Studies in Law and Justice

The “Train Has Stopped Again”: Common European Defense and Relations with NATO

2026-05-19T08:47:42+00:00

The present paper aims to investigate the evolution and stages of the concept of European defense after the Treaty of Lisbon. Any reference to European security and defense policy is always an open challenge that highlights the complexities of the past in this area, as well as the present. The constant crises, the increasing and/or decreasing armaments of member states, the role of the Atlantic Alliance, the constant aggression of various states against others, the limitations of its intergovernmental system and unanimous decision-making rules are always evolving and subject to further analysis. On the other hand, the lack of strategies for member states, including those within NATO, powers like the United States and its rival China, are challenges that demonstrate the lack of true European military autonomy. An autonomy that perhaps is unnecessary given the focus on a common operational structure that places the management of external military missions within the framework of European defense integration, viewing it as a stage in the Union’s ongoing evolution.

Land, Livelihoods, and Human Rights: A Legal Analysis of the Balaalo Situation in Northern Uganda Under Trespass to Land Law

2026-05-19T08:50:40+00:00

The study examines the Balaalo pastoralist situation in Northern Uganda, focusing on the legal and human rights implications of land disputes under the law of trespass to land. The presence of Balaalo communities has generated tensions over land rights, communal ownership, and individual property interests, challenging both Ugandan customary and statutory legal frameworks as well as national and international human rights standards (Green, 2008). The study aims to analyze the Balaalo situation within the context of Ugandan trespass law, assess the human rights implications for affected communities, and identify legal and policy gaps that exacerbate land-related conflicts. Employing a qualitative case study design, the research utilizes interviews with local authorities, review of legal documents and court cases, and thematic analysis of the collected data. Findings reveal that conflicts largely arise from the intersection of customary land tenure and statutory law, with significant gaps in the enforcement of property rights, inconsistent legal and institutional responses, and human rights concerns related to evictions and restrictions on pastoralist mobility. The study concludes that harmonizing trespass law with human rights standards is essential and recommends policy reforms to enhance legal clarity, the establishment of inclusive adjudication mechanisms, promotion of community mediation efforts, and the development of improved cadastral systems to mitigate conflict while protecting the livelihoods and rights of all stakeholders.

Autonomy Under Pressure: Fraud, Nullity, and Regulatory Compliance in English Documentary Credit Law

2026-06-02T08:11:32+00:00

The documentary credit has long been regarded as the lifeblood of international commerce, but it is now facing two distinct and growing structural pressures. Within private law, there are institutional blind spots in the provisions on payment exceptions in the framework of English private law. The fraud exception, as construed in United City Merchants, leaves banks institutionally exposed to third-party fraud by requiring beneficiary complicity, while the judicial refusal to recognise a nullity exception in Montrod compels banks to honour instruments devoid of legal existence. On the financial regulatory front, the rapid expansion of financial crime regulation, represented by economic sanctions and anti-money laundering, requires banks to undertake the obligation to investigate underlying transactions at the precise point when the principle of autonomy strictly limits the obligations of banks to the facial examination of documents. In view of the fragmented and unprincipled manner in which the English judicial practice has responded to this double pressure, this article proposes a two-way reform path. First, regard legal nullities as the front threshold for compliance review, and establish more objective fraud identification standards; secondly, build a structured regulatory intervention framework to ensure that banks cannot abuse sanctions or anti-money laundering reasons, and their refusal decisions must be based on objective evidence and subject to judicial review. This structured approach seeks to restore commercial certainty to cross-border trade finance by reconciling the mandatory obligations of public regulatory compliance with the foundational trust of private commercial instruments.