While workers movements have been largely phased out and considered out-dated in most parts of the world during the 1990s, the 21st century has seen a surge in new and unprecedented forms of strikes and workers organisations. The collection of essays in this book, spanning countries across global South and North, provides an account of strikes and working class resistance in the 21st century. Through original case studies, the book looks at the various shades of workers’ movements, analysing different forms of popular organisation as responses to new social and economic conditions, such as restructuring of work and new areas of investment.

This book combines the approaches of history and criminology to study parricide and non-fatal violence against parents from across traditional period and geographical boundaries, encompassing research on Asia as well as Europe and North America. Parricide and non-fatal violence against parents are rare but significant forms of family violence. They have been perceived to be a recent phenomenon related to bad parenting and child abuse often in poorer socioeconomic circumstances – yet they have a history, which provides insights for modern-day explanation and intervention. Research on violence against parents has concentrated on child abuse and mental illness but, by using a rich array of primary and secondary documents, such as court cases, criminal statistics, newspaper reports, and legal and medical literature, this book shows that violence against parents is also shaped by conflicts related to parental authority, the rise of children’s rights, conflicting economic and emotional expectations, and other sociohistorical factors.

The efficiency approach, as advocated by the Chicago School in particular, only provides a very narrow approach to competition law analysis that relies on the preferences of consumers. This approach remains especially insufficient for the regulation of firms that provide citizens with politically relevant news and information. In times of digitisation, citizens increasingly rely on news disseminated by Internet intermediaries such as Facebook, Twitter or Google for making political decisions. Such firms design their business models and their algorithms for selecting the news according to a purely economic rationale. Yet recent research indicates that dissemination of news through social platforms in particular has a negative impact on the democratic process by favouring the dissemination of false factual statements, fake news and unverifiable conspiracy theories within closed communities and, ultimately, leads to radicalisation and a division of society along political and ideological lines. Experience based on the Brexit referendum in the UK and the recent presidential elections in the US highlights the ability of populist political movements to abuse the business rationale of Internet intermediaries and the functioning of their algorithms in order to win popular votes with their ‘post-truth politics’. This article relies on competition law principles to discuss future approaches to regulating the market for political ideas at the interface of competition law and media law in the new digital age. Based on constitutional considerations the article rests on the assumption that media markets should not only provide news that responds best to the psychological predispositions and subjective beliefs of the individual citizen, but also provide correct information and diversity of opinion as a basis for making informed democratic decisions.

The fourth edition of this book has been entirely re-written, this time co-authored by Ioannis Lianos with the contribution of Paolo Siciliani. It includes substantially more material on the economics of competition law and integrates, for the first time, UK competition law materials and commentary. An additional new feature is greater introductory and analytical commentary, making this book suitable for use either as a stand-alone text and materials book, or as a book of materials to be used in conjunction with a second text. It will continue to be one of the best books for undergraduate and post-graduate students in competition law, providing them with the necessary critical understanding of the law, its social and economic context, and the necessary depth of analysis in order to provide them with the knowledge and tools they need for practising competition law. The materials have been completely updated to take into account recent developments in EU and UK competition law, including extracts from the leading cases of Cartes Bancaires, Intel, Lundbeck, Streetmap v Google, the most recent versions of the Block Exemption Regulations and the Europan Commission's and the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Guidance, recent UK and other National Competition Authorities (NCA) cases in digital markets, the recent European Commission's investigations against Google (Alphabet), recent merger cases and guidance and a detailed analysis of enforcement (including private enforcement, criminal enforcement and Alternative Dispute Resolution) and procedure in both the EU and UK competition law. The book also includes commentary on the implications of Brexit in competition law enforcement in the UK. Economic analysis is presented in a non-technical way so as to enable students without any background in economics to understand the economic content of the law and to be able to critically assess economic evidence often presented in competition law cases. The book is co-authored by an economist and constitutes the only textbook/casebook in the market with a balanced incorporation of both law and economics. Other sources of wisdom for competition law, such as economic sociology and business studies, are also referred to and analyzed. The bulk of the text is made up of analysis supplemented with extracts from Commission Decisions and decisions of NCAs (in particular the UK ones), Opinions of the Advocates General at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and judgments of the CJEU and General Court. These are supplemented by extracts from EU legislation, and comments, notes and questions prepared by the authors for each important judgment or decision so as to enhance students' understanding of the economic and legal context of the specific case.

A complex analysis of the social and economic consequences of China, Ukraine, and Russia’s accession to the WTO was used to identify recommendations for the most successful adaptation of Russia to WTO standards. Russia tries to adapt to the WTO standards. The study focuses on the Chinese experience. China’s membership in the WTO is extremely useful for Russia from due to China’s positive influence on the development of its economy , as there has been expansion in the industrial and production sectors of its economy and promotion of goods in world markets, as well as an opportunity to use the WTO’s legal instruments for national domestic market protection.

China’s positive experience as a WTO member somehow contrasts with the described experience of Ukraine. An assessment of Ukraine’s versatile policy and its association with the EU allowed concluded that it is impossible for Ukraine to follow two ways at once: that of Eurasian integration and that of European integration.

Recently, the aggravated trade, economic and political confrontations between Russia and its American and European partners spurred radical changes in Russia’s economic strategy. Areas of such transformations can be determined by understanding both the positive and negative experiences of Russia’s old trade partners, namely China and Ukraine as they joined the world economic environment.

Why has there been a human rights backlash in Russia despite the country having been part of the European human rights protection system since the late 1990s? To what extent does Russia implement judgments of the Strasbourg Court, and to what extent does it resist the implementation? This fascinating study investigates Russia's turbulent relationship with the European Court of Human Rights and examines whether the Strasbourg court has indeed had the effect of increasing the protection of human rights in Russia. Researchers and scholars of law and political science with a particular interest in human rights and Russia will benefit from this in-depth exploration of the background of this subject.

From 18 to 21 November 2015, in the Vatican, the Congregation for Catholic Education celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration Gravissimum Educationis and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae. As part of these celebrations, the Congregation aimed to re-energise the Catholic Church’s commitment to education by means of a World Congress entitled ‘Educating Today and Tomorrow: A Renewing Passion’. The main aim of the Congress was to re-energise the role of Catholic schools and universities that act in the name of the Universal Church. The Congress urged more than 5,000 participants to step up efforts to promote dialogue in times of spiritual poverty, self-referential exclusiveness, harmful spread of ideological viewpoints, and the lowering of the general level of culture.

In line with the aims of the Congress, and under its hospitable auspices, the European Association for Education Law and Policy (ELA) held a special conference. The ELA sessions within the larger Congress focussed mainly on the re-consideration of the role that religion plays in education in general. The main concern of this legal panel, therefore, was the way religious studies, the rights of believers, and non-believers are accommodated in both secular and confessional schools and universities around the world. Thus, the ELA sessions encompassed the transformation and renewal of religion in education in general (not only Catholic education), across various sectors of society.

This issue is a compilation of papers presented at ELA sessions in the Vatican. The papers presented at the ELA sessions were submitted to double blind peer review processes and only the best accepted and selected. The editors are already in possession of a full draft of the manuscript. This draft has been extensively edited for language and coherency already. The contributions composing this issue provide an all-encompassing analysis of the position of religion in education across the globe and how religious distinctiveness in education can be promoted. This volume deals, first, with overarching concepts of accommodating religious distinctiveness at schools and understanding the place of religion in compulsory instruction. Second, it provides important case studies explaining in much detail the various approaches to reconciliation of law and state, religion and education, secularism and diversity that exist in the world.  

Although there are books about education and religion on the market, this volume focuses specifically on renewing a passion for protecting religious distinctiveness in increasingly secular societies. Emphasis is placed on how to achieve equality and religious freedom in democratic societies, while focusing on protecting the human dignity of religious adherents (parents and learners/children) through the protection of their religious distinctiveness. The manuscript also compiles the work of several academic experts in law and education and several expert practitioners in law and education (deans, ministers of education etc). The wide spectrum of countries discussed (USA, Europe, Australia, South Africa, South America) provide a holistic picture of religious distinctiveness across the globe. Practical suggestions towards maintaining religious distinctiveness are also provided. What is even more unique is the fact that the manuscript presents various and competing perspectives on religious distinctiveness.

This book seeks to provide a panorama of the issues arising from pluralism in the education system and of judicial responses to them around the globe. In it, thirty-four authors representing many different legal cultures have selected and commented the most significant judicial decisions in each of the jurisdictions analysed. The topics addressed include religious and cultural symbols; faith-based, religious, and citizenship education; freedom of teaching and scientific freedom; homeschooling; authorization, funding and other matters concerning denominational and private schools, among other legal disputes. The reader will easily sense many different ideological orientations throughout the book’s thirty-seven chapters, which is only the result of pluralism itself and of scientific freedom. Nevertheless, the editors believe that all of the authors have inherently favoured the desire to understand the challenges of pluralism and to convey knowledge that is relevant for a public debate rather than defending their own particular point of view. Indeed, facilitating debate might be considered to be the best achievement of a publication of this kind. The book is divided into six parts. The introductory part features a chapter by the editors concerning the implementation and justiciability of the right to education, and a second chapter by Prof. Charles L. Glenn providing an in-depth historical essay on the importance of debates over religion and education. The five remaining parts reflect a geographical division: Part II includes two chapters on international human rights bodies (the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Committee); parts III to VI group national courts’ decisions by region: Europe, the Americas, Africa, and lastly Asia and Australia.

The Comparative Labor Law Dossier (CLLD) in this issue 2/2017 of IUSLabor is dedicated to teleworking and labor conditions. We have had the collaboration of internationally renowned academics and professionals from Belgium, France, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, The U.K, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Canada.

The building of an increasingly integrated system from an economic point of view in the “Eurasian” space is a phenomenon superficially evaluated by that broad part of the Western literature which simply includes it in the general claim of Russia to win lost territories of the former Trsarist and Soviet Empires. It is therefore considered an almost pretentious project when analyzed from a purely geopolitical perspective rather than economic. Such kind of approach may, however, be short-sighted, in the absence of a detailed  study of the complex roots or the historical, cultural and economic conditions justifying the integration on the former Soviet Union space, and in particular on the Eurasian one.

The present volume contains the contributions of experts from different disciplines with different sensitivity and national memberships. The hot confrontation between speakers from Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania on the one hand and Russia on the other seems to be constructive, a positive model of interaction between historically and geographically close worlds even if in a period of tough opposition.

The scientific research focuses on the pressing issue of an implementation of the rule of law and justice accessibility in Russia as a legal state. The core of the research is formed by a comparative study of the issues and objectives of the 1991 Concept of Judicial Reform of Russian Federation and the results of changes in procedural and judicial system legislation during the last 25 years. A comparison is also made between the standards of public services of legal dispute resolution provided by a public legislative authority and the standards of general public services by a public agency and local self-government body and the standards of a fair trial. Comparison is made not only by the level of legal guarantees for public service customers, but also by the dynamics of Russia’s process of becoming a legal state through the implementation of its judicial reform. Procedural legislation is assessed for comprehensiveness of legal provisions of judicial procedures: the order and conditions of a public service; consistency of norms, transparency of the court activities, the provision of safeguards against judicial arbitrariness and red tape, the mechanisms of efficiency enhancement and communication with the court, the compensation for the violation of the fair trial rights in civil, commercial, administrative and criminal proceedings. The court accessibility is assessed for compliance with procedural aspects of the fair trial concept: the conditions of application for the public service, the legal recourse procedures and eligibility terms, terms and size of an official fee, the possibility of fee deferral and exemption, convenience of a public fee calculation, rules of the appeal procedure. Judicial legislation is analyzed in relationship to the principles of transparency and independence of a fair trial concept in the institutional aspect. This scientific study focuses on a transfer of judiciary public services into an electronic sphere, the interaction between the courts and the interaction between courts and the executive bodies: it identifies problems and suggests possible solutions. The work assesses an effectiveness of an implementation of the 1991 Concept of Judicial Reform of Russian Federation and the targeted Federal Programs for the Development of the Judiciary, and their compatibility with the concept of sustainable development in the judicial system. The results of this scientific research have practical value, both for Russian national system and foreign countries seeking to promote the rule of law and court accessibility in the context of the UN sustainable development concept.

The concept of ‘employee’ is arguably the most important one in labour law, defi ning, as it does, the scope of the discipline as a whole. This important new publication aims to develop a restatement of the concept of the employee in European labour law. The study identifi es both problems and solutions that have emerged, clearly setting out comparisons between the different member states’ approaches. The country reports explore both statutes and case law, tracking their contribution to legal doctrine. The objective of the restatement is to increase knowledge and gain a better understanding of one of the most crucial aspects of European labour law.

The volume presents a selection of contributions mostly from the fourteenth annual conference in commemoration of Prof Marco Biagi on Wellbeing at and through work held in Modena (Italy) on 17–18 March 2016. The papers, which form the chapters in this volume, cover a number of countries and a wide range of issues in relation to quality of work and employee well-being including discrimination, harassment, disability, and work-life balance addressing them in an interdisciplinary perspective. Moreover, a number of regulatory approaches ranging from legislative interventions to voluntary measures are analysed in an attempt to cast light on the problem of well-being at work.

This book is devoted to the international dispute resolution in various contexts.

The book presents in an accessible and clear form the organizational and legal foundations of the modern international customs Rights enshrined in the most important customs conventions adopted under the auspices of the Council for Customs Cooperation - the World Customs Organization: Kyoto Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures, the TIR Convention, the Istanbul The Convention on Temporary Importation, as well as on the Harmonized System of Coding and Description of Goods. The book is published in English and is intended, inter alia, for use as a study guide in the study Training course "International Customs Law" in English.

The coursebook is designed for undergraduate law students specializing in the following spheres of law: Russian law, International Law, Comparative Law, whose native language is other than English. The Level of English before starting the course is supposed to be not lower than B1-B2 according to the CEFR. The book is aimed at developing academic and professional English skills. In in other words, prospective students are supposed to learn the English language used in special contexts (academic and professional). Thus, the primary objective is not to explain the system of law (either domestic or foreign), but to teach students to critically analyze the material related to it and to communicate at the university level and inside the profession, where students need to be prepared to listen to lectures in English, read academic and legal texts, produce different types of texts (paragraph, summary, essay, case brief), do research and present its result (in oral and written form). 

To achieve its objectives the book puts stress on academic, professional and communicative skills. The academic component is realized through mastering critical thinking skills, search for information skills, note-taking skills, comparing and contrasting skills. The professional component is realized through case studies, reading legal texts, genre writing. In accordance with students’ academic and research needs the book is provided with specific vocabulary for Russian legal realia and activities to practice it. Communicative skills are developed through pairwork, groupwork and teamwork activities. The illustrative examples have mostly been taken from the British National Corpus and the Corpus of Contemporary American English.

The book can be used both in class and individually. It can be suggested as an additional course book for first or second year students. 

This On-Topic revisits the complex issues rising in the food sector and its value chain. Both the European Union and the US competition authorities have scrutinized relationships between food chain actors. The increasing market concentration raises new challenges for competition enforcement authorities dealing with the creation of new powerful actors at the distribution but also at the factor of production (input) levels. The concept of superior bargaining power has played a key role, sometimes criticised, in order to assess these relationships. The papers also discuss the critical intersection of competition law with public policy, with the aim to preserve sustainability, food safety and the stability of agricultural markets

The article focuses on legal tradition recognizes both the plurality of understandings of law and the historical construction of all legal systems conform to the principles of Western legalism. It mentions Russian expansion and in the context of "international" law and normativity of Russia's legal history and connection between law and sovereignty in the transforming polity. It also mentions recognized ruler was often, from the perspective of a subject, an outsider from another ethnicity.

As of 2015 Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and (since May 2015) Kyrgyzstan have entered into the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) with the ambitious goal of ultimately transforming it into a “Eurasian Union” with a deeper confederative structure in the future. Parallels between this regional integration project and the European Union integration process are emerging. But there are also marked differences between them. The article highlights those parallels and differences in order to assess the general prospects for harmonizing labor law among the member states and to clarify how much of the EU experience in the harmonization of labor law may be applicable to the Eurasian integration project. The completely different roots and ways to harmonize the national labor law systems within the EU and the EAEU are also discussed in the article. The authors claim that the approaches to harmonizing labor law in the two regions are mirror images of each other. While the EU project attempts to provide at least a partial common legal framework for certain separate aspects of legal regulation of labor among the very diverse national labor law systems, the EAEU currently refuses even to address the harmonization of national labor laws. However, the national labor law systems of EAEU member states are already much more homogenous than in the EU. Therefore, labor law harmonization in the EAEU may develop as a consequence of its economic integration and single market.

This article examines the first years of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) through the prism of the Eurasian Economic Union Court’s jurisprudence and draws parallels with the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The EAEU Court has taken first steps in establishing an autonomous legal order, but also in linking it with international law. It has interpreted the relevant law to create a system of legal remedies and started in the interpretive construction of a common market. We conclude that some differences to EU law are due to the institutional context. At the same time, the EAEU Court has deliberately taken some decisions to establish its own balance between autonomy and openness of the legal order it is called to interpret and simultaneously create.

This paper explores, mainly from a legal perspective, the extent to which the Russian regulations of traditional TV and online audiovisual media policies have been consistent with the Council of Europe (hereinafter CoE) standards. The study compares between the CoE and Russian approaches to  specific aspects of audiovisual regulation including licensing, media ownership, public service media, digitalization, and national production. The paper first studies the CoE perspective through examining its conventional provisions related to audiovisual media, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights as well as the CoE non-binding documents. The paper then considers Russian national legislation governing audiovisual media and the Russian general jurisdiction courts’ practice on broadcast licensing. The paper suggests that the Russian audiovisual regulations are insufficiently compatible with the CoE standards and more in line with the Soviet regulatory traditions.

The paper is focused on the analysis of the problems that may be driven by mass tokenization of the objects of civil law, i.e. the creation of a digital representations of such objects in the form of a record in blockchain where the value of such objects is transferred subsequently by means of disposal of such tokens, which is a subject of separate rights to it. The paper outlines two core problems, which were inspired by recent legislative activities in Belarus and Russia: 1) a possible displacement of existing legal regimes of objects of civil rights by the legal regime of the token; 2) the problem of definition of the nature of rights to token (in rem vs. ad personam) as well as remedies for their violations. Provisions of the Belarus Decree “On the development of digital economy” of 21 December 2017 and drafts of the laws on blockchain and ICO, discussed in Russian Parliament and Government were taken to illustrate these problems.

Academic mobility is one of the crucial concepts in contemporary education, which demonstrates global processes in education sphere. Internationalisation of education, which is irrevocably linked to the concept of academic mobility, had risen to prominence in the last 30 years along with globalisation processes.

Research objectives: Analyzing characteristics of the legal status of Prince Godan, son of Ögedei Khan, who was often mentioned in different imperial, Tibetan, and late medieval Mongolian sources; clarifying the reasons why he was given the title of khan in some sources, though he never possessed this title. The author attempts to define the status, level of power, and real position of Godan among the Chinggisids and in the political structure of the Mongol Empire. Research materials: The basis for research comprises three groups of historical sources – Mongolian imperial historiography (works of Juwayni and Rashid al-Din, “Yuan shih”, etc.), Tibetan historical works (“The Blue Annals”, “Pagsam-jonsan”, “Debterchjamtso”), and late medieval Mongolian chronicles created under the influence of Tibetan Buddhist historiography (“Golden Tale”, “Crystal Mirror”, “Yellow History”, “White History”, “Jewel beads”, etc.). The author also used the works of specialists on Mongolian and Tibetan historiography (such as Sh. Bira, R.E. Pubaev, Yu.N. Rerikh, A.D. Tsendina) as well as the works of researchers of political and religious history of the Mongol Empire (such as V.L. Uspenskiy, H. Franke, C.P. Atwood, etc.). The novelty of the study: It offers a systematization of historical sources of different origins to clarify some aspects of the political biography of Prince Godan, identifying his legal status as a Chinggisid and the ruler of an ulus. At the same time, the author tries to not refute sources with contradicting statements but to clarify the reasons behind such contradictions and to find information which could clarify and complement the data of other sources. Research results: The author tries to systematize different sources on the status of Prince Godan as one of the key political figures in the history of the Mongol Empire from the 1240s to the beginning of the 1250s and the ruler of a large ulus with substantial level of power, which could be compared with that of rulers of the Golden Horde, the Chaghadaid Ulus, etc. Also, the reasons behind the brief existence of Godan’s ulus and loss of his status already by the time of his direct descendants are analyzed.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the EAEU entered into force. Important developments are related with the fact that electronic declaration has now become an area of focus. This research paper studies the impact of the application of this form of declaration on the effectiveness of administration of customs payments. For this purpose, the author conducted an analysis of the application of information and communication technologies in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation. It was justified that currently the required level of organization of administration of customs payments is not accomplished including due to the underdevelopment of the system for obtaining information on foreign trade prices, the lack of a systematic approach to the analysis of information on participants in foreign economic activities. The arguments are presented to confirm the conclusion that elimination of these obstacles is possible only with the use of progressive, innovative tools for administration of customs payments. The research substantiates the position that electronic declaration is the required instrument. For this purpose, an analysis of the current practice of the application of the electronic declaration and the basis for its legal regulation in the Russian Federation was conducted. The inherent positive aspects and identified unsolved problems were formulated and commented. It is indicated that the process of modernization of information technologies, including for electronic declaration, is not new, but continues to fulfill the requirements of the action plan ("road map") for improving customs administration. This statement is illustrated by the project on the administration of funds on the resource of the Unified Personal Accounts of the FCS of Russia. The conclusion is substantiated that its application can be considered an effective tool for improving the system of payment of customs payments by simplifying the calculations and reducing the time of their implementation, as well as in connection with the decrease in the influence of the human factor. The position is argued that the mechanisms of the "single window" and electronic declaration are interrelated and the efficiency of the system of customs administration as a whole and customs payments as its component depends on their development. It was established that the expectations from the application of electronic declaration, including on the improvement of the administration of customs payments, can be justified only in the event of the active convergence of national approaches among the EAEU member states in the implementation of information technology, for this purpose, an analysis of its legal framework at various levels was conducted: the legislation of the member states of the EAEU, acts of supranational and international level of regulation on the researched range of issues.

The results of the study can be applied not only in the Russian Federation, but also in all EAEU member states, where there is also no contemporary scientific basis for solving the issue under consideration.

This article examines one of the topical issues of the Russian tax law, namely, the issue regarding with the definition of forfeit under the current Russian legislation on taxes and charges.

The paper analyses the change in the legal nature of forfeit under the Russian tax legislation — from the measure of responsibility for violation of tax legislation (in the 1990s) to the means of securing performance of tax duty (with the entry into force of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation in 1999).

The research identifies the reasons for the alteration of the definition of forfeit under the Russian tax law and assesses their consequences for maintaining the balance of public and private interests in the tax law.

The research formulates proposals on improving legislation regulating tax relations for the computation and payment of forfeit.

The study analyses the EU Internal market from a dynamic and a contextual perspective, taking into account, not just the normative changes brought by the intense legislative and judicial activity in this area, but also the important economic and technological transformations that have largely altered the structure of the global economy in the last two to three decades. These could, in my view, challenge the first principles upon which the EU economic integration process and, in particular the “single market” idea, is based. This “updating” of the Internal market project is essential if one is to critically reflect on the role and the specificity of the EU integration process, in the context of the broader globalization movement. The first part of the paper introduces the “neo-functionalist” perspective, which has largely influenced the EU economic integration process, from its incipiency, and explores its theoretical linkages with trade theory (the law of one price), thus presenting the fundamental tenets of positive EU Internal market law. The second part delves into the subsequent mutation of the economic integration ideal towards the more modular and scalar concept of “regulatory convergence”. Opening the black box of economic integration will lead us to analyse its transformation, as a result of a paradigm shift currently occurring in the organization of the global process of economic production, with the development of global value chains, and the important role of technology, in particular the Internet, in promoting economic integration not through law, but through code. The study predicts that addressing more systematically the effect of both private and public obstacles to trade should take centre-stage if one is to opt for a more holistic and dynamic perspective in analysing the process of economic integration. A more extensive intervention of the competition law tool and other regulatory initiatives against private restrictions to trade is therefore to be expected in the future, these areas of law taking a more prevalent part in the EU Internal market law compass. The study discusses in some detail the recent legislative and jurisprudential developments with regard to geo-blocking and geo-filtering practices. The last part of the study provides some concluding thoughts on the need for the EU Internal market concept to be updated and raises some questions with regard to its ontology in the context of a globalized economy.

After inspections by Public Prosecutor’s Office in 2017, the question of lawfulness of compulsory learning of republican languages at school received widespread сoverage. This article addresses the question of whether Russian republics have the right to establish a duty to learn the state language of the republic in schools. The right of republics to establish their own state language, stipulated by the provisions of the Russian Constitution, federal legislation, and the national-territorial principle of the formation of republics in Russia, presupposes the republic’s ability to establish the compulsory study of its language in the state and municipal schools on its territory. Since 2007, this right has been formally blocked by the Federal State Educational Standards (FSES) approved by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science. The de facto prohibition of compulsory language learning significantly limits the republics in the full realization of the right to establish their state language.

The Europeanization of legal scholarship and legal education facilitates the emergence of comparative legal science as a promising new tool to discover similarities and differences between two or more jurisdictions and their past development. Yet, the specific methodology of such studies is still not clear. Some legal historians hold that comparative legal history does not or should not have its own methodology other than that of comparative law. Others warn against imposing a contemporary agenda and toolbox on legal history. The author of this article aims to clarify this debate by examining the prospect of applying one of the most popular methods of comparative law – the functional method – to the domain of legal history. On the basis of several examples from the European legal past he claims that examining the functions (the social purpose) of legal norms can help legal historians in three ways: first, to determine the objects of comparison and the sources of analysis, despite the variety of verbal shortcuts (the initial stage of research); second, to analyse legal norms from the perspective of solving social problems in the past – to study the 'law in action'; and third, to arrange the results of the research according to meaningful criteria at the final stage.

Comparative legal history is a fashionable new discipline which aims at a better understanding of the law's past by comparing similarities and differences of legal phenomena in two or more jurisdictions beyond the limits of national legal histories. Despite its popularity in Europe, it still lacks comparative projects that cover both Western and Eastern areas of the Continent, not least because the methodology of such comparison requires proper consideration and cannot be simply copied from comparative law or national legal histories. The present article evaluates the applicability of the dominant method of today's comparative law (the functional one) in the domain of the general contract law of the first codifications in the major jurisdictions of Continental Europe (Austria, France, Germany, Russia) during the 'long 19th century'. This subject matter is chosen by way of example as a 'legal cross-road' of legal concepts and models, more susceptible to changes, innovations, borrowings, and closely linked to social needs. In the main part of the article, it is argued that the adaptation of the functional method to the needs of comparison in legal history becomes plausible due to at least two factors. First, comparatists mitigated the rigid assumptions of the 'classical' functionalism of the 20th century (rejecting its privileged status and purely functional perception of law, irrebuttable presumptions of similarity and unification of compared legal systems etc.). Second, many legal historians, like the drafters of the first civil codes in Western and Eastern Europe, also believe that law is more than minimally connected to social problems and manifests itself primarily through its actual application. On the basis of such premises, the author of this article discusses potential benefits and limitations of researching general contract law in the selected jurisdictions with the functional method. At the preparatory (descriptive) stage, it can be useful to assure comparability of contract law in the selected civil codes, to identify omissions in the codified general rules on contracts, and to arrange legal provisions around practically relevant issues. At the stage of analysis, functionalism can be coupled with teleological interpretation of legal norms to enable us to understand better the link between the application of the legal rules, their legal purposes, and the practical social problems serving as tertium comparationis for all the compared jurisdictions. A sketch of such an analysis in the final part of the article allows to conclude that a research with the help of the functional method narrows our perception of law as a cultural phenomenon and breaks the inner doctrinal logic, but in return, it offers a starting point for a much needed dialogue of legal historians with a wider legal community.

The Russian Constitutional Court (RCC) has over time developed a practice of adopting so-called “positive dismissals” (Pozitivnoe Opredelenie) which complements (but also undermines) the existent formal procedure of only delivering decisions on merits with Rulings (Postanovlenie). The paper explores the uses of this peculiar practice. I show that Positive Dismissals are used by the Court to overcome the rigidity of the formal procedure where this is necessary for reasons of intraorganizational or political expediency. To do that I construct and analyze quantitatively a unique comprehensive dataset of all decisions handed down by the RCC roughly in the first two decades of its existence (1995-2015, N=22334). I show that “positive dismissals” are used whenever the case is deemed too important to be simply dismissed (for example, if it is submitted by a powerful petitioner), or when the Court cannot dismiss a case but wants to keep low profile to avoid political risks (for example, with the politically salient cases during election years).

In different countries of the world the place of religion in education differs. In most of the European countries teaching of religion in public (or state-funded) school exists in one form or another. In Russia religious education can be received by the student at his or her own discretion or at discretion of the parents in the religious educational establishment. Education in public (state and municipal) organizations engaged in educational activity has a strictly secular nature. This principle is implemented in the Russian legislation and practice is most visible in disputes arising at the crossroad of religion and education as resolved by Russian courts. The most disputed issues concern the regulation of school uniform and the teaching of subjects ‘Fundamentals of Religious cultures and secular ethics’ and ‘Fundamentals of spiritual and moral culture of Russian nations’ as a compulsory subject in public schools. The court practice on the issue keeps developing, but it's analysis shows that the secular nature of education in Russia is not so undoubted as it may seem.  

The Bayer/Monsanto merger forms part of the recent wave of mega-mergers that has transformed the structure of the factors of production segments of the global food value chain in recent decades. If it is approved, it will lead to the creation of a tight oligopoly of three multinationals that will control almost 2/3 of the global production in seeds and agro-chems, as well as the valuable Big Data and IT platforms that are crucial for “smart farming”. This high level of concentration will undoubtedly lead to price rises for seeds and pesticides, the increase of the technological and economic dependence of farmers on a few global integrated one-stop shop platforms, the reduction of independent centres of innovation activity in the industry and consequently of innovation, due to reduced competition. More importantly, this merger is about control of the global food value chains as well as of the direction of the innovative effort in this industry in the next few decades. Recent technological advances enable us to envision a future away from the agro-chem model of agricultural production, with the adoption of a production model that is respectful of the environment and biodiversity, and also providing smallholders more opportunities to increase their revenue and the independence to invest in innovative ways of farming. By ensuring that the global food value chain remains tightly controlled by three mega-corporations (and their integrated platforms), the recent merger wave in this industry will lead to entrench the market power of the dominant players for the decades to come and to freeze the innovative effort to R&D that is compatible with the business model of the incumbents.

The law is a difficult social phenomenon determining the social life and even the international interaction of subjects. There is no uniform direction of its functioning, but it is possible to determine various parallel aspects that describe legal development. National tendencies of legal regulation predetermine the whole functioning of a legal system, which is a broad concept including not only positive regulation. This paper analyses the following tendencies: expansion of legal regulation; forms of legal regulation; institutionalization; execution of legal requirements; technical progress.

This article studies the approach of Islamic legal thought to the idea of Caliphate. The author explains the fundamental principles of the Islamic concept of the state as an instrument for defending and maintaining religion and dealing with worldly affairs. Modern Islamic thought, taking into consideration the historical evolution of Islamic statehood under the influence of objective political circumstances, came to the key conclusion that an Islamic state is not restricted to a unified Caliphate (the Caliphate on the way of the prophecy). Other models of power are quite admissible if they are meeting the aims of the Caliphate.

Water has always been an important resource for Central Asian states and peoples. Different rulers at different times used water, and access to it, as an instrument of political and even military influence. When the Russian Empire expanded into Central Asia, seizing substantial parts of three central Asian khanates (Bukhara, Khiva and Khoqand) and established its own protectorate over these states, its also found that water was one of the most effective means to control the rulers and peoples of Central Asia. The use of water and irrigation policy as an instrument of rule was effectively used by the Russian Empire in its relations with the Central Asian khanates and this has already been the subject of investigation. This paper analyses the legal regulation of water use and the irrigation policy of the Russian Empire in Turkestan in order to influence the Bukharan Emirate and the Khivan Khanate during the epoch of the Russian protectorate (1870s–1910s). The paper demonstrates how the internal “water law” was a starting point in Russian policy towards Bukhara and Khiva, and shows that each subsequent stage was closely connected to the evolution of the “water law” in the Russian Turkestan. The sources are official documents (including legal acts) of the Russian Empire, correspondence of Russian and Central Asian statesmen, memoirs of contemporaries and the notes of Russian visitors to khanates (diplomats, engineers, etc.) who participated in the realization of Russian water policy in Bukhara and Khiva and could estimate its effectiveness.

The paper explores the competition dynamics of the global seed market. It documents the growth strategies of the major seed companies, in particular their M&A activity and their reliance on complex intellectual property strategies in order to offer a one stop shop solution to farmers. Recent merger activity in this sector (the Monsanto bid to buy Syngenta, the DuPont and Dow merger deal, ChemChina’s bid to buy Syngenta) illustrates its rapid transformation from an already concentrated industry to a tight oligopoly on a global scale. The increasing global consolidation of this industry raises new challenges for competition law enforcement authorities dealing with the emergence of new powerful actors at the factor of production (input) level, in view of the broader concerns animating public policy in the food sector and the existence of a nexus of international commitments for biodiversity, sustainability, the right to food etc. By exploring this under-studied but fascinating area of competition law enforcement we open the debate over the inclusion of broader public interest concerns in competition policy and the consideration of its distributive impact from a global perspective.

The paper analyzes legal issues associated with application of existing contract law provisions to  so-called Smart contracts, defined in the paper as “agreements existing in the form of software  code implemented on the Blockchain platform, which ensures autonomy and self-executive  nature of Smart contract terms based on predetermined set of factors”. The paper consists of  several sections. In the first section, the paper outlines peculiarities of Blockchain technology as  currently implemented in Bitcoin cryptocurrency and which forms the core of Smart contracts. In  the second section, the main characteristic features of Smart contracts are described. Finally, the  paper outlines key tensions between classic contract law and Smart contracts.. The conclusion  section sets the core question for analysis of the perspectives of implementation of this  technology by governments: “How to align the powers of the government with Blockchain if  there is no central authority but only distributed technologies”. The author suggests two  solutions, which are not optimal: 1) providing the state authorities with the status of a Superuser  with extra powers and 2) relying on traditional remedies and enforcement practices, by pursuing  specific individuals – parties to Smart contract - in offline mode. It is emphasized that those  jurisdictions, which have the most Blockchain-friendly regulations will have competitive  advantage in attraction of new innovative business models and companies willing to exploit  them in a legal way.

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) has its own judicial body tasked with ensuring the uniform application of EAEU law by member states and institutions. The EAEU Court has a number of important powers; however, it is noteworthy, that such crucial ones as the preliminary ruling procedure and the ability to review actions of member states upon request of the EAEU regulatory body are missing. This paper reviews the missing powers in a search for the reasons behind their removal, and the ensuing ramifications. It also uncovers other limitations of the Eurasian judiciary and its strained relationships with national judiciaries. It is argued, that the EAEU Court will struggle to fulfil its mission without solutions compensating its limited powers.

This paper reviews the activity of professional legal organizations as factors in the transfer from limited access order (LAO) to open access order (OAO) according to the theory of North, Wallis and Weingast. By analyzing the experience of lawyers’ collective action in developing countries, this paper proposes a decision tree explaining the process of the mobilization of the legal community to counter violations of the law by the ruling elite. It shows that this collective action plays a significant role in implementing the rule of law. However, the efficiency of such collective action in a particular country depends on the institutional capacity of its legal association and on the position of the professional elite leading it. The history of the development of Russian legal advocacy shows that exogenous shocks actually stimulate the collective action of lawyers, which in turn compels the government to respond.

The paper is dedicated to the formal investigation of regional legislation in the sphere of the regulatory impact assessment (RIA). RIA is a crucial instrument for the evaluation of the effectiveness of law. It provides a solid basis for the objective assessment of proposed regulations in the sphere of business activity. The federal form of the Russian government requires the analysis of regional experience for the further development of RIA procedure.

In this paper we analyse the role of superior bargaining power in competition law and policy in the agri-food value chain. Conventional approaches to competition law based on a neoclassical price theory perspective tend to neglect or to stay opaque on the role of bargaining power in competition law. However, national competition authorities and national legislators seem to be less biased by specific theoretical approaches and have increasingly engaged with the application of the concept of bargaining power in competition law. In this paper we discuss both positions and set a general theoretical framework, the global value chain approach, to better understand the interactions between suppliers and retailers in the food sector. Finally, we observe the framing of new tools of competition law intervention at national level, in order to deal with situations of superior bargaining power in specific settings related to the food value chain.