This issue of the Review of the Kopaonik School of Natural Law features eight scientific papers grouped under five sections: International Commercial Contracts (I), Company Law (II), EU Law (III), Courts/Arbitration (IV) and Economy and Finances (V). From the viewpoint of the Hexagon of natural law, these papers, in terms of the subjects they are pursuing, belong to the Departments Right to Property and Right to Justice of the Kopaonik School of Natural Law – Slobodan Perović.

In the first section, Dr Alfredo Ferrante, in his paper Burden of Proof and Lack of Conformity under the CISG from the Italian Law Perspective, addresses the issue of burden of proof in case of non-conforming goods in a contract for international sale of goods. The issue is examined in the light of the rules of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods from 1980 (CISG) on the one hand, and the appropriate solutions of the Italian Civil Code on the other. The second paper in the section, Negotiations and Contract for the International Sale of Goods contributed by Ljubica Tomić, offers a comparative law analysis of the issue of liability for breaking off negotiations, as well as the legal significance of negotiations in the process of contract interpretation, while drawing key differences that appear in this respect between the countries of civil-law and common-law legal traditions.

Academician Professor Dr Mirko Vasiljević wrote the paper Company Law of the Twenty-First Century, which belongs to the second section of the Review, dedicated to the area of company law. The paper makes a comprehensive analysis of the main directions of development of the modern company law. Special attention is devoted to the issues of corporate moralizing by changing legal nature, changing the nature of company law regulations, Serbian company law, individual and/or collective representation of a company, the issue of arbitrability of internal corporate legal disputes, as well as other issues relevant to the directions of development of company law.

In the third section, dedicated to the EU Law, Andrea Piletta Massaro contributes the paper The New Directive on an EU-Wide Representative Action and Third-Party Litigation Funding: An Opportunity for European Consumers? The paper focuses on Directive 1828/2020 which introduced an EU wide representative action scheme, aimed at strengthening the position of European consumer in new market dynamics such as globalisation and digitalisation. The author gives special attention to certain issues that in his opinion the Directive leaves open.

The fourth section features papers relating to courts and arbitration. The paper Accountability and Transparency in Civil Justice – Some General Remarks and a View from Croatia contributed by Prof. Dr Alan Uzelac deals with the concepts of accountability and transparency in national judicial systems from a Croatian perspective. The author analyses eight different means and methods for ensuring accountability and transparency in civil justice systems, laying the emphasis on those issues that appear to carry key importance in that respect. Dr Marko Jovanović contributes the paper The Role of Ex Aequo et Bono in ICSID Arbitration, which examines the role of the principle of ex aequo et bono in arbitration before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Special attention is given to the use of ex aequo et bono as the applicable framework for dispute settlement and the reliance on ex aequo et bono in an attempt to nullify the award.

The fifth section comprises two papers addressing the area of economy and finances. The paper The Impact of the History of Statehood on the Economic Development of Countries written by Prof. Dr Milojko Arsić deals with the impact exerted by the history of statehood on the present level of economic development of states, based on the assumption that the history of statehood has an effect on the efficiency of the state in carrying out the functions important for operations of the economy and its development. Dr Saša Ranđelović in his paper Economic Performances of the Tax System of Serbia examines the characteristics and structure of Serbian tax system, while making special reference to the issue of its harmonisation with the EU regulations.

A special contribution to this issue is made by Prof. Dr Don Wallace who wrote the text When do Citizens Believe They Have Justice and the Rule of Law? offering his reflections on the concepts of rule of law and justice and their mutual relationship.

Prof. Dr Jelena S. Perović Vujačić
Editor-in-Chief