REVIEW OF COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

Comparative law is a distinct discipline in the framework of legal sciences that deals with the study, examination, and legal comparison of different legal systems to identify similarities and differences between them and better comprehend the typology of contemporary legal systems worldwide. In addition, comparative law helps to deepen the understanding of legal principles and institutions of different states, offering a broad transnational perspective on how legal systems function and affect different societies. A state can adapt and apply successful models in its national context through the comparative study and analysis of legal solutions adopted in other countries. The legal comparison of different legal systems can improve, reform, and modernize national legislation.
Key-words: comparative law; legal comparison; similarities and differences between legal systems; typology of legal systems; reform and modernization of national legislation.
JEL Classification: K30, K40

A contract can be preceded by negotiations. Within these negotiations, the parties can conclude agreements pertaining to the essential elements of the contract they aim to conclude. Among these agreements is the pact of preference. Although the importance of the pact of preference can’t be questioned, as, by its contents and effects, is contribute to the stability of contractual relations and the respect of the promises made, the contemporary Romanian lawmaker remained faithful to the conservative previous conception and avoided the express legal regulation of this institution. This approach continues to generate uncertainty and questions pertaining to the practical means of enforcing the pact of preference and even a state of legal uncertainty. By this material, we point out the need to expressly regulate the pact of preference in the Romanian Civil Code. In order to achieve this, we performed a comparative analysis of the legal nature, essential elements and the effects of the pact. Within this analysis, we considered, along with doctrine, jurisprudence and Romanian law, the doctrine and jurisprudence from other similar systems of law, such as the French and Belgian one, with mentions of legal regulations from the systems of law of certain countries from South America.
Key-words: preference pact, legal nature, conditions, effects, compared law.
JEL Classification: K15

The complex notion of transparency is increasingly present both in legislation and in legal policy documents. Whether defined as a principle, an expectation, or an explicitly strict and complex set of legal requirements, it has become a central element of data protection and of the ever-expanding regulation of technologies and platforms. The aim of this paper is to examine and clarify the conceptual elements of transparency. This is achieved by comparing three different but strongly related fields of law: data protection, artificial intelligence, and platform regulation, through a comparative interpretation of European Union requirements. The main finding of the study is that while the basic conceptual elements of transparency in these areas of law are similar, the specific definitions used by legislators differ significantly. These differences make it challenging to discern the exact content of the concepts, potentially causing issues in the practical application of the law. These problems arise when the legislation in the areas under consideration is jointly applicable to a technological solution or service. By clarifying or converging the concepts in use along the lines set out in the study, the legislator may be able to resolve these problems, the stakeholders and practitioners may have a clearer picture of the applicable requirements.
Key-words: transparency; platform regulation; technology law; artificial intelligence.
JEL Classification: K20, K24

The relationship between law and language is intrinsically intertwined, as legal discourse relies on specific linguistic conventions and expressions to communicate effectively within the legal domain. This is particularly evident in the interpretation of legislative acts, where the linguistic form of legal texts plays a crucial role, as do the challenges associated with legal translation. The present study undertakes an analysis of these Issues by examining a broad range of texts, including academic articles, monographs, and conference proceedings. In the two analyzed realities (those of law and language), the language inevitably serves for the communication of law, it is a function of law and makes the norm subsist. The legal norm needs to be interpreted in order to be understood, which is why language plays an indispensable role. The interpretation of the norm requires that words be given their own meaning according to the connection between them. This paper underscores the intricate demands involved in the processes of legal interpretation and translation, both linguistically and technically. It highlights the need for enhanced collaboration among legal professionals, linguists, and translators to address these challenges effectively, emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation in this field.
Key-words: law, legal language, interpretation, translation, linguistic rule.
JEL Classification: K00, K10

After gaining independence in 1991, Georgia adopted the Continental European legal system. The fact that classical Georgian law bears traces of Roman-Byzantine law significantly influenced this adaptation. However, in terms of company law regulations, it is seen that Georgia has a deep interaction with the Anglo-Saxon legal system. Indeed, Georgia is shaping its company law regulations to attract foreign direct investors to the country. Therefore, the country has undergone a deregulation process in the field of company law. In this process, Georgian company law has been deeply influenced by the Anglo-Saxon legal system, particularly the US law. However, this process entered a different phase with the signing of the Association Agreement between the European Union and the Georgia in 2016. With this agreement, Georgia undertook to harmonize its domestic law with the EU acquis communautaire. Within the scope of this commitment, a code called "Georgian Code on Entrepreneurs", which contains provisions in the fields of companies’ law and business enterprise law, was adopted in 2021, and the said Code entered into force in 2022. With this new Code, Georgia's deregulation period seems to have ended. However, it should be noted that the new Code contains many remarkable provisions. In this study, important developments in Georgian company law after gaining Georgian independence and the current situation of the company law will be analyzed. In addition, the Georgian Code on Entrepreneurs will be subjected to a short and descriptive review.
Key-words: Georgia, Georgian legal system, Georgian private law, Georgian commercial law, Georgian company law..
JEL Classification: K15, K20, K22

This article explores the concept of joint controllership and the liability regime of joint controllers. In the current era, the importance of personal data is increasing and these personal data are processed and determined by more and more people with common purposes and means. This situation also gives rise to the concept of joint controllership. When personal data is processed, the issue of who will be liable for which damage and to what extent in the event of damage to the data subject has gained importance. For this reason, the issue of liability of joint controllers should be emphasized. This article thus consists of four main sections. The first section presents the historical background of the concept of joint controllership. The second section comprehensively outlines the definition of joint controllership by considering the relevant CJEU decisions on the subject. The third section explores the responsibilities of joint controllers. The fourth section sketches and discusses the liability of joint controllers. The liability of the joint controller, which has minimal fault in the occurrence of the damage and occupies a very small place in the balance of power compared to the other joint controllers, has also been evaluated.
Key-words: joint controllership, GDPR, CJEU, responsibility, joint and several liability, controller.
JEL Classification: K13, K15, K33

Private enforcement mechanisms are gaining importance in contemporary administrative law, not least due to the insufficient capacity of public authorities to ensure compliance with a burgeoning body of legislation in an array of administrative domains. This is particularly prominent in the environmental realm, where civil society is recognized as the watchdog of environmental protection, holding both public authorities and private investors accountable. Since access to justice in environmental matters is a prerequisite of sustainable development, environmental NGOs, grassroots movements and similar stakeholders engaged in environmental activism are an indispensable piece of the compliance puzzle. This paper explores the described phenomenon through the comparative analysis of three cases of environmental activism in the Balkans – the Roșia Montană movement against the construction of an open-cast gold mine in Romania, the Vjosa River environmental movement in Albania opposing the construction of hydropower plants and the protests against the construction of a lithium mine in the Jadar Valley in Serbia. Building on earlier research on the bottom-up environmental access to justice in the Balkans and relying on theoretical approaches from social movements and legal mobilization literature from the perspective of administrative law, the author investigates factors that prompt and/or hinder civil society activism in the environmental context and what they teach us about the enforcement of administrative law in general.
Key-words: civil society, third-party enforcement, environmental law, administrative law, environmental activism, Balkans.
JEL Classification: K32, K49

This study attempts to describe the legislative trends in the European Union and Hungary aimed at forcing enterprises to achieve social and green goals, among other things. From this viewpoint Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Environmental Social Governance (ESG), Corporate Governance (CG), Sustainable Finance (SF) and Corporate Purpose (CP) play important roles in the operation of enterprises, especially those of a family nature. These instruments may involve a major change in approach, whereby market participants have to consider not only profit, but also other aspects that they might not otherwise have taken into account. Our focus is on family enterprises, as they are inherently more sensitive to social objectives, and we examine them as a concept and their relationship with CSR at the European Union and national (Hungary) levels. We also deal with agricultural issues, in particular succession difficulties, which are mainly linked to family farms. Throughout this paper, we examine the extent to which the provisions of EU regulations are enforced in Hungary, and how Hungarian law seeks to facilitate the realisation of CSR objectives.
Key-words: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Environmental Social Governance (ESG), Corporate Governance (CG), Sustainable Finance (SF), Corporate Purpose (CP), family enterprises and family farms in Hungary.
JEL Classification: K12, K15, K22

Due to the advancement of technology and the lack of trust in the market and regulatory architecture by financial actors’ global economy is transitioning into a digital way and cryptocurrencies are gaining importance. In this article, I begin by focusing on why cryptocurrencies are needed worldwide and tried to understand why people do not trust markets under state guarantee but prefer cryptocurrencies. Secondly, I analyzed the legal nature of cryptocurrencies in Turkish law and comparative legal systems. In particular, I will examine the legal systems of Switzerland, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Russia and China. Although I determined that cryptocurrencies have the nature of money in some legal systems, I deduced that they are not accepted as money in most of the legal systems and therefore cannot be subject to payments. Finally, and on the basis of the conclusion reached under the previous section, I will deal with the question whether cryptocurrencies can be used as consideration and for the purpose of performance in Turkish law by the evaluating special regulations about cryptocurrencies. In addition, I discussed whether cryptocurrencies can be invested in commercial companies as share capital.
Key-words: cryptocurrencies, performance, investment, share capital, Turkish law.
JEL Classification: K12, K22