No 8 (2025)
ARTICLES
Legal regulation of personal data processing in tourism product realization: current trends and digital transformation
Abstract
The legal mechanism for processing personal data by performers when concluding and executing an agreement on the sale of a tourist product, including in the context of digitalization of the industry, is being investigated. The subject of the study is the peculiarities of the application of legal norms in the processing of personal data of tourists, due to the law. The subject of the study includes the following aspects: Regulation of the processing of personal data in the tourism sector, including: current legal norms in the field of personal data protection; special requirements for data processing in tourism; law enforcement practice by service providers of legal grounds for processing personal data of tourists; law enforcement practice of courts (arbitration courts, courts of general jurisdiction). The purpose of the study is a comprehensive analysis of the existing legal mechanisms for processing personal data and determining the directions for their improvement in the digital environment. In the course of the study, general scientific (dialectical and systemic), private scientific (comparative legal and formal legal) methods were applied, an analysis of the regulatory framework was carried out with an emphasis on practical application. The Federal Law "On Personal Data," the Federal Law "On the Basics of Tourist Activities in the Russian Federation," contracts for the legality of the grounds for processing personal data are being investigated. The findings of the study demonstrate the need to adapt the existing legal mechanisms governing the processing of personal data to modern technological realities in order to eliminate legal uncertainty and increase the efficiency of interaction between participants in the tourism market. It is proposed to introduce additional norms into the Federal Law "On the Basics of Tourist Activities in the Russian Federation," regulating the procedure and grounds for processing personal data of tourists and the customer under an agreement on the sale of a tourist product. The scientific novelty of the study consists in a comprehensive analysis of legal norms, identifying gaps in the legislation governing the processing of personal data of subjects, and developing proposals for their elimination. The practical significance of the work is determined by the possibility of using the results obtained by law enforcement agencies and participants in contractual relations when selling a tourist product. The material will be useful both to the subjects of the tourism industry and to organizations of other spheres of economic activity that process personal data. The formulated conclusions can be used in further research in the field of personal data processing.
Legal research. 2025;(8):1-17
1-17
Examination of digital evidence in criminal proceedings: judicial aspect
Abstract
The subject of the study is the examination of digital evidence as an investigative action conducted at the pre-trial and trial stages of criminal proceedings. The aim of the research is to develop scientific and practical recommendations on the issues of examining digital evidence during court investigations. The development and widespread adoption of digital technologies lead to an increasing number of crime traces being recorded in digital form. In this regard, proposals are emerging in the doctrine to enshrine electronic investigative actions in the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. Specific features of interacting with digital information are also reflected in foreign countries. However, researchers rarely address the trial stage, not analyzing the procedure for examining electronic evidence in court. Therefore, this article attempts to reveal the specifics of examining electronic evidence. To achieve this goal, both general scientific methods of cognition and specialized legal methods were used. The method of analyzing judicial practice was used to clarify the peculiarities of examining electronic evidence. The method of comparative law allowed for the analysis of relevant legislation in foreign countries, identifying its advantages and disadvantages. The formal-legal method was employed to elucidate the content of legal norms. Based on the analysis of the works of S.V. Zuev, R.I. Okonenko, M.S. Sergeev, A.B. Smushkin, and K.Y. Yakovleva, it was established that the issues of examining electronic evidence by the court have not previously received wide coverage. As a result of the study, the author conducted a detailed analysis of the examination of electronic evidence as an investigative action. The element of novelty lies in the identification of three main types of examination of electronic information in court proceedings: examination of electronic evidence formed at the pre-trial stage, examination of electronic media provided by the parties during the court proceedings, and examination of online sources. The author's contribution lies in substantiating the need to supplement the current criminal procedural law with an article regulating the procedure for judicial examination of electronic evidence and their attachment to the criminal case. A draft article of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation dedicated to the judicial examination of electronic evidence has been proposed. This solution will help eliminate the existing gap in legislation by providing a special investigative action for the examination of electronic evidence, ensuring uniformity of judicial practice.
Legal research. 2025;(8):18-30
18-30
The concept of legal risk in the modern Russian legal order
Abstract
The article is devoted to the study of risk as a specific legal category, as well as the historical prerequisites that shaped its content. The author analyzes approaches to understanding legal risk, forms of its normative fixation, and the scope of application of the corresponding provisions of the law. The examination of this institution is conducted in the context of the historical development of ideas about legal risk – from Roman law and pandectism to modern doctrines. Special attention is given to the normative fixation of legal risk in the provisions of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and its interpretation by the Resolution of the Plenary Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 6 of 2020. The research aims to find patterns in the rules for the allocation of risk between the parties to the obligation, criteria for distinguishing the rules about risk and civil liability of the parties to the obligation, as well as to identify the place of legal risk within the system of institutions of Russian obligation law. The methodological foundation of the work consists of historical-legal, comparative-legal, and systemic analysis of the explanations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in connection with the provisions of the Russian Civil Code. The practical significance of this approach lies in clarifying the scope of application of the rules on risk, which allows for a clearer delineation of the zones of responsibility and risk of the parties in such legal relationships. The novelty of the study consists in a comprehensive reconstruction of risk as a purely legal category and the identification of the dual nature of this legal phenomenon specifically in the Russian legal system. As a result, the author demonstrates that in modern Russian law, legal risk functions in two forms – the risk of loss and the risk of not receiving a counter-performance; they are viewed by the legal system as particular cases of the same exception to the general rule concerning the consequences of the accidental occurrence of permanent impossibility of performance of the obligation. The Russian concept of legal risk combines certain features of the traditions initiated by German pandectism and theories of objective civil liability of the 20th century. At the same time, the corresponding legal interpretations maintain the integrity of the conceptual apparatus and internal systemic coherence, which allows risk to be viewed as a phenomenon with a unified legal content. In conclusion, the author formulated the ideas about further development of the doctrine of legal risk in domestic civil law.
Legal research. 2025;(8):31-49
31-49
"Southern" constitutionalism: features of the transformation of public power in the countries of Latin America and Africa.
Abstract
The article is dedicated to the public-legal analysis of the features of the transformation of public authority in the states of Latin America and Africa. The relevance of studying "southern" constitutionalism is due not only to its empirical diversity but also to the fact that it challenges the universalizing approach to constitutional design. The aim of the research is to analyze the features of the transformation of public authority in the states of Latin America and Africa through the lens of "southern" constitutionalism, not through direct comparison of the legal systems of these regions, but by extracting their main typological characteristics, identifying and formalizing institutional innovations and cultural-legal meanings that reflect the contours of the processes of formation and development of constitutionalism in these states. The tasks of the article include, first of all, identifying the common and distinctive features of public authority models on both continents, determining the relationship of southern constitutionalism with broader typologies (in particular, liberal, socialist, hybrid constitutionalism), and analyzing the transformational mechanisms used in the context of constitutional pluralism. Scientific methods employed include dialectical analysis; postcolonial analysis methodology; comparative legal analysis; historical-legal; and sociological analysis. Addressing the phenomenon of "southern" constitutionalism allows for an expansion of the horizons of comparative analysis, calling into question the universality of normative models dominant in Western scholarship. This necessitates a rethinking of the very language we use to talk about law, power, and statehood. Indeed, it is in southern contexts that the tension between the form and substance of public authority, between declared norms and actual practices, between legal universality and specific cultural situations, is fully manifested. Southern constitutionalism is not an alternative as a deviation but an alternative as a possible path, a reality in which public authority learns to be legitimate and justifiable in the eyes of the diverse communities that constitute its body. It is a process where instead of imposed models, forms rooted in the cultural, historical, and social context are born. It is a political-legal philosophy where the horizon of power relies not on a center but on a multiplicity of points of assembly. In this multiplicity, in this tension between stability and change, in this search for a balance between universalism and locality lies the main contribution of southern constitutionalism to the renewal of contemporary public law doctrine.
Legal research. 2025;(8):50-74
50-74
Improving human trafficking investigation tactics based on situational theory: Russian experience and recommendations for Vietnam
Abstract
The subject of this study is the investigation tactics of human trafficking, within the framework of applying the situational approach developed in Russian forensic science. Special attention is given to the theoretical foundations of forensic situology by Professor T.S. Volchetskaya and the practical experience of Russian law enforcement agencies. The analysis focuses on how the classification of typical investigative situations and corresponding tactical decisions can be adapted to Vietnam’s conditions to improve the effectiveness of detection, evidence, and prosecution of transnational crimes. The study examines the integration of scientifically based situational analysis methodology into Vietnamese investigative practice, considering legal system specifics, international cooperation, and victims’ roles as key participants in criminal proceedings. The methodology relies on situational theory, particularly the “situology” school established by the aforementioned researcher. Methods include situational and comparative-legal analysis, examination of investigative practices in Russia and Vietnam, and the use of statistical and qualitative data on interagency and international cooperation models in investigations. Results confirm the effectiveness of situational theory in classifying human trafficking stages (recruitment, transportation, exploitation), identifying typical investigative challenges (proof difficulties, victim non-cooperation, cross-border elements), and developing tactical responses. Russian experience shows that modeling investigative situations, personnel training, and implementing digital technologies (including AI and social media analysis) significantly enhance investigative efficiency. The conclusions are applicable to reforms of Vietnam’s Criminal Procedure Code (2025), investigator training, the creation of a model database, and the expansion of international cooperation. The scientific novelty lies in the first comprehensive systematization of situational approach application to human trafficking cases in Russia and in forming integrated recommendations for Vietnam. The study has theoretical and practical significance for strengthening capacity to combat transnational crime.
Legal research. 2025;(8):75-100
75-100
The legal capacity of the creditor community in insolvency relations: theoretical justification and practical consequences
Abstract
The subject of this study is a comprehensive analysis of the legal nature and legal status of the creditor community within the framework of bankruptcy procedures. The author consistently substantiates the thesis that this entity possesses a complete set of universal characteristics typical of a full-fledged subject of law. The work conducts a detailed critical analysis of the reductive position established in scientific doctrine and law enforcement practice, which reduces the essence of the creditor community to a narrow, limited model of a civil law community. Through an in-depth comparative legal analysis, its principled distinction from classical constructs of legal entities and simple partnerships is proven, indicating its unique legal nature that cannot be reduced to existing forms. Thus, the central question is the problem of adequate legislative recognition of its special legal subjectivity. The methodological foundation of the research consists of general scientific and specific scientific methods of cognition: dialectical, formal-legal, comparative-legal, system-structural analysis, as well as methods of legal modeling and interpretation of legal norms. The novelty of the study lies in the development and justification of the concept of legislative recognition of the creditor community as an independent sui generis legal subject. As a key mechanism for realizing its legal subjectivity, the establishment of the principle of unity of the community's will is proposed. This principle implies the establishment of a monopoly for its bodies to initiate claims that significantly affect the formation of the bankruptcy estate (for example, challenging the debtor's transactions, filing claims for subsidiary liability), while simultaneously introducing a mandatory pre-trial filter to review initiatives from individual creditors. The work analyzes both micro-level consequences of this recognition (increased efficiency and speed of the procedure, reduction of abuses) and macro-legal consequences (improvement of the entire insolvency institution, prompt transition to restructuring). The main conclusion is that the legislative consolidation of this status of the creditor community not only reflects objective legal reality but also creates a solid foundation for balanced and coherent modernization of the Russian bankruptcy institution.
Legal research. 2025;(8):101-124
101-124
On the issue of the state protection of childhood, motherhood, paternity and family in the family lawl sphere
Abstract
The article examines the features, limits and other manifestations of state protection of childhood, motherhood, paternity and family in the family legal field. The actions of government bodies in the field of protection of childhood, motherhood, paternity and family are analyzed. The relevance of the study of family legal features of the state’s protection of childhood, motherhood, paternity and family is due to the fact that the state’s special protection of such values as motherhood, paternity, family and childhood guarantees a continuous change of generations, and is also important for the preservation and development of the multiethnic nation of Russia. When it comes to the protection of childhood, motherhood, and paternity by the state, the legislator means spouses, parents (adoptive parents) and their minor children who do not have full civil capacity as family members. An analysis of family law shows that the protection of childhood, motherhood, paternity and family represented by the state is carried out by the court if there are grounds for it in the event of a claim, as well as by other government bodies (in particular, guardianship and trusteeship authorities, the prosecutor) - in cases provided for Family Code of the Russian Federation. Family legal protection by the state is measures aimed at maintaining the integrity of the family by the state. A family in the form of a married couple breaks up if the marriage ends. In turn, a family in the form of parents and their minor children, who do not have full civil capacity, may fall apart if the child and parents (parent, adoptive parent) are separated. Government authorities have a number of measures in their arsenal that can prevent or stop the breakdown of a family if family members also make efforts in this direction.
Legal research. 2025;(8):125-135
125-135