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on Law and Economics |
| By: | Alexandru Peicea (Lawyer, Bucharest Bar, Romania) |
| Abstract: | Abuse in service is, in the current legal system, a topic of interest, especially after the adoption of Decision no. 405 of June 15, 2016, pronounced by the Constitutional Court of Romania. It ruled that an act constitutes the crime of abuse of service only in so far as by the phrase “in a defective manner†we mean “in breach of the law.†Through this decision, the Constitutional Court of Romania also ruled that the phrase “in violation of the law†implies that a person (suspect or defendant in a criminal case) violates a primary rule of law. By primary norm we mean Government Ordinance or law adopted by Parliament. No primary rules of law regulations, ministerial orders, duties in the job description in an employment contract. |
| Keywords: | abuse of service, decision, Constitutional Court, primary legislation |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:lpaper:0126&r= |
| By: | Nadia Zlate (National Anticorruption Directorate, Romania) |
| Abstract: | In the Romanian criminal process, a collaborator can be any person who does not act as an operative agent within the judicial police and who helps the criminal investigation authorities to obtain data and information in criminal cases for the identification and criminal prosecution of perpetrators, as well as for taking all legal procedural measures in the criminal case (for example, for identifying goods subject to special confiscation). Thus, the collaborators may have the quality of parties or main procedural subjects (defendant, civil party, civilly responsible party, injured person, and suspect) or of other procedural subjects according to the provisions of art. 34 of the Romanian Code of Criminal Procedure, such as the witness. The use of the collaborators, in addition to other special methods of surveillance and investigation provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure, is often essential in the investigation of drug trafficking offenses or other illicit activities carried out by organized criminal groups, given the secrecy of their activity and the difficulty of infiltrating foreigners into the criminal environment. The legal benefits that can be given to collaborators to persuade them to cooperate with criminal investigation authorities in order to gather the data and information necessary to find out the truth in criminal cases and prevent the commission of crimes are the application of a case of impunity or reduction of punishment and financial rewards. However, special attention must be paid to employees' motivations to assess their credibility, both by the criminal investigation authorities and by the court. |
| Keywords: | special investigation methods, use of undercover investigators and collaborators, motivation of collaborators, legal benefits |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:lpaper:0096&r= |
| By: | Andrew Jordan; Ezra Karger; Derek Neal |
| Abstract: | We examine 70,581 felony court cases filed in Chicago, IL during the period 1990-2007. We exploit case randomization to assess the impact of judge assignment and sentencing decisions on the arrival rates of new charges. Relative to prior research, we document an important source of heterogeneity in the impact of incarceration on recidivism. Incarceration creates lasting reductions in recidivism among first offenders but not repeat offenders. We present suggestive evidence that these reductions among first offenders primarily reflect outcomes for offenders who live in lower-crime areas of the city and are not involved in the drug trade. During our sample period, Illinois parole officers were able to issue arrest warrants for former inmates under their supervision. These powers place former inmates at significant risk of returning to prison as punishment for violations of technical conditions of their supervision. However, we find no evidence that these police powers increased the arrival rate of new charges against formerly incarcerated offenders. Incarceration does not reduce the arrival of new criminal charges among repeat offenders, and this outcome is not the result of parole officers over-policing repeat offenders. |
| Date: | 2021–10–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedhwp:93619&r= |
| By: | Metin M. Cosgel (University of Connecticut); Hamdi Genç (Istanbul Medeniyet University); Emre Özer (Istanbul Medeniyet University); Sadullah Yıldırım (Marmara University) |
| Abstract: | We study gender’s effect on justice in Ottoman courts by analyzing differences between men and women in court participation, dispute settlement, and litigation victory. The data come from the early nineteenth century registers of the Galata and Üsküdar courts in Istanbul and the Konya and Kütahya courts in the provinces. The findings show that although the legal disputes between men dominated the courts, women were involved in about thirty percent of cases. Gender’s effect on settlement decisions varied across courts and case-types. In litigation, women were less likely than men to win as plaintiffs. Mediation analysis shows that about thirty to seventy percent of the gender gap in plaintiff victory can be attributed to differences in evidence use during trial (witness testimony, written documents, legal opinions). |
| JEL: | J16 K38 K4 N45 |
| Date: | 2022–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uct:uconnp:2022-03&r= |
| By: | Valentina Avramescu (Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University of Bucharest, Romania) |
| Abstract: | The crime against humanity is also part of the category of international crimes. The paper briefly presents the evolution of these illicit deeds, as well as the transition from the theory of international law to the practical approach. Serious deeds define this category of crimes that affect both people's life and physical and mental integrity. One of the conditions of crime against humanity is the civilian population, against which the attack is directed. An important role was played by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, which tried the Trial of the Main War Criminals, paving the way for establishing an International Criminal Court with unlimited jurisdiction in The Hague. |
| Keywords: | massacre, illicit deeds, criminal offence, International Military Tribunal, persecution |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:lpaper:0127&r= |
| By: | Lisa Cameron (Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Jennifer Seager (Department of Global Health, George Washington University); Manisha Shah (Department of Public Policy, University of California) |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of criminalizing sex work, exploiting an event in which local officials unexpectedly criminalized sex work in one district in East Java, Indonesia, but not in neighboring districts. We collect data from female sex workers and their clients before and after the change. We find that criminalization increases sexually transmitted infections among female sex workers by 58 percent, measured by biological tests. This is driven by decreased condom access and use. We also find evidence that criminalization decreases earnings among women who left sex work due to criminalization, and decreases their ability to meet their children’s school expenses while increasing the likelihood that children begin working to supplement household income. While criminalization has the potential to improve population STI outcomes if the market shrinks permanently, we show that five years post-criminalization the market has rebounded and the probability of STI transmission within the general population is likely to have increased. |
| Keywords: | Not specified |
| JEL: | I18 K42 J16 |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2020n21&r= |
| By: | Nadia Zlate (National Anticorruption Directorate, Romania) |
| Abstract: | Corruption is a threat to the stability and security of societies, undermining democratic institutions and values, ethical values and justice, and compromising sustainable development and the rule of law. Art. 19 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, adopted in New York on 31 October 2003, recommends that States parties consider the adoption of legislative and other have been committed intentionally, the act of a public official abusing his functions or position, for example to perform or refrain from performing, in the exercise of his functions, an act in violation of the law, in order to obtain an improper benefit for himself or for another person or entity. The emergence of the legal framework governing the activity of undercover investigators was unanimously determined by the need to fight atypical forms of crime, which carry out their activity in an organized and “hermetic†way, so that the activity of proving criminal acts by normal methods becomes especially difficult, if not impossible. The objectives of using the undercover investigator or the collaborator are to obtain data and information about the criminal activity, to obtain evidence that will be used in the criminal process. In practice, the undercover investigator or collaborator may carry out activities to establish whether the crime of which a person or an organized criminal group is suspected has been committed, is in progress or in the preparatory phase, identification of members of the group of offenders, identification some accomplices, the identification of witnesses, the identification of the places where the goods from the crimes are hidden, the identification of the places where the victims of the crimes are, the specification of propitious moments for carrying out searches or arrests, etc. |
| Keywords: | corruption, special investigative methods, the use of undercover investigators and collaborators, the provocation |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:lpaper:0121&r= |
| By: | Dragos Penca (Legal Adviser, Bucharest, Romania, Ovidius University, Constanta, Romania) |
| Abstract: | During the communist dictatorship in Romania, many citizens fulfilling their compulsory military service were criminally convicted of insubordination on the grounds that they refused to join the army or because they refused to take the military oath. Among these young people, many were condemned for refusing to work on Saturday, considering the Sabbath as a day of rest. Following the December 1989 revolution, Romania compensated people sentenced to prison or other forms of persecution for political reasons through material means. In 2009, amid tensions between the Romanian state and the Religious Organization Jehovah's Witnesses, the High Court of Cassation and Justice, the Supreme Court in Romania, described the crime of insubordination in the army as a common law crime and not a political one, thus condemning all forms of manifestation of freedom of thought or freedom of religion as a crime of common law. |
| Keywords: | Hacksaw Ridge, Jehovah’s Witness, conscientious objector, Romanian law, freedom of conscience |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:lpaper:0138&r= |
| By: | Hind Belkhir (University Oran 2 Mohamed Ben Ahmed, Oran, Algeria) |
| Abstract: | After its independence (1962), Algeria opted for a legal system of written law attached to the Roman-Germanic family. The young republic was to generate legal innovations of which the concept of jurisprudence was to be the witness. Our contribution attempts to evaluate the concept of jurisprudence through its legal thought of French law and as defined and conceived in the tradition of the Muslim legal doctrine that was present in Algeria before and during colonization. This will give us the underline the importance of nawazil, a kind of "ruling jurisprudence", where the massail (cases) and the motivation of the resolutions of these cases are recorded. These written collections of several great Maghrebian jurisconsults inspired the decisions of the qadi (judge) in order to render the most just, equitable and rational justice possible. The place of nawazil in the practice of qadat (judgment) that existed in Algeria before and during colonization will allow us to shed light on the place of jurisprudence in Algerian law – a very poorly documented issue, indeed. An overview of the historical evolution of the legal systems that coexisted for a long time during this period will prove to be very useful. |
| Keywords: | jurisprudence, Algeria, nawazil, qadat, Muslim law |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:lpaper:0120&r= |
| By: | Ninon Moreau-Kastler; Farid Toubal |
| Abstract: | We show that legal opacity is a strong factor in drug trafficking. We develop a new framework that illustrates how legal opacity influences countries' seizure rates. Legal opacity reduces the detection of illicit flows and increases their volumes because it lowers trafficking costs. We use detailed information from financial systems evaluations, international standards cooperation mechanisms, and economic indicators to construct a new worldwide legal opacity index that covers each of the last two decades. |
| Keywords: | Drug trafficking, Illicit financial flows, Law |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2021-191&r= |
| By: | Cosmin Butura (Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University, Bucharest, Romania) |
| Abstract: | The key to an end, more precisely, the process in which the confrontation between the accuser and the defendant is carried out, resulting in a final verdict of the judge, it is the success of a well-conducted interrogation. A well-conducted interrogation does not refer to well-trained staff because the interrogation is not an on-site investigation action or an action for the realization of the criminal case, so we can talk about staff in the present case. The interrogation is primarily an art, in which self-knowledge, investigation of the deed, going through the road that the suspect or defendant after his accounts, the inter-person relationship between the forensic psychologist and the suspect, the knowledge of the interviewee, make up the sphere of forensic psychology. We cannot define which is the most important piece of a pending criminal case because all paths leading to the completion of the investigation are equally important as the interrogation process, but we cannot consider a valid investigation if we have the perpetrator in custody. Of course, a criminal case can be completed by the court and in the absence of the defendant if his death was declared. However, we are therefore talking about the case where we have the suspect or the defendant in custody and are to be heard in the file opened against him. As a result, investigators may hope to find out the truth from him, but in this case, the result is divided into two categories, either he confesses or he will not confess and will be found guilty only after the investigators have gathered enough solid evidence proving his guilt. This is where the notion of art comes in, because investigators have the mission not to fail the process of questioning the suspect or defendant. Investigating specialists, more precisely criminal psychologists, consider the suspect or defendant the most important piece of the case. For specialists, the suspect is the only one who can answer the questions: When? What? How? etc.; this means the need for authorities to have him in custody. It is interesting that once in the custody of the authorities, they receive more special treatment, such as legal protection. Therefore, the questioning of a suspect or accused is a fascinating show between reason, feelings, experiences, logic and strategy, played by the two characters embodied in the good and evil, which made me discuss this subject in the scientific paper. |
| Keywords: | psychology, forensics, criminal trial, witnesses, suspect, victim, art |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:lpaper:0125&r= |
| By: | Nicoleta-Elena Heghes (Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University of Bucharest, Romania); Cristina Gabriela Schiopu (Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iași, Romania) |
| Abstract: | Serial crimes have always had a strong impact on society and added more complexity to the legal investigative systems. Beyond that negative impact, history has documented with fascination those cases and the name of some killers remain in the memory of society and law with strong reverberation. Maybe an even more complexity is added in these cases, to the psychological and psychiatric examination of the offender, starting from the psychological autopsy, profiling of the killer and the actual examination of the guilty. Psycho-analysis in these cases follows the legal investigation closely as it starts from the first details of the case, the study of the biography and forensic evaluation of the victim, analysis of the operational pattern, estimations of possible motivation of the crimes and finally releasing a profile for the possible murderer. As complex as a serial murder can look and as hard as the investigation may go, psychological profiling and analysis can bring one of the best chances of prevention, if done in the most efficient and correct way. As such, this paper proposes a review of psychological and forensic concepts about different aspects of serial murders and murderers. |
| Keywords: | serial, killers, psychology, forensic, murder |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:lpaper:0129&r= |
| By: | Dan Cristian (Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University of Bucharest, Romania) |
| Abstract: | Aggression as a mechanism for conserving the human species has been incorporated into the human survival system since ancient times. The surrounding nature, the relationship between the members of the species, the relationship between them and the existing wild animals, related to the primary needs of food and shelter of man led to the development of the feeling of danger, the feeling of threat and therefore the need for a physical response attack and defense against elements that can destabilize life. Although these beginnings seem primitive to us today, the human being gaining supremacy over the administration of the planet a few centuries ago, they are still inscribed in our genes, caused by the time difference between the period of technological progress in human history and the beginning of the species’ existence the latter spanning a larger area of time compared to the modern era. However, in the short period of human civilization, more and more advanced mechanisms have been developed to inhibit its aggressive impulses, due to the new transformation into socio-intelligent, socially identifiable beings of the species. In the last period, the appearance and development of virtual social media has allowed man to hide his identity behind nicknames he has the opportunity to choose, thus giving permission to the aggressive mechanism inscribed in his genes to reappear. The paper aims to analyze the historical factors that determined the appearance and development of aggression, the transfer between legal norms for its inhibition and how it acts in the virtual space between members of the same digital community. |
| Keywords: | aggressivity, criminal law, psychology, criminal act, internet, Social Media, inhibition, human species, social values, society, bullying phenomenon |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:lpaper:0123&r= |
| By: | Alex Sung (Student USA); David Douglas Klein (Adjunct Instructor, New Jersey City University, USA,) |
| Abstract: | In the wake of the January 6th mob insurrection at the US Capitol, does the Federal government need to implement protocols that flag insurrection and domestic terrorism on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter? The US Supreme Court protects Free Speech on privately owned media, but the most popular Internet sites have evolved by 2021 to become wide-spread spaces for public and private communication. Currently, these global platforms are permitted to selectively censor and regulate speech at their discretion without infringing upon First Amendment rights. The ubiquity of social media means that the publicly-available speech (e.g. posts) of Twitter and Facebook’s billions of users is controlled by what’s recently called by Congressional critics and commentators as “Big Tech†. The most recent President of the United States Donald Trump was permanently banned from the largest social media platforms. On July 7, 2021 he filed class-action lawsuits targeting Facebook, Google (owner of YouTube) and Twitter. Many Americans with conservative views feel social media silence their voices, while those with liberal views argue that social media platforms do not eliminate hate speech. This paper will delve into whether increased government oversight and applying the rights of the First Amendment to individuals online can maintain peaceful public discourse, avoiding any future violence. The paper will also provide an overview of the essential legal hurdles the Trump lawsuit faces but will not analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the Trump case. |
| Keywords: | censorship, social media, January 6 riot, free speech rights, Trump ban, Facebook, Twitter, political bias |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:lpaper:0095&r= |
| By: | Adrian Cristian Moise (Spiru Haret University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania) |
| Abstract: | The article presents and analyzes aspects related to the disposition and performance of the forensic expertises in accordance with the criminal procedural legislation in Romania. The article presents and analyzes aspects of forensic tactics related to the disposition and performance of the forensic expertise in accordance with the criminal procedural legislation in Romania. |
| Keywords: | forensic expertise, forensic tactics, Romanian criminal procedure code, criminal proceedings |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:lpaper:0130&r= |
| By: | Julia M. Puaschunder (The New School, Department of Economics, School of Public Engagement, USA) |
| Abstract: | The fields of law and economics are hallmarks of social sciences. Legal studies account for the oldest foundations of scholarly work and have ever since been part of academic institutions. Since the inception of the science of economics, this standardized way of measuring utility had rising popularity. Surprisingly, the interdisciplinary discourse of Law and Economics has just recently started in the previous decades. In today’s world, the time has come to acknowledge the power of integrating Law and Economics as a most important approach to solve the most pressing issues of our contemporary times. Climate change, inequality and the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into our society will require the bundled strength of Law and Economics to successfully understand, harness the positive advancement but also curb harmful consequences of the opportunities and threats of our contemporary society. Law offers a humane-ethical clarity, governmental impetus and practical feasibility but also historical adaptability to implement societal changes including a legal birds-eye view of comparative approaches around the world, an exemplary sensitivity to disparate impacts of external influences on society but also clear guidelines how far the individual freedom can be granted in light of common security protection and societal welfare enhancement. Economics features the most advanced discounting of future value methods, an exemplary formalization of societal welfare maximization over time but also the most sophisticated ways to quantify societal losses over time and in often-overlooked or behaviorally-unforeseen externalities. Only in the harmonious combination of both disciplines will the most pressing contemporary predicaments of our time be solved and widespread inequalities be alleviated through fine-tuned redistribution mechanisms. Acknowledging the power of an interdisciplinary approach and cherishing a unique field of Law and Economics can help bridge the gap between societal entities. Adopting an interdisciplinary study approach with a commonly-understood language will promote a mutual understanding of multi-faceted insights in order to harvest the benefits of a fruitful Law and Economics Gestalt that is greater than its law and economics components. |
| Keywords: | AI, Artificial Intelligence, Climate Change, Coronavirus crisis, COVID-19, Disparate impact, Economics, Economics of the Environment, Environmental Justice, Environmental Governance, Equality, Family, Female Empowerment, Gender, Household, Law, Law and Economics, Mathematical formalization, Monetary policy, Multiplier, Nuclear family, Redistribution, Social Justice, Sustainability, Zero Waste movement |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:lpaper:0117&r= |
| By: | Mathias Dewatripont (Solvay Brussels School and ECARES, Université Libre de Bruxelles); Marie Montigny (European Coordination, NBB); Gregory Nguyen (Resolution unit, NBB) |
| Abstract: | This discussion paper investigates the differences existing between the Single Point of Entry and the Multiple Point of Entry resolution models and links this question to the issue of support that bank subsidiaries can expect from their parent companies both in resolution and in normal insolvency proceedings. Given that parental support remains imperfect in these two resolution models, the paper concludes that existing safeguards aiming at preserving the corporate interests of subsidiaries remain needed and justified. The paper then identifies potential avenues that could be further explored to reinforce the support model and thereby reduce incentives to adopt ring-fencing measures. |
| Keywords: | : Bank resolutionSPEbanking crisisbail-inbankruptcy |
| JEL: | G10 G21 G28 K22 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbb:reswpp:202108-403&r= |
| By: | Mihai Dorel Vlad (Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University of Bucharest, Romania) |
| Abstract: | The creations that are protected under “industrial property†are, like other creations protected under the comprehensive name of “intellectual property,†products of human creative activity, the fruit of thought, rational activity, and the result of man's ability to create and to perceive concepts. With regard to trademarks and geographical indications, it is initially noted that they do not constitute creations of the spirit in the true sense of the word and that their connection with "intellectual property" is rather vague, according to some authors, non-existent. |
| Keywords: | industrial property, trademarks, commercially, licensing, franchising |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:lpaper:0119&r= |
| By: | Emanuele Colonnelli; Spyridon Lagaras; Jacopo Ponticelli; Mounu Prem; Margarita Tsoutsoura |
| Abstract: | We study how the disclosure of corrupt practices affects the growth of firms involved in illegal interactions with the government using randomized audits of public procurement in Brazil. On average, firms exposed by the anti-corruption program grow larger after the audits, despite experiencing a decrease in procurement contracts. We manually collect new data on the details of thousands of corruption cases, through which we uncover a large heterogeneity in our firm-level effects depending on the degree of involvement in corruption cases. Using investment-, loan-, and worker- level data, we show that the average exposed firms adapt to the loss of government contracts by changing their investment strategy. They increase capital investment and borrow more to finance such investment, while there is no change in their internal organization. We provide qualitative support to our results by conducting new face-to-face surveys with business owners of government-dependent firms. |
| JEL: | D73 G30 H57 O10 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29627&r= |
| By: | Aase, Øivind André Strand (Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Many countries have introduced thresholds for mandatory audits, but empirical evaluations on how deregulation of audit markets affect reporting quality are scarce. I analyze a Norwegian audit reform in 2011, that introduced voluntary audit for small private limited liability firms. I find no consistent signs of negative effects on accounting quality for the firms that drop audit. Some firms around the size thresholds size down to avoid audit costs when the perceived benefits of audit are smaller than the costs. If such downsizing is done by manipulation of the accounts, one would expect lower accounting quality among firms just below the threshold. I find some indications of lower accounting quality among these firms, but the finding is not robust. I conclude that the reform has not had significant negative effects on accounting quality and that deregulating certain segments of the audit market – entrusting the audit decision to be taken by firms based on their individual cost-benefit assessments – increase economic efficiency. |
| Keywords: | Voluntary audit; private firms; size management; revenue threshold |
| JEL: | H20 M42 |
| Date: | 2022–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhhfms:2022_001&r= |