Social conflicts are becoming more complex every day and, therefore, the development of alternative forms of conflict resolution is necessary in view of the limited role of the Judiciary. With this, mediation gains more space in Brazil and in the world through the 2019 Singapore Convention on Mediation. Mediation is beneficial in the urban context to stimulate the population’s participation and guarantee legitimacy at different levels of power. It enables public and private convergences, better public interest comprehension about the best way of life in cities and enhanced democratic management due to better dialogue and cooperation with the public administration. Mediation focuses on the interventions’ reasons, the role of those involved in the process, welcoming the urban conflict with its peculiarities. It promotes the constitutional principles of democracy, pacification, solidarity, dignity, autonomy of will, speed and popular participation in the administration of Justice. However, in urban conflicts, which involve public administration and a multiplicity of parts, it is often necessary to apply collective or multiparty mediation. Thus, the article’s main objective is to address the effectiveness of multiparty mediation as a solution to urban conflicts through the analysis of 5 (five) concrete cases mediated at the Judicial Dispute Resolution Centers – CEJUSC of the Rio Grande State Court of Justice of the South in Brazil. In the first step, a theoretical-descriptive analysis of multiparty mediation in Brazil and the mediator’s role is carried out. In a second step, we will perform the analysis of practical cases to reach the appropriate conclusions.

On the basis of comparative law, this paper analyzes the issues of national minorities in three BRICS member-states (Brazil, India and Russia), and considers the directions and trends of the constitutionalization of national minority rights in these states. The authors argue that the coordination of the interests of industrial companies, regional communities and national minorities, alongside the establishment of common standards between BRICS are vital in order to ensure the sustainable growth of the economies of its member-states. The main comparison criteria are as follows: the understanding of the term “national minority” in different jurisdictions; the delimitation of powers of federative and regional authorities; a list of national minority rights; and instruments of representation and legal protection of national minorities. In regards to Brazil, this article focuses on the impact of the historic concept of racial democracy on contemporary policy on the issues of national minorities. For India the focus is on case law of the Supreme Court on minority issues, and for Russia the focus is on the protection of indigenous “small-numbered” peoples. The authors conclude that the direction of the constitutionalization of national minority rights differs dramatically in Brazil, India and Russia. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a common understanding of the purpose of such constitutionalization, which is namely, to preserve the identity of such minorities in the process of their gradual involvement in modern economic structures and national processes.

Bride Trafficking is a long-standing evil in society that can be classified as a crime against humanity because it violates the rights, dignity and the liberty of the victims involved. Bride Trafficking is so deep rooted in society that providing accurate figures is extremely difficult since it is often impossible to track down and trace individual incidents of Bride Trafficking. According to the author, who has conducted a case study with fifty women from the State of Haryana, inter-country trafficking for the purpose of marriage is widespread in India. Trafficked women are subjected to a slew of atrocities, including being raped in transit and then raped by their husbands and other male family members. Apart from that, they face domestic violence, are treated worse than slaves and are frequently trafficked multiple times. Poverty, female foeticide, female infanticide, illiteracy, dowry and other factors can all contribute to trafficking. In this paper, the author will discuss Bride Trafficking in general, the reasons for it, the human rights violations that these trafficked brides face and the potential solutions to this illicit trade.

The research focus is on concept of force majeure and irresistible force as a reason to release the parties from liability for failure to perform civil obligations. The authors examine theoretical concept and legal definition of “irresistible force” and its characteristics based on legislation, legal literature and judicial practice of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China. Also, the authors analyze the civil law jurisdictions on irresistible force, relatively to its ambiguity and situation with the spread of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and come to the conclusion that courts in each specific case should establish irresistible force circumstances. The work uses a linguistic (philological) method, in particular, the method of distributive analysis of the terms “irresistible force” and “force majeure.” The article shows that in modern Russian law the expression “irresistible force circumstances” has more efficient terminological potential. The authors propose implementation of “irresistible force circumstances” concept in the Russian Civil Code, which would more accurately reflect the essence of this concept.

The paper considers the processes of platformatization of the economy and public government, which have become the last decade’s primary trend. Analysis of the digital markets in Russia, China, and Europe proved the dominance of the digital platforms of large technology companies. According to the authors, the concentration of market power in digital platforms threatens a competitive environment in digital markets. In this regard, the demand for antitrust regulation of their activities is justified. Another legal challenge arises concerning the trend of creating public services on the digital platforms of large technology companies. The paper analyzes China’s experience in the platformatization of legal proceedings, where the process of establishing online courts is conducted in close cooperation with the leading digital platforms of the PRC. In contrast to China, in Russia, the main focus is on combining public services, and information systems of various departments within a single platform to provide public services, with large technology companies acting as operators. Therefore, the authors conclude that it is necessary to strengthen legal mechanisms to protect citizens’ rights and interests during the digitization of public services – primarily citizens’ rights to data protection. The problems revealed demonstrate the necessity of a balanced approach to the legal regulation of digital platforms. While it is important to stimulate their development, it is necessary to limit the opportunities for violating the rights and interests of other participants in the digital environment.

Value-added taxation is a multidimensional theoretical, fiscal and legal structure. It also serves as a tool for the practical transformation of political, legal and socio-economic relations. The objective of the research is to study new concepts of value-added taxation formed in the two largest BRICS economies (the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of India). The assumption is that not only “European” model of the legal regulation of VAT can be successful, but alternatively “Chinese” and “Indian models.” The author examines and evaluates changes in the legal structure of value added tax in general, and its elements focusing on the current stage of legal regulation of national systems of VAT (GST) in China and India. In addition, the political, legal, social and economic effects of the legal mechanism of VAT (GST) in China and India from 2017 to 2020 are demonstrated.

Commercial Human Spaceflight – a new addition to the commercial activities in outer space – is attracting the ultra-rich section of the society. It has enormous potential to accelerate the economic aspect of commercial spaceflight since with the development of reusable technologies it is expected to become cheaper. At the same time, it poses a severe threat in various ways to the status quo of the existing regime of space regulation. Taking humans to outer space as a passenger affects the current social, psychological, political, and legal setup. The paper highlights the legal issues that are arising from commercial human spaceflights. Therefore, in section one, the article discusses applicable international law to this emerging activities. Part two details specifically on the international space law that is relevant to regulate these activities. After analyzing the existing international law on space activities in sections one and two, which are essential for the commercial human spaceflights, part three identifies several legal challenges that are not sufficiently addressed by the existing laws. Section four examines the role played by the regulatory organization to develop the space law, and the role of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has been discussed in detail. As the ICAO holds good experience in handling air transportation, many believe that the ICAO is naturally well placed to regulate commercial space transportation. This aspect has been elaborated in detail in this part. In the fifth, i.e. the last section, the authors conclude by arguing to develop a new international convention to regulate it.