isolates. Tetracycline resistance is high in isolates from pigs and the very small sample from ducks. Antibiotic use following diagnosis was relatively high (43.4%) among respondents in the human surveillance study. Moreover, it varied substantially across sites and was highest among non-elderly adults compared to older adults or children suggesting opportunities for improved antimicrobial stewardship. The study also found evidence for stable lineages over time across human and source animal species as well as some tighter genomic clusters that may represent outbreaks. The genomic dataset will allow extensive further work beyond the specific goals of the study. This has been made accessible on the web, with access supported by data visualisation tools.

Why research Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Scotland? Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology sheds light on the first colonisation and subsequent early inhabitation of Scotland. It is a growing and exciting field where increasing Scottish evidence has been given wider significance in the context of European prehistory. It extends over a long period, which saw great changes, including substantial environmental transformations, and the impact of, and societal response to, climate change. The period as a whole provides the foundation for the human occupation of Scotland and is crucial for understanding prehistoric society, both for Scotland and across North-West Europe. Within the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods there are considerable opportunities for pioneering research. Individual projects can still have a substantial impact and there remain opportunities for pioneering discoveries including cemeteries, domestic and other structures, stratified sites, and for exploring the huge evidential potential of water-logged and underwater sites. Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology also stimulates and draws upon exciting multi-disciplinary collaborations. Panel Task and Remit The panel remit was to review critically the current state of knowledge and consider promising areas of future research into the earliest prehistory of Scotland. This was undertaken with a view to improved understanding of all aspects of the colonization and inhabitation of the country by peoples practising a wholly hunter-fisher-gatherer way of life prior to the advent of farming. In so doing, it was recognised as particularly important that both environmental data (including vegetation, fauna, sea level, and landscape work) and cultural change during this period be evaluated. The resultant report, outlines the different areas of research in which archaeologists interested in early prehistory work, and highlights the research topics to which they aspire. The report is structured by theme: history of investigation; reconstruction of the environment; the nature of the archaeological record; methodologies for recreating the past; and finally, the lifestyles of past people – the latter representing both a statement of current knowledge and the ultimate aim for archaeologists; the goal of all the former sections. The document is reinforced by material on-line which provides further detail and resources. The Palaeolithic and Mesolithic panel report of ScARF is intended as a resource to be utilised, built upon, and kept updated, hopefully by those it has helped inspire and inform as well as those who follow in their footsteps. Future Research The main recommendations of the panel report can be summarized under four key headings:  Visibility: Due to the considerable length of time over which sites were formed, and the predominant mobility of the population, early prehistoric remains are to be found right across the landscape, although they often survive as ephemeral traces and in low densities. Therefore, all archaeological work should take into account the expectation of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic ScARF Panel Report iv encountering early prehistoric remains. This applies equally to both commercial and research archaeology, and to amateur activity which often makes the initial discovery. This should not be seen as an obstacle, but as a benefit, and not finding such remains should be cause for question. There is no doubt that important evidence of these periods remains unrecognised in private, public, and commercial collections and there is a strong need for backlog evaluation, proper curation and analysis. The inadequate representation of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic information in existing national and local databases must be addressed.  Collaboration: Multi-disciplinary, collaborative, and cross- sector approaches must be encouraged – site prospection, prediction, recognition, and contextualisation are key areas to this end. Reconstructing past environments and their chronological frameworks, and exploring submerged and buried landscapes offer existing examples of fruitful, cross-disciplinary work. Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology has an important place within Quaternary science and the potential for deeply buried remains means that geoarchaeology should have a prominent role.  Innovation: Research-led projects are currently making a substantial impact across all aspects of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology; a funding policy that acknowledges risk and promotes the innovation that these periods demand should be encouraged. The exploration of lesser known areas, work on different types of site, new approaches to artefacts, and the application of novel methodologies should all be promoted when engaging with the challenges of early prehistory.  Tackling the ‘big questions’: Archaeologists should engage with the big questions of earliest prehistory in Scotland, including the colonisation of new land, how lifestyles in past societies were organized, the effects of and the responses to environmental change, and the transitions to new modes of life. This should be done through a holistic view of the available data, encompassing all the complexities of interpretation and developing competing and testable models. Scottish data can be used to address many of the currently topical research topics in archaeology, and will provide a springboard to a better understanding of early prehistoric life in Scotland and beyond.

Over the last few decades, the organic agriculture sector has experienced sustained growth. Globally, as well as in the European Union and Portugal, organic production accounts for just under 10% of total Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA) (FiBL, 2019; Eurostat, 2019; DGADR, 2019; INE, 2019; GPP, 2019). This growth has been seen in terms of production, number of producers, amount of retail sales, imports and exports. This article attempts to build on the multi-level perspective (MLP) of the socio-technical (ST) transitions theory by employing a whole systems analysis (Geels, 2018) of organic agriculture in Portugal, which defends an integrated vision of the systems, where multiple interactions occur within and among the niche, the regime and the landscape levels. This approach has been employed in order to develop a critical analysis of the current state of the Portuguese organic agriculture sector, stressing the multiplicity of elements that are contributing to the agro-food system´s transformation into a more sustainable one. In fact, the agro-food system is related with climate change but also has connections with other domains such as public health, water management, land use and biodiversity. Therefore, it is affected by shifts in these areas. This analysis considers developments in increasing domestic organic production, number of producers, amount of retail sales, imports, exports, market innovations, and the sector´s reconfiguration. The organic sector´s increase has been attributed to European regulation, institutionalization, standardization, farmer certification, external (government) subsidy support programs, incremental market improvements (visibility and product access), the emergence of new retailers, the rise of supporting consumers and a shift away from conventional agriculture (Truninger, 2010; DGADR, 2019; Pe´er et al, 2019). However, together with positive incentives, this sector also faces numerous barriers that are hindering a faster transformation. Difficulties for the sector to date have included: product placement; a disconnect between production, distribution and marketing systems; high transport costs; competition from imports; European subsidies focused on extensive crops (pastures, olive groves, and arable crops), entailing a substantial growth in the area of pasture to the detriment of other crops; the fact that the products that are in demand (fresh vegetables and fruit) are being neglected by Portuguese producers; expensive certification procedures; lack of adequate support and market expertise for national producers; the hybrid configuration of the sector; and price. Organic agriculture as a niche-innovation is still not greatly contributing to overall agricultural production. The low supply of organic products, despite its ever-increasing demand, suggests that a transition to increased organic production requires a deeper and faster food system reconfiguration, where an array of distinct policies are mobilized and a diversity of actions take place at different levels (Geels, 2018; Pe´er et al, 2019). This paper will attempt to contribute an overall critical assessment of the organic sector´s features and evolution and will identify some of the main obstacles to be overcome, in order to boost the sustainability transition of the agro-food system in Portugal.

The Sustainable Development Goal 6 targets are all dependent on capacity development as outlined in SDG 6a “Expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation related activities and programmes “. Massive Open On-line Courses (MOOCs) and distance learning in general have a significant role to play in this expansion. This report examines the role that MOOCs and similar courses could play in capacity development in the water sector. The appearance of MOOCs in 2010/11 led within 4 years to a huge increase in this type of course and in student enrollment. Some problems with student dropout rates, over-estimating the transformational and disruptive nature of MOOCs and uncertain business models remain, but less “massive” MOOCs with more engaged students are overcoming these problems. There are many existing distance learning courses and programmes in the water sector designed to train and/ or educate professionals, operators, graduate and undergraduate students and, to a lesser extent, members of communities dealing with water issues. There are few existing true MOOCs in the water sector. MOOCs could supply significant numbers of qualified practitioners for the water sector. A suite of programmes on water-related topics would allow anyone to try the courses and determine whether they were appropriate and useful. If they were, the students could officially enroll in the course or programme to gain a meaningful qualification or simply to upgrade their qualifications. To make MOOCs more relevant to education and training in the water sector an analysis of the requirements in the sector and the potential demand for such courses is required. Cooperation between institutions preparing MOOCs would be desirable given the substantial time and funding required to produce excellent quality courses. One attractive model for cooperation would be to produce modules on all aspects of water and sanitation dealing with technical, scientific, social, legal and management topics. These should be produced by recognized experts in each field and should be “stand-alone” or complete in themselves. If all modules were made freely available, users or mentors could assemble different MOOCs by linking relevant modules. Then extracts, simplified or less technical versions of the modules could then be used to produce presentations to encourage public participation and for other training purposes. Adaptive learning, where course materials are more tailored to individual students based on their test results and reactions to the material, can be an integral part of MOOCs. MOOCs efficiently provide access to quality courses at low or no cost to students around the world, they enable students to try courses at their convenience, they can be tailored to both professional and technical aspects, and they are very suitable to provide adaptive learning courses. Cooperation between institutions would provide many course modules for the water sector that collectively could provide excellent programmes to address the challenges of capacity development for SDG 6 and other issues within the water sector.

1.1 Macroeconomic summary Economic recovery has consistently outperformed the technical staff’s expectations following a steep decline in activity in the second quarter of 2020. At the same time, total and core inflation rates have fallen and remain at low levels, suggesting that a significant element of the reactivation of Colombia’s economy has been related to recovery in potential GDP. This would support the technical staff’s diagnosis of weak aggregate demand and ample excess capacity. The most recently available data on 2020 growth suggests a contraction in economic activity of 6.8%, lower than estimates from January’s Monetary Policy Report (-7.2%). High-frequency indicators suggest that economic performance was significantly more dynamic than expected in January, despite mobility restrictions and quarantine measures. This has also come amid declines in total and core inflation, the latter of which was below January projections if controlling for certain relative price changes. This suggests that the unexpected strength of recent growth contains elements of demand, and that excess capacity, while significant, could be lower than previously estimated. Nevertheless, uncertainty over the measurement of excess capacity continues to be unusually high and marked both by variations in the way different economic sectors and spending components have been affected by the pandemic, and by uneven price behavior. The size of excess capacity, and in particular the evolution of the pandemic in forthcoming quarters, constitute substantial risks to the macroeconomic forecast presented in this report. Despite the unexpected strength of the recovery, the technical staff continues to project ample excess capacity that is expected to remain on the forecast horizon, alongside core inflation that will likely remain below the target. Domestic demand remains below 2019 levels amid unusually significant uncertainty over the size of excess capacity in the economy. High national unemployment (14.6% for February 2021) reflects a loose labor market, while observed total and core inflation continue to be below 2%. Inflationary pressures from the exchange rate are expected to continue to be low, with relatively little pass-through on inflation. This would be compatible with a negative output gap. Excess productive capacity and the expectation of core inflation below the 3% target on the forecast horizon provide a basis for an expansive monetary policy posture. The technical staff’s assessment of certain shocks and their expected effects on the economy, as well as the presence of several sources of uncertainty and related assumptions about their potential macroeconomic impacts, remain a feature of this report. The coronavirus pandemic, in particular, continues to affect the public health environment, and the reopening of Colombia’s economy remains incomplete. The technical staff’s assessment is that the COVID-19 shock has affected both aggregate demand and supply, but that the impact on demand has been deeper and more persistent. Given this persistence, the central forecast accounts for a gradual tightening of the output gap in the absence of new waves of contagion, and as vaccination campaigns progress. The central forecast continues to include an expected increase of total and core inflation rates in the second quarter of 2021, alongside the lapse of the temporary price relief measures put in place in 2020. Additional COVID-19 outbreaks (of uncertain duration and intensity) represent a significant risk factor that could affect these projections. Additionally, the forecast continues to include an upward trend in sovereign risk premiums, reflected by higher levels of public debt that in the wake of the pandemic are likely to persist on the forecast horizon, even in the context of a fiscal adjustment. At the same time, the projection accounts for the shortterm effects on private domestic demand from a fiscal adjustment along the lines of the one currently being proposed by the national government. This would be compatible with a gradual recovery of private domestic demand in 2022. The size and characteristics of the fiscal adjustment that is ultimately implemented, as well as the corresponding market response, represent another source of forecast uncertainty. Newly available information offers evidence of the potential for significant changes to the macroeconomic scenario, though without altering the general diagnosis described above. The most recent data on inflation, growth, fiscal policy, and international financial conditions suggests a more dynamic economy than previously expected. However, a third wave of the pandemic has delayed the re-opening of Colombia’s economy and brought with it a deceleration in economic activity. Detailed descriptions of these considerations and subsequent changes to the macroeconomic forecast are presented below. The expected annual decline in GDP (-0.3%) in the first quarter of 2021 appears to have been less pronounced than projected in January (-4.8%). Partial closures in January to address a second wave of COVID-19 appear to have had a less significant negative impact on the economy than previously estimated. This is reflected in figures related to mobility, energy demand, industry and retail sales, foreign trade, commercial transactions from selected banks, and the national statistics agency’s (DANE) economic tracking indicator (ISE). Output is now expected to have declined annually in the first quarter by 0.3%. Private consumption likely continued to recover, registering levels somewhat above those from the previous year, while public consumption likely increased significantly. While a recovery in investment in both housing and in other buildings and structures is expected, overall investment levels in this case likely continued to be low, and gross fixed capital formation is expected to continue to show significant annual declines. Imports likely recovered to again outpace exports, though both are expected to register significant annual declines. Economic activity that outpaced projections, an increase in oil prices and other export products, and an expected increase in public spending this year account for the upward revision to the 2021 growth forecast (from 4.6% with a range between 2% and 6% in January, to 6.0% with a range between 3% and 7% in April). As a result, the output gap is expected to be smaller and to tighten more rapidly than projected in the previous report, though it is still expected to remain in negative territory on the forecast horizon. Wide forecast intervals reflect the fact that the future evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic remains a significant source of uncertainty on these projections. The delay in the recovery of economic activity as a result of the resurgence of COVID-19 in the first quarter appears to have been less significant than projected in the January report. The central forecast scenario expects this improved performance to continue in 2021 alongside increased consumer and business confidence. Low real interest rates and an active credit supply would also support this dynamic, and the overall conditions would be expected to spur a recovery in consumption and investment. Increased growth in public spending and public works based on the national government’s spending plan (Plan Financiero del Gobierno) are other factors to consider. Additionally, an expected recovery in global demand and higher projected prices for oil and coffee would further contribute to improved external revenues and would favor investment, in particular in the oil sector. Given the above, the technical staff’s 2021 growth forecast has been revised upward from 4.6% in January (range from 2% to 6%) to 6.0% in April (range from 3% to 7%). These projections account for the potential for the third wave of COVID-19 to have a larger and more persistent effect on the economy than the previous wave, while also supposing that there will not be any additional significant waves of the pandemic and that mobility restrictions will be relaxed as a result. Economic growth in 2022 is expected to be 3%, with a range between 1% and 5%. This figure would be lower than projected in the January report (3.6% with a range between 2% and 6%), due to a higher base of comparison given the upward revision to expected GDP in 2021. This forecast also takes into account the likely effects on private demand of a fiscal adjustment of the size currently being proposed by the national government, and which would come into effect in 2022. Excess in productive capacity is now expected to be lower than estimated in January but continues to be significant and affected by high levels of uncertainty, as reflected in the wide forecast intervals. The possibility of new waves of the virus (of uncertain intensity and duration) represents a significant downward risk to projected GDP growth, and is signaled by the lower limits of the ranges provided in this report. Inflation (1.51%) and inflation excluding food and regulated items (0.94%) declined in March compared to December, continuing below the 3% target. The decline in inflation in this period was below projections, explained in large part by unanticipated increases in the costs of certain foods (3.92%) and regulated items (1.52%). An increase in international food and shipping prices, increased foreign demand for beef, and specific upward pressures on perishable food supplies appear to explain a lower-than-expected deceleration in the consumer price index (CPI) for foods. An unexpected increase in regulated items prices came amid unanticipated increases in international fuel prices, on some utilities rates, and for regulated education prices. The decline in annual inflation excluding food and regulated items between December and March was in line with projections from January, though this included downward pressure from a significant reduction in telecommunications rates due to the imminent entry of a new operator. When controlling for the effects of this relative price change, inflation excluding food and regulated items exceeds levels forecast in the previous report. Within this indicator of core inflation, the CPI for goods (1.05%) accelerated due to a reversion of the effects of the VAT-free day in November, which was largely accounted for in February, and possibly by the transmission of a recent depreciation of the peso on domestic prices for certain items (electric and household appliances). For their part, services prices decelerated and showed the lowest rate of annual growth (0.89%) among the large consumer baskets in the CPI. Within the services basket, the annual change in rental prices continued to decline, while those services that continue to experience the most significant restrictions on returning to normal operations (tourism, cinemas, nightlife, etc.) continued to register significant price declines. As previously mentioned, telephone rates also fell significantly due to increased competition in the market. Total inflation is expected to continue to be affected by ample excesses in productive capacity for the remainder of 2021 and 2022, though less so than projected in January. As a result, convergence to the inflation target is now expected to be somewhat faster than estimated in the previous report, assuming the absence of significant additional outbreaks of COVID-19. The technical staff’s year-end inflation projections for 2021 and 2022 have increased, suggesting figures around 3% due largely to variation in food and regulated items prices. The projection for inflation excluding food and regulated items also increased, but remains below 3%. Price relief measures on indirect taxes implemented in 2020 are expected to lapse in the second quarter of 2021, generating a one-off effect on prices and temporarily affecting inflation excluding food and regulated items. However, indexation to low levels of past inflation, weak demand, and ample excess productive capacity are expected to keep core inflation below the target, near 2.3% at the end of 2021 (previously 2.1%). The reversion in 2021 of the effects of some price relief measures on utility rates from 2020 should lead to an increase in the CPI for regulated items in the second half of this year. Annual price changes are now expected to be higher than estimated in the January report due to an increased expected path for fuel prices and unanticipated increases in regulated education prices. The projection for the CPI for foods has increased compared to the previous report, taking into account certain factors that were not anticipated in January (a less favorable agricultural cycle, increased pressure from international prices, and transport costs). Given the above, year-end annual inflation for 2021 and 2022 is now expected to be 3% and 2.8%, respectively, which would be above projections from January (2.3% and 2,7%). For its part, expected inflation based on analyst surveys suggests year-end inflation in 2021 and 2022 of 2.8% and 3.1%, respectively. There remains significant uncertainty surrounding the inflation forecasts included in this report due to several factors: 1) the evolution of the pandemic; 2) the difficulty in evaluating the size and persistence of excess productive capacity; 3) the timing and manner in which price relief measures will lapse; and 4) the future behavior of food prices. Projected 2021 growth in foreign demand (4.4% to 5.2%) and the supposed average oil price (USD 53 to USD 61 per Brent benchmark barrel) were both revised upward. An increase in long-term international interest rates has been reflected in a depreciation of the peso and could result in relatively tighter external financial conditions for emerging market economies, including Colombia. Average growth among Colombia’s trade partners was greater than expected in the fourth quarter of 2020. This, together with a sizable fiscal stimulus approved in the United States and the onset of a massive global vaccination campaign, largely explains the projected increase in foreign demand growth in 2021. The resilience of the goods market in the face of global crisis and an expected normalization in international trade are additional factors. These considerations and the expected continuation of a gradual reduction of mobility restrictions abroad suggest that Colombia’s trade partners could grow on average by 5.2% in 2021 and around 3.4% in 2022. The improved prospects for global economic growth have led to an increase in current and expected oil prices. Production interruptions due to a heavy winter, reduced inventories, and increased supply restrictions instituted by producing countries have also contributed to the increase. Meanwhile, market forecasts and recent Federal Reserve pronouncements suggest that the benchmark interest rate in the U.S. will remain stable for the next two years. Nevertheless, a significant increase in public spending in the country has fostered expectations for greater growth and inflation, as well as increased uncertainty over the moment in which a normalization of monetary policy might begin. This has been reflected in an increase in long-term interest rates. In this context, emerging market economies in the region, including Colombia, have registered increases in sovereign risk premiums and long-term domestic interest rates, and a depreciation of local currencies against the dollar. Recent outbreaks of COVID-19 in several of these economies; limits on vaccine supply and the slow pace of immunization campaigns in some countries; a significant increase in public debt; and tensions between the United States and China, among other factors, all add to a high level of uncertainty surrounding interest rate spreads, external financing conditions, and the future performance of risk premiums. The impact that this environment could have on the exchange rate and on domestic financing conditions represent risks to the macroeconomic and monetary policy forecasts. Domestic financial conditions continue to favor recovery in economic activity. The transmission of reductions to the policy interest rate on credit rates has been significant. The banking portfolio continues to recover amid circumstances that have affected both the supply and demand for loans, and in which some credit risks have materialized. Preferential and ordinary commercial interest rates have fallen to a similar degree as the benchmark interest rate. As is generally the case, this transmission has come at a slower pace for consumer credit rates, and has been further delayed in the case of mortgage rates. Commercial credit levels stabilized above pre-pandemic levels in March, following an increase resulting from significant liquidity requirements for businesses in the second quarter of 2020. The consumer credit portfolio continued to recover and has now surpassed February 2020 levels, though overall growth in the portfolio remains low. At the same time, portfolio projections and default indicators have increased, and credit establishment earnings have come down. Despite this, credit disbursements continue to recover and solvency indicators remain well above regulatory minimums. 1.2 Monetary policy decision In its meetings in March and April the BDBR left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.75%.

Increasing attention has been paid to quality of care (QOC) in family planning (FP) during the last few years, and there have been several initiatives to strengthen QOC in FP in the developing world. This paper reviews the quality of the FP program in India’s public and private sectors, and examines six elements: choice of methods, information given to clients, technical competence, interpersonal relations, continuity of care and follow-up, and appropriate constellation of services. Overall, the paper finds that not much attention has been paid to QOC and hence the level is quite low. Evidence and observations indicate that QOC may be slightly better in the nongovernmental sector. In many areas adequate information is not available to assess QOC, especially in the private sector. Overall, substantial efforts are needed to improve QOC in FP in India. The paper discusses why QOC is poor and offers suggestions for improving each dimension. As the Government of India is actively considering revising its FP program strategy and adopting a reproductive health approach, it may be an opportune time to improve QOC in the family welfare program.