Ontology-driven legal support-system in air transport passenger domain

This paper aims to present a preliminary version of asupport-system in the air transport passenger domain. This system relies upon an underlying on-tological structure representing a normative framework to facilitatethe provision of contextualized relevant legal information.This information includes the pas-senger's rights and itenhances self-litigation and the decision-making process of passengers.Our contribution is based in the attempt of rendering a user-centric-legal informationgroundedon case-scenarios of the most pronounced incidents related to the consumer complaints in the EU.A number ofadvantages with re-spect to the current state-of-the-art services are discussed and a case study illu-strates a possible technological application

Ontology-driven legal support-system in the air transport passenger domain

Ponència presentada a Semantic Web for the Law and Second Jurix Doctoral Consortium, celebrat a Cracòvia el 2014This paper aims to present a preliminary version of asupport-system in the air transport passenger domain. This system relies upon an underlying on-tological structure representing a normative framework to facilitatethe provision of contextualized relevant legal information.This information includes the pas-senger's rights and itenhances self-litigation and the decision-making process of passengers.Our contribution is based in the attempt of rendering a user-centric-legal informationgroundedon case-scenarios of the most pronounced incidents related to the consumer complaints in the EU.A number ofadvantages with re-spect to the current state-of-the-art services are discussed and a case study illu-strates a possible technological application

Delays, cancellations and compensation: Why are air passengers still finding it difficult to enforce their EU rights under Regulation 261/2004

The aim of this article is to identify why air passengers travelling in the European Union, endowed with the highest standard of consumer protection in the world under EU law, are still being denied their rights and finding it difficult to seek effective legal redress. This article argues that the principal cause of airlines’ non-compliance is the poor regulatory design of Regulation 261/2004, which has been compounded by inadequate application by the Member States and regulatory resistance by the airlines. This contribution will then demonstrate how the European Commission (‘Commission’) has responded through the adoption of both deterrence and compliance-based enforcement strategies, and maps out the mechanisms, tools and actors harnessed by the Commission to create a complex hybrid, multi-layered system of enforcement. The article reveals that enforcement gaps persist and argues that the effectiveness of the regime is unlikely to improve without legislative reform

Ontologies for Legal Relevance and Consumer Complaints. A Case Study in the Air Transport Passenger Domain

Applying relevant legal information to settle complaints and disputes is a common challenge for all legal practitioners and laymen. However, the analysis of the concept of relevance itself has thus far attracted only sporadic attention. This thesis bridges this gap by understanding the components of complaints, and by defining relevant legal information, and makes use of computational ontologies and design patterns to represent this relevant knowledge in an explicit and structured way. This work uses as a case-study a real situation of consumer disputes in the Air Transport Passenger domain. Two artifacts were built: the Relevant Legal Information in Consumer Disputes Ontology, and its specialization, the Air Transport Passenger Incidents Ontology, aimed at modelling relevant legal information; and the Complaint Design Pattern proposed to conceptualize complaints. In order to demonstrate the ability of the ontologies to serve as a knowledge base for a computer program providing relevant legal information, a demonstrative application was developed

Competition policy review

This is the first comprehensive review of Australia’s competition laws and policy in over 20 years. The National Competition Policy Review (The Hilmer Review) of 1993 underpinned the development of the National Competition Policy – a co-operative initiative of the Commonwealth and State and Territory governments that the Productivity Commission found contributed to a surge in productivity, directly reduced some prices and stimulated business innovation. The subsequent Review of the Competition Provisions of the Trade Practices Act (The Dawson Review) of 2003 examined the operation of the competition laws and resulted in some strengthening of the provisions. There has been considerable change in the Australian economy since the Hilmer Report of the early 1990s and the boost in productivity that underpinned the growth in living standards over the past two decades is waning. The Competition Policy Review will examine the broader competition framework to ensure that it continues to play a role as a significant driver of productivity improvements and to ensure that the current laws are operating as intended and are effective for all businesses, big and small.   MESSAGE FROM THE PANEL This is our Final Report reviewing Australia’s competition policy, laws and institutions. The Panel undertook a stocktake of the competition policy framework across the Australian economy. Although reforms introduced following the Hilmer Review led to significant improvements in economic growth and wellbeing, the Panel believes that renewed policy effort is required to support growth and wellbeing now and into the future. To this end, we have reviewed Australia’s competition policy, laws and institutions to assess their fitness for purpose. Taken together, our recommendations comprise an agenda of reinvigorated microeconomic reform that will require sustained effort from all jurisdictions. We believe this commitment is necessary if Australia is to boost productivity, secure fiscal sustainability and position our economy to meet the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing world. Given the forces for change already bearing on the Australian economy, delaying policy action will make reform more difficult and more sharply felt. An early response will make the reform effort more manageable over time, allowing Australians to enjoy higher living standards sooner rather than later. The recommendations and views expressed in this Final Report draw upon the expertise and experience of each member of the Panel. Importantly, we have also had the benefit of hearing from a wide cross-section of the Australian community and from participants in all sectors of the economy

Deepening EU-Moldovan Relations: What, why and how? CEPS Special Report, 23 August 2016

The signing of the Association Agreement and DCFTA between Moldova and the European Union in 2014 was a strategic political act to deepen the realisation of Moldova’s ‘European choice’. Of all the EU’s eastern neighbours, Moldova is objectively the most European on several accounts, including sharing a common history, language, culture and border with its direct neighbour and now EU member state Romania. This signifies highly positive foundations for making a success of the Agreement, notwithstanding the major political and economic challenges that contemporary Moldova faces. The purpose of this Handbook is to make the legal content of the Association Agreement clearly comprehensible. It covers all the significant political and economic chapters of the Agreement, and in each case explains the meaning of the commitments made by Moldova and the challenges posed by their implementation. A unique reference source for this historic act, this Handbook is intended for professional readers, namely officials, parliamentarians, diplomats, business leaders, lawyers, consultants, think tanks, civil society organisations, university teachers, trainers, students and journalists