Rules on taxation of controlled foreign companies in developed and developing countries are characterized by an anti-evasive regulatory function, which is implemented by means of re-qualifying the profits of such companies. Such relations require coordination not only at the national but also at the international level (actions of the BEPS Plan, recommendations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). The Russian Federation and the Federative Republic of Brazil, being the BRICS member states, are actively improving their national legislation, while comparative legal studies on the topic of tax retraining of these jurisdictions at an integrated level have not yet been carried out. Using Russian and Brazil approaches as an example, the author explores the problems of improving tax re-characterisation mechanisms, taking into account the general standards of countering tax evasion and erosion of tax bases (BEPS Plan).

The quality of legal and technical elaboration of amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, approved by the all-Russian vote on July 1, 2020, does not correspond to the level of the Basic Law. Oddly enough, the constitutional legislator ignored a number of basic technical means, rules and methods of legal technique. Thus, the constitutional amendments were drafted without taking into account the requirements of the structural organization of the legal act, namely: many new norms were included in inappropriate articles, the transitional provision on "resetting the deadlines" was duplicated in the main text of the Constitution. The authors of the amendments abandoned criteria of efficiency and compactness of legislative norms, having included an identical set of restrictions in nine articles of the Constitution in relation to various categories of officials. The text does not meet the requirement for uniformity of legal regulation, legal structures, the unity, simplicity and brevity of terminology: the scope of constitutional restrictions for various categories of officials differs somewhat without any objective reasons; there is no uniformity in the issue of the possibility of establishing additional requirements for officials by laws, “bifurcation” of the titles for senators (who in Chapter 9 of the Constitution are still referred to as members of the Federation Council). Insufficient attention to the requirement of consistency of legal norms has led to the creation of a new contradiction between Art. 71 and 72 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Amendments also have a number of other legal and technical defects. Such serious and numerous defects in the legal technique of amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation became a natural result of a steady decline in the quality of federal legislation that has lasted for a long time. Constitutional amendments clearly demonstrate an insufficient level of legal culture in our country, which sharply raises the question of a radical improvement in the quality of legal technology, and legislative technology in particular.

The paper constitutes a comparative legal study of some aspects of subsidiary liability of persons controlling the debtor and its foreign counterparts. Taking into account the experience of foreign countries in the regulation of these relations, the author draws parallels between different approaches to this legal phenomenon using foreign literature and judicial practice. The key aspect of the problem of liability of persons controlling the debtor is the existence of two opposite legal principles: organizational and property isolation of a legal entity and inadmissibility of abuse of the right. Bringing the persons controlling the debtor to subsidiary liability makes it possible to erase the boundaries of isolation of a legal entity and to identify its property with the property of its controlling persons for the purpose of satisfying the creditors’ claims. Thus, creditors of a legal entity have the opportunity to restore the violated right at the expense of the property of a de facto third party that is not a party to the original obligations. In foreign legal orders, the study of this ratio takes place over a long period. During this time, a certain theoretical understanding was formed, as well as law enforcement practice in this area.

Today, large companies are increasingly using controversial strategies related to the violation of the buyer’s rights to repair the goods both during and after the expiration of the warranty period. This is primarily manifested in the restriction of access to the necessary information on the product repairing, hindering the work of independent service organizations, intentional complication of parts during their design, unreasonably high degree of integration of units, lack of a sufficient number of spare parts on the market, etc. As a rule, such actions distort the principles of integrity and transparency, which, in turn, entails risks to consumer and environmental safety. This issue is of particular relevance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, when sellers of medical equipment restrict the possibility of its restoration by independent specialists, and also prevent the distribution of the necessary software. Based on the results of the work, it is concluded that it is advisable to establish boundaries for the conduct of market participants to stimulate the production of durable and maintainable goods in order to transit to a circular economy.

The paper analyzes certain provisions of civil procedural legislation in terms of their effectiveness as a means of establishing actual circumstances of civil cases by the court from the standpoint of doctrine and judicial practice. The authors examine the relationship between the presentation and disclosure of evidence, draw a conclusion about their close relationship, and their identification, sometimes admitted by judicial practice, is critically assessed. The question of the period for disclosure of evidence was investigated, in respect of which it was concluded that provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, although not quite specific, but sometimes quite definitely allow this period to be established. Taking into account the stance of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, then authors propose a solution to the problem of the consequences of non-disclosure of evidence in a civil case. The paper analyzes individual norms and institutions that allow the court to establish the circumstances of civil cases without evidence or on the basis of explanations of the other party. It is concluded that the norm of the second sentence of Part 1 of Art. 68 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation is neither a legal fiction nor an evidentiary presumption. This is one of the manifestations of the action of the general rule for the distribution of the duty of proof. The authors support and justify the position that the norm of Part 31 of Art. 70 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation is an evidentiary presumption, and the presumption not of fact, but of evidence. In relation to Part 3 of Art. 79 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, it is concluded that establishment of the facts by the court by applying this norm does not mean obtaining true knowledge about them. Therefore, this provision of the civil procedure law is applied in judicial practice with extreme care.

Prospects for the introduction of the idea of reconciliation in public disputes are considered by analyzing the features of a substantive public relation, the specifics of a dispute arising in it, the possibility of its "settlement" or "resolution". The authors highlight the problems of determining the objective of ending the dispute, the order and alternative forms of implementation, the possibility of combining and transitioning from one order to another. It is concluded that the use of conciliation procedures in public disputes is possible both at the pre-trial and at the judicial stage. It is proposed to develop and create mechanisms that determine the main conditions for the introduction of conciliation procedures, which would be an alternative to the judicial procedure for resolving the dispute. The proposed amendments will reduce the judicial burden on the consideration and resolution of cases arising from administrative and other public legal relations. The authors analyze the forms of termination of a public dispute both from the position of its settlement on the terms agreed by the parties, and its alternative resolution, while maintaining a balance of private and public interests.

Continuing the study of specialization of Russian civil procedural law, the author, based on the invariable perspective of its action, namely: a standardized court procedure of civil proceedings in administration of justice in a certain civil case and protection of the right, dwells on certain issues of its structural and functional characteristics — classification of procedural norms, mechanism of procedural regulation, mechanism of procedural legal relationship, etc. Through the context of the principle of dispositiveness, when clarifying the scope of its action and content as the legal beginning of legal proceedings (its leading element is the right to trial leading to the interaction of substantive and procedural law in the course of judicial protection of the right), the author analyzes and reveals the content, substantiates connections and relations between various interdisciplinary phenomena of law (a claim, the right to claim, etc.). The latest jurisprudence illustrates the importance of the conceptual legal apparatus for the development of legal science, law and improvement of its implementation in the Russian legal order.

The paper raises the problem of the status of self-employment in the context of referring self-employment to the forms of exercising citizens’ right to freely choose their type of activity, analyzes the development of legislation regulating the self-employed. The author highlights uncertainty in the issue of classifying a self-employed as a subject of entrepreneurial activity. The paper examines the problem of the possible use of self-employment to bypass labor legislation in terms of hiring workers under an employment contract. The author dwells on her stance concerning the need to include norms on self-employed citizens in the RF Law of 19.04.1991 No. 1032-1 “On Employment in the Russian Federation”. With regard to the social security of the self-employed, the author concludes that in the process of improving the legislation, the self-employed should take some intermediate position between the employee under an employment contract, provided by all types of compulsory social insurance in accordance with federal legislation, and a business entity that receives such insurance upon voluntary entry in social insurance relations. Otherwise, non-inclusion of a fairly wide range of self-employed population in relations with the pension scheme and social insurance will lead to instability of their legal status in the future.

Improving the living conditions of young people today is an important means of strengthening the institution of the young family, improving the demographic situation. In the implementation of the youth housing policy in the Russian Federation, a whole range of state measures is currently being implemented to provide affordable and comfortable housing. Basically, it is young families who acquire the first housing in their life, while not owning property that could be used as an asset in obtaining a mortgage, and also not being able to accumulate funds to pay the initial payment. This category of the population has good prospects for wage growth as they improve their qualifications, and state support in improving their living conditions will be a good incentive for their further professional growth. The paper analyzes the most common mechanisms for providing housing for young families at the regional level, and based on the results of the analysis, the authors provide recommendations for their improvement.

A paper provides a comprehensive study of the role of the organizer in crimes without compulsory complicity and in crimes prohibited by special provisions on complicity of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Under the special rules on complicity in this work we understand two types of norms of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: 1) rules establishing responsibility for combining several persons into a criminal group — Art. 209, 210 and others; 2) establishing responsibility for instigators, organizers, accomplices and other accomplices directly in the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — Art. 205.1, etc.). The paper considers the issues of distinguishing the role of the organizer from the role of the instigator to the commission of a crime and an accomplice in the commission of a crime. In judicial practice, errors are often encountered both in the form of excessive (when the instigator is recognized as the organizer) and in the form of insufficient qualifications (when the organizer is recognized only as an instigator or accomplice). Such a variant of over-qualification is also possible, when the organizer is recognized as both an accomplice and an instigator to committing a crime, although the role of the organizer should absorb these functions. The paper considers the issues of qualification of the actions of the organizer and other accomplices of the crime, when, in the process of directing the commission of the crime, the organizer changes the direction of the actions of the accomplices in comparison with the original plan of action. The Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in some decisions recommends not to take into account the role of the organizer when committing a crime as part of an organized group (to recognize him as a co-executor of the crime). In the educational literature, this is considered as a universal rule for qualifying crimes committed by an organized group. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not provide grounds for such a qualification. In judicial practice, there is no uniformity on this issue. The role of the organizer in crimes without obligatory complicity distinguishes from the role of the organizer in organized groups and criminal communities (special rules on complicity) in that in the first situation the organizer is subject to responsibility only if preparations for a specific crime are started, and in the second situation, regardless of the crime preparation commencement, but from the moment the corresponding organized group or criminal community was created.

The paper examines certain aspects of deprivation of immunity from criminal prosecution. Considering the procedures for bringing to criminal responsibility persons in respect of whom a special procedure for criminal proceedings has been established by law, the author concludes that the initiation of a criminal case by the head of a higher investigative body does not constitute a deprivation of immunity. In this regard, it is proposed to abandon this procedure and initiate a criminal case in the usual manner, namely by the preliminary investigation body, which has jurisdiction over the case. Analyzing the circle of participants in the procedure for the deprivation of immunity, the author argues that the subjects appealing to the highest bodies of state power (and such bodies themselves) rendering the decision on the deprivation of immunity are not ordinary participants in criminal proceedings. They rather carry out constitutional and legal activities, the results and decisions of which are implemented in the criminal procedure. Exploring the grounds for giving consent to bring a person to criminal liability, the author draws attention to the different approach of the legislator to different categories of persons and proposes to unify the regulatory framework. The public authority must establish two circumstances: the presence of elements of a crime and the absence of a connection between the criminal prosecution and the person’s public law activities.

The paper examines the types of harm provided for by domestic legislation, their procedural features in a criminal case by filing a civil claim. The author argues that there is a need to amend the existing normative legal acts regulating the issues of compensation for harm caused by a crime, in particular, presents some arguments about the disclosure and legislative consolidation of the concept of “harm” in the framework of criminal proceedings. The author analyzes the gaps associated with compensation for property damage, in terms of the difficult simultaneous compensation for property and moral damage, as well as the lack of opportunity in the criminal procedure to recover lost profits. Some features of compensation for moral damage in relation to individuals and legal entities are investigated, for example, the issue of applying the rules for compensation for moral damage when a civil claim is filed by a legal entity. The process of proving the damage caused and the gaps in the issues of awarding compensation amounts in civil claims for compensation for damage, taking into account judicial practice, are considered. The author expresses her opinion on the matter of interim measures application in relation to the property of tortfeasor and imposing on the judge the obligation to render a decision in case of such a need, and not the right. Some differences between a civil claim for damages in criminal proceedings and civil proceedings are given, for example, the possibility of indexing the amounts subject to compensation has been analyzed. The analysis of some regulatory acts and the study of the procedure for compensation for harm caused by a crime in the UK. The author presents an argument about the development of scientifically grounded methodological recommendations that would fully reveal the existing gaps and problems in compensation for various kinds of harm caused by a crime.

The paper examines the theoretical and practical foundations of the initiation of criminal cases for crimes in the field of computer information. The stage of pre-investigation verification of a crime report is quite difficult due to the need to identify and consolidate the trace picture, requires the involvement of special knowledge in the field of information technology, the performance of certain actions, including of a technical nature, etc. Based on the analysis of domestic and foreign sources carried out by the authors, generalization of forensic practice and procedural regulation, an algorithm has been developed for conducting a pre-investigation check of reports of a crime of this type. Particular attention is given to tactical recommendations for interviewing a victim, namely an individual and a legal entity. Other verification and investigative actions are presented, depending on typical versions and situations. The operational search measures used to establish the fact of a crime are considered separately. At the same time, the generalization of the forensic practice of investigating crimes in the field of computer information and the questioning of representatives of law enforcement agencies made it possible to identify certain problematic points related to the pre-investigation verification of reports on these crimes, including the procedure for the treatment of victims with reports of incidents, with information from open sources of cyberspace within the framework of operational-search activities, etc. Based on the results of the research conducted by the authors, effective foreign practices are proposed, the transfer of which to domestic soil will help reduce the latency of these crimes, increase the efficiency of investigation and disclosure of this category of criminal cases.

To successfully counter extremist and terrorist crime in the virtual space, it is important to implement measures for improving legislation (clarification of extremism features, the introduction of a list of extremist crimes into the law, etc.), as well as measures to improve the training of law enforcement officials, wider involvement of specialists and experts in the investigation of cases, establishing cooperation with providers in order to timely identify extremist and terrorist crimes, a deeper study of the personality of criminals who specialize in committing extremist crimes using the field of telecommunications and computer information. The use of telecommunications and computer information in the commission of extremist crimes indicates a high intellectual level of the criminal, which helps him not only to commit high-tech crimes, but also to hinder the investigation of his actions using the same knowledge and experience. In this regard, the social danger of both the criminal and the offence committed by him increases, which should be taken into account when solving and investigating crimes. In addition, the professionalism of criminals makes increased demands on law enforcement officers investigating crimes of this type, which means that it is necessary to constantly improve their training in the field of computer information and telecommunication technologies. The paper discusses some issues of classification of extremism using computer and telecommunication networks, gives a definition of extremism, and suggests ways to solve problems in the qualification and organization of the investigation of the crimes in question.

The paper is devoted to the development of international legal regulation in the field of combating climate change. Over the years, states, in the face of scientific uncertainty, have been trying to find ways to keep global warming at 1.5 °C by establishing international commitments of various configurations.
When cooperating in the fight against climate change, additional substantive discussions arise, related, for example, to the implementation of international trade measures or the provision of human rights. However, the main direction remains the one covered by the context of sustainable development, ESG principles for business, government and society, strategies for energy policies of states, cooperation in adaptation and assistance to developing countries.
Approaches to the international legal regulation of cooperation in the field of combating climate change began to form when the international community started to pay much attention to the international legal protection of atmospheric air and the protection of the ozone layer. As early as the preamble to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, the emphasis was placed on the potential climate impact of ozone-depleting substance emissions.
The international legal regime established by the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, in fact, outlined guidelines for finding optimal forms of cooperation, taking into account changes not only in the state of the environment, but also in the economic agenda. The Conference of the Parties has been identified as the key institutional platform for cooperation. Currently in conjunction with the 1992 Framework Convention and the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement the Conference of the Parties provides the conditions for their implementation.

The concept of sustainable development has captured the world. It is altering society, generating new social patterns, reorganizing business and management models, testifying to the ultimate connectedness of the world and, as a result, encourages rethinking the legal superstructure, adapting supernova normative arrays to the current legal taxonomy, which is not always possible with taking into account the positivist approach to law. ESG principles have today become a kind of model for sustainable business development, due to which the goals of companies’ involvement in solving environmental, social and management problems are achieved. They have not only a vector effect, but also a regulatory, reputational; they have also an increasing impact on international business in a variety of industries. In addition, they are updating relatively new rating mechanisms that form the basis of investment, financial, credit, trade, corporate, management and other policies of companies. At the same time, ESG principles are segmented, fragmented and, as a rule, objectified externally in the form of norms of nonstate, often industry regulation. Without legally binding force, ESG principles are quite comparable with law in terms of the degree of impact on public relations and in terms of the resulting legal and economic consequences. Cross-border contracting practices are also changing, leading to the incorporation of “sustainability” clauses into contracts, as well as the emergence of the concept of a sustainable contract. The pre-contractual stage becomes more complicated, it requires human due diligence procedures, the formation and assessment of supply chains, the development of strategies for the disclosure of non-financial information, the study of legal risks taking into account the global law enforcement practice, as well as the establishment of methods and a jurisdictional forum for the resolution of disputes. International Commercial Arbitration claims to be attractive in resolving ESG disputes. These and other issues, taking into account their relevance, are studied in this paper.

One of the most important events in the history of modern Chinese law was the adoption of the first Civil Code by the National People’s Congress in 2020 and its entry into force in 2021. The work on the code has been going on for a considerable amount of time; its appearance was preceded by several unsuccessful attempts at codification. The paper argues that the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China is based on the provisions of the continental, general, socialist and traditional Chinese law. Using the method of comparative legal analysis, the features of the structure and content of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China were revealed. In particular, a number of provisions related to the digitalization of the economy are highlighted, which can be recommended to be used by the domestic legislator to improve the legislation of Russia. It is argued that although structurally the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China has original features, it is grounded on the German Civil Code. It is concluded that the section of the code devoted to the property law to the greatest extent reflects the state system existing in the People’s Republic of China. It has also been proven that a number of norms on legal entities and on organizations that do not have the status of a legal entity are formulated based on the traditions of Chinese society.

Prosecutors outside the criminal law sphere have the power to identify violations of the law, such as the right to demand that the heads and other officials “supervised” by the prosecutor’s office assign specialists to clarify the issues that have arisen. The conclusions of knowledgeable persons, clothed in material form, are in demand among law enforcement officers in various spheres of public life. At the same time, scientists and practicing lawyers have accumulated a number of issues concerning the legal status of a specialist in the Russian legislation, which also affect prosecutorial activities. In the paper, the author attempts to call interested researchers to a scientific discussion about the need for improvement of the legal regulation of the relevant legal relationship. Thus, the author outlines the results of the analysis of the legal regulation of the mechanism of cooperation between specialists and prosecutors in the course of the latter’s supervision over the implementation of laws, the observance of human and civil rights and freedoms, existing theoretical developments, personal experience of work in the prosecutor’s office.

The paper provides an overview of the scientific and practical conference “Ensuring Access to Justice in Criminal Proceedings in the Context of Digital Technologies Development” held on June 22, 2021 in a mixed format. It was organized by the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation and the Scientific and Educational Center for Human Rights of Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSAL). The conference was devoted to topical issues of ensuring access to justice, the possibilities of digitalization to overcome restrictions in the work of law enforcement agencies and the judicial system, generalizing the experience of foreign states and the Russian Federation in ensuring the rights of participants in criminal proceedings. The conference was organized within the framework of the project of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research No. 18-29-16018 “The concept of building criminal proceedings that provide access to justice in the context of the development of digital technologies.”