Albanian Myths and Custom Law in Literature

Mythology plays a very important role in the general culture of the Albanian people, and the influence of the latter is undoubtedly seen in the later literature, developed in different historical periods, while mythology is taken as an important basis for a series of canons both in a structural manner as well as with the inclusion of a number of literary figures. Albanian mythology consists of a complete and diverse catalog of cults and beliefs which together have developed into a rich treasure which from time to time has inspired later Albanian writers, from the Middle Ages to modern ones. This article serves as pamphlet which explains the Albanian mythology in bold lines, including the main constituent elements of this mythology, the impact that this mythology has had on the daily customary life of the Albanian people, as well as the inevitable impact that the latter has had on the literature of the country.

Prawo w filmie jako przejaw estetyki prawa i szczególny przypadek kierunku prawo i literatura

If we put together and systematize research streams: law in film, law and literature, and aesthetics of law, it is easy to reach the conclusion that we are dealing with related subjects, with a certain overlap in research areas. The broadest term is aesthetics of law, whose scope covers the entire law and literature movement, meanwhile law in film is a more detailed aspect of the latter. Systematizing the aesthetics of law, we can close it in three aspects: the external one, the internal one, and the one called ‘law as a device for aesthetization’. The aesthetics of law in the external aspect deals with manifestations of law, legal inspirations, legal themes, symbols, signs, which were represented through centuries in fine arts. The subject of the aesthetics of law in the internal aspect is the law itself. The third aspect of the aesthetics of law focuses on law as a device for aesthetization of daily life. In the law and literature movement, the reflections concern either the inclusion of legislative and legal content in literary works (law in literature), or the literary, including aesthetic, value, of normative instruments, and more broadly, also other acts of applying the law (law as literature). A special case of this research stream is legal cinematography, where a film prepared on the basis of a screenplay is treated as a kind of narrative, justifying the statement that law in film further develops the law and literature movement. The practical aspect of such research – of legal aesthetics, law and literature, and law in film – concerns mainly the significance and influence on legal awareness, and on shaping the attitudes towards law. The key thing here is approaching the problem of influencing legal awareness through other means than the text of a normative instrument alone.

Is there a “universal” model of the president’s constitutional responsibility in European countries?

Constitutional responsibility of the president, together with mechanisms of legal constitutional control as well as the control of legality of decisions performed by administrative organs, is a significant instrument, which serves to guarantee the rule of law. In literature it is indicated that constitutional responsibility possesses an individual character, it relies on fault, whereas the penalties have a particular character. The sole proceeding, in terms of people being held administratively liable, relies on disclosing and determining all circumstances related to committing the constitutional tort and punishment of a person who committed it. The key function of the proceedings is compensation towards justice and strengthening of legality, as well as commencement of actions of preventive dimension towards the people holding important positions within the country. The author in the article attempted to create a universal model of the constitutional responsibility of the president in European countries.

Dumbledore’s army: civil disobedience in “Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix”

This paper explores the connection between law and literature, considering the concept of civil disobedience as developed in the plot of the novel “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”. To do so, this research uses the approach of law in literature, by linking the actions of Dumbledore’s Army to the theory of civil disobedience by Dworkin. Also, the narrative is compared to the conception of civil disobedience as a fundamental right, based on the conflict between facticity and validity, as described by Habermas. Thus, the analysis identifies, in the novel, two categories of civil disobedience proposed by Dworkin, and discusses, in real life, the overlapping of disobedience based on justice and on politics, in order to identify the conditions that justify actions of civil disobedience. Besides that, this paper analyzes the tension between legality and legitimacy, considering the decisions of the Ministry of Magic and its educational decrees, which sets the school community apart from the official political power. In conclusion, the research examines the use of persuasive and non-persuasive strategies and the reach of civil disobedience’s purposes based on the actions of Harry Potter and of Dumbledore’s Army.

Domestic and family violence based on the novel “Purple hibiscus” and on the “Maria da Penha vs. Brazil” case

This article is an application of the methodology Law in Literature, with bibliographic research. It develops the concept of education in Human Rights, based on the dignity of the human person, the right to non-discrimination, and the general principle of equality in law, all ideas acknowledged by the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988 and the current norms in the context of family and domestic violence in Brazil. It presents an interdisciplinary dialogue between the legal doctrine and the novel "Purple Hibiscus", in attempt to map the main actions applied in Brazil by the Interamerican Human Rights System in the Maria da Penha case. Thus, it is possible to establish an exchange between human and fundamental rights, through inclusion policies, information sharing and empowerment, especially regarding women and children.

Law and literature: a misunderstood relation? The criticism of Richard Posner and Robert Weisberg to the law in literature movement

The law and literature movement, started in 1973 in the United States with the release of “The Legal Imagination”, by James Boyd White, had as its main objective to reach the humanization of jurists. Although it caught the attention of several authors and spread to different countries, the initial stage of the movement, also known as law in literature, was not immune to criticism. Thus, this article, via bibliographic research, aims at presenting the criticism by Richard Posner, who mainly questions the premise that literature can humanize the jurist. Also, this paper analyzes the production by Robert Weisberg, who sees in the area an overly-romanticized view of literature. Knowing such criticism is crucial to think about the past, present and future of the movement, searching for the right answers it demands.

Requiem for Ivan Ilyich: The Problem of Judicial Interpretation in Tolstoy’s Literature

This paper presents a portion of the results obtained from the research project “Law in Literature: the representation of judges in literary narratives.” The role of the magistrate in the novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich, written in 1886 by Leo Tolstoy, is discussed following the methodological premises of law in literature and the theoretical notion of “models of judges” formulated by François Ost. Thus, a part of the history of tsarist law and of Tolstoy’s conflictual relationship to legal science is provided and reconstructed. Finally, this paper proposes an analytical reflection on the importance of this nineteenth-century novella for the comprehension of practical and interpretative problems within modern law.