The BRICS organization is making significant and consistent progress in its development. The 15th BRICS Summit was held in Johannesburg from 22 to 24 August 2023. This summit is a global event that sets the trends and guiding principles for future economic policies. Four of the five BRICS member countries are among the ten largest countries in the world in terms of GDP, territory and population. According to open sources, the total area of the BRICS countries is 39.7 million square kilometers (26.7% of the world’s land surface), and the population is estimated at
3.2 billion people (41.5% of the world’s population). The economic potential of BRICS, as the leading economic organization in the world, is more than significant. These competitive advantages in the economy and financial sphere represent an enormous resource of industrial, human and technological potential that can serve as the locomotive of the global economy. Following the conclusion of the above summit, the leaders of the BRICS countries adopted the final “Johannesburg-2” declaration, which noted the advisability of using their countries’ respective national currencies in international trade and collectively resolving problems related to international debt. In addition, decisions were made to expand BRICS and admit new member states to the organization. BRICS has established itself as a prominent entity on the global stage, whose influence in world affairs is consistently strengthening. The strategic course of their unification is aimed at planning for the future and meets the interests of the leading nations of the international community, the so-called world majority. By acting cohesively on the principles of equality, partnership support and mutual consideration, the BRICS member countries are effectively addressing the most pressing issues on the global and regional agenda. The BRICS member states are strongly in favor of the establishment of a multipolar world order that is based on international law and is fair. At the same time, they are committed to adhering to the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter. BRICS is the most important guarantor of the legal foundations of international relations and a fair world order in general. The recent expansion of the BRICS group is a significant event that enables the group to have an even greater influence in international affairs. The presented article analyzes the features of the recent expansion of BRICS and its impact on world geopolitics, taking into account the admission of new states to the organization. The distinctive features of the BRICS group activities and its role in relation to the G7 and G20 are revealed. The trends in the transition to a multipolar world are discussed. Furthermore, issues of political and economic cooperation between the different BRICS member countries are analyzed.

A new era for BRICS has begun with the desire of new countries to join BRICS. This expansion, the BRICS+, poses several challenges and opportunities for the renewed alliance, particularly concerning the digital sovereignty of the countries. On the one hand, the leading five BRICS nations have the potential to achieve digital sovereignty, earning the moniker “the hawks of digital sovereignty.” On the other hand, expanding BRICS membership to countries with varying levels of digitalization raises issues for the alliance. These include improving national legislation on digital sovereignty and defining actions to foster cooperation within BRICS+. This article aims to design a theoretical legal model for BRICS+ digital sovereignty, outlining its pillars and offering recommendations for achieving digital sovereignty within BRICS+. The comparative legal method, used to analyze regulations in digitalization and digital sovereignty among BRICS+ member countries, ensures a comprehensive understanding of the legal landscape. Retrospective analysis, which studied the development of BRICS+ regulations in these areas, provides a historical context. The systematic method, which examined legal tools and instruments that contribute to achieving digital sovereignty, ensures a thorough exploration. The content analysis allowed for the interpretation of news articles and social media sources related to BRICS+ digital sovereignty, adds a contemporary perspective. The authors conclude that achieving digital sovereignty for BRICS+ is possible and offer several recommendations for collaboration, including developing a BRICS+ digital sovereignty memorandum, launching a BRICS+ regulatory sandbox, and deploying a BRICS+ sovereign cloud. These recommendations can inform BRICS+ policy-making, contribute to the limited literature in this field, and serve as a basis for future research on BRICS+ digital sovereignty.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the legal regulation of the process of introducing FinTech in the sphere of impact finance within the context of digital technologies in the newly expanded BRICS bloc. This is a crucial step in order to be able to meet the challenges of the new global digital economy and cooperate in achieving common goals. The authors come to the conclusion that although the BRICS countries are geographically located on different continents, the states that decided to form this organization share a number of key features. Firstly, the governmental role in the digital transformation of all BRICS countries is significantly greater in comparison to the Western countries. Secondly, because not all BRICS countries have developed economies, the BRICS member states, despite their strong interest in digitalization of their countries, do not always have the capacity to finance such projects from their own national budgets, which highlights the important role of the BRICS New Development Bank in the process of digitalization of the BRICS economies. Thirdly, cooperation among the BRICS countries, through their participation in the New Development Bank in the digital realm, can significantly contribute to fostering the economic growth of each country within the integration. Since the greatest effect of digital technology penetration is achieved when starting from the lowest level, harmonization of approaches in the BRICS countries and new member countries of the bloc will most likely have a synergistic effect.

The increasing integration of artificial intelligence technologies into the financial structures of the BRICS Plus countries (comprising the original member countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa as well as the four new member countries of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates) presents both opportunities and challenges in combating economic crimes, which include money laundering and terrorism financing. This article explores the complex regulatory landscape that governs the application of artificial intelligence in these efforts. It examines how artificial intelligence can enhance the performance of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing frameworks by enabling the evaluation of massive datasets, the identification of anomalous transaction patterns, and the automation of compliance procedures. Simultaneously, the article addresses the highly challenging situations that arise when using artificial intelligence. For instance, these technologies can make it difficult to understand the fluctuation of illicit price ranges, thereby complicating efforts to determine their origins and destinations. Through a comparative analysis of the frameworks throughout the BRICS Plus countries, this research highlights the varying levels of regulatory readiness of these frameworks and proposes pathways for harmonizing artificial intelligence-driven economic security measures. The overarching goal of an artificial intelligence model is to enhance both the effectiveness and the integrity of the financial sectors in the BRICS Plus consortium, necessitating a collaborative approach to combating financial crimes in an increasing number of digital economies across the world.

This article is devoted to a comparative analysis of the provisions of the civil codes of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China regulating the conclusion of agreements on the release or limitation of civil liability. In the context of active trade and economic cooperation between Russia and China, the issues of proper fulfillment of contractual obligations by each of these partners are placed at the forefront of the negotiations. However, the parties may, by means of an agreement between them, provide for cases of exemption from liability in order to minimize their risks from entrepreneurial activity. The authors of this article explore the legal nature and conditions for the conclusion of such agreements, as well as examine the essence of agreements on the release or limitation of liability for an intentional breach of obligation or as a result of gross negligence. A comparative analysis of the provisions of Russian and Chinese civil law leads the authors to conclude that there is a significant similarity in the legal regulation of agreements on exemption from liability for breach of contractual obligations due to the influence of European civil law In addition, the limits of establishing contractual conditions regarding limitations and exemption from liability in accordance with the principle of freedom of contract are examined. Furthermore, the article discusses the recent changes and modifications to the civil laws of Russia and China. These improvements can be used by business partners of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China who are engaged in trade and economic cooperation with these countries when concluding and executing agreements. The results of this study can also be used to study the problems surrounding exemptions from civil liability in contractual obligations in order to further improve the legislation.

The group known as BRICS, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, came into being when its members decided to join hands to challenge the economic and political power of the wealthier nations of North America and Western Europe and expanded as BRICS+ when Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates entered the alliance with the same goals. Among the main reasons that led to the formation of the bloc was to put an end to the global dominance of the United States dollar (USD). Today, the BRICS+ bloc is motivated more than ever to find a solution to the ever-growing sanctions imposed by the United States (U.S.) on its member states as well as to cope with the fluctuating market situations that are merely based on the USD. The effectiveness of the newly expanded bloc’s alliance is the need of the hour, and for this purpose, the current study conducted a SWOT analysis to evaluate the bloc’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The study took the facts and figures associated with the BRICS member states and their dealings with the U.S. and tried to analyze the effectiveness of this bloc should its members decide to conduct business with each other in a common currency. Furthermore, the study also evaluated the reasons behind the concept of de-dollarization and the benefits it offers the member states of the BRICS bloc. Additionally, the study proposes essential recommendations, such as the formulation of necessary measures to deal with potential disagreements that may arise regarding the choice of a common currency that should be used for trade among the member countries. Such an application of the study is an entirely novel application in the current area of research with the potential to open new horizons for future research considering the new targets of the BRICS+ group.

International law is an effective tool for preventing and resolving conflicts between countries, as well as for facilitating their efficient cooperation in the fields of security, trade, and the protection of human rights. With the emergence of interstate bodies that accept appeals from citizens who disagree with the way their interests were protected within the state, the scope of international law has expanded to include not only the states and their peoples (which is why this law is called “international”) but also individuals who can now be considered subjects of international law. However, in recent years, the authority of international law has seriously weakened. The reasons for this are the selective attitudes toward the fulfillment of obligations assumed by individual governments,“double standards” in the application of generally recognized norms and principles to different states, and outright pressure exerted on interstate bodies by countries claiming global hegemony. The authors prove that international law can well regain its former trust and effectively serve its purposes of promoting peace, universal security, and justice. They support their claim by providing examples of such interstate associations as BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Eurasian Economic Union, which are based on and successfully operate on the principles of multipolarity, equality, and mutual respect. The article highlights the efforts made by the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China aimed at the strict observance of the principles of state sovereignty, human rights, and freedoms, including the right to speak one’s native language, as well as the principles of equality and justice in resolving disputes that arise in international relations.