New Bulgarian University Academic Journals Portal
Not a member yet
1059 research outputs found
Sort by
The Amendments to the Electoral Code Made by the 48th Parliament and their (In)Compliance with the Constitution
Get PDFThe 48-th Parliament (National Assembly) is likely to be remembered with the significant changes it undertook in the electoral legislation, whereas just a few days after the Parliament was formed these changes were initiated without the prior and required by law public discussion, impact assessment and analysis of the possibility to implement these changes by the election administration in the context of a short-lived Parliament and upcoming preliminary elections. The most significant changes in the Electoral Code (over 150 in total) were targeted at a radical change of the regulations for the so-called “machine voting”, whereas the machine counting of the votes and preferences was abolished and the receipts printed by the machines for each vote were called “ballots of machine voting”. These from now on had to be counted by hand, along with the preferences in them and the results had also to be summed up manually with those of the traditional voting with paper ballots and the results written down in a joint protocol. Other important changes refer to the abolition of the so-called “dark rooms” and their replacement with “screens” which had to guarantee the secrecy of voting along with video surveillance and recording of the process of counting the ballots after completion of the vote
The Protection of Human Dignity, Honour and Reputation in ECtHR Case-law Concerning the Right to Respect for Private Life (Article 8 ECHR)
Get PDFHuman dignity is considered to be “the mother of all human rights”. It is absolute and cannot thus be restricted. The protection of human dignity is the core principle embodied in the set of rules on human rights. The provision of article 8, § 1 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) lays down that everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. On various occasions, ECtHR considered that despite the lack of an explicit mention of a human’s reputation and one’s dignity and honour within the text of Article 8 of ECHR, they are still being encompassed by the protective function of this provision. A reasoning is found in the notion that the aforementioned protective function embodies “the right for private life” thus including the human right to a dignified existence. Still, ECtHR did point out that Article 8 ECHR is a possible means to provide legal protection to honour, reputation and dignity solely “where primarily the internal aspect of honour is at stake”, more specifically, when one’s self-assessment and self-value are harmed. On the contrary, whenever the external aspect of honour has been harmed, i. e., reputation and public assessment of an individual, this should be considered as a freedom of expression case under Article 10, para. 2 ECHR (corresponding to Article 39, paragraph 2 of the Bulgarian Constitution)
Social Justice and Right of Access to Justice for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
Get PDFThe present study focusses on Martha Nussbaum’s theory of social justice and the capabilities approach, their relevance to the legal protection of people with disabilities, and especially to their access to justice. I argue that this theory and approach present a new theoretical paradigm in which we can conceptualize and implement human rights of persons with intellectual disabilities. I pay attention to the right of access to justice, since it is the precondition and the guarantee for the protection of all other rights of people with disabilities in the rule of law
Body and senses in the production of cultural meaning: from Middle Ages to TV series, films and video games
Get PDFIn medieval times, the literary nature of the works, including written ones, were determined by contextual elements such as the acoustic and momentary channel of communication along with the domain of gestur-al, instrumental and vocal codes. These elements conditioned writers and performers when they improved and perfected their capacities and perfor-mance, on which the message as a whole depended. Today the media and entertainment industry also use complex and rich connections between verbal and visual signs to produce highly symbolic messages through im-aginary re-enactments of the past. The wide range of discursive productions of the Middle Ages can be ana-lysed through the study of the elements and factors that become carriers of meanings and the way in which they do so. We consider that a comparable perspective is also suitable for contemporary semiotic practices that, when interpreting documentary sources of various types and incorporating them into suitable fictional formats for the general public, constitute playful re-configurations of the historical, literary and fantastic Middle Ages. Accordingly, this paper attempts to examine certain components of mass culture which have transformed narratives, characters and fictional worlds, distinctive of the Middle Ages, into communicative and semiotic practices reinterpreting historical and literary texts as a way of reflecting on people, social life and its problems in the present world. It starts from con-sidering that semantic plurality and diachronic bases of the idea of body and senses enable an interdisciplinary and comparative study, in order to understand their historicity, their ideological effect and the innumerable aesthetic possibilities which they promote in different areas of culture. The reflections take into account the bodily and sensory aspects of the Middle Ages selected by series, films and video games with an impact, as signifi-cant elements, on current cultural orientations and attitudes
Exploring Translator and Interpreter Training in the Trinidad and Tobago Context: An overview
No full textThis article provides an overview of the current provision of translator and interpreter training in the English-speaking Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago. In contextualising the country's current linguistic and geopolitical situation, including the growing prominence of Spanish in the country's society, present conditions regarding the need for translational services are outlined. The overview adopts a literature-based approach which involves analysing the websites of tertiary institutions in Trinidad and Tobago where translation and interpreting-related training provision is currently on offer. Through examination of the relevant course syllabi and the pertinent degree and diploma programmes available, available course offerings are presented and discussed, thus giving a solid panorama of the present landscape regarding translator and interpreter training options in the country. Finally, although interpreter training seems well-established in the country, suggestions are offered regarding possible future steps for translator training in the Trinidad and Tobago context, as well as pointers for subsequent empirical research in the future
Poetics of Migration Trauma in Mohsin Hamid's "Exit West"
No full textMigration has emerged as one of the most pertinent issues in the contemporary milieu. Currently, more than ever, people from many countries are being forced to migrate because of religious, social, cultural, national, racial and economic issues. This increasing trend of shifting from one place to another is causing an epistemological shift in the current milieu of human history. Exit West (2017) by Hamid is one of those novels that develops a discursive discourse of the ongoing migrant crisis, and highlights the ugly realities related to the phenomenon of relocation. It chronicles the story of two lovers, Nadia and Saeed, who migrate from their conflict-ridden country to save their lives. This paper configures the poetics of migration trauma in the contemporary literature by analyzing the symbols, metaphors and narrative technique used in Hamid's text with the aim of tracing a discursive aesthetic trajectory of the migration trauma discourse
Issues of the legal classification in cases of death by firearm or highly active poisonous substance
No full textThis article addresses the issue of the distinguishing criterion between the constituent elements of the simple (Art. 122, para 2 CC) and professional negligence (Art. 123, para 1 CC) in cases where death is caused by a firearm or a highly active poisonous substance. It is concluded that, in order to distinguish between the constituent elements of the abovementioned crimes, it is necessary for the law enforcement authorities to assess the nature of the causative activity itself
Public lecture by Mr. Dimitar Bozhilov, mayor of Triaditsa district of the Metropolitan municipality, before law students on the topic “The acts of an almost mayor”
No full textThe public lecture was devoted to the powers of the district mayor in a municipality. It emphasized on the acts issued by this territorial administrative body. Presents numerous case studies in the fields of civil registration; health, with emphasis gezi during a pandemic situation; education; public works and communal activities; sports and recreation; environmental protection, etc., which the district mayor must resolve in his work
Legal aspects of artificial intelligence and its application in the work of Police authorities
No full textThe application of artificial intelligence in the work of police structures is a relatively new aspect that is just entering the work of the police authorities worldwide. The Police cannot stay away from the deepening trends of digitalization and digital conversion in every detail of public life and related to it activities, including – reflecting on the way the authorities operate, on the procedures and on the organization of work of public authorities, along with the work of the police. This publication aims to analyze the main characteristics of artificial intelligence as a concept in its legal context, while at the same time presenting the trends in its implementation and giving examples of some good practices that could be applied by the Ministry of Interior in the Republic of Bulgaria
Do the regulations of the Electoral Code contradict with the Bulgarian Constitution as they provide for calculating “ex-lege” the vote of the party ballots without any preference in favor of the list leader
No full textThis article provides an analysis of the possible contradiction with the Constitution of the regulations in the Bulgarian Election Code creating a “privilege” for the list leaders in municipal elections as well as for MPs, who are entitled to, according to art. 278 (5) and art. 437 (5), along with their own preferential vote, also to receive the party ballots without any preference in them. Thus, it is obvious that there is a privileged position of these list leaders (while the other candidates are being discriminated against), which puts the aforementioned regulations of the Election Code in contradiction with art. 6 (2) of the Bulgarian Constitution – prohibition of privileges or discrimination, art. 10 – common, equal, direct voting right and art. 4 (1) – rule of law