REVIEW OF COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

The problem of legal objectivity occupies a central place in legal theory and comparative jurisprudence. Legal positivism interprets objectivity as the neutral and universal application of a normative text. However, judicial practice in various legal systems demonstrates that the interpretation of legal norms is shaped not only by the text of the law but also by the broader cultural, historical, and institutional context. The purpose of this study is to compare the characteristics of legal interpretation in judicial practice in Indonesia and Latvia. Methodologically, the study relies on an interdisciplinary approach combining methods from comparative law and legal linguistics. This approach allows us to consider legal interpretation as a process in which formal norms interact with symbolic meanings, collective memory, and the cognitive mechanisms of judicial reasoning. The results of the analysis demonstrate that objectivity in judicial practice is constructed through the symbolic alignment of legal norms with the cultural values and historical narratives of society. Based on a comparative analysis, an integrative model of legal interpretation is proposed, incorporating the textual core of the norm, the symbolic cultural context, collective memory, and the cognitive-contextual mechanisms of judicial reasoning. The results demonstrate that law functions as an interpretive and symbolic system, and that consideration of cultural and historical factors is a prerequisite for the development of modern comparative jurisprudence.
Key-words: legal interpretation, comparative jurisprudence, cultural context of law, Latvia, Indonesia.
JEL Classification: K10, K40

This article analyzes criminal law approaches to responding to medical errors and professional negligence in the provision of medical care in several European countries: Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Poland, and Germany. The study focuses on the legal basis for the criminal liability of medical professionals and how medical malpractice is qualified in various legal systems, including requirements for the professional standard of care, forms of culpability, establishing causation, and the use of medical examination in criminal proceedings. The article aims to identify similarities and differences in national models of criminal law responses and assess the potential for their functional convergence within the European legal space. The study employs comparative legal and formal legal analysis, as well as a functional approach, taking into account international standards and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. The analysis demonstrates that, despite the absence of uniform criminal law provisions on medical negligence, European legal systems demonstrate convergence in terms of liability criteria and procedural guarantees. It is concluded that further harmonization is primarily associated with the agreement of standards of evidence, the role of examination and approaches to acceptable medical risk, and not with the formal unification of criminal legislation.
Key-words: medical malpractice; criminal liability; criminal negligence; acceptable medical risk; standards of proof; comparative criminal law.
JEL Classification: K14, K32, K39

In the absence of a binding international treaty, global competition law has increasingly been governed through decentralised and network-based forms of cooperation among national authorities. This paper examines how such governance operates, evaluates its effectiveness, and assesses whether it constitutes a viable long-term regulatory model rather than merely a temporary failure of legal harmonisation. It adopts a qualitative doctrinal approach, relying on critical analysis of existing scholarship and drawing on comparative and interdisciplinary literature to explore institutional practices, enforcement dynamics, and legitimacy concerns. The findings show that network-based governance has facilitated cooperation, mutual learning, and a degree of normative convergence, particularly through soft law instruments and institutional networks. However, its effectiveness remains limited by structural constraints, including disparities in enforcement capacity, lack of binding authority, and persistent asymmetries between jurisdictions. These limitations are further exacerbated by the increasing complexity of digital markets and the challenges of regulating cross-border conduct in rapidly evolving economic environments. The paper concludes that, while imperfect, governance without a treaty represents a pragmatic and evolving model, and that targeted reforms to existing networks are more feasible than pursuing a comprehensive multilateral convention.
Key-words: global competition law, network-based governance, informal international law, digital markets, cross border enforcement.
JEL Classification: K21

This article reconceptualises the «foreign element» as the threshold condition triggering the application of the unified jurisdictional regime of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 (Brussels I bis). The objective of the study is to interrogate the conventional understanding of internationality based solely on the domicile of the parties or territorial connections, and to propose a functional taxonomy of the foreign element in EU civil procedure. The research methods employed are doctrinal, comparative, and systemic-teleological analysis of the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union, comparative European doctrine, and the instruments of EU judicial cooperation. The results identify three principal modalities through which internationality may arise: ex voluntate, through party autonomy and jurisdiction agreements; ex post, through temporal developments after the formation of the legal relationship; and objectively, through the structure or place of performance of the obligation, including so-called «false internal cases». The implications of the study demonstrate that the foreign element operates as a procedural filter activating the Brussels regime, the free circulation of judgments, and the constitutional guarantees of effective judicial protection under Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, thereby securing predictability and uniform application of jurisdictional rules across the Union’s integrated judicial area.
Key-words: foreign element; cross-border litigation; Brussels I bis Regulation; EU private international law; international jurisdiction; party autonomy.
JEL Classification: K33, K41

Gender equality is the basis of a healthy and developed society, ensuring the necessary balance for sustainable socio-economic development. To achieve this goal, some European states have adopted positive discrimination measures against women, some of which are manifested by the introduction of mandatory gender quotas in national legislation. The article examines the extent to which the introduction of gender quotas within the EU Member States' national legislation has led to an increase in women's representativeness between 2013 and 2025 in the fields of politics, education, or education and research. Compared to the result of the research, the article draws attention to the imbalances that these policies can produce, which give rise to inequities incompatible with democracy and the rule of law, the pillars of sustainable development. The article also suggests that only a healthy education in the spirit of European values as well as measures to ensure equal opportunities can ensure the goal of gender equality.
Key-words: feminism, gender stereotypes, equality, positive discrimination, gender quotas.
JEL Classification: K38

This article examines the evolution of the fundamental rights of undertakings in the enforcement of European Union competition law. Although European Union antitrust proceedings are formally administrative, the severity and deterrent character of competition fines have led both the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights to recognize their quasi-criminal nature for the purposes of fundamental rights protection. The study analyses how this hybrid character affects the procedural guarantees available to undertakings, particularly in relation to judicial review, the privilege against self-incrimination, and the protection of business premises during inspections. Through a doctrinal and comparative examination of the case law of the CJEU and the ECtHR, the article identifies areas of convergence and divergence between the two legal orders. It argues that while procedural safeguards have progressively strengthened, significant asymmetries persist, reflecting the continuing tension between effective competition enforcement and the protection of fundamental rights within the EU legal order.
Key-words: EU competition law; fundamental rights; self-incrimination; judicial review; dawn raids; procedural safeguards.
JEL Classification: K21, K23, K41

The Common Agricultural Policy, and due to its decentralized nature, rural development is also characterized by so-called atypical regulations. In connection with these regulations, Member States may or must take so-called implementing measures. These Member States measures and laws must comply with the objectives of the relevant EU regulation and the general principles of EU law. However, this obligation must be examined not only in relation to Member State measures, but also in relation to every individual decision taken within their scope, which causes significant difficulties in the application of the law. The case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which must be followed by the administrative authorities and courts of the Member States, has developed different practices for different cases. In this article, we examine the conditions that can be imposed by Member States, the sanctions that can be imposed, and the case law relating to aid paid without legal basis or unlawfully. This case law conditions important decisions for economic operators. This study raises issues that require further research in specific areas, comparing it with domestic practice.
Key-words: MS discretion, conditions set by MSs, sanctions, repayment of unlawfully paid subsidies, recovery of subsidies paid without legal basis.
JEL Classification: K33, K41, Q14, Q18

The paper is based on the premise that the ambivalent impact of AI – a tool to promote protection and a factor in increasing the ecological footprint – is also manifested in terms of the environment. Reflecting this duality, European law seeks to balance the potential of AI to promote the green transition (AI for the environment) with the imperative to limit the environmental and carbon footprint of new technologies (sustainable AI). In this regard, relevant regulations encourage the use of AI to achieve the EU's goal of achieving climate neutrality in 2050, pollution management, biodiversity monitoring, energy optimisation and the fight against climate change. At the same time, environmental sustainability is a requirement of the AI value chain (the obligation of energy efficiency, transparency and green design). It is also an aspect of corporate social responsibility. The results of the study show that, regarding the European legal framework for AI – the AI Act [Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence] and the Council of Europe's Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law – we are in the presence of general regulations regarding the environmental impact of AI, which transfer the substance of the problem to the level of voluntary rules (Code of Practice for General Artificial Intelligence, 2025), a process that generates major legal challenges in the face of important technological stakes.
Key-words: AI Act; IA Framework Convention; environmental law; environmental impact of AI; the sustainability of environmental AI.
JEL Classification: K32, K39

This article examines the indivisibility of the legal order in relation to its subjects as a constitutive requirement of the modern rule of law. Using a doctrinal and conceptual analysis of the Romanian Constitution, particularly Articles 4, 10, 11, 20, and 148, the study develops the argument on two interconnected levels. First, the constitutional characterization of Romania as the common and indivisible homeland of all its citizens is interpreted as imposing obligations on the state rather than duties of emotional attachment or ideological loyalty on individuals. The state must afford equal legal protection to all citizens, including those who contest dominant political, national, or patriotic values, and may not establish differentiated legal regimes on the basis of identity, opinion, affiliation, or presumed fidelity to a collective consciousness. Secondly, the article reconsiders the traditional opposition between monism and dualism in the relationship between domestic and international law. It argues that neither an abstract hierarchy of legal sources nor the supremacy of one legal order over another adequately reflects the position of individuals as subjects of rights. Instead, the incorporation and direct applicability of international norms give rise to a third, subjective legal order that integrates domestic and international law from the standpoint of their addressees. This order is structured not as a vertical hierarchy but as a horizontal network of legal resources. Within this framework, the judge must identify and apply, in each concrete case, the norm that provides the most effective and favourable protection to the subjects concerned. The article concludes that the indivisibility of the legal order constitutes a substantive guarantee of the rule of law because it prevents exclusion, reinforces the direct protection of rights, and places the individual—rather than the sovereign origin or formal rank of norms—at the centre of legal interpretation and adjudication.
Key-words: indivisibility of the legal order; patriotism, citizenship, international law, internal law, monism, dualism, integration of legal orders, prevalent application of norms, normative hierarchy, network of norms.
JEL Classification: K10, K19