Posted by: ivan.mifsud
in Ivan Mifsud´s Category on Aug 21, 2010
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StateCareAndMore.eu has teamed up with a young but very professional estate agent to help any of its readers who may be interested in buying or leasing property.
Posted by: ivan.mifsud
in Ivan Mifsud´s Category on Jun 26, 2010
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Last week StateCareAndMore.eu carried an article about a person who successfully challenged a clause in a contract, that a deposit was ‘not refundable’ (‘The right to have a non-refundable deposit returned’). Maybe some of our readers wondered how come the inclusion of such a report, on an e-journal dedicated to citizens’ rights and the State’s duty to care for its citizens?
Posted by: ivan.mifsud
in Ivan Mifsud´s Category on May 17, 2010
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25 May 2010. The StateCareAndMore.eu Team advises Visitors and Members that, due to other professional commitments, there will be no more updates to this e-journal until 8th June 2010. Any inconvenience is regretted.
On Saturday 10th April the Polish presidential plane crashed over Russia killing all on board. This left 'a huge gap in public life in Poland... the most important people are dead' (CNN news report). One factor caught my attention.
On Friday 9th April I was very lucky to be offered an invitation to attend the launch of Migrant Smugglling by Sea by Dr Patricia Mallia, who graduated in law in my year and also went on to read for a PhD. Dr Mallia has now converted her PhD dissertation into what is already recognised as a literary work of international acclaim.
This is in no way intended as an advert for Dr Mallia's book. On the other hand I felt that the event was worth a mention. Public International Law may seem very far away from the subjects of Fundamental Human Rights and Citizens' Rights which the StateCareAndMore.eu e-journal deals in. We concern ourselves with the administration within the State, and the obligations of the State's administration towards the citizen. We talk about the obligation to not only give a service, but to give a good service, to the citizen (the State has to be a 'bonus pater familias per excellence' according to the Maltese Courts in Christopher Alan Mayl v. Secretary of State). We also talk about the respect of the State for the Citizens' Human Rights. Of course I stand by all of it.
On the other hand, listening to the distinguished speakers at Dr Mallia's book launch, it emerged clearly that there is another aspect to the topic, which is not at all far away and is in fact closely related, possibly even inter-linked with what here at StateCareAndMore deal with. It is a fact that certain issues do not occur on dry land, but occur at sea. Certain issues do not necessarily occur within the jurisdiction of a particular State, either. They may occur for example on the high seas, thus giving rise to questions such as responsibility, jurisdiction, and also liability. The StateCareAndMore.eu has on numerous occasions reported on migrants' rights e.g. the right of a rejected migrant to marry and found a family. Dr Mallia's work on the other hand goes into a completely different, complex and intriguing area of law which at first sight seems far away and unrelated. And yet it is not, because ultimately States, when dealing with migrant smuggling by sea, are dealing not with a commodity, but with a person, with people, with people trying to escape their desperation, in search of a better life. Decisions are taken which effect these peoples' destinies, possibly their very lives. Reference was made to the issues which arise, such as which laws regulate certain situations, whether the applicable international conventions cater for such situations or whether they are outdated and if so what should be done.
I travel abroad a number of times a year, and practically always take my laptop with me. I also have a mobile internet subscription, which allows me access to the web practically anywhere. Except that when I leave Malta I incur steep charges, presently listed on the website of my service provider at 5 Euro per megabyte! Correction, let me state that ‘I risk incurring steep charges’ because in reality my set up is such that overseas internet roaming is blocked unless I inform my service provider that I want to unblock it. Something I have never done, because I have always managed to work my way around the system by looking for ‘free wifi’ spots for example at certain retail outlets. The conferences I attend usually offer internet for free too. On the other hand, since I value my internet connections highly (though not enough to fork out 5 Euro per MB) a press release issued by the EU caught my attention.
The EU passed a 'roaming regulation', which is now coming into force.
The EU press release states:
We appreciate your taking the time to read this article.
The StateCareAndMore.eu e-journal has been available for some months now, and we are happy to say that feedback has been generally positive: the initiative was welcomed, the information found useful, the style and professional approach commended. We are working hard and are happy with our modest achievements. Readership is increasing, and also the number of registered members. Our readers already include members of the Judiciary, Members of Parliament, lawyers, law students, people from NGOs and even persons occupying senior positions in the public administration. We even have some overseas readers and registered members, although the bulk of hits come from Malta and the bulk of registered users are Maltese.
As you all know, the service we offer is free of charge to the users. This is our promise, a promise we intend to keep. On the other hand, we would like to develop the site further and were thinking of taking on a student or a number of students to carry out specific research over the summer months. The results of this research will be published on the same StateCareAndMore.eu website and will also be available for free.
In February 2010, the Finnish Ombudsman institution turned 90. To mark the occasion, amongst other things, the Finnish Ombudsman pubished a collection of essays, in Finnish, English and Swedish. They were written by the Ombudsman, Deputy Ombudsman and legal advisors. Some are general, such as Observations on the Ombudsman's powers and Criticism of the Parliamentary Ombudsman-punishment or guidance?. Others are more specific, such as Oversight of Legality in Healthcare and Prisoners' appeals, to name but two. This publication is available online.
Today (2nd February 2010) the German and other European Press were busy writing about German Chancellor Merkel's decision to pay 2.5 million Euro for data stolen from a Swiss Bank, which could help Germany collect hundreds of million Euro from German tax evaders. Swizerland of course is up in arms, all out against the stance: stolen data is, after all, stolen data; and banks must - as a rule - respect client confidentiality. Germany's decision raises a lot of questions and issues.
The New Zealand Ombudsman's website includes an index of different topics, leading to succint reports on the same. Since Ombudsman institutions in many countries (including Malta) are based on the New Zealand model, and also because the NZ Ombudsman deals with a vast array of topics, including Freedom of Information matters, StateCareAndMore.eu visitors interested in issues related to good governance may be interested in browsing this index.
