Perspectives of Law and Public Administration

5

Authors: Lidia-Lenuța BĂLAN

Romania's energy policy, although it has undergone a constant process of transformation and adaptation, in the sense that it has faced a series of challenges and uncertainties dominated by economic, political, cultural, climatic factors and alignment with international regulations and European, however, is in a position to build new energy production capacities, new refurbishment and modernization capacities for energy production, transmission and delivery, as well as to stimulate increased consumption. internally in conditions of sustainability and efficiency of the energy sector. The conditions of sustainability and efficiency of the energy sector largely involve the exploitation and capitalization of the existing potential of energy from renewable sources, regardless of whether we are talking about wind energy or geothermal energy.This study aims to detail in general the regions of Romania, with its areas where the potential of wind energy and geothermal energy is found in order to maintain the functionality of the national energy market based especially on the exploitation and capitalization of energy potential from renewable sources.

6

Authors: Armand KRASNIQI

The paper examines the specifics of legal and judicial protection of copyright and related rights in case of their violation. Under the term of "copyright", the subjects of protection are material goods which through the economic function enable a subject of law an economic benefit precisely from their use. Judicial protection of copyright stems from the fact that these rights are created by engaging a more creative human potential with the investment of large financial resources. However, in our country the legislation adopted in the last two decades, although in formal term is in full compliance with regional and international standards in the field of defence, still the practical implementation has huge difficulty. Copyright is one of the least recognized and respected fields in Kosovo. The authors and theorists of this subjects to this legislation, judicial and prosecutorial institutions and the general public, have limited knowledge not only about the protection that the law gives to their work but have not identified what is the limit of a violation between criminal, civil or administrative areas of copyright and related rights.

7

Authors: Ovidiu-Horia MAICAN

We can see in the last four decades the profound and growing extent of international economic relations. As an effect, are necessary international economic institutions such as World Trade Organization (WTO). A number of newer subjects are now regulated by WTO (competition policy, human rights issues, investments rules, environment, labour standards, sanctions, disputes settlement). When we are speaking about such the topic of competition at international level, the main institution involved is World Trade Organization (WTO). At present WTO has an important role in ensuring the free competition in international trade (business) relations. It got this role from GATT.

8

Authors: Majlinda BELEGU

Vienna Convention is one of the most important conventions on trade of goods. It is one of the unified conventions on transport of goods from a country to the other. This convention had a unification effect towards unifying the obligatory law in the entire world. It has directly influenced the international trade and the transport of goods as well as the relationships between countries on the trade and the transport. It had influenced a lot the interstate relationships related to the free market and the customs and their unification, especially those between neighboring states that aspire membership in various international organizations. Hence it has achieved to unify the civil law in the entire world which was not achieved by drafting a Civil Code in Europe even though it was an attempt. Vienna Convention has its structure which is divided into several articles that are part of most of the domestic legislations in the countries of Europe. The author using methods of comparison analysis, systemic analysis and the historical analysis tries to analyze the impact of Vienna convention in the Kosovo positive domestic legislation.

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Authors: Marta-Claudia CLIZA, Laura-Cristiana SPĂTARU-NEGURĂ

The objective of this study is to present our arguments on the unconstitutionality of para. (1) of the sole article of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 4/2012 on certain temporary measures to strengthen the regulatory framework necessary for the application of certain provisions of Title VII of the Law no. 247/2005 on the reform in the fields of property and justice, as well as certain related measures. Considering that the deprivation of the main and accessory effects of the right of ownership, guaranteed by the Romanian Constitution and established by law, requires an express regulation and cannot be a consequence of the interpretation of an unclear rule, we consider that the provisions of para. (1) of the sole Article of the aforementioned normative act does not comply with the constitutional requirements of precision, clarity and predictability, as they are liable to be applied contrary to the constitutional provisions protecting both the separation and balance of state powers and the main and accessory effects of the right to property

10

Authors: Precious SIHLANGU, Kola O. ODEKU

In 1994, South Africa was detached from the brutal apartheid regime which forcefully removed and dispossessed majority blacks from their arable land and allotted them non-arable and unproductive land. Post 1994, South Africa introduced various transformative interventions to redress the past apartheid land removal and injustices to give back and redistribute land back to the black majority. Against the backdrop of this, South Africa has continuously been using the freedom gained to join and belong to various international and regional financial institutions to seek financial assistance to work the resituated and redistributed land for development, economic growth and poverty alleviation. International institutions are known for supporting countries in their quest for development in order to enhance their economic growth, improved standard of living and eradication of hunger and starvation. To this end, this paper looks at the significant roles of these institutions in providing needed assistant to South Africa to ensure that redistributed land is developed and used for broad productive and beneficial purposes.

10

Authors: Kastriote VLAHNA, Hajredin KUÇI

Servitude as a real right over a foreign thing is known, since the first laws written, as a right not so favoured by the owners of the thing. Failure to favour comes from the fact that the owner of the thing is restricted the right to exercise full right over his thing by another entity, whether natural or legal person. The law of the state recognizes the right of servitude and concretizes it as a restriction of the right of ownership, only in those cases when there are no other solutions. The important thing about the right of servitude is how to create this right and if it is created then what are the legal rules for gaining this right. Therefore, based on the importance of creating and gaining the right of servitude, in the paper I will define how the law of the state of Kosovo determines the creation of real servitude and in addition to creating how this right should be acquired, and also by looking at the implementation of legislation in practice through the case viewed in the Cadastral Status.

12

Authors: Laura MANEA. Cristina Mihaela SALCĂ-ROTARU

Speaking of university ethics since the first decade of the XXII century, we would be tempted to consider that the principles of academic ethics are relatively recent or that the need for regulation has become stringent in the current context of the information society, in which the detection of plagiarism, for example, is favored by internet technology. In fact, what is recent is the intervention of the legislator, including in the Romanian education system, in establishing the rules for sanctioning the violation of the principles of university ethics. The study starts from the principles of the national higher education system enunciated in art. 118 of Law no. 1/2011, analyzes the regulations of the section dedicated to university ethics in the special normative act (art. 306-310 and art. 318-326 of the National Education Law) but also of other normative acts (Law no. 206/2004) and refers to the analysis of the content and statistics of the decisions of the courts invested to rule on the appeals of decisions aimed at sanctioning deviations from university ethics. The conclusions are in the sense of the need for the legislative harmonization of the provisions incident to the activity of the university ethics commissions between the two normative acts, Law no. 206/2004 and Law no. 1/2011, at least as regards the classification of the decisions/reports of the ethics commissions between an act of labor law or an administrative act and the elimination of the ambiguity from the legal texts. Finally, are presented proposals for legislative changes deemed appropriate for legislative harmonization.

14

Authors: Eva JANČÍKOVÁ, Janka PÁSZTOROVÁ

Documentary letters of Credit are one of the most important payment methods used to facilitate international trade by mitigation of different risks connected with business partner or his country. Letter of credit transactions are relatively complexed and contractual relationship are governed by international rules and national laws. The aim of this scientific study is to identify legal aspects of letters of credit, to describe the relationship between parties of the letter of credit transaction and analysis the basic legal rules and laws governing these transactions. We used mainly classical scientific methods due to its descriptive character. We used the method of structured observation, determining the fundamental principles – the autonomy of letter of credit and the strict compliance, method of specification or concretisation – identification of relationship between parties and abstraction – definition of general and essential information about international rules and national laws of some countries.

14

Authors: Aurel Octavian PASAT

At present, in the period of rapid development of scientific and technological progress, it is impossible for states to exist without their interaction. The interaction between states is achieved through both economic and political relations. In the modern world, cooperation between states is achieved with the help of international organizations. International organizations not only regulate interstate relations, but also make decisions about the global problems of our time. The purpose of creating any international organization is to unite the efforts of states in one field or another: political, military, economic, monetary and financial and others. The purpose of this article is to study by comparison three European international organizations, in their diversity and their role in the international political process. To reveal how they were formed, the historical evolution, the role and positions of these international organizations on the European scene. The study presents their legal personality, the analysis of the differentiation of concepts such as competence, authority and capacity of international organizations.

6

Authors: Ana-Maria LUPULESCU

Under the previous legal regulation, periodic ownership had generated long and, most often, controversial discussions in the juridical literature. As a result, the Civil Code currently in force recognizes the existence of periodic ownership as a case of forced co-ownership, while establishing the basis for its creation, the rights and obligations of coowners, as well as the ways to terminate this form of forced co-ownership (art. 687-692 Civil Code), even if it is regulated, inexplicably, in a separate chapter of the Civil Code, and not in the section dedicated to forced co-ownership. Unlike other cases of forced co-ownership, periodic ownership has a number of specific features, from several points of view, such as the criterion for determining the extent of the right belonging to each co-owner, its legal content or its exercise. For these reasons, we believe that a critical analysis of the applicable legal regulation in the field of periodic ownership could be relevant and useful both for theoreticians of law, but also for practitioners.

7

Authors: Jana MLÝNKOVÁ

Security deposit is a special form of securing the landlord’s claim against the tenant. This institute is regulated by Section 2254 of Act No. 89/2012 Coll., The Civil Code. Although the rules on certainty may seem to be sufficient and clear to the first impression, after closer examination it is clear that this is not so and that there are a large number of unanswered questions which are mentioned in this paper, for example: Is the statutory maximum amount of security deposit sufficient? Is it possible to count on the security deposit given to the landlord and to supplement the security deposit during the tenancy relationship, if such an arrangement is included in the lease contract? And what about the return of the security deposit? The aim of the paper is to find a solution to the above-mentioned shortcomings of the Czech legislation on the basis of a comparison with the legislation of the Slovak Republic, which for historical reasons is very similar to the Czech legislation.

8

Authors: Nelu Dorinel POPA, Cezara POPA

It is a known fact that the object of study of criminology is the "criminal phenomenon", which is considered both from an individual point of view, in relation to the concepts of "crime" and "criminal", and from a collective point of view, for which the concept of "criminality" is observed. A study of the origin and worldwide development of criminology has thus been carried out in relation to these basic concepts. Although a truly scientific approach to criminology has only been developed since the 18th century, there have previously been numerous historical sources and references throughout the entire temporal arc of human evolution that have highlighted the manifest interest in the discipline and the concepts mentioned. Three main schools of thought in modern criminological theory have later been establisheed, covering the period from the mid-eighteenth century to the mid-twentieth century: the classical, the positivist and the Chicago School. The international bodies responsible for criminology have also played a major role, without which this science would not have evolved to the stage it is at today

9

Authors: Andreea TABACU

After the Constitutional Court’s control, by no.392/2021 decision, it was stated that Law no.554/2004, of administrative contentious, the basis of the judicial procedure for the cancellation of Government’s Decisions, doesn’t satisfy the idea of celerity which defines the principle of access to justice in the field of the cancellation of the alert status decision. The study aims to identify and analyze the most important problems revealed before the courts in this matter and to find solutions in order to elaborate procedural norms which are able to achieve the principle above mentioned.

10

Authors: Cornelia VLADU

The term of "punishment individualization" is known since 1898, because of the publication of Raymond Saleilles's work entitled “L’individualisation de la peine”. The definition of the concept of individualization was outlined by the legislator through juridical technique, as: when establishing and applying punishments as tools for adapting the convict to the penitentiary environment. The punishment individualization is a complex operation that is carried out both by the legislator (the legal individualization, realized at the moment of the elaboration of the law, by establishing the general framework of punishments, the special limits for each offense and the framework within which judicial individualization and administrative individualization may intervene), by the court (juridical individualization), as well as during the execution of the sentence (administrative individualization, for example: establishing the regime of execution of the prison sentence, granting conditional release, changing the content of the obligations imposed in the context of postponing the application of the sentence or suspending the execution of the sentence under supervision).

11

Authors: Erjona BANA (CANAJ)

Migration has been an essential part of Albania’s history and still is to the present day, though it has changed both in size and nature since the fall of Communism. Since the introduction of reforms, the Albanian migration picture has evolved. Albania has opened itself up much more to migrants, though the relative number of immigrants remains low. This opening has included changes in the legislative framework governing immigration and a closer resemblance between Albanian legislation and international conventions governing individual rights and State obligations in the field of migration. Albania has transposed all EU directives relating to immigration and asylum into its national legal system and participates in the negotiations on new migration and asylum measures at the regional level. Albania has especially changed its legislation to improve its alignment with the standards of the EU necessary for its eventual accession. This is a desk-research, which provides an overview of rules and procedures for the residence of foreigners in the Republic of Albania. The objective is to trace the main institutional and legal procedures applicable to foreign citizens who seek to stay in Albania. This paper also highlights some of the challenges in the application, interpretation and development of immigration rules currently present in the Republic of Albania.

11

Authors: Valeriu KUCIUK

The author researches the field of public law, namely the subject of the the correct placement of budgetary-fiscal tasks in the Republic of Moldova, of the financial contributions that are collected from citizens, of the provision of public services for a fee by public authorities and institutions. In the research, the author used the following research methods: logical method, systemic and formal-legal analysis, comparative and generalizing methods. Following the scientific investigation, the author considers that the constitutional norms regarding the formation, distribution and use of the public budget are violated, there is an omission to regulate the financial-fiscal field which consists in the law regulating the provision of public services for a fee. In conclusion, the author comes with recommendations mentioning certain regulatory measures that could improve the field of public finances, increasing financial responsibility and discipline.

12

Authors: Lucian-Sorin STĂNESCU

According to the renowned theorist I. Craiovan, the knowledge of law cannot be situated in the contemporaneity outside the tendencies manifested in science where there are connections, interferences, transfers of concepts, methods and techniques that receive an important role in approaching the legal phenomenon and, consequently , Theory of Law, as a synthetic legal science, appeals to epistemology because: "the idea of examining by itself the activity of knowledge of law can first give the means of progress of the science of law, to improve knowledge of this phenomenon." The epistemological approach of the legal responsibility system in the methodological scheme we proposed involves, first, establishing the epistemological status of legal responsibility in the General Theory of Law and in the branch legal sciences in order to extract its epistemic features. Secondly, the study aims to reveal, for the first time, the systemic properties that legal responsibility develops as a subsystem of the great system of law, and thirdly, to discuss the conceptual changes it causes in the General Theory of the issue of legal responsibility of intelligent non-human entities, the ultimate goal being to support the epistemological status of structural concept of legal responsibility that we have promoted in the scientific field in our previous works by completing the definition we gave to this concept.

13

Authors: Crenguța LEAUA, Iulia-Alexandra DIDU

In the modern era of digital technology, chatbots are becoming a prominent element in the conversational services. Chatbots are software that can successfully communicate with human beings. Their popularity as a means of communication has been recently engaged not only in the business field, for the relation with clients and consumers, but also for the services provided by regulated profession such as doctors, lawyers, etc. The aim of this paper is to present the general juridical problems which may arise when employing a conversational agent in the communication process with humans. Issues such as taxonomy, intellectual property rights, civil liability, consumer protection, cybersecurity and compliance with secrecy regulations, privacy and data protection, and other problematic human rights issues are among those to be taken into consideration. Recent documents of legal policy of the European Union are also presented, namely the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonized rules on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and amending certain Union legislative acts. This proposal, although aimed to address AI in general, has a number of provisions also relevant for chatbots, as conversational AI.

15

Authors: Hajredin KUÇI, Kastriote VLAHNA

Building a ‘rule of law based’-democracy is a challenge for post-communist and post-war societies. Rule of law is a priority for these societies and it is very often prescribed as a membership criteria required by international organizations, such as the European Union. As such an aspiring country, Kosovo is faced with the challenge of building a legal system compatible with that of the European Union member states, but also of developing legal cooperation with other countries. This paper will analyze the process of Europeanisation of the legal system of Kosovo and presents a dynamic impact of the European Institutions and Missions in Kosovo which were introduced and operate despite the fact that Kosovo officially is not recognized by EU institutions and all EU member states. As such, the paper will focus on analyzing the legal treatment and sui generis relations between EU and Kosovo, especially during the UNMIK time, with EULEX mission, of the unique singing modalities and content of SAA, Office of Specialist Chambers of Prosecutors and Judges and including the recommendations for legal cooperation in certain circumstances during the fulfillment of the above mentioned obligations and integration process. The main question addressed in this article is how the EU has influenced the rule of law in Kosovo. In doing so the paper will observe the results of that influence that are sui genres as well as how the EU-Kosovo cooperation has helped keeping the integration process and research strategies for the further cooperation going. This hypothesis will be tested by measuring the inclusion and application of the main European standards in cooperation with the third states. Additionally, comparative methods will be used in finding similarities and differences with other cases. Kosovo faces many challenges in international cooperation, not only with regard to those missions operating in Kosovo itself (such as EULEX, CE, EUO etc.), but also with EU as an organization, especially due to Kosovo’s lack of membership in EU. Another challenge faced is the cooperation with EU countries that have not yet recognized Kosovo as a state. This paper emphasizes the efforts of Kosovo’s institutions beyond regular means, in order to conduct EU-Kosovo cooperation as one of the prerequisites for building the democracy based on rule of law. The main issues tackled in this paper are how these problems are addressed in practice, which are the obstacles arising, what are the ad hoc means of conducting such cooperation and what are the specificities and perspectives of EU-Kosovo cooperation. As such the paper aims at breaking down some of the legal peculiarities and uncertainties that have been created throughout the years as result of limitations to the international personality, aimed at ensuring that there is a cooperation with EU and non-recognizer countries through other ‘innovative’ means.

5

Authors: Elsa ZYBERAI

Written documents, photographs, audio documents, electronically or otherwise are evidence of the time they were created. They eternally preserve the human memory, namely the cultural treasure, the cultural heritage of a people, region or country. The debate on the role of the public administrator in the management and storage of documentation is complex and continues to this day. The purpose of this paper aims to explore the role that public administration has in the management, storage and archiving of public documentation. The development of technology has also brought about a change in the way and administration of documentation. In this perspective, the specific purpose of this paper is the treatment and analysis of the concept of traditional and modern systematization of public documentation in state institutions. The use of historical methods, analysis, comparison will enable the finding of results and recommendations regarding the role of public administration in the management, storage and archiving of public documentation.

5

Authors: Skender GOJANI, Egzonis HAJDAR

The compulsory insurance in Kosovo is more developed, whereas the voluntary one is less developed but with the development of economic-social life, the social and state policies on the insurance (health and other types of insurances) that are necessary also increase for a normal development of social life which our country was and still is in lack of. In this respect, more work and dedication are needed for the economic development of our country in order to bring about other compulsory insurances for the society. This is so due to the fact that the more developed economically the country is the more developed the insurance in that country.

6

Authors: Avdullah ROBAJ

Marriage is the oldest and most important social legal institution. It is the basis of the family and its duty is to perform numerous social functions. Humans, in their life, as a primary goal have marital union, family creation, living conditions, personal and family well-being. Humans complete themselves with a healthy marriage and with the creation of a healthy family. The basis of the family in Islam is the almost precisely defined blood relationship and the marital agreement. Whereas marriage in secular law is a specific union, from the content of which derive its purposes. The purposes of marriage in secular law are: the purpose of cohabitation, the purpose of marital solidarity and the social purpose. Islam shows special care in strengthening the family and protecting it from everything that damages and undermines its structure, because the organisation of the family with its members guarantees the organisation of individuals and society in general. Islam has an average position between categorical prohibition and unqualified liberalization of divorce. While according to Islamic Sharia divorce is an act of the will, of the wife or the husband, to request if the marital relationship has been seriously or continuously disrupted, or when for other reasons it has been irrevocably dissolved. According to secular law, divorce cannot occur otherwise except by decision of the competent court, at the request of one spouse, or both.

7

Authors: Jean Chrysostome KANAMUGIRE

Refugees have a potential to separate with their family members when they flee in order to seek asylum in other countries. This often occurs as many refugees do not have time to plan for their flight. Family unit is a fundamental group unit for society and is essential for refugees. For this reason, the refugee status is also extended to family members of a recognised refugee. International refugee law does not specifically provide for family reunification for refugees. However, some international and regional instruments contain specific provisions dealing with family reunification for refugees. States should have a duty to allow family members of refugees to enter the country of asylum for the purpose of family reunification. Furthermore, asylum states should allow refugees to marry persons of their choice and promote the integrity of the family. This indicates that states should provide humanitarian visas to individuals to join their family in refugee matters. Special attention should be given to minor children and unaccompanied refugee children to ensure that they grow in a family environment through guardianship and adoption. This study investigates the reunification of refugees in South Africa, United Kingdom, Bosnia Herzegovina and Belgium.

7

Authors: Mirsad SUHODOLLI

Teaching English in general has not only become necessary but it has also made many teachers around the world strive to find the easiest solution to this issue. The paper in question deals with the same issue but with focus on teaching and learning idioms. It tries to give a new insight into the way students understand and learn idioms more easily. It takes into consideration two main concepts: learning by and teaching idioms to the university level students putting more emphasis on the latter. Some students might even wonder why to use idioms when people could have said words/phrases or sentences others would understand more easily without having to think much about their meaning. The answer to this lies in that native speaker use idioms very often so it is almost impossible for non-native speakers to avoid using idioms when communicating with native speakers of English. This is one of the crucial points the study in question also puts emphasis on. Apart from this, ever since the war ended in Kosovo, many organizations or educational institutions such as: OSCE, UNMIK, American School of Kosovo, British Council, American University of Kosovo have made it possible that people of Kosovo get in touch with native speakers who spoke English in a more natural way by also using idioms.

9

Authors: Aurel Octavian PASAT

Respecting the classic opinions about the process of forming scientific notions, it should be noted that the development of forensic knowledge about the organization of crime investigation has gone from understanding the needs of practice in organizational support for disclosure and investigation of crimes and formulating a scientific idea. the field of crime investigation, in the form of a particular forensic theory. The study highlights the premises and trends in the formation of forensic doctrine in the Russian Federation on the organization of crime investigation using the systemhistorical approach, which provided the opportunity to understand the natural process of formation, continuous accumulation, generalization, systematization and development of crime investigation as a field of scientific knowledge.

11

Authors: Katlego MALEKA, Mashele RAPATSA

There is an inherent nexus between spatial planning and development, and realisation of socio-economic rights, especially in the context of transformation of South Africa’s local government on rural areas (residential settlements on the country site). Thus, this article discusses South Africa’s post-1994 legislative framework concerning spatial planning and development, with specific emphasis on the roles and functions of the Institution of Traditional Authorities (or Traditional Leaders) and elected representatives at local government. The article adopted a traditional doctrinal method, by analysing content in legal norms established through legislative framework. Significantinternational legal instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 supports the view that the state ought to guarantee environments that enable comprehensive realisation of the rights to health, food, housing and social security, among others. The Constitution, 1996 incorporated these norms in national legislation to ensure that spatial planning have regard to human rights. However, it has been observed that the underdevelopment inflicted under the historical homelands/bantustans establishment remain pervasive and poses threats to the effective implementation of Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act 16 of 2013. This is also compounded by noted uncertainties that culminates in administrative tensions between the Traditional Leader and elected representatives at local government.

12

Authors: Friedrich HAMADZIRIPI, Howard CHITIMIRA

This article provides a comparative analysis of company directors’ accountability and the application of the duty of care, skill and diligence under the South African and Zimbabwean company law. Notably, Zimbabwe has recently partially codified company directors’ duty of care, skill and diligence for the first time in the Companies and Other Business Entities Act [Chapter 24:31] 4 of 2019 (COBE Act), which came into effect on 13 February 2020. On the other hand, the Companies Act 71 of 2008 (Companies Act 2008) of South Africa also partially codified company directors’ duty of care, skill and diligence and it came into effect on 1 May 2011. Consequently, South Africa has developed some good academic literature and jurisprudence on the duties of company directors for almost a decade. This is one of the reasons why South Africa’s Companies Act 2008 was chosen for a comparative analysis with Zimbabwe’s COBE Act on directors’ duties. Accordingly, the article discusses the gaps and flaws in the relevant company laws in South Africa and Zimbabwe in relation to the interpretation and application of the directors’ duty of care, skill and diligence. This is done to recommend some measures that could be adopted by the relevant regulatory bodies and companies to enhance their directors’ accountability in both jurisdictions.

13

Authors: Nqobizwe Mvelo NGEMA, Lonias NDLOVU

In Islamic law, child custody is divided into physical custody and legal custody. Physical custody is given to a child's mother during the age of dependency, while legal custody is automatically assigned to the child's father. For a mother to qualify for custody and retain it in terms of Islamic Law, she must, among other things, not remarry. This requirement unfairly discriminates against women because the same is not expected of the father. Moreover, a mother is expected to reside in an environment where the father can visit and come back the same day. Failure to adhere to the above requirements may lead to custody being taken away from the mother. Again, this is discriminatory and leaves much room for arbitrary decisions that might not be in children's best interests. The South African Common Law regulation of child custody is more likely to promote the best interests of the child than its Islamic counterpart. In a recent landmark judgment, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) held that the failure to give full legal recognition to Muslim marriages amounted to the violation of Muslim spouses' rightto equality, dignity, children's rights, and the right of access to courts. Moreover, all provisions of South Africa's Divorce Act will now apply to all Muslim marriages dissolved by divorce. Therefore, the SCA rightfully extended the Common Law position on child custody to Islamic marriages to safeguard the best interest of the child.

14

Authors: Adrian ȚUTUIANU, Florina Ramona MURESAN

The judicial practice has met with the issue of the legal nature of obligations relating to settlements of quotas of 0.1% of Law no. 50/1991 regarding certification of construction works and 0.5% owed according to article 43 of Law no.10/1995 regarding quality in construction. Classification of these obligations as to whether they are of fiscal nature or not triggers significant legal consequences relating to statute of limitations, date of which late penalties are calculated and subject matter jurisdiction of the courts of law regarding settlement of disputes.