Trento Student Law Review

Freedom of the Press during COVID-19 Pandemic: a Comparative Overview

Akram Alasgarov — 2024-02-01

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic hindered the maintenance of stability in many fields, including the working environment of the media sector. Therefore, the UN Human Rights Committee and the Council of Europe issued several guidelines and informative documents to ensure press freedom and the significance of the media's work during the period of the coronavirus crisis. Ac- cordingly, this article applies a comparative analyzing method to ob- serve compliance with international standards in the chosen jurisdic- tions. Firstly, several cases between media workers and governmental agencies in Northern Europe countries are reviewed from the human rights perspective. Subsequently, the governmental bills and amend- ments to Hungarian and Russian laws are commented on through an interpretative lens. Finally, challenges brought by the new standards and regulatory norms are assessed on grounds of the protection of health and public safety.

The same approach is followed in Azerbaijan's legal framework, where specific amendments have been introduced to both the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code. These amend- ments explicitly prohibit the dissemination of disinformation during emergencies, especially when it poses a real and imminent threat to the life and health of individuals. Furthermore, corresponding legal provisions have been analyzed, outlining sanctions such as admin- istrative imprisonment or deprivation of freedom in the respective codes. In the end, guided by the global standards of international and regional human rights organizations, recommendations are indicated for developing a legal policy against disinformation.

Capturing Killer Acquisitions in Digital Markets under the European Union Merger Control Rules

Amil Jafarguliyev — 2023-12-31

A few years ago, a novel development identified as "Killer Acqui- sitions" surfaced within the domain of EU Merger Control: incumbent undertakings were under suspicion of acquiring promising startups with the intent of eliminating prospective market competitors. Big Tech companies in digital markets are among the usual suspects in this kind of transaction. While this strategy can surely serve to cement incumbent platforms' dominant position in the digital markets, the issue resides in the impracticability of capturing these acquisitions within the framework of EU Merger Control regulations due to the impossibility of complying with the stipulated threshold requirements which respectively brought about the enhancement of the European Commission's toolbox. This paper will display the options to carry out those amendments and what options were opted for. It will address whether the proposed methodo- logies for addressing killer acquisitions represent viable solutions to the issue. This paper aims to clarify the challenges faced by digital platforms engaged in business operations and strategic merger and acquisition plan- ning within the European Union. This work's focus is also on elucidating the challenges that digital platforms engaged in business operations and mergers and acquisitions within the EU may confront.

Il Record of Meeting concluso tra la Cina Continen- tale e Hong Kong S.A.R.: luci ed ombre dell'accordo attraverso una comparazione con il Regolamento (UE) n. 848/2015

Marta Cirillo Cirillo — 2023-12-27

L'articolo intende fornire una disamina analitica sulla disci- plina del mutuo riconoscimento delle procedure d'insolvenza tra Cina Continentale e Hong Kong S.A.R. In apertura, l'autrice ripercorre quanto verificatosi nella Repubblica Popolare Cinese fino al 2021. A prevalere era, infatti, l'atteggiamento della Cina Continentale, da sempre restia al rico- noscimento delle procedure d'insolvenza aperte nel territorio di Hong Kong. L'impasse termina il 14 maggio 2021 quando le parti addivengo- no ad un accordo: il cd. Record of Meeting. Quest'ultimo rappresenta il primordiale tassello di un mosaico tuttora in fieri. A seguito di una sin- tetica analisi condotta sulla fonte prescelta dalle parti, l'autrice analizza i principali contenuti dell'accordo mediante una comparazione con il Reg. (UE) n.848/2015. La scelta non è casuale, dal momento che, nelle pagine che seguono, si evince come il richiamato regolamento rappresenta l'ar- chetipo a cui ambire, ma anche una bussola capace di dettare la via. In conclusione, si evidenziano le lacune del Record of Meeting e delle fonti ad esso annesse e, al contempo, si tenta di descrivere lo scenario futuro in materia di insolvenza transfrontaliera tra il maggior rivale degli Stati Uniti d'America, la Cina Continentale e Hong Kong, il terzo centro fi- nanziario a livello internazionale.

A comparative review of the regulation of Islamic banking and finance in Indonesia, Nigeria and the United Kingdom

Paul Elebute — 2023-12-27

This study examines the nuances of the regulation of Islamic banking and finance in Nigeria, the UK, and Indonesian jurisdictions, addressing the challenges and prospects for these legal systems and/or economies. The research adopts a qualitative methodology, drawing theory from a vast trove of literature from authors on the African, Asian, and European continents. The basis for bringing this topic into discussion revolves around the undeniable significance that Islamic finance now has in certain parts of the world. Islamic banking dominates the worldwide Islamic finance industry, representing 80% of Islamic finance assets. There is growing concern for the subpar usage of the practice in certain jurisdictions. Most literature does not question this need, perhaps due to the general acceptance of the conventional banking system worldwide. Previous research works are yet to undertake a comparative assessment of the usage of Islamic banking and finance practices among jurisdictions, spanning representative nations from diverse regions and continents, thus occasioning a gap in the literature. This article discusses the legal and regulatory provisions earmarking the practice of Islamic banking and finance in the jurisdictions using available literature. While each jurisdiction recognizes the practice of Islamic finance, those in Indonesia and, to a good extent, the UK, have richer provisions for its development. Thus, while taking cognizance of the social-cultural contexts, a critical assessment of the regulatory mechanisms in Nigeria is carried out against the background provided by the Indonesian and English legal systems. It is found that for there to be a robust appropriation of the practice in the jurisdictions, especially Nigeria, a forward-looking system must be adopted.

Transitional Justice, Complementarity, and How the Colombian Case Affected the Notion of "Justice" inside the ICC System

Giuseppe Cardone — 2023-12-27

The rules governing the power of the International Criminal Court resort to a blurred concept such as that of "justice". Moreover, this problem is compounded by the fragile balance on which transitio- nal justice processes rest, particularly those in which it is accepted that the criminal sanction may be turned down in favor of the protection of higher interests. The outcome of this framework in a concrete case like the Colombian one could not have been any different than what it has been: almost twenty years of preliminary examination, a civil war that is not over yet, and much uncertainty. This article is an attempt to demon- strate how the combination of transitional and restorative justice is not only well possible but also compatible with the Rome Statute system. The norms of the ICC statute, both national and international case laws, and doctrinal interpretations all together show that if justice does not have a proper definition, it is thus able to acquire several different meanings, one of them being a system that does not pay tribute to the past but to the re- construction of the future. The validity of the theoretical reconstruction is strengthened by the Colombian case and its historical, political, and le- gal aspects. The quest for peace has been conducted through instruments like amnesties and reduced sanctions, showing that this is a possible path. The silence more than the words of the International Criminal Court contributed to this answer: transitional processes that do not have at their core a retributive vision, even excluding criminal sanctions, are compati- ble with the Rome Statute.