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Protection of Color Trademarks in Comparative Law – a Case Study of the Christian Louboutin Trademark
No full textIn today’s competitive marketplace, color trademarks have emerged as a
particularly controversial aspect of intellectual property law, blurring the line
between aesthetic appeal and source-identifying functionality. This paper
explores the legal viability of color trademarks through the lens of comparative
law, focusing on the landmark case of Christian Louboutin’s red sole
trademark. The paper first outlines the theoretical and legal framework, focusing
on the legal requirements for the registration of color as a trademark
(primary and secondary meaning), as well as the doctrine of aesthetic functionality.
It then turns to the Christian Louboutin case, which serves as a focal
point for exploring the legal challenges in asserting trademark rights over a
single color in the fashion industry. By analyzing key judicial decisions from
the United States, the European Union, and India, the study examines how
different legal systems interpret and apply the concepts of distinctiveness,
secondary meaning, and aesthetic functionality
The legal and ethical aspects of organ donation: Between altruism and (dis)trust
No full textThe Republic of Serbia is last on the list of European countries and among the last in the world when it comes to the number of performed transplants. This paper will provide an overview of the relevant legal regulations and challenges facing everyone who needs an organ transplant after the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia found the provisions of Article 23 of the Law on Human Organ Transplantation from 2018, which refer to organ donation from a deceased individual, and the provisions of Article 28 of the Law on Human Cells and Tissues, which stipulate the conditions for tissue donation, to be unconstitutional, and citing religious standpoints on this current legal, medical, and bioethics issue. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic saw a decrease in the number of donated and transplanted organs, while the post-COVID period saw the frequent occurrence of issues of distrust of the healthcare systems and the World Health Organization among different segments of the population, and thus the impact of this (dis)trust on the decision of individuals to become potential donors, especially in countries facing a high level of corruption in all areas, as well as war-torn areas where the possibility for unsanctioned human organ trade on the black market is high. It is the authors’ conclusion that war conflicts, the (lack of a) clear and complete legal framework, and the level of trust in state and healthcare institutions, have a direct impact both on the number of donors and the transplants performed in a country
On the constitutional identity of the Republic of Srpska
Full text linkThis paper is dedicated to determining which components make up the constitutional identity of the Republika Srpska (hereinafter: the RS). The basic theoretical and methodological approach is based on the study of the text of the 1992 Constitution of the RS (hereinafter: the CRS), which has had an unusually long life, but whose total revision has recently been officially announced. The draft Constitution was published on May 25, 2025, on the website of the National Assembly of the RS (hereinafter: NARS). The aim of the research is to attempt to identify the elements of the constitutional identity of the Republic of Srpska, in accordance with the instructions of scholars regarding what the notion of constitutional identity represents. The paper identifies certain comparative deficiencies in the authenticity of structure and content from which the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Dayton Constitution) and the Constitution of the RS suffer. Based on the analysis of the CRS, the texts of relevant constitutional documents of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: BH) and its formal and informal quasi-state predecessors, and the 1990 Constitution of the Republic of Serbia (the 1990 Constitution of Serbia), it is concluded that there are two key elements of the constitutional identity of the RS. These are the Serb national foundation of the RS and of its constitutional order, as well as the highly positioned autonomous status of the RS as one of the two constitutional entities of BH. The paper establishes that less important, but obviously present, additional components of the constitutional identity of RS are its unitary order and the extinguished institutional role of its President of the Republic within the constitutional framework of the RS
Položaj sudija pregled zakonodavnog okvira i prakse
Full text linkOva analiza izrađena je u okviru IPA 2016 EU za Srbiju - Projekta „Podrška Visokom savetu sudstva“ (u daljem tekstu: „Projekat“). Njen cilj je da pruži sumaran pogled na postojeći pravni okvir kojim su regulisana pojedina pitanja od značaja za položaj sudija a, pre svega, za njihov izbor i karijerno napredovanje, te da se formulišu preporuke za unapređenje celokupnog regulatornog okvira, imajući u vidu odgovarajuće međunarodne standarde, kao i aktivnosti usmerene ka ostvarenju tog cilja koje su planirane u dokumentima javne politike koje je usvojila Vlada Srbije
Analysis of the Institutional Independence of the Anti-Corruption of Montenegro and the Regime for Whistleblowers’ Protection
Full text linkThis analysis is aimed at supporting the efforts made by the new Montenegrin Government
aimed at strengthening the towards advancing the existing anti-corruption law. In doing so, it
will assess the compliance of the selected issues of the applicable Montenegrin Law on
Corruption Prevention with relevant international standards and where applicable, identify
areas where measures need to be taken to improve compliance and/or provide
recommendations to that effect.
Special attention shall be given to the issue of whistleblower’s protection. The protection of
whistleblowers was introduced to the legal systems of Western Balkan countries under strong
external conditionality demands, but had limited effects in practice. The Montenegrin legal
system, unlike those of the neighbouring countries, does not include a separate law governing
the protection of whistleblowers. Instead, this issue is regulated within the law governing the
prevention of corruption, while the Anti-Corruption Agency is entrusted with dealing with
whistleblowers. Consequently, as a part of the examination of the institutional independence
and capacities, particular attention was given to the issue of protection of whistleblowers,
both in regulatory and institutional terms.
The analysis is developed with a view to relevant international standards governing
corruption prevention and whistleblowers’ protection and relevant European Union (EU)
legislation, the Montenegrin anti-corruption legal framework, publicly available reports on
the work of ACA and interviews with ACA staff.
The analysis is therefore structured in two parts, where the first part pertains to the
institutional independence of the Montenegrin Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), whilst the
second part analyses the legal regime governing the protection of whistleblowers
Pojam upravne stvari
No full textMeđu otvorenim pitanjima ne samo pozitivnopravnog regulisanja upravnog postupka, već i celokupne upravnopravne materije, kako na teorijskom, tako i na praktičnom nivou, vrlo značajno mesto zauzimaju upravna stvar i precizno određivanje njenog pojma. Među teoretičarima se sreću različite definicije i shvatanja ovog pojma, dok njegovo određivanje nije predstavljalo lak zadatak ni za zakonodavstvo. Naime, u uporednom pravu se retko nailazi na pravne sisteme koji sadrže definiciju upravne stvari, a domaći zakonodavac je određenje ovog pojma prvi put dao tek 2009. godine, i to u Zakonu o upravnim sporovima.
U radu se analizira pojam upravne stvari, posmatrano iz ugla pravne teorije, kao i uporednog i domaćeg zakonodavstva, da bi se potom prešlo na autorove stavove u pogledu definisanja upravne stvari i njenih elemenata, kako u kontekstu upravnog postupka, tako i u smislu upravnog spora.
Cilj rada jeste da se putem iznošenja opažanja i zaključaka u vezi sa različitim stanovištima teorije i zakonodavstva ukaže na raznovrsnot u shvatanju ovog pojma, kao i da se ponudi uniformna definicija upravne stvari sa aspekta upravnog postupka i upravnog spora, i ukaže na distinkciju između upravne i upravnosudske stvari, kao kategorije koju bi trebalo zasebno urediti u okviru upravnog procesnog prava
Digital transformation: Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in the European Union
No full textThis paper aims to examine the current state of digital transformation and the
regulation of artificial intelligence within the European Union, addressing both
practical and legislative dimensions. To this end, the paper is structured into
four main parts. Following a brief introductory remark dedicated to the concept and definitions of AI (Part I.), the paper analyses the challenges faced by
the EU in the context of artificial intelligence, with particular emphasis on the
underlying factors contributing to the slow progress of the AI industry (Part
II.). The third part delves into the key features of the new AI Act (Part III.), highlighting its provisions and the categorization of use cases based on their level
of risks to health, safety, and fundamental rights. Finally, the paper seeks to offer a preliminary assessment of whether the regulatory approach introduced
by the AI Act effectively addresses the causes of the EU’s slow progress in the
AI sector (Part IV.)
Constitutional Courts’ Functions in Europe: What Do Constitutions Say?
Full text linkNational constitutional courts in Europe are entrusted with various paramount tasks based on the provisions in their national constitutions. Numerous constitutional provisions establish the basis for the performance of constitutional justice within the framework of constitutional democracy, many of which have been examined in this paper. However, simply reading the European states’ constitutions is not sufficient to fully assess the role of constitutional courts within their respective national legal and political systems. This paper explores the constitutionally provided purposes of constitutional courts