REVIEW OF COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

Regulations on standard terms & conditions use and their applications to smart contracts are among the problems literature has been dealing with since the so called “blockchain revolution”. A focused analysis on how smart contracts distinguish themselves from traditional contracts, is still necessary in this regard. The code language that smart contracts are based upon renders them prone to be invalid in an environment that is still mostly technologically illiterate. This study’s main objective is to detect the standards set for standard terms & conditions’ inclusion to smart contracts under German, Swiss and Turkish laws. The primary argument of the study is the existence of the necessity to provide a “translation” of the code language into a natural language, for consumer contracts. Still an unrealized potential in consumer transactions realm, the design of smart contracts has to be compliant to the translation condition, if they are to gain vast application which the futurists have aspired to.
Key-words: smart contracts, standard terms & conditions, code language, language risk.
JEL Classification: K12, K15

The collapse of major crypto assets platforms in 2022, notably Terraform Labs and FTX, resulted in substantial losses for retail consumers and exposed critical deficiencies in existing procedural remedies. The objective of this study is to compare the efficacy of two distinct collective redress models: the United States class action regime under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and the European Union’s Representative Actions Directive (EU) 2020/1828. Using a comparative legal methodology applied to the case studies of Terraform Labs and FTX, this article analyses procedural gatekeepers (specifically arbitration clauses, cross-border jurisdiction, and the interplay with insolvency proceedings) to evaluate participation rates, recovery potential, and deterrence. The results demonstrate that while the U.S. opt-out model offers aggressive aggregation and third-party liability theories, it is frequently neutralized by mandatory arbitration waivers. Conversely, the EU model, exemplified by the Czech Republic’s implementation, ensures broader access to courts by nullifying such waivers but faces practical hurdles regarding funding and the 'rational apathy' associated with opt-in mechanisms. The study’s implications suggest the necessity for a hybrid policy approach involving the regulatory prohibition of class waivers in crypto contracts and enhanced international coordination between insolvency estates and collective actions.
Key-words: collective redress, class action, representative actions, crypto assets, cross-border insolvency, arbitration.
JEL Classification: K41, K22, K33

In the context of financial markets, this article examines the relationship between sector-specific regulation and competition law, with an emphasis on clearing and settlement infrastructure access. It looks at how competition authorities, particularly the European Commission, make decisions and how those decisions align with or deviate from statutory frameworks. The Clearstream ruling is a crucial case study that illustrates how competition law handles access to vital financial market infrastructures. The article describes the Clearstream case's facts, assesses it under antitrust law, and compares how it was handled under regulatory law, emphasizing the influence on the development of competition law in the banking industry. Bottleneck scenarios that require access to vital infrastructure in order to enter the market are given more consideration. The research highlights distinctions in the scope of regulated organizations and the rationale behind access limits by contrasting how competition law and regulatory law handle such access concerns. The article shows that competition law may serve as a catalyst for legislative advancements in financial market regulation in addition to serving as a supplement to regulation. Additionally, it demonstrates that the European Commission frequently takes on a quasi-regulatory role when implementing competition legislation, especially when it comes to instances requiring access to clearing and settlement systems.
Key-words: EU financial market regulation, competition law, market access.
JEL Classification: K21, K22

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have witnessed a surge in popularity within digital marketplaces. In both commercial and legal practice, the prevailing view is that NFTs constitute a form of crypto-asset recorded on a blockchain as metadata associated with a specific physical or digital object. As NFTs are often linked to copyright-protected works, particularly works of art, it is unsurprising that their defining characteristics are uniqueness and non-fungibility. The growing popularity of NFTs, alongside the broader crypto-asset industry, poses a regulatory challenge within the European Union single market. In response, the European Union has adopted the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR), which seeks to harmonise the legal regime governing crypto-assets with a view to enhancing consumer protection and promoting transparency in the crypto-asset market and related activities across the Union. While this paper does not examine the relationship between the rights of NFT holders and those of intellectual property owners in the underlying works, it considers whether MiCAR applies to NFTs. It begins by defining NFTs and analysing the relevant provisions of MiCAR, before offering guidance for regulators and identifying circumstances in which MiCAR will apply. The conclusion assesses the de lege lata position and advances de lege ferenda recommendations.
Key-words: non-fungible tokens (NFT), intellectual property right, crypto-asset, blockchain, markets in crypto-assets regulation (MiCAR).
JEL Classification: K11, K12, K24

This article examines the legal classification of the modern yacht charter agreement in the within EU and UK maritime private law, drawing on civil law typology and common law contract doctrine. Although yacht chartering presents structural elements familiar from the charterparty doctrine - like owner-retained command, obligations of delivery and redelivery and ship management control - its functional purpose is fundamentally different from the traditional contracts of carriage. The charterer buys organised recreational use of a ship and not necessarily the transport of goods or passengers from one port to another. Using doctrinal and functional comparative methods, the study examines competing classifications such as lease, passenger carriage, and mixed-contract models. The inquiry draws upon classical charterparty doctrine, legal theories of contractual cause and yacht-specific scholarship. Attention is given to the limits of analogy with cruise operations and to the scope of passenger carriage regimes such as the Athens Convention. The analysis shows that yacht charter agreement operates through one shared contractual framework, in which hospitality and navigation are both performed within the retained control of the owner. The article concludes that the modern yacht charter is best considered as a sui generis maritime service contract: charterparty in form, experiential in function and conditioned by mandatory maritime norms without being reducible to either lease or passenger carriage.
Key-words: yacht charter agreement; maritime service contract; charterparty; contractual classification; nautical tourism; passenger carriage by sea; Athens Convention; maritime private law.
JEL Classification: K12, K15

The presence of artificial intelligence in the field of justice is perceived today as a widespread phenomenon with a metamorphic effect on the exercise of judicial power, raising sensitive questions regarding the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms both in general and in relation to justice. The novelty no longer lies in whether it can be used, but how, to what extent and with what legal guarantees, especially since the normative content of the decision itself is influenced. Under this scientific impulse, this paper is a legal-normative and critical observation of the use of artificial intelligence in justice, taking into account the ambivalent nature of this technology. Artificial intelligence supports the identification of inequalities and leads to better-founded public policies, but, on the other hand, problems arise regarding algorithmic opacity, data bias, excessive surveillance and the diminution of human control, all of which affect the substance of fundamental guarantees. The study examines European legislation, with a focus on European Union (EU) Regulation 2024/1689 on artificial intelligence, and emphasises the maintenance of person-centred, flexible and adaptive regulation. Finally, solutions are sought that reconcile technological efficiency and the effective protection of fundamental rights.
Key-words: artificial intelligence, justice, fundamental rights, algorithms, European regulation.
JEL Classification: K24, K41

A growing emphasis on victims as rights-holders in criminal proceedings has led to an evolution in the procedural position of victims in criminal justice across European legal systems. In light of Directive 2012/29/EU, which sets minimum standards for the rights, support, and protection of victims of crime without prescribing accusatory or prosecutorial functions, this article compares and contrasts models of victim participation in Albanian and Italian criminal procedural law. The study compares the Italian framework, where victim participation is primarily realized through the institutions of “persona offesa” and “parte civile”, which focus on procedural participation and compensation while maintaining the public monopoly of prosecution, with the Albanian accusatory victim model, which permits victims of certain minor offenses to initiate and maintain criminal proceedings. The article assesses the effects of these models on procedural efficiency, offender accountability, and access to compensation using a mixed-methods approach that incorporates doctrinal analysis, comparative legal assessment, and examination of available institutional data. The results show that although the Albanian model introduces a type of private prosecution, going beyond the EU acquis's minimal requirements, its practical efficacy is constrained by evidentiary limitations and low case completion rates. By permitting structured victim participation without sacrificing essential procedural principles, the Italian system, in contrast, exhibits greater doctrinal coherence with European standards. The article's conclusion is that in order to guarantee long-lasting and successful criminal justice results, increased victim participation must be carefully weighed against the legitimacy of prosecution and equality of arms.
Key-words: victim’s procedural position, criminal justice system, procedural rights, Albanian criminal procedural law, Italian criminal procedural law, EU acquis.
JEL Classification: K14, K41, K33

The enlargement of the European Union is not only a manifestation of the desire to unite the European continent, but also an expression of the expansion of the internal market and the needs felt by candidate countries for increased economic competitiveness, the well-being of citizens and the security of belonging to common values. The study will analyse, in an analytical and comparative manner, the integration process, focusing on the procedures and stages that states must go through, but at the same time it will focus on the situation of candidate countries and specific issues, including those relating to Moldova and Ukraine. The study will attempt to assess whether a rapid, short-cut procedure is possible, or whether the Union is prepared, at a time when it is not exactly in the best of shape, to integrate the candidate countries..
Key-words: EU enlargement, candidate countries, accession negotiations, reform of European institutions, clusters and negotiation chapters.
JEL Classification: K33

This article looks at how the European Union's enlargement into the Western Balkans carries a strange contradiction. Despite demanding high standards on human rights and full compliance with EU legal frameworks, real application of those rules tends to fall short. Drawing from European Commission updates between 2023 and 2025, along with information gathered by the Council of Europe, it becomes clear that joining the Union promotes something resembling "performance-based reform." Here, governments - often labeled stabilitocracies - put democratic structures on paper yet leave them hollow when practiced. Security worries now shape how the European Union handles enlargement, especially after Russia attacked Ukraine. Because of this, efforts to strengthen democracy have stepped back while keeping nearby regions stable moves forward. Pressure on countries to protect people's basic rights has weakened under these new priorities. Looking at Albania, then North Macedonia, followed by Montenegro, Kosovo, and finally Serbia, patterns show a need to change evaluation methods. Rather than ticking boxes on forms, results should guide decisions. Money from the EU could go toward real progress - only when better enforcement of human rights actually happens. That approach ties funding to visible changes, not just formal compliance.
Key-words: EU enlargement, Western Balkans, human rights conditionality, rule of law, civil society, implementation gap.
JEL Classification: K33, K38