Development Rights Research Articles

Prospects for the development of constitutional principles of the constitutional and legal status of a person and a citizen

The article substantiates the need for further development of the constitutional principles of the constitutional and legal status of a person and a citizen in Ukraine. In order to solve this task, the current legislation in the field of the constitutional and legal status of a person and a citizen was analyzed, recognizing that the Constitution of Ukraine created an effective constitutional and legal basis for further law-making and rule-making activities of state structures regarding the principles of the constitutional status of a person and a citizen. At the current stage of state formation, the observance of human rights in Ukraine is connected with the legal trend of their recognition at the state-legal level. It should be noted that they are enshrined in various international legal acts, and above all, they are aimed at the development of rights and freedoms, as well as individual guarantees. The problems of the real guarantee of the rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen within the framework of their consolidation in the constitutional principles of the legal status of a person and a citizen, as well as the question of the actual state of the position of these things, rarely become the subject of scientific research. It is this that determines the need to research the aspect of the prospects for the development of the principles of the constitutional status of a person and a citizen, as well as the elements and mechanisms of its implementation. It is argued that the modern constitutional development of Ukraine in the context of the European dimension of political transformations determines the problem of rethinking the role and meaning of the constitutional principles of the status of a person and a citizen in Ukraine in the process of forming a new legal reality. It was determined that despite the establishment of the basic principles of the constitutional and legal status of a person and a citizen in the Constitution of Ukraine, there is an urgent need for their further development in the context of building a modern democratic legal state. A conclusion is made about the special role and significance of modern transformations of constitutional norms, which highlight the status of a person and a citizen, for the sake of normal and harmonious formation of prospects for the development of the principles of the constitutional status of a person and a citizen, and the introduction of appropriate changes to the Constitution of Ukraine.

Supply-side climate policy and fossil fuels in developing countries: a neo-Gramscian perspective

This article examines the perspectives of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) on climate change mitigation and fossil fuel supply within the UN framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC). Achieving the temperature targets of the Paris Agreement requires leaving fossil fuels underground (LFFU), which presents challenges for LMICs due to their significant fossil fuel reserves. This dilemma raises equity concerns as these countries must balance climate action with their Right to Development (RtD). Against this background, through a content analysis of documents submitted to the UNFCCC and triangulation with ownership structures of extraction projects, this paper explores how ten LMICs define their roles in addressing climate change and LFFU, with a focus on mitigation policies and the energy sector. Drawing on Gramscian concepts such as hegemony, common sense, historical bloc, war of position, passive revolution, and trasformismo, this paper presents a non-exhaustive neo-Gramscian perspective for the analysis of supply-side climate policy in developing countries. The analysis reveals that LMICs’ development paths have been characterized by fossil fuel expansion, energy addition, and carbon lock-in, grounded on energy security reasons, export dependencies, or equity and responsibility. From these findings, the paper argues that the global energy transition can be interpreted as a passive revolution: the fossil historical bloc, through the interdependencies between states, national oil companies, and fossil capital, maintains its hegemonic position by aligning material, organizational, and discursive resources around fossil fuels, with the RtD serving as a discursive tool to perpetuate fossil dominance in energy systems, agreeing to the legitimate demands for development. One of the trasformist tactics deployed is the bridge narrative of gas, which accommodates and neutralizes the challenge posed by renewables. Nonetheless, there are opportunities for Southern leadership to contest the bloc with potential counter-hegemony. This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on supply-side mitigation policies and distributive justice issues in the North–South context, focusing on the need and potential for an inclusive and just energy transformation. There are avenues of research to analyse how the challengers’ war of position will bear fruit in coalition building and the establishment of a new, just, and inclusive common sense.

Appropriation and the rewriting of rights

Abstract The protective reach of human rights has expanded over time. However, some have argued that this expansion constitutes illegitimate rights inflation, and for some conservative stakeholders, the modern development of rights has been at odds with their positions on issues such as reproductive rights and marriage equality. Against this backdrop, the Trump Administration launched the Commission on Unalienable Rights in 2019 to “reexamine” rights. It might be expected that such an initiative would reject human rights. However, it embraced rights discourse, positioned it as central to US values and policy, and called on the United States to pursue rights with “renewed vigor.” This article offers a decoding of this apparent embrace. We argue that rather than renewing commitments to rights, the Commission appropriated human rights. It reworked the human rights canon from within by elevating some rights over others, and by narrowing rights in line with conservative takes on where rights come from, who they should protect, and which rights matter. This article offers a framework for analyzing how appropriation happens, and where and in what ways it is contested. We identify four core elements to appropriation and spaces for challenging it: messenger and motive legitimacy; process legitimacy; substantive legitimacy; and norm diffusion. This framework makes visible the sites and processes of appropriation under the cover of protecting rights, that in practice seek to roll back understandings of right and their sources. While the Commission was disavowed by the subsequent US administration, conservative efforts to redefine rights are ongoing—including through promotion of the Commission’s work—and share many of the same normative underpinnings of the Commission’s establishment and rollout. Making apparent the strategies and mechanisms of appropriation through this case-study therefore enables recognition of future conservative moves to appropriate rights and provides insights into how to resist such efforts.

The relevance of the African regional human rights system in the urban age

AbstractIn an attempt to reassert the relevance of international human rights law in contemporary urban contexts, this article considers the extent to which the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights lend themselves to fruitful application in African cities, appropriation by African cities and the development of rights to African cities. The article ultimately argues that, despite the rural inclinations of its drafting context, certain textual shortcomings and the existence of major political hurdles to its effective implementation, the African Charter, as interpreted and applied by the African Commission and African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, is well-placed for the regional human rights system’s adaptation to the urban age.

REALISING THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA THROUGH ITS PARLIAMENT

The right to development (RTD) remains a controversial subject at the international level due to disagreements over its nature as a collective and a people’s right. This notwithstanding, the RTD is recognised by the African human rights system as a collective right encompassing all fundamental rights and freedoms. Besides, the ratification of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), which recognises the RTD coupled with the implicit recognition of the RTD in the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, makes the RTD an entitlement for Ghanaians. However, its realisation by the state through the executive appears challenging, considering the level of development in Ghana. This article, therefore, explores an alternativefocused on legislative measures. The article seeks to demonstrate the extent to which the RTD can be realised in Ghana through its Parliament. It argues that removing the constitutional constraints on Parliament will potentially make the institution contribute significantly towards the realisation of the RTD.

The Right to Development in Africa: Issues, Constraints, and Prospects by Serges Djoyou Kamga

Reviewed by: The Right to Development in Africa: Issues, Constraints, and Prospects by Serges Djoyou Kamga Chinekwu Obidoa Kamga, Serges Djoyou. The Right to Development in Africa: Issues, Constraints, and Prospects. New York: Routledge, 2020. Countries in Africa have made important and, in many cases, what can be considered context-defying progress in the area of development, but many gaps remain. This text provides a much-needed look at a dimension of the development discourse that has not received sufficient attention, the Right to Development (RTD). RTD is conceptualized as a multidimensional, composite, and intricately interconnected set of rights of which every person and all peoples are entitled. Grounded on the tenets of the 1986 Declaration on the Right to Development, RTD is an inalienable human right. The text is an edited volume drawn from papers presented at the International Colloquium on "Actualizing the Right to Development in Africa," organized in 2018 by the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute (TMALI) housed in the University of South Africa. The two main goals of this text are (1) to explore the issues and constraints that pose as barriers to RTD in Africa and (2) to examine how the hindrances can be addressed for the actualization of RTD in Africa. The text is divided into five major sections. Part I focuses on governance and RTD. Emphasis is placed on the governance structures (including legal instruments, constitutions, and institutions) required and responsible for achieving RTD. The absence of such elements will undermine the possibility of achieving RTD. The idea that it will take a well-governed society to achieve RTD is evident from the papers discussed in this section. Additionally, the role of international law in supporting governance in African countries is explored. Part II looks at corruption as a major barrier to RTD. A key concept presented and explored here is the role of social and ethical principles in achieving RTD and the implication of corruption on development in Africa. Part III addresses the pertinent issue of the place of African cultures in development in Africa. Emphasis is placed on how the failure to take African worldviews, philosophies, values, ideologies, and cultures into consideration [End Page 213] starting from the partitioning of Africa and the colonial era to the present day has hurt the continent. The marginalization of African cultures in the development process and even in development discourse has had devastating implications. The idea that development cannot occur in a vacuum has been reiterated by development Africanists. Dr. Toyin Falola rightly asserts that development cannot be divorced from culture, and Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu has repeatedly alluded to the fact that "Africa cannot rise with something borrowed." The idea of leveraging the African intellectual capital of Ubuntu and Letsema for RTD was explored. However, the challenge of legitimizing and operationalizing these ideologies remains. I found the issues raised in this chapter most pertinent among the many barriers and constraints of RTD in Africa discussed in this text. The neglect of cultural systems not only has consequences for the development process but may be a major reason for the unsustainability of development in many parts of Africa. The paper on the role of inter-Africa trade in achieving RTD is especially interesting. Central to development is collaboration with your neighbors. The reality that African countries were deprived of the freedom and structures to trade and interact commercially with each other in favor of economic interaction with colonial nations is one of the root factors for the epileptic nature of development on the continent, a clear violation of the right to development. This is aptly captured in the words of the author Siphamandla Zondi: "The inter-African trade illustrates the persisting and hunting demon of coloniality of being, power, and knowledge, and why the decolonization of the African political economy is a precondition for economic renaissance hoped for and the achievement of the right to development as envisaged" (401). Section IV on gender and RTD provided invaluable insight into another critical barrier to RTD. The violation of women's rights to RTD and the exclusion of women in the development process are linked to epileptic and unsustainable development. Some of the authors highlighted the fact...

Editorial: Special Issue Managing Responsibilities for Climate Change Risks

The Special Issue brings together contributions examining concrete case studies on managing responsibilities for climate change risks around the world. It aims to generate new and interdisciplinary knowledge on potential approaches to risk allocation, adaptation and resilience, and explore normative aspects of burden-sharing in the development of rights and obligations to respond to climate change. This Special Issue was coordinated by the University of Sydney Law School and Utrecht University School of Law under the 2019 Utrecht University and University of Sydney Partnership Collaboration Award. The grant recipients and ULR guest editors from Australia are Katherine Owens, Director of the Australian Centre for Climate and Environmental Law (ACCEL) (Sydney University Chief Investigator), and Madeline Taylor (Macquarie University) Deputy Director of the Centre for Energy and Natural Resources Innovation and Transformation (CENRIT). The guest editors from the Utrecht University Centre of Water, Oceans and Sustainability Law (UCWOSL) are Natalie Dobson (Utrecht University Chief Investigator), Herman Kasper Gilissen (UCWOSL Senior Researcher) and Marleen van Rijswick (UCWOSL Director).

POVIJESNI RAZVOJ PRAVA NA SAMOODREĐENJE IZMEĐU DVA RATA - LENJIN VS. WILSON

The end of the two great world wars and the disappearance of the current political regimes have resulted in the creation of new states in the international order. With the collapse of multinational states and awakening of national consciousness, the aspirations of peoples for their own national states started to appear. Requirements for self-determination resulted primarily from the decolonization process, but also as a reflection of political relations in the post-war Europe. At the end of the First World War, there were events and people contributing to the development of rights of the people to self-determination and helping the oppressed nations in achieving their aspirations to decide their own destiny within their own national states. On the one hand, there were the workers’ self-determination and revolution in Russia as essential elements in the development of the right to self-determination in the political principle and Lenin's attitudes on self-determination. On the other hand, there were fourteen points and US President Woodrow Wilson with his views on the right to self-determination.

Transfer of Development Rights and Cultural Heritage Preservation: A Case Study at Athens Historic Triangle, Greece

History and the modern world co-exist in Greece’s landscape. The urban spaces of Greek cities contain structures from ancient history alongside contemporary constructions, but intense urban development from the 1960s onwards, as in the historic center of Athens, has led to imbalances with respect to cultural heritage protection. The 1975 Greek Constitution defined the preservation and protection of the cultural environment as a constitutional mandate, and severe restrictions on the exploitation of private properties deemed to be of historical or architectural importance were imposed. Property owners were deprived of their property development rights (DRs), whereas the preservation and conservation of protected constructions became costly, resulting in abandoned buildings and a downgraded urban environment. As the debate over cultural heritage protection and urban regeneration is more topical than ever, the recent legal reintroduction of the transfer of development rights (TDRs) provides new opportunities for property exploitation with respect to cultural heritage protection legislation. Herein is presented a methodological framework on the classification and 3D visualization and representation of DRs and TDRs in relation to the cultural heritage protective framework and its implementation in a selected area of Athens’ historic center. Legal and technical aspects that affect 3D DRs and TDRs are emphasized as key elements in the successful implementation of the TDR process.

The impact of the European court of human rights on the development of rights in health care

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the international regional system of the preservation of the right to health in the European human rights system through the work of the ECtHR, to analyse the case law of the ECHR based on the human right to health. This purpose determines the following tasks: to identify the features of the realization of the right to health in the European mechanism of human rights protection; to study the mechanism of realization of the right to health in the activity of the ECtHR; to describe the case law of the ECtHR in terms of the right to health. Design/methodology/approach The “black letter” law methodology is used to focus attention on conducting research on the letter of the law and the desire to conduct a descriptive analysis of legal norms, based on primary sources. Findings On the basis of the conducted researches, it is possible to draw a conclusion that the ECHR, albeit implicitly, refers to the right to health as well. Originality/value The right to health is included in the catalogue of the most important universally recognized human rights and is most often considered as an integral part of socio-economic human rights, but there is no special universal or regional mechanism for protecting this category of rights.

NEEDLETIME: THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD

The article chronicles the long and winding road of the development of rights to royalties for performers from the recognition of a sort of potential right in the Berne Convention, through the different international instruments such as the Rome Convention, the TRIPs Agreement and eventually, for purposes of this article, the most important World Intellectual Property Organisation Performances andPhonograms Treaty (WPPT). It then proceeds to deal with the development of the law relating to performers’ rights in South Africa. It shows that, despite vehement objections from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the Performers’ Protection Act and the Copyright Act were amended in 2002 and through these amendments a legislative framework for the protection of performers in South Africa was established. It concludes that, in spite of these legislative measures, the implementation of needletime has been controversial because of the vastly different interpretations of the empowering legislation. This has resulted in a delay in thepayment of needletime rights which has led to several judicial challenges that once settled, should hopefully bring a measure of legal certainty to this area of law.

Modern teaching on the rights and freedoms of human and citizen

The article examines the doctrine of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen. The connection between the theory of human rights and freedoms and the history of the development of society is traced. The works of thinkers of the past are analyzed. The dynamics of views on the development of rights and freedoms is shown. Special attention is focused on two basic concepts of rights and freedoms – natural-legal and positivist, the general and special in their content are highlighted. Both of these concepts consider human rights as a certain view of the world outlook, worldview, which are based on the principle of humanism, and also as a system of humanistic values that determine relationships in society. Attention is drawn to the essential features of human rights. A brief analysis of three generations of human rights is carried out. It is emphasized that this classification is classical. However, new times force us to look at the classification problem in a new way. The classification of human and civil rights allows you to see their evolution, the historical connection of times, the general trend of development. The conclusion is substantiated that in the current period of human development, taking into account the achievements of science, primarily biomedicine, we can talk about the fourth generation of human rights, the socalled somatic rights. In this century, the focus on somatic human rights has become a feature. They increasingly occupy the attention of international organizations, become the subject of discussion at the national and international levels, since through their prism the nature of the relationship between a person and a state is assessed.

Brief notes about the development of rights of traditional people under the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

The main objective of this paperwork is to demonstrate how the safeguarding of human rights in relation to minority groups, especially traditional peoples, is developed in the context of the Inter-American System for the protection of Human Rights. In this sense, it is highlighted the theme of decoloniality in order to reveal the importance of pursuing the development of human rights in an intercultural manner that meets the real desires of traditional populations. Therefore, the specific objective is to analyze how the search for the protection of these people's rights has been based on the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. For this, the present work uses the methodology of approaching legal dialectics, accompanied by doctrinal bibliographic research, as well as international legal instruments that allow a better perception on the reality of the evolution of international law in the protection of the rights of traditional peoples.

“Victims’ participation rights in the post-sentencing phase: The Netherlands in comparative perspective”

Victims’ rights have proliferated rapidly over the past decades. However, the development of rights in the post-sentencing phase has lagged behind. In this article, we argue that victims’ rights may contribute to the acknowledgement of victims, something that victimological research suggests is important for victims’ well-being at every stage of criminal proceedings. We review a new Dutch law and a legislative proposal aiming to improve victims’ rights in the post-sentencing phase in relation to conditional release from prison and conditional discharge from forensic psychiatric hospital. More specifically, we compare these (proposed) victims’ participatory rights with those existing in the Canadian, Belgian and German framework. We argue for a strengthened position of the victim in the post-sentencing phase. We close by showing that the practical effectiveness of these proposed rights is put at risk by COVID-19 and states’ response to the same.

Communication, Context, and Narrative

Although often cast by realists as an exemplar of moralist or rationalist thinking, Jürgen Habermas and certain commentators on his work reject this characterisation, highlighting elements of his thought that conflict with it. This article will examine dimensions of Habermas’s work that relate to many realist concerns in political theory. I argue that while he escapes the commonplace caricature of an abstract thinker who is inattentive to real world affairs, Habermas’s claims in relation to communication, historical and empirical context, and the development of rights in history, reveal a narrow consideration of what defines context and a progressivist narrative of history that fails to address seemingly outdated beliefs and political forces. An analysis of these issues can serve to inform understandings of these topics in realist thought and in political theory more broadly.

DECENTRALIZATION OF POWER IN UKRAINE AND EUROPE: SECURITY AND FINANCE ISSUES

The decentralization is not a new phenomenon for Ukraine. The processes, directed to establish and to develop the local self-government according to European model, going away from complete subordination of local power to the state power during Soviet times, were activated since the state acquired the independence.
 The purpose of article is to study how the processes for decentralization of power, finances, etc. are run under conditions of financial, economical and political crisis that take place in Ukraine and countries of Europe.
 The local self-government and decentralization of power shall ideally have the connection with the territorial community. The decentralization of power in Ukraine is not the aspiration of territorial community but the attempt to remove someone from power, to divide the power, being received, between other people.
 It is necessary to establish the regulatory background for development of local self-government, as well as to work out and to implement the norms for division of receipts from general state taxes and duties into practice.
 In our opinion, the abovementioned vision is not only the understanding of decentralization but the understanding of local self-government itself. When the processes, related to development of rights at territorial communities or other territorial formations, start in the totalitarian country, where the real local self-government is absent, in this case one can speak about decentralization of power. That is to say, the state transfers the part of its functions to the communities. If the local self-government already exists, if the budget legislation assigns the corresponding receipts (assigned, own, regulating incomes) to the budgets of different levels, if the will is implemented in communities (through elections, referendums), so, this means that the power is already decentralized.
 There is a need for identified potential threats from such positive at first sight processes. Because there is the possibility to receive the additional financial resources directly from state budget (budget and fiscal decentralization). Namely this is the main purpose to establish the united territorial communities. And here exclusively the populism slogans are that the purpose of such newly established communities is to approach the services to population, availability of residents in territorial community to solution of issues of local importance, etc. From the other hand, decentralization – this is what the ones who want more power are covered, because the power is money.

Invoking the Supervisory Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Ghana. The Case of a Meddlesome Interloper (Busybody)

The Ghanaian courts have allowed the efflorescence of legal doctrines as necessary nutrients for the enjoyment and development of rights and obligations under the law within the Ghanaian jurisdiction. One such procedural doctrine is LOCUS STANDI or capacity of a party to invoke the supervisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Ghana. This allows the Supreme Court to exercise constitutional oversight responsibility over the actions of all other courts in Ghana. This power emanates from Article 132 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. The aim of this research is to unravel the inconsistency with which the Supreme Court of Ghana deals with who has the capacity under Article 132 to access the Supervisory Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Ghana under Constitutional regime. This paper was developed through qualitative review of various literatures and relevant modern case law to the subject.

The Position of the Woman in the Church

In this article, some considerations about the position of women in Catholic Canon Law will be presented. The Catholic Church has a positive view of women and her dignity, as she has in regard to men. This view is grounded in the Christian view of human nature with its clear awareness of the fundamental dignity of the human person. Consequently, men and women have equal rights in Church law. Although the Church has always affirmed the equality of men and women in her fundamental principles, the steadily increasing recognition of the equality of rights taking place in canon law must be shown, which is done through noting the development of rights that has taken place between the 1917 Codex and the current 1983 Codex. Alongside the equal rights of men and women, Christian Anthropology also recognizes gender difference, which shows itself in the manner in which the tasks of men and women are performed. In this sense, woman has a specifically feminine way to carry out her tasks in the family, community and Church, which signifies a great potential for the Church.

Consultation on Financing for Development: International and Regional Level Practices

The focus of this submission is on the use of Blended Finance (BF) as a relatively recent, yet key instrument and modality of financing for international development. We recommend that BF receive dedicated attention in future work of the Special Rapporteur (SR) focusing on financing for development, as it is a mode of development finance whose distinct features and role within international development policy, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) clearly classify it as an instrument of international policy designed to facilitate the full realisation of the Right to Development (RTD).

EVALUATION OF THE RULE OF LAW AS A PRE-REQISITE TO THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

Africa faces myriads of challenges one of which is the need for development; as a result, development is a critical issue in Africa. The apparent disparity and inequity of the global economic system in the aspect of international economic development, conspicuous particularly on the Africa continent has dominated academic discourses since the era of the decolonization of the undeveloped countries. One of the direct consequences of this was the evolution of right-based approach to development agenda which have implications for democracy and the rule of law; two elements that have suffered serious setbacks in almost all African countries. This paper examines the extent to which the effective enforcement of the rule of law in African countries can aid the human rights based approach to development in order to deliver meaningful improvements to the African development crisis. It starts by highlighting the evolution of the rights based approach to development agenda with a view to clarifying the meanings of the “right to development”. It further examines the import of the doctrine of rule of law, its relationship to the rights-based approach to development agenda and the theoretical underpinnings of both concepts. The paper continues to assess the position of the rule of law in African countries now, and its implications for the realization of the Right to Development (RTD), domestically (in each African country), regionally (and possibly sub-regionally).It is the argument of this paper that although, the African human rights-system, particularly the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights was the first enforceable document to contain the right to development, thereby making the African continent to be the first in conceiving it, yet one of the major reasons why development has eluded African over a considerable period of time until now is abysmal failure of the Rule of Law.