Search

The subject of the paper is the consideration of the criminal offence of violent behaviour in the criminal material law of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the theoretical, normative, and practical aspects. The paper first analyses the historical development of the criminal offense of violent behaviour in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The central part of the paper is a detailed analysis of the criminal offence of violent behaviour in Bosnia and Herzegovina from de lege lata aspect. Special reference is given to the semantic contextual analysis of the provision and the presentation of possible modalities of actions for committing this criminal offence, the consequences of the offence and the presentation of the legal position of court practice. The paper presents a criticism of certain court decisions in which the significance of the consequences of the “act of threat to civil peace“ have been unjustly reduced. Finally, de lege ferenda proposals are presented with the aim of more fully regulating the criminal offence of violent behaviour in Bosnia and Herzegovina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with certain aspects of consumer protection under misdemeanour law in the Croatian law. In general, consumer protection in the Croatian law is achieved through different legal sources and several different consumer protection mechanisms. By analysing these regulations and methods of consumer protection, one tries to conclude on the adequacy of consumer protection through misdemeanour sanctions, bearing in mind the protected legal good and the purpose of sanctions. The paper is based on the fact that the general norms of misdemeanour law derive from the Misdemeanour Act and that the goal is to investigate the peculiarities deviating from the existing regulation. The research reveals some specificities and distinctive features of misdemeanour sanctions and misdemeanour proceedings aimed at protecting consumers. Firstly, the focus of protection is on the consumer, who is not uniformly defined in all regulations that foresee misdemeanours. Furthermore, the permissibility of protecting certain legal interests (life, health) by misdemeanour regulations that govern consumer protection is analysed. Additionally, attention is drawn to the shortcomings of the existing framework of misdemeanour sanctions, arising from the implementation of various directives and other European sources aimed at protecting consumers that aim to introduce effective, appropriate, proportional, and deterrent sanctions into national law. Further harmonisation of the sanction framework has been achieved through the recent transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/2161, which introduces new criteria for determining sanctions. It also emphasises the application of the non bis in idem principle, which is relevant to national law. Additionally, as a special feature of misdemeanour consumer protection, the principle of opportunity has been analysed in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of usufruct as an independent right, ius in re aliena, was not questioned in Justinian’s sources, while on the other hand, its systematisation, development, and legal nature in analyses of classical law were the subject of serious debates among Romance experts, mainly in Italian Romance studies from the beginning of the 20th century. Some experts in Romance studies understood usufruct as pars dominii, i.e. part of the property right that the owner retains for himself, thereby denying him the position of a special right. Such a concept originates from the glossator and post-glossator schools and, the paper analyses strong reflections of their teaching on contemporary legal doctrine. The paper deals with the concept and definition of usufruct and conducts analysis into the legal sources and reasons that led to differences in the understanding of the legal nature of the institute in the Roman legal tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Looking into recent literature and relevant ethnological material, this paper aims to present the traditions and customs of »ljelje« - queens from Gorjani. It is about the processions of girls through rural areas and the performance of dance and song choreographies characteristic of Slavonia but also some other European localities. The spring procession of ljelje/queens from Gorjani has a long tradition, and it is considered that in Gorjani, compared to other places, the custom has been well preserved and documented, and it is included on the UNESCO representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. There are various theories about the origin of the ljelje/queens custom, but there is still no fully verified answer to its origin and meaning. Regarding the custom of ljelje/queens from Gorjani, we distinguish between two periods, the first until 1966 and the second after 2002. The reason lies in the thirty-six-year break in the performance of the custom and the slightly adapted performance in today's times. The credits for reviving and promoting the ljelje/queens go to the members of the cultural and artistic society »Gorjanac.« Since 2006, the society »Gorjanac« has been continuously staging performances in the village of Gorjani and on world stages. In addition to the custom itself, the symbol of identity and recognition of ljelje/queens is their folk costume with associated props. The paper brings detailed descriptions of customs, folk costumes, and other specificities of the ljelje/queens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open access (OA) publishing has become the dominant form of scientific communication. According to an earlier research, the share of OA in the total number of internationally visible papers by Croatian authors is 74 %. This study investigates the attitudes and publication practices of Croatian authors towards OA through a survey conducted among members of the znanstvenici.hr mailing list in early 2023. The survey aimed to determine their support for OA publishing, recognition of its positive and negative aspects, motives for choosing OA publishing, funding sources, and preferences for certain OA publishers. A total of 1,041 participants responded to the survey, with 763 fully completing the questionnaire. The majority of respondents (over 60 %) were active in the fields of sciences, social sciences, and engineering. Analysis of their publication output during the 2021-2022 period revealed that 43.6 % of respondents did not publish a single article in a Croatian journal, with the highest proportion (71 %) observed in the sciences. In contrast, 9.7 % did not publish in foreign journals, with 32 % of these respondents coming from the humanities. Among those who published in foreign journals, approximately 50 % published at least one paper in subscription journals, and the same proportion published in fully open access journals with article processing charge (APC) payments. One-fifth of the authors published their papers for free in fully open access journals, either through invitation or by utilizing coupons for free publication. Coupons were the most commonly used source for APC payments. The majority of respondents (75 %) expressed support for OA publishing and acknowledged its advantages in scientific research and the educational process. Over 80 % of respondents agreed that OA facilitates faster and more efficient dissemination of new knowledge, and increases readership, and enhances the visibility of research papers. However, when selecting a journal for publication, respondents were primarily motivated by the journal’s reputation and impact rather than its open access status. Nearly one-third of the surveyed authors believed that OA increases the commercialization of scientific publishing and that the rising number of publications diminishes the quality of peer review. Attitudes towards publishing in fully open access journals operating exclusively with the APC financing model varied among respondents. Those with a positive attitude were motivated by the speed of peer review and publication process, while those with a negative attitude believed that publishers of APC-charging OA journals prioritize profit over the quality of published articles. Additionally, some respondents mentioned that they could not afford to pay APC, or chose not to pay due to their opposition to any obstacles hindering the publication of scientific results. The survey results indicate that Croatian authors, even when lacking sufficient means, are more inclined to pay publication costs rather than ensuring open access through archiving their papers in public digital repositories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last few years, we are witnessing a resurgence of populist radical rightwing parties all over Europe as well as in Croatia. In the 2020 parliamentary elections in Croatia, populist radical right parties achieved the best overall result since the Croatian independence. However, in Croatian scientific bibliography there are very few studies regarding that topic. The aim of the paper is to examine the geography of support for the Homeland Movement, the strongest populist radical right party in Croatia. The research is based on the comparison between the results of four statistical methods (OLS, LISA, GWR, MGWR). Results have shown limitations of global models and benefits of employing multiscale and geographically weighted models. Analysis points to COVID-19 vaccination rate followed by religiosity as the most vital factors explaining the voting for the Homeland Movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a shift in global thinking and brought about new and specific behavioural patterns worldwide. The pandemic period was largely focused on the global health crisis, leading to the neglect of certain pre-pandemic circular values. In prioritizing the health of their citizens, many countries and governments reverted to linear economies. Furthermore, the world population witnessed a rapid increase in the consumption of certain pharmaceuticals, an (over)emphasis on personal hygiene and the use of disinfectants, and a surge in the demand for disposable plastics due to reduced human contact. While some industries experienced temporary shutdowns, others operated with increased intensity. Overcrowding in healthcare facilities coupled with inadequate disposal of medical waste and hospital wastewater, has inflicted a specific blow to global ecosystems. Consequently, an unexpectedly large quantity of various pharmaceuticals, personal care products, single-use plastics, personal protective equipment, and hazardous and non-hazardous medical waste has found its way into the environment. Therefore, it is crucial to consider the broader environmental consequences of pandemic-related behaviour and devise suitable solutions to prevent and reduce pandemic-induced environmental pollution. Certain pandemic-related behaviours need changing, existing damage requires remediation, and global production should be directed toward newer and more sustainable technologies. This paper provides a brief overview of the consequences of the global health crisis on the biosphere, and outlines perspectives for addressing encountered problems and mitigating future disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]