The scientific goal of this article was to confirm the thesis that efficient complaint management

can be one the company’s competitive advantage elements of in the sphere of logistic

customer service. The theoretical part of the article presents basic foundations related to

complaint management process as an important element of post-trade sales process in customer

service. The research part presents an example of the implementation of efficient

assumptions of the complaint management process on the example of a construction industry

manufacturing company. Guidelines for the design and implementation of an effective

and efficient complaint handling process are presented. An example of process analysis is

done using appropriate quality tools.

The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006) entered into force in 2013. The MLC 2006 aims at creating a single, coherent global instrument, consolidating existing International Labour Organisation conventions, and as well constitutes one of the main international maritime instruments of the International Maritime Organization, together with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships (MARPOL) and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). Seafarers are entitled to lodge complaints on board a ship in case of non-compliance with the legal standards, procedures, or guidelines set forth in the MLC 2006, including seafarers’ human rights. The complaint system must include safeguards against victimisation. In 2015, the regulations of the MLC 2006 were implemented into a new Polish Act on Maritime Labour (MLA 2015). One of the most innovative aspects of the MLA 2015, as far as ILO Conventions are concerned, is the certification of seafarers’ living and working conditions on board ships, regulated in Chapter 8 of the Act (entitled: MLC documents and inspections and controls of the ship), as well as the on-board complaint procedure described in a detailed manner in Chapter 9 of the new Act.

We aimed to determine differences in mental health outcomes for the adult population depending on their personal experience during the first months of the war in Ukraine. The study involved 1,257 respondents (32.3% male and 67.7% female, aged 18–61+ years). We used the Brief Resilience Scale, the Professional Hardiness Questionnaire, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory—Expanded, the Short Screening Scale for DSM– IV post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the Giessen Subjective Complaints List. The obtained data showed high pressure of physical complaints and high levels of PTSD symptoms in adult Ukrainians. We found that positive mental health outcomes were significantly higher in adults with ‘Active’ personal experience during the first months of the war in Ukraine, which was shown by their significantly higher levels of four positive mental health indicators (resilience, general level of professional hardiness, self-efficacy and level of post-experience change). Negative mental health outcomes were significantly higher in adults with ‘Passive’ experience, which was shown by their significantly higher levels of two negative indicators (pressure of physical complaints and manifestations of PTSD symptoms). Our findings indicate a high need for psychological support and assistance for the Ukrainian population and show the direction of possible interventions.

Among UN human rights treaty bodies that have the competence to examine inter-state communications, only the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has had the possibility to develop its case law in this regard (as of 2020). One of these cases – submitted by the State of Palestine against Israel – resulted in a controversy arising from the respondent state’s declaration excluding any treaty relations between Palestine and Israel, the latter considering the former “a non-recognized entity.” The present paper analyses the CERD’s decision of 12 December 2019 in which the Committee found that it had jurisdiction to hear the inter-state communication. The author argues that while invocation of the “special character” of human rights obligations constitutes a powerful argument in judicial discourse, this should not lead to (re)opening debates on self-contained regimes and alienating human rights treaties from the norms and principles of general international law. At the same time, there are also valid reasons to perceive the obligations enshrined in the ICERD as being of a specific and erga omnes character.