<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This paper explores how the Colombian Constitutional Court has used the legal and political philosophy of Ronald Dworkin to show that the use of the concepts of rights as <italic>trump cards,</italic> individual autonomy, and state neutrality, have configured the reception of egalitarian liberalism. This conclusion is reached by means of an analysis of the meaning and use of these concepts in certain judicial decisions and of personal interviews with certain head justices and law clerks of said Court, which also made it possible to frame this question within the larger issue of the relationship of philosophy to the decisions of the judges.</abstract>

Hercules in the Colombian Constitutional Court

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Marriage influences the economic rights of spouses when joint community property is created. When a marriage is dissolved, joint community property has to be divided. Each country sets different rules about how joint community property should be divided between spouses. Lithuania has chosen the presumption of equal shares in joint community property. Courts may depart from equal shares of spouses because of such important circumstances as interests of children, health state of a spouse, and personal income used to increase joint community property. However, courts have never departed from the equal shares principle due to differing contributions by spouses to matrimonial property. Meanwhile, other countries take into account contribution of spouses in order to divide property fairly and to protect the interests of the spouse who has contributed significantly to joint property, if the marriage was brief and the marriage produced no children. The impossibility to depart from equal shares to different contribution of spouses could increase the misuse of the institution of marriage and the unjust division of joint community property when the spouse who has not contributed to joint community property receives an equal share of it.</abstract>

Unequal Contributions: Problems within the Division of Shares in Joint Community Property

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Despite being a crucially important domain for states, businesses, and individuals, cyberspace still suffers from a regulation deficit. This article takes up one such dangerously underregulated area: cyber warfare and regulation of cyber weapons. For that purpose, the authors first analyse the threats posed by weaponised malicious code, including some examples of its use and potential considerations that could sway states towards engaging in a multilateral cyber weapons regulation regime. These considerations are then converted into some major principles and points to be regarded should a potential cyber weapons convention be contemplated. These are subsequently further elaborated in light of the Chemical Weapons Convention, particularly with regard to specific provisions and possibility of adoption. The article concludes with the assertion that an international agreement is feasible in principle, but its focus should be on regulating the ways of employing cyber weapons rather than on the specific weapons themselves.</abstract>

Faculty of Political Sciences and Diplomacy

Department of International Relations and Development

Contemplating a Cyber Weapons Convention: An Exploration of Good Practice and Necessary Preconditions

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Since decentralized organizations such as blockchain are not recognized as legal persons, questions arise regarding the ability to detect anti-competitive practices and their perpetrators. Under certain circumstances, if a competitor is unreasonably refused in access to technology, it may well be interpreted as creating an obstacle to his/her entry into the market, which may constitute a violation of the legislation of a country on the protection of economic competition. The exchange of information between players of the same market can present antitrust risks if it helps to fix prices for their products/services or to establish other forms of coordination between such players. The purpose of this study is to provide a description of current EU anticompetitive practices in the field of blockchain-technologies application, as well as to identify challenges in the EU antitrust law related to the emergence of blockchain. This article highlights the challenges blockchain poses for analyzing unilateral anti-competitive practices. This study suggests that EU competition law has a lack of operational and measurement tools to map competitive interactions taking place outside the relevant market, which could lead to rather short-sighted competition law enforcement focusing only on horizontal competition restrictions on relevant markets. The relevance of the topic is associated with the fact that the increased popularity of the use of blockchain technology requires an answer to the question of its legal nature and inclusion in the legal field in order to balance the interests of all parties to economic and legal relations.</abstract>

Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation

Department of Legal Regulation of Economic Activities

Potential Legal Challenges for Blockchain Technology in Competition Law

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The article analyses the dynamics of Europeanisation revolving around the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) in Latvia. Whereas the document has not yet been made a part of EU acquis communautaire, the EU has committed to applying the norms enshrined in the Convention by any means, not least through the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025. The discussion on the repercussions of the implementation of the Istanbul Convention in Latvia’s legislation has occupied a noteworthy place in the discussions of the national parliament of Latvia (Saeima) since 2016. The article first uses critical frame analysis and defines the most important issue frames, document frames and metaframes that are employed by different political parties/politicians and Ministries/Ministers when talking about the Istanbul Convention to promote or refuse the ratification of the document. The article shows how the camps for and against the ratification draw on different and often opposing issues, documents, and meta-frames to substantiate their arguments. Next the article applies two models of Europeanisation: the external incentives model and the social learning model. The article concludes that the social learning model is better positioned to explain the non-ratification of the Convention, mostly due to exclusive national identity and the lack of resonance of the Convention in Latvia. Whereas some liberal-centre political parties are framing the ratification of the Istanbul Convention as aligned with Latvia’s commitment to European values, the framing by national-conservative players which argues that the Istanbul Convention is not in line with Christian values, has borne more fruit.</abstract>

The Trouble with “Gender” in Latvia: Europeanisation Through the Prism of the Istanbul Convention

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The role of balancing in the development and application of European data protection is enormous. European courts widely use it; it is the basis for harmonization of pan-European and national laws, plays a crucial role in everyday data protection. Therefore, the correctness of a huge number of critical decisions in the EU depends on the perfection of the balancing method. However, the real ability of the balancing method to cope with this mission has been subjected to intense criticism in the scientific literature. This criticism has highlighted its imperfections and casts doubt on its suitability to optimize the relation between competing rights. Paradoxically, the everyday practice of balancing tends to ignore this criticism. The limitations of the balancing method are typically not discussed and are not taken into account when considering legal cases and solving practical issues. Thus, it is tacitly assumed that the shortcomings and limitations of the balancing method, which the criticism points out, are irrelevant when making real-life decisions. This article discusses the scope of this phenomenon, its manifestations, and its impact on the quality of data protection decisions based on the balancing method:sub-optimality of these decisions, their opacity, public dissatisfaction with the legal regulation, its instability and low authority The ways of bridging the gap between the practice of balancing and science and broader consideration by the practice of the shortcomings of the balancing method identified during scientific discussions are considered.</abstract>

Balancing Personal Data Protection with Other Human Rights and Public Interest: Between Theory and Practice

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The regulation of the energy sector in the EU adresses different challenges in pursuance of ensuring the functioning of the energy system. One of the most pressing current energy issues in the EU is household access to energy services, which is acknowledged as social justice concern. Provided that access to universal service in the EU is recognised as a right of households, the article aims to introduce the advanced concept of energy justice desiged for the investigation of households’ ability to access sufficient energy service in the EU. The article is organized in three parts. The first part specifies the roots of energy justice. The second part assesses whether the constituent elements of energy justice comply with EU fuonding values. Lastly, the more comprehensive concept of energy justice is presented with underlying rationale.</abstract>

The Conceptualization of Energy Justice: The EU Sphere

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This article explores how emerging technologies should shape legal studies, recognizing that the new technological era requires a new generation of tech-savvy lawyers who possess specific technology-related skills and knowledge. The article builds on analysis of the future of work through the lens of the International Labor Organization Centenary Declaration, followed by an analysis of the right to education, leading to the formation of a theoretical justification of the legal duty to adapt the legal education curriculum to a technology-driven future. This article exposes the existing state of the legal education curriculum with a systematic analysis of the existing Law &amp; Tech master’s programs at leading universities worldwide. This research demonstrates that relatively few (9.8%) leading world universities offer specialized Law &amp; Tech master’s programs. This clear underdevelopment of the Law &amp; Tech curriculum suggests that deeply embedded conservatism in legal education might be violating the rights of future lawyers – the right to work and the right to education, in particular.</abstract>

The Future of Legal Education: Do Law Schools Have the Right to Be Conservative?

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Baltic Journal of Law & Politics

Baltic Journal of Law &amp; Politics (BJLP) is a scholarly journal, published bi-annually in electronic form as a joint publication of the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy and the Faculty of Law of Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania). BJLP provides a platform for the publication of scientific research in the fields of law and politics, with a particular emphasis on interdisciplinary research that cuts across these traditional categories. Topics may include, but are not limited to the Baltic Region; research into issues of comparative or general theoretical significance is also encouraged. BJLP is peer-reviewed and published in English.  Why subscribe and read  The journal’s contributions present quality research on topics of critical concern both within and without the academy. The journal provides a platform for the publication of innovative research in the fields of law and politics, with an acute interest in the cross-pollinations of disciplines, comparative approaches to regional issues, and active dialogue on pressing contemporary issues of theoretical and practical import.  Why submit  The journal is committed to the quality of every article from the initial stage of inquiry to the date of publication. The journal provides fast, fair and constructive peer review by specialists in their areas from all over the world. Authors receive editorial assistance in adjusting their manuscripts to the standards of the journal as needed. Submissions from all corners of the fields of law and politics are encouraged, especially research that locates itself at their intersections.  Peer review  BJLP is a refereed journal. Submissions are subject to academic peer-review. Every submitted manuscript receives at least two professional reviews, at least one of which is a double-blind review. The peer-review process typically takes 1-2 months after the paper is accepted to peer-review process after the initial review in the Senior Editorial Board. There are no charges for the review process. For more information please visit Instructions For Authors. Rejection Rate   70%   Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 