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Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1281

Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1296

The Green Paper on the modernization of public procurement policy of the European Union launched a reflection on how such EU rules can contribute to fulfill the objectives proposed in the Europe 2020 strategy. This paper analyzes its proposals and identifies its inconsistencies. In particular, it is stressed how European integration has subverted the order of priorities in public procurement rules, upgrading the promotion of the free market to the top of the list. An economistic approach to the legal issue of public procurement seems to be the reason behind such reorganization of priorities. The conflict between political and economic rationalities, which underlies the Green Paper, gives rise to a number of questions, such as how targets other than free competition –mainly the social and environmental ones– shall be taken into account in public procurement; as well as to some proposals, for instance concerning the joint procurement by different administrations (in both the vertical and horizontal sense, and even encouraging a cross-border component), which seems to point to a reorganization of bureaucracy according to economic rationality. The paper, in a final step, aims at describing the (European) social model that implicitly underlies these proposals. El Libro Verde sobre la modernización de la política de contratación pública de la Unión Europea propone una reflexión acerca de qué modo las normas comunitarias sobre la materia pueden contribuir a hacer realidad los objetivos propuestos en la estrategia Europa 2020. En este trabajo se analizan las propuestas recogidas en el Libro Verde y se identifican sus incoherencias. En particular se hace hincapié en cómo el proceso de integración europea ha alterado el orden de prioridades de las normas de contratación pública, elevando la promoción del libre mercado a la cúspide de las mismas. La razón de esa reorganización de prioridades parece radicar en la aplicación de un enfoque economicista a la cuestión jurídica de la contratación pública. El conflicto entre las racionalidades económica y política, que también subyace en el Libro Verde, da lugar a una serie de preguntas tales como cómo deben ser tenidos en cuenta objetivos distintos a la libre competencia (fundamentalmente los sociales y medioambientales) en los procedimientos de contratación pública, así como a algunas propuestas, por ejemplo referidas a la contratación conjunta por varias administraciones (tanto en sentido horizontal como vertical, e incluso fomentándose el componente transfronterizo), lo que parece apuntar a la reorganización del aparato administrativo conforme a la racionalidad económica. El trabajo, en último término, pretende describir el modelo social (europeo) que tácitamente implican estas propuestas.DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2009257

The Green Paper on the modernization of public procurement policy of the European Union launched a reflection on how such EU rules can contribute to fulfill the objectives proposed in the Europe 2020 strategy. This paper analyzes its proposals and identifies its inconsistencies. In particular, it is stressed how European integration has subverted the order of priorities in public procurement rules, upgrading the promotion of the free market to the top of the list. An economistic approach to the legal issue of public procurement seems to be the reason behind such reorganization of priorities. The conflict between political and economic rationalities, which underlies the Green Paper, gives rise to a number of questions, such as how targets other than free competition –mainly the social and environmental ones– shall be taken into account in public procurement; as well as to some proposals, for instance concerning the joint procurement by different administrations (in both the vertical and horizontal sense, and even encouraging a cross-border component), which seems to point to a reorganization of bureaucracy according to economic rationality. The paper, in a final step, aims at describing the (European) social model that implicitly underlies these proposals. El Libro Verde sobre la modernización de la política de contratación pública de la Unión Europea propone una reflexión acerca de qué modo las normas comunitarias sobre la materia pueden contribuir a hacer realidad los objetivos propuestos en la estrategia Europa 2020. En este trabajo se analizan las propuestas recogidas en el Libro Verde y se identifican sus incoherencias. En particular se hace hincapié en cómo el proceso de integración europea ha alterado el orden de prioridades de las normas de contratación pública, elevando la promoción del libre mercado a la cúspide de las mismas. La razón de esa reorganización de prioridades parece radicar en la aplicación de un enfoque economicista a la cuestión jurídica de la contratación pública. El conflicto entre las racionalidades económica y política, que también subyace en el Libro Verde, da lugar a una serie de preguntas tales como cómo deben ser tenidos en cuenta objetivos distintos a la libre competencia (fundamentalmente los sociales y medioambientales) en los procedimientos de contratación pública, así como a algunas propuestas, por ejemplo referidas a la contratación conjunta por varias administraciones (tanto en sentido horizontal como vertical, e incluso fomentándose el componente transfronterizo), lo que parece apuntar a la reorganización del aparato administrativo conforme a la racionalidad económica. El trabajo, en último término, pretende describir el modelo social (europeo) que tácitamente implican estas propuestas. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2009257

There is no doubt whatsoever that the papers presented in this volume cover a very wide, even extensive range of topics. This is of course logical, given the multi-disciplinary nature of this scientifical project. Nevertheless, it is a pleasure to present no less than eight papers devoted to new results and ideas in fields as diverse as psychology, philosophy, political science and law, dealing with matters such as electoral behavior, globalization, the concept of democracy, the role of experts or the relevance of thinkers such as Plato and Hobbes for the current discussion on the EU constitution. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1837316

This paper briefly discusses the presence of gender stereotypes in the treatment of adolescent girls deprived of their liberty in Chile. The paper begins by presenting the concept of gender stereotypes and reviewing the main recommendations from the international human rights framework regarding the need to eliminate stereotypes in the justice system in general and in the treatment of adolescent girls deprived of their liberty in particular. It then uses interviews with professionals who work directly with adolescent girls deprived of their liberty to explain, through their words, the main gender stereotypes present in relation to them, which are mainly related to characteristics such as the emotionality, intensity and complexity of adolescent girls. In addition, the analysis of the interviews conducted with the adolescent girls who were in the centres at the time of the visits and who agreed to participate in the study is also included. Finally, a brief reflection is presented on the presence of these stereotypes and how they have their origin in the gender order, the socialisation that the girls receive, and also the violence to which they are exposed, to conclude by reflecting on the State's inability, to date, to provide the conditions and tools for the treatment of adolescent girls deprived of liberty free of gender stereotypes, thus complying with human rights recommendations.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the papers presented in this volume cover a very wide, even extensive range of topics. This is of course logical, given the multi-disciplinary nature of this scientifical project. Nevertheless, it is a pleasure to present no less than eight papers devoted to new results and ideas in fields as diverse as psychology, philosophy, political science and law, dealing with matters such as electoral behavior, globalization, the concept of democracy, the role of experts or the relevance of thinkers such as Plato and Hobbes for the current discussion on the EU constitution. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1837316

The adopted’s right to know their origins constitutes an essential manifestation of the right to identity and free development of the personality of adopted persons, regulated by the articles 180, 5 and 6 of the Spanish CC and the articles 12 and 5, 1, i) of Law 54/2007, of December 28, on International Adoption. The adoptee can not only request data on his or her biological origin but also information on the identity of his or her parents and their biogenetic data. This right may conflict with the right to privacy and data protection of biological parents and family. This paper presents the double public/private aspect of the right to know the origins of adopted people. On the one hand, its extension and limits are analyzed in confrontation with the rights to privacy, intimate family and personal life and data protection of the family of origin and, on the other, we analyze the actions of Public Entities and the administration to guarantee its exercise and effectiveness. This paper is completed with the most recent jurisprudential analysis.

Structural judgments regarding socioeconomic rights and the judicial oversight of their enforcement are two phenomena that have recently characterized Latin American public law. This paper examines how these phenomena of judicial behaviour respond to certain deficiencies in legislation (e.g., incomplete law and legislative stalemate). Suboptimal legislation usually indicates that political actors cannot impose their preferences or reach satisfactory agreements due to high transaction costs, thus presenting an opportunity for judicial intervention. However, the same suboptimal legislation can also expose a degree of political reluctance or lack of state institutional capacity to implement appropriate policies. Without aiming to establish a comprehensive theory, this paper explores how structural judgments and the creation of judicial monitoring systems deal with these different aspects of imperfect legislation. The paper briefly provides an analytical framework and takes a new approach to examining three well-known case studies from Colombia, Argentina, and Peru.

This paper draws on analysis by social historians ranging from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance in France to recent administrative history in Poland to illustrate basic contradictions in Western thought about sexuality. These have resulted over time in policies which range from prohibition of sex work to tolerance of the need to meet physical needs accompanied by an appreciation of the financial profits to be obtained by the state as well as the individual, combined with abhorrence of female adultery. The paper closes with original data on current public attitudes towards the impact on reputation of a range of behaviours in Poland, including sexual activities, and finds a high level of agreement about the damaging impact on reputation of not sexwork itself but of living off the proceeds of sexwork.

Climate change is a wicked problem, a framework not often used in sociolegal studies. The problem is complex, not readily named, and not limited to one jurisdiction. Therefore, the places of law are multiple: human rights instruments, supranational tribunals, regional courts, and local governments and NGOS. Litigation concerning responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions has largely not resulted in favorable judgments, and the papers in this collection turn to other ways of conceptualizing law and courts in responding to climate change. Relevant legal strategies include environmental legal enforcement, but also changes in investment, and response to the many disasters that are related to climate change. The papers in this collection travel across jurisdictions, actors and problems to assess legal strategies concerning climate change.

From an institutional approach, the paper analyzes why it was necessary to reform the Constitution of Cuba, and the challenges that had to be taken into account to ensure the protection of rights of the Cuban people, as well as the implementation by the Government of Cuba of the main socio-economic transformations to guarantee the continuation of the Cuban socialist system and reinforce the bilateral rapport with the European Union (EU). In fact, the signature and implementation of the first EU-Cuba Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement, in 2016, prompted a new political model in the relationship between the EU and Cuba. For this reason, in the three sections of the paper, we prove how the reform of the Constitution of Cuba offers support and continuity to the process of modernization of the social, economic and political structure of Cuba, in order to ensure the provisional implementation of the Agreement with the EU from 2017 to 2019.

This paper examines how diversity is mobilized and deployed as a form of hate crime response in the York Regional Police Service, and how commitments to racial and cultural diversity embedded in the framework of hate crime policy are interpreted by police officers engaged in the frontline policing of hate crimes. Hate crime policies and specialized training programs in Ontario were developed around two central foci: 1) traditional policing concerns involving proper investigative techniques, evidence collection, documentation, and officer roles and responsibilities; and 2) emerging concerns regarding victim care, community relations, and commitments to racial and cultural diversity. Drawing on interviews with officers stationed at all five of the Service’s divisional locations, this paper shows how commitments to diversity embedded in the Service’s approach to hate crime exist along-side, and in conflict with, officer perceptions that see diversity as a source of the problem of hate.

The paper analyses the topic to understand how the legal and judicial practices in two Amazonian municipalities (Apuí and Lábrea) respond to the dynamics of environmental crimes in the region. The research project is a based in a qualitative and quantitative methodology. This paper discusses the initial results from interviews gathered in the city of Manaus with a Judge from the Amazonas State, a Prosecutor from Public Ministry, a Federal Police Commissar, and a member of the Environmental Agency of Amazonas. Thus, it is possible to understand: a) the context of environmental crimes in the cities of Apuí and Lábrea, b) the responses of criminal justice institutions to the occurrence of environmental crimes in the region. El artículo analiza el tema para comprender cómo las prácticas legales y judiciales en dos municipios amazónicos (Apuí y Lábrea) responden a la dinámica de los delitos ambientales en la región. El proyecto de investigación se basa en una metodología cualitativa y cuantitativa. Las entrevistas fueran realizadas en la ciudad de Manaus con un juez del estado de Amazonas, un fiscal del Ministerio Público, un comisario de la Policía Federal y un miembro de la Agencia Ambiental de Amazonas. Así, es posible comprender: a) el contexto de los delitos ambientales en las ciudades de Apuí y Lábrea, b) las respuestas de las instituciones de justicia penal ante la ocurrencia de delitos ambientales en la región.

The paper deepens the right to health in COVID-19 pandemic, analyzing itsimpact in terms of social inequalities. The first section introduces concepts drawn fromthe global risk society approach, pointing out some of its limitations for an effectiveanalysis of the forms of social exclusion during the pandemic. The main statement is thatthe logic of inequalities emerged in COVID-19 pandemic can be interpreted moreeffectively in the light of postcolonial and decolonial sociology, with reference to theconcepts of coloniality of power (Quijano) and – specifically – colonial sociability(Santos). The way proposed is bringing into dialogue these concepts along with those ofadvanced marginality and territorial stigmatization (Wacquant). These approaches areuseful in understanding some data on the spread of contagion and deaths due toCOVID-19 in the contexts of Brazil and the United States of America, contagion and deaths that have particularly critically affected specific territories of advancedmarginality and exposed to stigmatization processes. Analyzing specific pathways forterritorial de-stigmatization – the paper also discusses the emancipatory task of asociological analysis of inequalities in COVID-19 pandemic era.

This paper engages in a sociolegal analysis of the anti-corruption legislation enacted by the Puerto Rican Government in the aftermath of Maria (2017). The paper pays particular attention to the implementation and sociolegal impact of Act 2 of January 4, 2018, entitled, “The Anti-Corruption Code for the New Puerto Rico” and the creation of a Registry of Persons Convicted of Corruption. The rationale behind the Act and the Registry is to enforce transparency, open governance, and help the Puerto Rican government in its efforts to eradicate public corruption. Conversely, this paper argues that these reforms have introduce a punitive approach to anti-corruption in PR. Approach that I have termed, punitive governance. The paper suggests Act 2 and the Registry had have a dual outcome: 1) a punitive approach to corruption that harm people in precarious positions, and 2) normalize the structural dynamic enabling corruption the powerful. Thus, this paper intends to illustrate the contradictions in anti-corruption as punitive governance, and the way in which a specific image of corruption is reproduced through governmental actions, legal practices, and discourses. Este artículo realiza un análisis socio-jurídico de la legislación anticorrupción promulgada por el Gobierno de Puerto Rico tras el paso del huracán María (2017). El articulo presta especial atención a la implementación e impacto socio-jurídico de la Ley 2 de 4 de enero de 2018, titulada “El Código Anticorrupción para el Nuevo Puerto Rico” y la creación de un Registro de Personas Convictas por Actos de Corrupción. La razón fundamental detrás de la Ley y el Registro es hacer cumplir políticas de transparencia, la gobernabilidad y ayudar al gobierno de Puerto Rico en sus esfuerzos por erradicar la corrupción en el sector público. Por el contrario, este artículo argumenta que estas reformas han introducido un enfoque punitivo para combatir la corrupción en PR. El artículo sugiere que la Ley 2 y el Registro tuvieron un doble resultado: 1) un enfoque punitivo de la corrupción que perjudica a las personas en posiciones precarias, y 2) normalizar la dinámica estructural que permite la corrupción de los poderosos. Así, este artículo pretende ilustrar las contradicciones de la anticorrupción como gobernanza punitiva, y la forma en que se reproduce una imagen específica de corrupción a través de acciones gubernamentales, prácticas jurídicas y discursos legales.

The European Research Council (ERC) funding scheme classifies law within the social sciences and humanities sector, identifying legal science as a social science. The paper presents the case-study of such a classification as a deterministic model of evaluation and assessment of legal research. This may impact on career opportunities of individuals as well as on scientific independence, tacitly predefining the selection of research topics and legal methodology. The paper argues that ERC encourages a successful trend of conducting legal research to obtain funding, through the application of indicators. Their aim is to show which process has been followed to achieve and measure results. Legal science then risks being reduced to the analysis of legal performance. In this context, re-reading some writings of Polanyi on social sciences as well as on the critique of economic determinism sheds light on forms of academic determinism that affect the way of carrying-out research.

As in other dictatorships in the Southern Cone, during the last military dictatorships in Argentina (1976-1983) and Uruguay (1973-1985), women prisoners were victims of different forms of sexual violence. In Argentina, only in recent years, after the reopening of trials for crimes against humanity and with considerable resistance, the possibility of trying sexual violence as a crime distinct from torture began to be considered, and in 2010 the first conviction for this crime was handed down. In 2011, a criminal complaint was filed for the first time for rape and sexual abuse committed during the period of the Uruguayan military dictatorship made collectively by 28 former female political prisoners. In this paper we will describe the paths taken by the justice system in each of the countries and the changing moments of memory in order to finally analyze the process of shaping and organizing these complaints and to report on the main legal debates about the possibility of prosecuting these crimes in both countries. Studying the Argentine and Uruguayan cases together will allow us to address the specific characteristics of each national historical development but, at the same time, will seek to account for a process that exceeds national boundaries.

One of the most significant institutional developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the last war (1992-1995) was the establishment of the state-level Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its relevance increased when, as part of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia’s exit strategy, it was decided that a War Crimes Chamber would be established in the Court to continue the trial process. It should be noted that the very existence of an integral state of Bosnia and Herzegovina (one of the reasons for the war) is still in question today. Thus the creation of the Court was interpreted as a bid to strengthen state capacities. For this reason, since its very establishment, and even more so for its task of judging the war, it has been resented by the political leadership of one of the country's entities, the Republika Srpska, which has even tried to eliminate it. Against this background, the aim of this paper is to analyze how the Court itself perceives its actions (through statements of its presidency and official publications), especially the adjudication of war crimes, in the context of the debates on what the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina should be. The focus is on the period 2004-2017, when the presidency of the Court was held by Meddžida Kreso, particularly active in promoting her institution and in helping to identify it as an expression of the state.

According to Article 23 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) States Parties shall ensure the rights and responsibilities of such persons with regard to adoption of children. This article has a limited application in practice due to a traditional prejudice towards sexuality and motherhood/parenthood of these people, even proposing the adoption of their biological children. This contribution focuses on the analysis of the configuration of adoption in the aforementioned Article 23.2 CRPD, based on significant examples of Comparative Law. First, it studies the health and financial requirements for adopters, which often hide direct or indirect discrimination against the people with disabilities. Second, this paper explores the meaning of the concept of `supportˊ, which is aimed at ensuring that persons with disabilities can adopt on an equal basis with others. Third, it analyzes the scope of the expression ˊin all cases the best interests of the child shall be paramountˊ, with a view to examining whether it jeopardises the effectiveness of Article 23.2 CRPD in practice.

Intercountry adoption is a young institution that, after experiencing a boom at the beginning of the 21st century is currently immersed in a period of decline. The years 2020 to 2023 have been especially notable in this matter in Spain, as a consequence of the jurisdiction conflict, resolved by STC 36/2021, as well as the COVID-19 crisis, causing China to restrict international adoption. This paper analyzes the features that have characterized intercountry adoption in its different stages and the factors that have led to its evolution, focusing on the study of the successive regulatory swings that have occurred in Spain. As a result of this study, it is observed that, beyond the current circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 crisis, this institution currently has a residual weight that is increasingly in line with the principle of subsidiarity, recognized by the Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.

This paper investigates a topic that is booming in Argentine jurisprudence: the declaration of the adoptability situation of children based on the informed, thoughtful, and autonomous decision of their parents -generally women who decide not to exercise their maternity– to give their child for adoption considering the obligatory gender perspective, in line with the rights of children. With this objective as a goal, the regulation of the judicial declaration of the situation of adoptability and the autonomous decision to give a daughter or son for adoption is synthesized, the exception being that the declaration in a situation of adoptability is not appropriate if a referent of the family of origin or extended family is able to take care of the child and its complementarity with the best interest of the child. At the same time, the paths taken in Argentine jurisprudence regarding the birth of children after hindering the legal interruption of pregnancy are critically analyzed.

Two models, the hierarchical model and the local control model, drive the way we talk about the decisions court actors and judges make. However, neither considered in isolation is an adequate explanation of courts’ administrative policy choices during the Covid-19 pandemic. This paper explores how actors in state courts in the United States perceived and performed their policymaking capacity using elite interviews. It argues that considering features of both models provides a more nuanced explanation of the distribution of administrative authority in state courts. The interviews reveal that actors in court systems that both concentrate and distribute administrative authority behave in ways that contradict the prevailing explanatory model. The paper provides evidence of the value of recruiting and interviewing elites when researching court decision-making processes. This study contributes to our understanding of the consequences of centralized and decentralized administrative authority for court users. Utilizando entrevistas de élite, este trabajo explora cómo los actores de los tribunales estatales de Estados Unidos percibieron y desempeñaron su capacidad de formulación de políticas administrativas durante la pandemia de la COVID-19. Sostiene que considerar tanto las explicaciones jerárquicas como las de control local del comportamiento de quienes trabajan en los tribunales ofrece una explicación más matizada de la distribución de la autoridad administrativa en estos sistemas. Las entrevistas revelan que los actores de los sistemas judiciales que concentran y distribuyen la autoridad administrativa se comportan de formas que contradicen los modelos explicativos predominantes: en los sistemas administrativamente más descentralizados, algunos actores judiciales buscaban más orientación de los actores centrales, mientras que, en un sistema centralizado, algunos actores judiciales actuaban de formas que se desviaban de las órdenes centrales. Además de ampliar nuestra comprensión de las consecuencias para los usuarios de la autoridad administrativa centralizada y descentralizada de los tribunales, este trabajo aporta pruebas de las ventajas y los retos de realizar entrevistas con una muestra de élite a través de la tecnología.

Social science research on courts and judges requires data that are typically generated through interviews, observation, or surveys for the purpose of answering specific research questions posed by the researcher. However, traditional methods of data collection are not always feasible. As an alternative, this paper examines the use of administrative data, which have been collected for non-research purposes, in judicial research. Using research undertaken by the author in Australia over the past decade as case studies, the paper examines potential sources of administrative data on courts and judges, how they can be acquired, and the uses to which they can be put. The paper then assesses the advantages and disadvantages of using administrative data, which vary substantially according to the data source. The paper concludes by agreeing with Babbie (2020) that ‘with so much data already collected, the lack of funds to support expensive data collection is no reason for not doing good and useful social research’ on judicial systems. La investigación en ciencias sociales sobre tribunales y jueces requiere datos que suelen generarse a través de encuestas, entrevistas u observación con el fin de responder a preguntas de investigación concretas planteadas por el investigador. Sin embargo, los métodos tradicionales de recopilación de datos no siempre son factibles. Como alternativa, este artículo examina el uso de datos administrativos, que han sido recogidos con fines ajenos a la investigación, en la investigación judicial. Utilizando como estudios de caso las investigaciones realizadas por el autor durante la última década, el artículo examina las fuentes potenciales de datos administrativos sobre tribunales y jueces, cómo pueden ser adquiridos y los usos que se les puede dar. A continuación, el artículo evalúa las ventajas e inconvenientes de la utilización de datos administrativos, que varían sustancialmente según la fuente de datos. El artículo concluye coincidiendo con Babbie (2020) en que “con tantos datos ya recopilados, la falta de fondos para apoyar la costosa recopilación de datos no es razón para no hacer una investigación social buena y útil” sobre los sistemas judiciales.

The aim of this special issue is to present empirical research outcomes and theoretical works that use the concept of legal culture to characterize the approach of the sociology of law. The papers presented were called for at the Oñati Workshop on Legal Culture and empirical research, originally planned for May 2020, but actually held in May 2021, on the initiative of the International Institute of Sociology of Law, and the Sociology of Law Section of the Italian Sociological Association. After an intense meeting, papers were submitted for the standard review process of the Iisl series. We considered that including the concept of legal culture into the research design and insisting on this focus for debate, could be a way of improving the socio-legal character of our research and settling the many disputes in a continuous debate. So, we looked for research experiences in which the concept of legal culture was used to configure legal phenomena in a specifically socio-legal way. Este número especial presenta el enfoque teórico y metodológico para especificar el carácter de la sociología del derecho a través del concepto de cultura jurídica. La inclusión de este concepto en el diseño de la investigación socio-jurídica puede mejorar las preguntas hacia los fenómenos jurídicos e identificar mejor la perspectiva sociológica respecto a otras disciplinas y al conocimiento jurídico. Sin embargo, requiere una mejor especificación de lo que puede entenderse por cultura jurídica desde el punto de vista sociológico. Para ello, propone referir el concepto, con “jurídico”, a lo que es atribuible a la institucionalización jurídica de las dimensiones normativas de la vida social. “Cultura”, en cambio, se refiere a los componentes culturales a los que se recurre para reconectar esos procesos de institucionalización con las normas sociales, los valores y el contexto cultural y social más general del derecho. Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1323

The paper analyses the topic of unaccompanied foreign minor migrants’ (UFMs) access paths in Italy and France. The aim is to describe how Italy and France intercept the UFMs to European coasts, and how they are identified and guided to specific reception facilities by examining the data and available references. The focus is on the legal dimension of the “non-reception system”. These are cases in which states have been convicted of violating children’s rights. How the Western world has tried to institutionalise the concept of children’s rights is closely related to the concept and operating modes of legal principles and “cultures”. In a way, the study of legal culture represents a measure of evolution of laws. In this paper, we highlight the usefulness of analysing the principle of the best interest of child (BIC), introduced in the ideal-typical configuration as a free formulation, which can only be understood based on the interpretation of Courts’ decisions taken on behalf of UFMs. El artículo analiza el tema de las vías de acceso de los menores extranjeros no acompañados (MENA) en Italia y Francia. El objetivo es describir cómo Italia y Francia interceptan a los MENA hacia las costas europeas, y cómo son identificados y guiados hacia instalaciones de recepción específicas, examinando los datos y las referencias disponibles. La atención se centra en la dimensión jurídica del "sistema de no recepción". Se trata de casos en los que los Estados han sido condenados por violar los derechos de los niños. El modo en que el mundo occidental ha intentado institucionalizar el concepto de los derechos del niño está estrechamente relacionado con el concepto y los modos de funcionamiento de los principios y las "culturas" jurídicas. En cierto modo, el estudio de la cultura jurídica representa una medida de la evolución de las leyes. En este trabajo, destacamos la utilidad de analizar el principio del interés superior del niño, introducido en la configuración ideal-típica como una formulación libre, que sólo puede entenderse a partir de la interpretación de las decisiones de los tribunales tomadas en nombre de los MENA. Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1322

Although not being a codified legal concept, vulnerability has been increasingly used over the past years in the reasoning of the European Court of Human Rights. Some relevant cases dealing with the multi-faceted notion of vulnerability are retrospectively presented to exemplify this trend, considering two aspects. First, the paper explores the process of juridification of vulnerability in the ECtHR’s case law from the perspective of the sociology of law. Through the emerging uncodified notion of vulnerability, it seeks to inquire the relationship of juridification and legal culture focusing on the legal response to social needs arising from the use of vulnerability. Second, the paper conceptualizes vulnerability looking at its interplay with different human rights’ violations. The paper ultimately aims to re-theorize the role of legal culture as a catalyst for juridification, taking vulnerable conditions and their relevance to the law as a paradigmatic example of social change. Pese a no ser un concepto jurídico codificado, la vulnerabilidad ha sido cada vez más utilizada en los últimos años en el razonamiento del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos. Para ejemplificar esta tendencia, se presentan retrospectivamente algunos casos relevantes que abordan la multifacética noción de vulnerabilidad, considerando dos aspectos. En primer lugar, el artículo explora el proceso de juridificación de la vulnerabilidad en la jurisprudencia del TEDH desde la perspectiva de la sociología del derecho. A través de la noción emergente de vulnerabilidad no codificada, se pretende indagar en la relación de la juridificación y la cultura jurídica centrándonos en la respuesta legal a las necesidades sociales que surgen del uso de la vulnerabilidad. En segundo lugar, el documento conceptualiza la vulnerabilidad examinando su interacción con diferentes violaciones de los derechos humanos. En última instancia, el documento pretende volver a teorizar el papel de la cultura jurídica como catalizador de la juridificación, tomando las condiciones de vulnerabilidad y su relevancia para el derecho como ejemplo paradigmático del cambio social. Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1314

This paper examines recent amendments to French and German immigration law aimed at accelerating and enhancing the expulsion of unwanted immigrants of the territory. The main normative changes resulting from these reforms, entailing an unprecedented retraction of legal safeguards against expulsion and significantly exacerbating immigrant’s condition of expulsability, will be presented in comparative terms, without losing sight of the European dimension. Specifically, these reforms shape immigrant’s expulsable presence on the territory through three aspects: an increase on the precariousness of foreigner status, a reduction of the sphere of freedom needed to lead a dignified life and an expansion of exceptionality that obliges us to reconsider our social contract to include a human-rights based approach to immigration.

The use of artificial intelligence, as well as the digital transformation and the incorporation of advanced technologies in the field of the justice administration is a fact that has left no one indifferent. The progress of artificial intelligence-based technologies, which are allowing the automation of a multitude of tasks that are currently performed by different operators and legal professionals, will cause that many of these services and routine tasks will be developed by machines, with the consequent loss of prominence of these professional groups. In this context, what is the future for the legal professionals who represent the citizen in Courts? It seems difficult to imagine the need for the figure of Court's Procurator, especially when many other operators and legal professionals could be replaced by intelligent machines. For this reason, this paper will try to analyze the impact that these new technologies will have on the functions that these professionals perform daily on behalf of the parties before the courts. El uso de la inteligencia artificial, así como la transformación digital y la incorporación de tecnologías avanzadas en el ámbito de la Administración de Justicia es un hecho que no ha dejado indiferente a nadie. El avance de las tecnologías basadas en la inteligencia artificial, que están permitiendo la automatización de multitud de tareas que actualmente son realizadas por diferentes operadores y profesionales jurídicos, provocará que muchos de estos servicios y tareas rutinarias sean desarrollados por máquinas, con la consiguiente pérdida de protagonismo de estos colectivos profesionales. En este contexto, ¿cuál es el futuro de los profesionales del Derecho que representan al ciudadano ante los Tribunales? Parece difícil imaginar la necesidad de la figura del Procurador de los Tribunales, máxime cuando muchos otros operadores y profesionales del Derecho podrían ser sustituidos por máquinas inteligentes. Por ello, este trabajo tratará de analizar el impacto que estas nuevas tecnologías tendrán en las funciones que estos profesionales desempeñan diariamente en representación de las partes ante los tribunales.

This paper scrutinizes the metaverse's burgeoning impact on the digital landscape and legal systems, emphasizing the imperative for legal adaptation to match technological strides. We explore the widening gap between law and technology, redefining norms and institutions alongside evolving concepts of personhood and civil society. Central inquiries focus on metaverse regulation and its transformative societal implications, urging interdisciplinary collaboration to comprehend its complexities. We caution against inaction, stressing the urgent need for a new jurisdiction safeguarding personal data and property rights. We advocate for comprehensive governance frameworks akin to those addressing climate change, ensuring future generations confront neither the repercussions of our inactivity nor the challenges posed by this challenging technological frontier.

The European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) was announced as a new platform for advancing social policy in the European Union. Among the principles and rights enshrined in the EPSR, the Commission has included the right of workers to be paid fair wages. However, in the context of EU Economic Governance, the EU country-specific recommendations steer national wage-setting institutions in the opposite direction. The outcomes sought by EU Economic Governance and the EPSR thus produce a paradox. This paper presents the Spanish case as an example of this paradox. More specifically, it assesses the reforms the Spanish Government made to minimum wage rules and the collective bargaining system during the financial crisis. In the end, all those reforms have led to wage stagnation and devaluation, causing an increasing number of working poor.

This collection of essays is the product of the workshop Feminist Judgments: Comparative Socio-Legal Perspectives on Judicial Decision Making and Gender Justice held at the International Institute for the Sociology of Law (Oñati, Spain) in May, 2017. The papers explain and explore the multiple global projects that attempt to rewrite judicial opinions by incorporating feminist legal reasoning or methods. Each essay grows out of the authors’ experiences working with projects based in a particular socio-political, geographical, historical and jurisprudential context: Canada, England, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and a multi-jurisdictional international law project. Collectively, the essays bring new insights, methods and challenges to the study of the feminist project of equal justice across the boundaries of culture, race, nation and gender.

This paper analyzes the perception of the restorative justice teams in judicial settings in Basque Country about the operating protocol of the Intrajudicial Mediation Service of Basque Country in the penal mediation procedure. Through a qualitative and group study by territories (Araba, Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia), the definition, the feelings, the benefits, the difficulties and risks about the operating protocol are addressed. The research project also studies the new proposals made by the facilitators on the reform of the protocol.

The present issue of Oñati Socio-legal Series is the result of the discussions and meetings held within workshop entitled "The institutionalization of mediation: potential and risks". Observing the growth of mediation in Western countries, we consider that it is necessary to critically address the development of mediations and possible instrumentalization in the hands of certain commercial and political interests. Six papers on the evolution and development of mediation are presented from a perspective of generalist analysis to more specific ones, such as the context of training, consumer law, restorative justice and family mediation. Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1078

This paper evidences how prostitution is a process of permanent dehumanization of women. This process is built and reproduced as one place where neoliberalism coincides with the patriarchal exploitation of female bodies. I present a feminist geopolitical analysis and explore the factors that explain the fact that Nigerian Edo women are the most prevalent victims of sex-trafficking in Europe. All this happens within the context of expansion, sophistication and technification of the sex industry together with the prostitution culture, which is ostensibly visible in the creation of hyper-real silicon sexual dolls –even childlike- and their evolution to sex robots. I draw on how the neo-colonial dynamics, the overexploitation of natural resources, the impoverishment and the forced displacement of people are the current platform that sustains part of the mechanism that operates at the core of Nigerian prostitution in the 21st century.

This paper aims to map the possibilities of adopting social systems theory in order to couple three usually isolated domains: social theory, jurisprudence and empirical research. It argues that these different uses would be the distinctive legacy of Luhmann’s work for legal research. The text suggests that investigations interested in adopting a systemic approach for discussions in each of these three domains (or in all of them) should focus on the entanglement among interactional, decisional and functional systems. However, this presupposes some enhancements in Luhmann’s own description of law as a social system. The core hypothesis presented here is that a functional system’s out-differentiation (its specialisation in face of other communications happening in the societal environment) depends on the inner-differentiation of this system – that is, on operations backed by the very construction of specific functional-systemic institutions and semantics (including decisional programs and self-descriptions).

The paper focuses on how unjust provocation reduction, regulated in Article 29 of the Turkish Penal Code, is applied in cases of violence against women, LGBTI, and transgender individuals in Turkey, also known as "masculinity sentence reduction" by feminist lawyers. In particular, I will look into case files in which the "masculinity defence" made by almost all perpetrators in femicide cases is accepted by the court as a justification for reducing the sentence of the perpetrator. I will examine how masculinity is portrayed in judicial decisions, specifically looking at provocation defences to demonstrate how jurisdiction plays a part in perpetuating masculine domination within society. Using theories of masculinity and masculine domination, I will try to reveal the contribution of judges to the "masculine legal culture" as a form of "complicit masculinity".

Cryptocurrency has sparked expressions of concern from regulators – though sometimes coupled with expressions of interest in state-backed alternatives. This paradoxical situation neatly encapsulates the conundrum confronting regulators as they seek to come to terms with the new world opened up by blockchain and leading ultimately perhaps to decentralised finance. How do we best understand this confusing situation? This paper looks for answers by attempting to conceptualise the phenomenon of decentralised finance in autopoietic systems terms. Insofar as a plausible argument can be made for the proposition that finance represents an example of the internal differentiation of the economy, does decentralised finance in some sense constitute an intensified internal differentiation? Alternatively, and paradoxically, insofar as what we are concerned with is decentralised finance, does it instead in some sense represent an example of dedifferentiation? Answers to these questions will have relevance for efforts to regulate this emerging phenomenon. They will also help to shed light on whether state and central bank experiments in this space will produce positive effects or bring their own challenges.

In this paper a baseline of contemporary access to justice research is established. The baseline clearly illustrates key features of the research field suggesting that while the field of research has become more multifaceted in the course of the last two or three decades, it is nevertheless very much dominated by law scholarship and structural analysis of legal service provision. Departing from this overview of access to justice research as of today, five calls for future research on access to justice explicated in the reviewed literature is presented and discussed. I argue that future research on access to justice should: 1) Reach a clearer understanding of the problem (of access to justice), 2) consider a multidisciplinary approach, 3) support and develop evidence-based policy by committing to empirical research, 4) study a wider variety of social realities and 5) look for quality. The reasonings of this paper are based on a scoping literature review.

Victims of terrorism can be considered a special category within the broader and more general group of “victims of crime”. In recent decades, there has been an international trend to develop more specific treatment, both in legal and practical terms, to address their particular needs in unfortunate times of intensification and sophistication of terrorist attacks, with a correlative increase in the harmful consequences for an increasing number of victims of terrorism. At the international level, one such instrument is the Madrid Memorandum, which contains relevant guidelines that serve as a reference for States, who can draw inspiration from them when designing their national standards of protection and support for victims of terrorism. This paper aims to critically analyze the legal framework applicable in Kosovo on the issue of protection and support of victims of terrorism from the pre-trial phase, through criminal proceedings, and after the completion of criminal proceedings, with special emphasis aiming to analyze the compliance of these rules with standards of the Madrid Memorandum. The paper identifies three areas in which the applicable legal framework for the protection and support of victims of terrorism in criminal proceedings needs to be harmonised with the Madrid Memorandum’s standards.

The impact of women judges in addressing gender-based issues, particularly in Africa, is largely under-researched both at the regional and country-specific levels. This paper researches on the impact of women judges in selected gender-based cases in Ghana – that is spousal property rights cases. The paper seeks to answer the primary question: in addressing spousal property rights in Ghana, have women at the bench made a difference? In answering this question, a doctrinal analysis of purposively selected cases was conducted which led to a finding that women judges did not make a difference in the development of the law on spousal property rights in Ghana. The findings and recommendations made in this paper are expected to contribute to the understanding of how female participation in judging gender-based cases have influenced and could potentially influence the interests and rights of women as well as to inform the policy choice of women judges.

This special issue has its origins in the workshop The policy of cultural rights: socio-legal perspectives on cultural diversity held at the IISL in July 2017, and chaired by Miren Manias-Muñoz (UPV/EHU) and Lucero Ibarra (CIDE Mexico). It is a combination of five papers whose first versions were originally presented at that workshop, and three additional manuscripts submitted individually to our journal, which, in view of their subject and research rationale, and after due peer review, have been considered as particularly adequate and suitable to be included in this special-issue. All in one, this collection addresses the politics of cultural production, state regulation, and social contestation at the local and national scale, offering interesting insights about Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Spain.

Restorative justice has become a conflict-solving philosophy with a global vocation, involving the parties and aiming for the accountability of the aggressor and reparation for the victims. Among the tools to implement it in the criminal judicial scope, the most extended is mediation, especially in Europe. However, there are many resistances to its implementation, both from the profession and from the institutions, and even from the people. In order to take a deeper look into these resistances, and to clarify the challenges that public policies are facing, this paper presents the findings of a socio-legal research carried out in 2019 about restorative justice and criminal mediation within the judiciary in the Autonomous Community of Aragon (Spain).

Al evaluar los efectos de la juridificación de la política indígena y dilucidar si han conducido a resultados de empoderamiento o dominación para los movimientos indígenas, deben considerarse los resultados del litigio desde una dimensión estrecha (efectos materiales directos) pero también los efectos indirectos y simbólicos de la movilización legal indígena, es decir, evaluar los efectos de la movilización legal desde una dimensión más amplia. Tras revisar el disperso cuerpo de literatura sobre los efectos de la juridificación de la política indígena (Sieder), en este artículo se propone adoptar el modelo de estudio propuesto por Gloppen y Wilson (2017) que compagina este doble análisis desde una dimensión estrecha y amplia, y para la dimensión amplia se sugiere seguir las categorías planteadas por Dugard en 2022 (power-with, power-to, power-within y power-from dimensions). De esta manera, se logra abordar integralmente los efectos de la movilización legal indígena y obtener conclusiones más consistentes al realizar los estudios de casos. To assess the effects of juridifcation of indigenous politics and conclude whether it has led to the empowerment or domination of indigenous movements, it shall be considered not only trial outcomes from a narrow dimension (direct, material effects), but also indirect and symbolic effects of indigenous legal mobilizations; that is, assess the effects of legal mobilizations from a broader dimension. After reviewing the limited body of literature on the effects of juridification of indigenous politics (Sieder), it is recommended in this paper to follow the study model proposed by Gloppen and Wilson (2017). This model combines this double analysis from a narrow and broad dimension. Besides, for the broad dimension, it is suggested to follow the categories set out by Dugard in 2022 (power-with, power-to, power-within and power-from dimensions). This way, it is possible to comprehensively address the effects of indigenous legal mobilizations and reach more consistent findings when undertaking case studies.

Is it possible to distinguish whether a government is willing to eliminate its accountability or aims for public trust or efficacy growth? Moreover, which elements in the government’s actions differentiate valid criticism from an attack on the independence of the judiciary? This paper proposes an original approach toward recognizing an attack on the judiciary. While previous approaches focused on the reformer’s motivation, adherence to international standards, or the requirement of the “tribunal established by the law,” this approach is looking for a kernel of judicial independence and finds it in sufficient conditions for a judge’s free and impartial decision. In the paper, changes in Hungary and Poland will be compared to the Slovak judicial reform since 2020. While after three decades after the fall of state socialism, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia face similar problems of backsliding of the rule of law and emerging populism, different motivations, interpretations, and outcomes of the judicial reforms can be seen in Slovakia.

The set of papers presented and introduced here reflects the dialogue established between three closely related concepts (vulnerability, care and rights) at the workshop of the same title held online in 2020. Starting from an understanding of vulnerability as a cross-cutting and universal phenomenon, several of the papers reflect on the very nature of the concept and from the point of view of the role of the state and the law in addressing the negative effects of vulnerability. Along with vulnerability, the other axis of the papers is that of care, both in its ethical and political dimensions and from a gender perspective. All of this from an Iberian perspective (related to the constitutional treatment and some legal aspects in Spain and Portugal), but which also encompasses the European perspective, and, in a broader sense, that related to human rights.

Between 2020 and 2023, a period of time assailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, society – as a worldwide social system –experienced a novel kind of communication. The tendency for this communication to exponentially expand is due to the global numbers of people dead, dying or infected. Pandemic communication has arisen in the present to perpetuate itself in all ambiences for every social system around the globe. The health system, in turn, basing itself on the health/disease code, has reacted according to its own logic in the coordination of the actions of doctors. However, the true/false nature of communication arising from questions related to COVID-19 has taken a long time to be tested by the science system. Vaccines and possible treatments for the disease have created issues for political, economic, moral, religious and media matters. The continually expanding trend in pandemic communication has proven that it can hinder the functional differentiation of social systems. Legal communication has not been able to avoid all of the controversy. In the specific case of Law, the problem entails both the judicialization of health and the reverse (where Health becomes Law). Based on the Social Systems Theory Applied to Law, the paper argues that the maintenance of the functional differentiation of the Law system becomes necessary so as for Health not to become Law (and vice versa).

In recent decades, Spain has enacted two national laws on historical and democratic memory (in 2007 and 2022), alongside numerous laws at the sub-national level. The significance of these laws goes beyond their symbolic value; they not only contribute to collective memory but also acknowledge the plight of victims. This paper aims to analyze the factors influencing regional regulations on historical and democratic memory in Spain. Our focus will be on the drafting processes, exploring the political factors that shape their approval in different regions. Additionally, we will investigate regions that have yet to enact memory laws to understand the reasons behind the absence of such legislation.

We use a sociolegal perspective to critically analyze how narratives supporting the need to reduce and punish corruption in Brazil, particularly the ones deployed in the course of the Car Wash Operation (CWO), influenced the weakening of the presumption of innocence rule. Originally deployed to investigate a criminal organization using a network of gas stations and car wash companies to “clean” illicit resources, the CWO was rapidly transformed in a major law enforcement operation, and it was used to unravel endemic corruption found in private and state-owned companies. Using a variety of communication resources, the Prosecutor office in charge of the operation developed a set of strategic tactics to promote the discourse that the rule of presumption of innocence was one of the main motives behind the high levels of corruption and impunity in Brazil. This narrative influenced the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court during the judgment of the case involving Brazilian former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The social pressure caused by the use of strategic communication tools were crucial to lead the court to overrule the meaning of presumption of innocence. The paper examines how these tools were able to promote social traction and how they can be used to influence and shape the meaning and effectiveness of legal rules. Utilizamos una perspectiva socio-jurídica para analizar críticamente cómo las narrativas que respaldan la necesidad de reducir y castigar la corrupción en Brasil, especialmente las desplegadas en el curso de la “Operação Lava Jato” (LJ – Operación Autolavado), influyeron en el debilitamiento de la presunción de inocencia. Originalmente implementada para investigar a una organización criminal que utilizaba una red de estaciones de servicio y empresas de lavado de autos para el lavado de dinero, LJ se transformó rápidamente en una importante operación de aplicación de la ley y se utilizó para desentrañar la corrupción endémica en empresas privadas y estatales. Utilizando diversos recursos de comunicación, la Fiscalía Federal a cargo de la operación desarrolló un conjunto de tácticas estratégicas para promover el discurso de que la presunción de inocencia era uno de los principales motivos detrás de los altos niveles de corrupción e impunidad en Brasil. Esta narrativa, por ejemplo, influyó en el Tribunal Supremo Federal (STF) de Brasil durante el juicio del caso que involucra al expresidente brasileño Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. La presión social causada por el uso de herramientas estratégicas de comunicación fue crucial para llevar al tribunal a revocar el significado de la presunción de inocencia. El artículo examina cómo estas herramientas pudieron generar tracción social y cómo pueden utilizarse para influir y dar forma al significado y la efectividad de las normas legales.

This paper explores the dynamics of family law’s transformation over the past 50 years as the result of interactions of two autonomous systems: the law and the family. The interesting feature in the change of family is its democratisation. Equality, consent, freedom of partners, participative governance have become ideals of the Western family. Law is a motor of this family transformation through its own internal transformation on two points: the transformation of legal reasoning, based on human rights; the use of mediation in judiciary conflict resolution. This U turn can be explained by the new mechanisms of social order in modern differenciated societies. Following Anne Rawls’ reading of Durkheim’s insights, the article argues for the centrality of “constitutive practices” in modern societies. Legal framework can no longer derive and perform social order through moral rituals. Modern law must fit the procedural morality (instead of a moral consensus) of family interactions in order to be able to solve conflicts. This explanation of the success of mediation in family law is also the key to understand the constitutionalisation of family law via the use of principles (instead of rules) in legal reasoning. Intercultural conflicts arise inside families as well as inside societies. New flexible family law becomes a factor of pluralization of family forms. On this basis, transnationalization of family law can develop, even if state sovereignty remains a powerful brake of this evolution. Este artículo explora la dinámica de transformación del derecho de familia en los últimos 50 años como resultado de las interacciones de dos sistemas autónomos: el derecho y la familia. La característica interesante del cambio de la familia es su democratización. La igualdad, el consentimiento, la libertad de las parejas y el gobierno participativo se han convertido en ideales de la familia occidental. El derecho es un motor de esta transformación familiar a través de su propia transformación interna en dos puntos: la transformación del razonamiento jurídico, basado en los derechos humanos; el uso de la mediación en la resolución de conflictos judiciales. Este vuelco, a su vez, se explica por los nuevos mecanismos de orden social en las modernas sociedades diferenciadas. Siguiendo la lectura de Anne Rawls de las ideas de Durkheim, el artículo defiende la centralidad de las “prácticas constitutivas” en las sociedades modernas. El marco jurídico ya no puede derivar y realizar el orden social a través de rituales morales. El derecho moderno debe adaptarse a la moralidad procedimental (en lugar de a un consenso moral) de las interacciones familiares para poder resolver los conflictos. Esta explicación del éxito de la mediación en el derecho de familia es también la clave para entender la constitucionalización del derecho de familia mediante el uso de principios (en lugar de normas) en el razonamiento jurídico. Los conflictos interculturales surgen tanto en el seno de las familias como de las sociedades. El nuevo derecho de familia flexible se convierte en un factor de pluralización de las formas de familia. Sobre esta base, puede desarrollarse la transnacionalización del derecho de familia, aunque la soberanía estatal siga siendo un poderoso freno de esta evolución.