BRICS Law Journal

Publisher:: BRICS Law Journal
Publication date:: 2020-10-01

ISBN:: 2409-9058

Issue Number

Latest documents

Price Algorithms as a Threat to Competition Under the Conditions of Digital Economy: Approaches to Antimonopoly Legislation of BRICS Countries
The authors examine certain legal problems of antitrust regulation in the digital economy facing the international community, including BRICS member countries. This article focuses on the problems associated with the use of price algorithms by enterprises as a threat factor to competition. The concept of “price algorithm” and the goals of its use by enterprises are analyzed; it is concluded that the use of price algorithms is just one of the tools for conducting economic activity. At the same time, enterprises can pose a threat to competition by using price algorithms as an element of concluding anti-competitive agreements (concerted actions) between enterprises and illegal coordination of their activities. Restriction of competition through the use of price algorithms can harm consumers of goods, works, and services and should be controlled by antitrust authorities. Based on the analysis of the antitrust laws of the BRICS member countries, it is concluded that currently the concept of a “pricing algorithm” is not enshrined in the laws of any of the BRICS member states, however, there are prohibitions on anticompetitive agreements of enterprises and illegal coordination of economic activity. We refute the need to legally enshrine the concept of “price algorithm” in antitrust law. At the same time, it proves that enterprises should be held accountable for the use of the price algorithm as atool to limit competition. The paper proves that within the framework of interstate cooperation of the BRICS countries in the field of competition law, it is necessary to develop common approaches to antitrust regulation in the digital economy, including to ensure auniform approach to regulating and controlling the use of price algorithms by enterprises in the framework of economic activity
The Protection of Consumer Rights in the Digital Economy Conditions - the Experience of the BRICS Countries
Contributions of Indian Authors in the Subject Category Law of the Web of Science Core Collection: ABibliometric Analysis
This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of research works in the subject category Law published with the affiliation of India in the Web of Science Core Collection. A total of 529 published works by Indian authors from Indian law schools and institutions on or relating to the subject of the law have appeared in law journals and other sources. The works are indexed in the Core Collection for the years 1999-2019 and have been cited 2,041 times over this 20-year period. To conduct the analysis of the published data based on norms such as author-wise, country-wise and citation-wise figures, normative bibliographic techniques were applied to attain the objectives. After adetailed discussion of the analysis of the data, the research arrives at the conclusion that Indian authors have fewer published works in the subject category Law in the Core Collection than two other Asian countries, but that there has been a gradual increase in their number since
Guest Editor's Note on Digitalization in Law
Regulatory Sandboxes (Experimental Legal Regimes) for Digital Innovations in BRICS
Step by step, new digital technologies are capturing different spheres of our life. The opportunities of their application are almost infinite, and potential is very promising. But digital innovations as a trend represent a challenge for every modern state. Especially for member-countries of the BRICS union who seek to become the world’s leading countries. For this reason, the most important task for the members of BRICS is to create adequate “smart” regulation, which offers alternative ways of regulatory impact on transforming business relations. Using the regulatory sandbox as an experimental legal regime is one of the ways to test the creation, production, and realization of digital innovation. Having been first applied in 2016 in the United Kingdom, nowadays this model is successfully implemented in such countries as Singapore, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates. Member-countries of BRICS are only beginning to adopt this unorthodox tool; in most of its countries the legal framework is ongoing now. The aim of this research is to analyze current legislation and legal framework on the regulatory sandboxes in BRICS countries, define features of national models, difficulties and further prospects of its usage. This research is based on the comparative and formal juridical analysis of legislation, draft laws, and research papers dedicated to regulatory sandboxes in BRICS. The authors identify different barriers and risks of using regulatory sandboxes for the digital innovations successfully and offer some ways to overcome these challenges, including the formulation of guidelines for operating regulatory sandboxes based on a balance of public and private interests. The authors conclude that it is necessary to update legislation on the regulatory sandboxes for reaching positive effect from the digital transformation and make several suggestions for optimization its provisions. The results achieved in research paper can be used both in the lawmaking process as well as the foundation for further scientific researches
The Ecosystem of Cryptocurrency as an Object of Civil Rights in BRICS Countries
The article presents a comparative legal analysis of the modern legal regulation of the multidimensionality of digital electronic currency in BRICS countries. It assesses the possibility of civil circulation of a digital property right as an economic and legal segment without clear legal regulation. It analyzes the judicial practice related to confidentiality, acquisition, and trading of virtual currency. The article justifies the ability to integrate a single digital currency - CRYPTOBRICS, a single equivalent for all payments in the form of cryptocurrency within the framework of BRICS for settlements and increase in the trade exchange volume on these international platforms. This will provide for the legalization and consolidation of the legal framework of cryptocurrency within the context of objects of civil rights, allowing BRICS members to become regulatory leaders in the field of digital assets. We formulated a proposal to create an international agreement defining the parameters of the digital currency issue based on blockchain technology for interstate transactions, which allows the BRICS counties to establish the next stage of their mutual integration for the free trade zone and the customs union. Unifying the civil circulation of cryptocurrency and using the platform of modern non-monetary digital circulation as our foundation, we concluded that BTC can be classified as a type of digital property right. The article justified the theoretical definition of digital property right in the form of cryptocurrency as a resource stored in a device or electronic system which allows the end user to complete transactions using virtual currency and denominated in another payment unit, as opposed to currencies issued by sovereign states. We suggested that insurance companies be insured against all possible risks associated with cryptocurrency circulation and cybersecurity as a civil measure to protect the order of intangible digital codes - cryptocurrencies
Unified Digital Law Enforcement Environment - Necessity and Prospects for Creation in the 'BRICS Countries'
The article examines the prospects for the development of an interstate association of BRICS member nations and concludes that it is necessary to expand cooperation in addition to the economic sphere through other areas, in particular, the organization of interaction to combat crime. The article focuses on the fact that an important area of joint cooperation between the BRICS member nations will be activities in the field of security and combating crime. The main promising areas of cooperation between the BRICS member nations in the field of security are formulated and forms of joint activities in these areas are proposed. This area of cooperation of the BRICS member nations should be based on modern information technologies, which is due to the need for coordination of law enforcement activities of the BRICS member nations. The article analyzes the joint system for preventing international crime in the BRICS member nations and concludes that no improvement of this system is possible without appropriate information support for law enforcement based on general principles and approaches. To this end, the necessity of creating a Unified Digital Environment for Law Enforcement Services in the BRICS member nations is substantiated, which implies the speed of achieving the objectives of law enforcement in the BRICS member nations; reduction of corruption risks in this area; as well as automation of individual work processes by replacing a human resource with software. The article describes the concept of a Unified Digital Environment for Law Enforcement Services of the BRICS member nations, substantiates the components that make up its structure. The modern methods of information processing that can be used to build the specified information system are presented. Possible interested users of this environment are highlighted and the capabilities of the Unified Digital BRICS Law Enforcement Services Environment provided to these users are presented
Scientific Cooperation Across the Brics
The creation of the BRICS as a non-traditional international organization in the status of a global forum brings new meaning to the norm-setting of international organizations, including in the field of scientific cooperation. This paper aims to identify and analyze the up-to-date and complete normative framework of scientific cooperation across the BRICS which is a result of the BRICS norm-setting. The achievement of the stated aim is pursued through the identification of the distinctive features of the BRICS norm-setting by comparison with the norm-setting of traditional international intergovernmental organizations and by analysis of the BRICS regulations dealing with issues of scientific cooperation. Within the process of researching this subject the author analyzed the BRICS regulations of different levels from the Joint Statements of the BRICS Countries’ Leaders and the Summits Declarations to the BRICS working papers as aframework program. The main finding of the research is that the normative framework of scientific cooperation across the BRICS is a set of non-legally binding norms contained in the regulations adopted at the various meetings of national officials within the BRICS. This finding can contribute to a better understanding of the application of the BRICS norms
The Import of Institutions to the Brics Countries
This article explores the potential approaches to optimising the way the institutions of mutual common use by the BRICS countries are constructed. The topic is time-relevant, for it reveals the need to work out a new institutional basis to understand the workings of the BRICS institutions as a result of recent transformations, such as Brexit, in the phenomenon of international and regional economic integration. The article is founded on the hypothesis that the import of institutions by the BRICS may be a more effective approach to the member countries’ convergence than the conventional approach. The originality of the theme lies in the fact that the modern economic literature has not studied to the full extent the impact of this exogenous factor on financial integration. There is also a need for the further development of the least-studied areas of regional monetary integration, namely the lack of the ability of current world institutions to manage the common monetary policies and debt of the member countries. The author proposes principles for creating and operating a virtual contractual republic of the BRICS contrary to the exploitation-state model of the EU. The article rediscovers the institutionalist idea about democratic decisions by a group of subjects such as the member countries of a particular integration agreement. The author maintains that the new institutions of the BRICS may cause dramatic changes in the world monetary system, international liquidity and international reserves. The general conclusions of the article encompass the significance of creating integration institutions on the basis of the experience of the BRICS as a way to more economic and financial stability in the world. The results contribute to the search for opportunities of optimal operation of the BRICS regional debt market. In his closing remarks, the author outlines the prospects of settling the debt problems in the BRICS based on the virtual debt market
Convergence in Corporate Governance: the Case of China and India
China and India face similar challenges in maintaining their aggressive rates of economic growth. While both countries attained economic independence in the late 1940s, each followed a different path in terms of growth. China preferred to open up its economy to foreign direct investment much earlier and only in recent times has it turned towards domestic capital. India, on the other hand, began by attempting to develop local talent and shifted its focus to foreign participation in 1991. This paper examines the politicoeconomic background and the resultant corporate governance paths undertaken by each of these countries. These paths, while diverse, lead to a convergence. In particular, given the nature of concentrated shareholdings in Chinese and Indian companies, by the State in China and by family promoters in India, the second agency problem and the requisite protection of minority shareholders assume considerable importance in both jurisdictions. However, given the nature of corporate governance norms having been transplanted from advanced economies to emerging economies, this convergence may not be suitable or even desirable. This paper posits that emerging economies such as China and India ought to develop and implement corporate governance norms that are separate from those of advanced economies to combat the unique issues arising out of shareholding patterns at home