Liberty Rights Research Articles

Interest-Based Incorporation: A Statutory Story of Federalism, Delegation, and Democratic Design

Interpreting statutes is a rare legal field that appreciates fiction as much as fact. For years, judges and scholars have acknowledged that canons of interpretation are often based on erudite assumptions of how Congress drafts federal statutes. But a recent surge in realism has shown just how erroneous many of these assumptions are. Scholars have created a robust study of congressional practices that challenge many formalist canons of interpretation that are divorced from how Congress thinks about, drafts, and enacts federal statutes. This scholarly conversation, however, has yet to confront statutory incorporation, which describes when Congress incorporates state law into federal statutes. Statutory incorporation is one of the most common legislative tools employed by Congress and has been used to enact hundreds of federal statutes that affect liberty and property rights across multiple areas of law. Scholars have argued that statutory incorporation should be interpreted according to Congress’s intent to forward goals of federalism that seek to diffuse federal power to the states or as a tool to delegate federal law-making authority to state legislatures. This Article offers an alternative explanation of interest-based incorporation, which displaces the federalism and delegation theories that fall short when held up to the scrutiny of realism. Interest-based incorporation argues that federalism and delegation theories are fictions of congressional intent. By understanding that statutory incorporation is a tool to promote congressional self-interests, interest-based incorporation makes an important contribution at the theoretical and practical crossroads necessary to understand statutory incorporation. As a realist intervention, interest-based incorporation carries important implications for the future of statutory incorporation as well as scrutinizing the fictions that dominate theories of interpretation.

The Use of Asian Theatre for Modern Western Theatre: The Displaced Mirror by Min Tian

Reviewed by: The Use of Asian Theatre for Modern Western Theatre: The Displaced Mirror by Min Tian John K. Gillespie THE USE OF ASIAN THEATRE FOR MODERN WESTERN THEATRE: THE DISPLACED MIRROR. By Min Tian. London: Palgrave, 2018. 313 pp. Hardcover, $89.99; paperback, $59.99. With this well researched book, Min Tian adds to the continuing discussion of theatre manifesting other-culture aspects. Such efforts have been termed fusion, cross-cultural, intercultural, transcultural, transnational, and Eurasian, among others. Tian eschews them all, pronouncing the idea of intercultural theatre as rejected for what he calls "'new' interculturalisms" (p. 1) that nonetheless remain, he declares, "theoretically Eurocentric … and the historical divide remains between the East and the West" (p. 1). He maintains that Asian theatre's appeal, though "shared by the founding fathers of modern Western theatre" (p. 2)—he includes Aurélien-Marie Lugné-Poe, Adolphe Appia and Gordon Craig, William Butler Yeats, Jacques Copeau and Suzanne Bing, Charles Dullin, Antonin Artaud, Vsevelod Meyerhold, Sergei Eisenstein, and Bertolt Brecht—ultimately became what he calls "displacements," uprooted from the original Asian context and tossed into their thoroughly Western, ethnocentric concepts. Tian's notion, borrowed from Freud's "Entstellung" ("distortion") and filtered through Jacques Derrida, is key: "The … productive and destructive displacement of a performance text makes impossible the dialectical reassemblage of the totality … into … any particular saturated theory or model" (p. 7). It's a provocative approach and bears consideration. Within that frame, Tian probably reaches his objective. He discusses how and why each of the Western figures discovered Asian theatre, citing their overt disaffection with the era's torpid naturalism, the affinity they perceived between symbolism, and certain Asian performance aspects, the various Asian troupes then performing in Europe, and the appearance of milestone translations—for example, Noël Peri's Cinq nô; drames lyriques japonais and Arthur Waley's The Nō Plays of Japan, both in 1921. Tian sleuths through breathtakingly abundant essays, letters, notes, meetings, confirming what the Europeans knew, saw, or heard, plus the related exchanges among them. That information alone makes for compelling reading. Concluding every chapter, whatever the European figure borrows, Tian reiterates that it constituted not influence but displacement, distortion—cf. his title's "displaced mirror"—unmoored from its tradition. For example, he writes that Yeats's nō plays, though popular in Japan, "must be put in their proper historical place as a displacement of the Japanese model" (p. 91). And Tian's chapter on [End Page 334] Meyerhold, carries the tagline, "Welding the Unweldable," concluding that Meyerhold's approach, "necessitates the refraction, and thereby the displacement, of the original essence of those popular traditions out of their historical-social as well as their aesthetic contexts" (p. 204). Tian deems the process his selected Europeans followed as displacing something from its rightful context and claims, in an oddly self-fulfilling prophecy, that the aspect in question would have happened anyway, even without Asian contact! For example, he opines that Artaud, had he never "witnessed the performance of the Balinese dancers, would have seen the same 'effigy' or 'double' of his Artaudian Occidental self in any other non-Western primitive tradition" (p. 263) and concludes that "in the hyphenation of differences and traditions, there is no escaping the law of displacement" (p. 271). Is this "Tian's law," I wonder? Furthermore, his tone throughout regards displacement as not merely caused by Western ethnocentrism; it is also inauthentic, even unethical. I read Tian's book with great interest, though at some point it struck me that his assessment carried limitations; there was nowhere to go with it. I mean, what of the most asked questions about a play: What do you think? Good drama? Effective performance? There's very little insight in that regard, beyond his displacement notion, or even about theatre in general. Therefore, I would like to offer several rejoinders to Tian's fundamental point. For example, in a concrete sense, any truth about Asian aspects adapted to Western performances could be as likely about inauthentic Asian theatre as about displacement. Several such troupes were performing in Europe in the early 20th century. To cite one, Kawakami Otojirō, a shinpa performer, and by nature...

Strategi Peladang Berpindah di Routa Dalam Rangka Menguatkan Klaim Hak Atas Tanah Bekas Areal Perladangan Berpindah di Masa Lalu

Claims of rights to land formerly shifting cultivation areas in the past, as referred to by the terms orawu, anahoma, laliwata and osambu are now increasingly ineffective - one of which is because the former shifting cultivation area has been abandoned for a long time where the trees have grown as usual, until hardly leaving the slightest sign of former swidden cultivation areas. As a result, lands in the former shifting cultivation areas in the past are now being taken over and controlled by other parties.
 This research, which lasted for six months, was conducted in Routa District, Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province, considering that in this area a new phenomenon has developed in which land formerly cultivated areas in the past was re-opened by their descendants of current shifting cultivators in order to strengthen land rights claims. There are …. informants participated in this study, including shifting cultivators and descendants of shifting cultivators, government officials, and local law enforcers. Data collection techniques were carried out through interviews and observations.
 The study shows that the current strategy of the descendants of shifting cultivators in Routa is to re-open their parents' former shifting cultivation areas - this strategy is increasingly emphasized through planting growing crops, creating boundaries and legalizing land rights with both SKT and SHM. These strategies have proven to be quite successful in overcoming the encroachment of former shifting cultivation areas as well as providing new economic bases for shifting cultivators in the form of land and gardens.

Separate Issues Regarding Corporate Rights of the Spouses

Even though theoretical and practical problems that arise due to acquiring corporate rights by one of the spouses have been widely investigated in the scientific literature, certain aspects regarding corporate rights of the spouses remain relevant and require more in-depth research. It is due to the fact that quite often the spouses invest their marital property in the authorized capital of a corporate entity (for example, a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or a Private Company). For one of the spouses who is a company shareholder, the right to property, which is being contributed to the authorized share capital of the corporation, becomes corporate right. For the other spouse, the mentioned above rights become claim rights, which enable them to later obtain certain sums of money, including compensation for marital property objects invested in the authorized capital of a corporate entity. In this article the author analyzes the judicial practice that regards awarding compensation to one of the spouses in case marital property was invested in the authorized capital of a corporate entity. It has been concluded that judges employ several approaches in the course of setting up the compensation to one of the spouses. Namely, that of the spouses who is not a member of a corporate entity has the right to claim the following: 1) to be compensated for the share of marital property that was invested in the authorized capital of a corporate entity; 2) to be compensated for the share in authorized capital belonging to the spouse who is a member of a corporate entity. The spouse who is not a member of a corporate entity is entitled to compensation only in case marital property was invested in the authorized capital of the corporate entity without their consent and against the interests of the family. The aforementioned will be the key criterion while deciding whether the spouse is entitled to compensation for the marital property invested in the authorized capital of a corporate entity.

The Legal Nature of a Utility Connection Agreement: A New Outlook at the Problem

The paper continues the discussion existing in the legal literature on the legal nature of the connection agreement (utility connection) to the networks of engineering and technical support. The author gives different views on the legal nature of the connection agreement, which are found in doctrine and court practice. To reveal the essence of the contract under consideration, the author refers to the category "power" — a concept used in legislation to designate a legal relationship to endow the consumer with the right to claim against the energy supplying organization to maintain energy equipment in a state of constant readiness for the production and transmission of energy. In the course of the study of the legal nature of power, it is concluded that power is not an object of civil legal relations. The right of claim arising from the specified obligation can be attributed to such an object. The transfer of this right of claim to the consumer is made by the energy supplying organization as a result of utility connection. Based on this, the author reasonably concludes that, by its legal nature, a utility connection agreement is an agreement for the provision of services for compensation.

Una propuesta frente al contexto actual: el derecho multidimensional

To consider the main questions that changes produced in contemporary societies make to law is a debate that implies assuming what happens with knowledge in general and in the legal realm in particular. The present paper addresses the problem of a complex, postmodern and globalized socio-cultural reality, and presents the need for its approach from a right considered not only in its normative face, but also anthropological, social, cultural and ethical-legal. We propose a set of ideas and some hypotheses, keys and orientations, based on a globalized society, with the insertion of the claim of human rights protected by a universal ethics connected and related to law. We seek to build a multidimensional legal world in a free, fair and democratic society, within a context of postmodern and globalized society, with technological advances that grow in a dizzying manner and impact on man, society and law in different ways, depending on the place and the time in which they occur.

Liberty of thought, conscience and religion in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Some particular aspects

This article is devoted to the certain aspects of protection of liberty of thought, conscience and religion in the meaning of Art. 9 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. We have studied the complexity of the key concepts interpretation, the essence of which is guaranteed by the Convention, due to the lack of extensive practice of the European Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Court. It is noted that for a long time in a significant number of complaints the Convention body has come to the conclusion that the issues raised in the complaints, might be considered through the prism or Art. 10, as they concerned freedom of expression, or fell within the limits of Art. 11 of the Convention, which guarantees freedom of assembly and association. At the same time, the values protected by Art. 9 are related to those ones, which are provided in Art. 8 and demand the respect for privacy. It is also closely linked to the right of parents to provide such education and training as it is consistent with their religious and ideological beliefs, as guaranteed by Art. 2 of the First Protocol to the Convention.This article illustrates the fact that the conventional understanding of these complex, deep and multifaceted concepts at the present stage is formed with the development of the case law of the European Human Rights Court, which in its activities is guided by the principle of effective and dynamic interpretation of conventions and other related principles, which ensures the protective mechanism effectiveness. As the time is extended, the Court case-law has developed an approach that allows to assess the views that the petitioners plan to benefit from the protection of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Such views in the meaning of Art. 9 must, first of all, be to some extent "convincing, serious, holistic and meaningful" and, secondly, be "compatible with human dignity".Taking into consideration the compiled content of the right guaranteed by Art. 9, viz. that it contains two aspects such as forum internum (internal) and forum externum (external), the article notes that regulation can be involved only in the case of forum externum. As long as liberty of thought, conscience and religion remains within a human being, this right is considered to be absolute. The state has a negative obligation not to interfere in such a right.In the framework of this article, the author considers it appropriate to state the position of the European Union on the attitude and ways to effectively address these issues. As the subject of international law and one of the most influential international organizations based on the values of human dignity, freedom, equality and respect for human rights (Art. 2 of the Treaty on European Union), the EU advocates for their real protection, which requires the development of specific legal instruments.Therefore, both the EU internal and international activities are based on the principles that underlie its creation. It is the foreign policy aspect of the EU human rights activities that is the subject of our article that is reflected in the “European Union Guiding Principles on the Promotion and Protection of Religious Freedom or Belief”.The article draws a number of conclusions. First of all, the right of liberty of thought, conscience and religion is one of the key principle of a democratic society and the value in European cultural and historical heritage. The issue of violation of the right to freedom of religion or belief is interrelated with freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association. The issues of combating various forms of discrimination are not set aside. Additionally, the right, guaranteed by Art. 9, is a fundamental right and one of the democratic society foundations and the value in the law of the European Union. Moreover, the EU identifies problematic issues in the field of protection of liberty of conscience and religion as those ones that require particular attention, and the EU makes efforts to address them not only within its borders, but as well as in the foreign policy relations and initiatives

Qualified Immunity and Religious Liberty

Some illegal burdens on religious liberty are compensable only by money damages. And Congress enacted the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in part to address these cases. In Tanzin v. Tanvir, the Supreme Court recently held that RFRA permits damages suits against government officers in their individual capacities. But the Court assumed without deciding that officials are still qualifiedly immune from suit. So, plaintiffs’ ability to recover under RFRA now turns on the ability to identify existing law that “clearly establishes” their religious liberty rights. The Tanvir Court failed to comment on the substance of the qualified immunity defense in religious liberty cases. But courts have usually treated qualified immunity as a free-standing, homogenous doctrine not moored to any underlying claim, despite qualified immunity’s putatively statutory origins in the Civil Rights Act of 1871. And a growing body of recent scholarship is sharply critical of the state of qualified immunity doctrine. In particular, the Court’s requirement that plaintiffs point to “clearly established law” before they can overcome qualified immunity has been attacked as unjustifiable and disconnected from the animating justifications of qualified immunity. This paper makes two contributions to the literature. First, it approaches qualified immunity from a different angle than prior scholarship, which has tended to focus, understandably, on police use of force. But religious liberty cases raise unique concerns. This paper argues that applying the “clearly established law” test in religious liberty cases is both in deep tension with the Establishment Clause principle of denominational neutrality and unfaithful to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Second, this paper examines the consequences of the Court’s decision in Tanvir and demonstrates that the decision is unlikely to have any material impact without reforms to qualified immunity.

Covid‐19: Where We Are, What Got Us Here, and Where We Are Likely to Be Going—A Review Essay*

Covid‐19: Where We Are, What Got Us Here, and Where We Are Likely to Be Going—A Review Essay*

Children in dual‐residence arrangements: Exploring discourses of fairness and children's best interest in Norway

AbstractIn many countries, dual residence is increasingly common for children when parents separate. This works well for many children, but opinions differ on whether or not it should be the norm. In analysing interviews with 35 nine‐ to 19‐year‐olds with dual‐residence experience in Norway, undertaken in 2018, we find clear traces of prevailing discourses in society. Claims of equality and fairness and claims of children's rights both emerge, the latter being particularly visible in the participants' recommendations to other children. Children value spending much time with both parents, but may still want more flexibility than their parents realise.

The Religious Freedom: Universalism Claim, Resistance of Islamic World, and Reconceptualization

AbstractReligious freedom is one type of human rights which caused major resistance to the universalism claim of human rights in Muslim countries. This article attempted to describe why that resistance arose and how Islam should reconceptualize religious freedom. The religious freedom issues are important to be explored in the context of contemporary Islamic studies because its value and scope tended to be limited in the Islamic conservatism discourse. One of the issues is the fallacy in categorizing the apostasy (riddah)—a non-derogable right—verdicted as a blasphemy in Islam. By reconceptualizing the Islamic meaning of religious freedom, this study applied document analysis to enrich the contemporary Islamist studies, especially to postulate the significant relationship between Islam and human rights and to argue that Islam actually legitimized religious freedom as one of the non-derogable rights.

Análise da sustentabilidade do desenvolvimento ambiental no Município de Pombal-PB

Historicamente as comunidades rurais dos municípios brasileiros sofrem com a ausência, falta de atenção e de assistência por parte dos gestores públicos. Como estratégia de enfrentamento desse “esquecimento” e como consequência da abertura da participação popular nas discussões sobre políticas públicas voltadas para o campo brasileiro, foram criados os Conselhos Municipais de Desenvolvimento Rural Sustentável (CMDRS), no qual acaba sendo uma forma das comunidades rurais se organizarem e reivindicar seus direitos. O presente trabalho teve por objetivo analisar os índices de deterioração ambiental dos territórios rurais do município de Pombal – PB com o intuito de auxiliar no processo de construção do conhecimento rural local, subsidiando, assim, as discussões no âmbito do Conselho Municipal de Desenvolvimento Rural Sustentável. O presente trabalho foi desenvolvido no município de Pombal - PB, situado na região oeste do Estado da Paraíba. Para tanto, foram adotados alguns procedimentos e técnicas de pesquisa: 1) Trabalho de campo junto aos Órgãos, Sindicatos e Atores sociais que atuam direta ou indiretamente no Planejamento e Gestão do Desenvolvimento Rural Sustentável para a construção de uma base espacial única, construída coletivamente; 2) Pesquisa de dados secundários que alimentaram o Sistema adotado para analisar a Sustentabilidade Rural de Pombal; e 3) Pesquisa de gabinete que resultaram nas tabulações, análises e espacialização dos dados. Como resultado, os territórios rurais que fazem parte de diversas regiões de Pombal são os mais problemáticos em termos ambientais, necessitando uma atenção especial por parte dos atores que atuam direta ou indiretamente com o desenvolvimento rural sustentável.

Los shibolets del procés: Vilajosana sobre el derecho a decidir

En este comentario se discute la articulada defensa de Vilajosana (2020) de un derecho a decidir la secesión de España por parte de los ciudadanos de Cataluña. Se argumenta que dicho derecho, entendido como un derecho (claim) que comporta deberes correlativos, no es legal conforme a la Constitución española, puesto que lo máximo que esta concede es un derecho (liberty), que está sometido a las exigencias que la Constitución dispone. Se arguye también que dicho derecho no es legítimo, desde el punto de vista de la filosofía política, porque no hay ningún modo conceptualmente plausible de atribuir dicho derecho a un subconjunto de ciudadanos de un Estado y no a otro, incluido el subconjunto formado por todos los ciudadanos del Estado, dado que todo conjunto es un subconjunto de sí mismo.

The panorama in Meiji Japan: horizontal and vertical perspectives

ABSTRACT The panorama was introduced to Japan in 1890, two decades after the collapse of the feudal society. Not only the horizontal 360-degree view was a novelty for Japanese audiences, but also the realistic oil paintings drawn in perspective. In the same year, a 12-story viewing tower was erected and the first hot air balloon ascent took place, both in the adjacent Asakusa and Ueno districts where the two major panorama halls stood. These spectacles offered new visual experiences to the masses who were experiencing the new world that had opened to them with the freedom of travel and choice of profession. In other words, with the arrival of late-nineteenth century modernity, people’s gaze expanded both horizontally and vertically. During this period, Japan was in the midst of a rapid process of modernization, aiming at catching up with the Western Great Powers. Concurrently, the Japanese Democracy movement that endorsed values of liberty and civil rights had spread nationwide, and its theorists were among cultural figures who promoted modern and cultural entertainment forms – including the panorama. However, the earlier promises of the Meiji Emperor on creating a democratic society were soon replaced by the pursuit of Japanese Monarchy. The Constitution of the Empire of Japan in 1890 put an end to the Democracy movement and to the freedom of expression. Excavating the visual culture around the panorama and its environment, this article offers an alternative viewpoint on the atmosphere of Japan in the late nineteenth century.

Animal rights, legal personhood and cognitive capacity: addressing ‘levelling-down’ concerns

This article considers objections to current litigation strategies of the US-based Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP), which seek to extend legal personhood and liberty rights to nonhuman animals who possess ‘practical autonomy’. By tying personhood to intellectual abilities, so the objections go, such strategies endanger the present legal standing of humans with profound cognitive impairments. This article will argue that such cause for concern is largely misplaced for two reasons. First, the NhRP argue that practical autonomy is only a sufficient condition for personhood, not a necessary one. Second, drawing on theoretical and empirical literature, the article will argue that speciesism itself is a multiplier of oppressive theories, attitudes, beliefs and practices that negatively affect marginalized humans, including humans with cognitive impairments. The NhRP's attempts to reduce speciesism in the legal domain are thus hypothesized as being part of the solution to discrimination against marginalized humans, not as part of the problem.

Differential Effects of Instruction Technique and Gender on Secondary School Students’ Achievement in Civic Education in Anambra State, Nigeria

The essence of civic education is to train a child on how to adapt his or her life to the provisions of the social system to engender equality, social justice and inalienable rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. The current dismal performance of students on civic education has sadly threatened the actualization of lofty ideals of civic education in Nigeria. In search of answers to this growing problem, this study explored the differential effects of group instruction technique (GIT) and gender on secondary school students’ achievement in Civic education in Anambra State, Nigeria. The design of this study was non-randomized control group, pre-test, post-test quasi experimental design while multi-stage sampling procedure was used to sample six coeducation schools from each of the six education zones that make up 258 public secondary schools in Anambra State. The sample was 193 Senior Secondary 2 students drawn from six intact classes. The instrument Civic Achievement Test (CAT) was used for data collection. Data from the study was analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The result revealed significant differences in Civic achievement test between groups. The experimental group taught Civic education with the use of GIT recorded higher mean scores than their counterparts in the control group taught with LM. Also, gender was a covariant factor on the differential effect of GIT and gender on students’ achievement in Civic education. Given this empirical evidence; GIT stands as an effective alternative to improve on students’ academic achievement in Civic education. Thus, recommendation was made for its adoption by the stakeholders in education especially the Anambra State Ministry of Education to improve on the status-quo.

A Study on reforming Bad Debt and Bad Debt Expenses Deduction of Rehabilitation Claims Rights of Debt-Equity Swap

A Study on reforming Bad Debt and Bad Debt Expenses Deduction of Rehabilitation Claims Rights of Debt-Equity Swap

COVID-19 and beyond: a call for action and audacious solidarity to all the citizens and nations, it is humanity’s fight

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) belongs to a subgroup of coronaviruses rampant in bats for centuries. It caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Most patients recover, but a minority of severe cases experience acute respiratory distress or an inflammatory storm devastating many organs that can lead to patient death. The spread of SARS-CoV-2 was facilitated by the increasing intensity of air travel, urban congestion and human contact during the past decades. Until therapies and vaccines are available, tests for virus exposure, confinement and distancing measures have helped curb the pandemic. Vision: The COVID-19 pandemic calls for safeguards and remediation measures through a systemic response. Self-organizing initiatives by scientists and citizens are developing an advanced collective intelligence response to the coronavirus crisis. Their integration forms Olympiads of Solidarity and Health. Their ability to optimize our response to COVID-19 could serve as a model to trigger a global metamorphosis of our societies with far-reaching consequences for attacking fundamental challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Mission: For COVID-19 and these other challenges, there is no alternative but action. Meeting in Paris in 2003, we set out to "rethink research to understand life and improve health." We have formed an international coalition of academia and industry ecosystems taking a systems medicine approach to understanding COVID-19 by thoroughly characterizing viruses, patients and populations during the pandemic, using openly shared tools. All results will be publicly available with no initial claims for intellectual property rights. This World Alliance for Health and Wellbeing will catalyze the creation of medical and health products such as diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines that become common goods accessible to all, while seeking further alliances with civil society to bridge with socio-ecological and technological approaches that characterise urban systems, for a collective response to future health emergencies.

COVID-19 and Beyond: A Call for Action and Audacious Solidarity to All the Citizens and Nations, It Is Humanity’s Fight

Background: SARS-CoV-2 belongs to a subgroup of coronaviruses rampant in bats for centuries. It has caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Most patients recover, but a minority of severe cases experience acute respiratory distress or an inflammatory storm devastating many organs that can lead to patient death. The spread of SARS-CoV-2 has been facilitated by the increasing intensity of air travel, urban congestion and human contact during the last half century. Until therapies and vaccines are available, tests for virus and exposure, confinement measures and physical distancing have helped curb the pandemic. Vision: The COVID-19 pandemic calls for safeguards and remediation measures through a systemic response. A myriad of self-organizing initiatives by scientists and citizens is developing an advanced collective intelligence response to the coronavirus crisis. Their integration forms Olympiads of Solidarity and Health. Their ability to optimize our response to COVID-19 could serve as a model to trigger a global metamorphosis of our societies with far-reaching consequences for attacking fundamental challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Mission: For COVID-19 and these other challenges, there is no alternative but action. Meeting in Paris in 2003, we set out to rethink research to understand life and improve health. We have now formed an international coalition of academia and industry ecosystems taking a systems medicine approach to understanding COVID-19 by thoroughly characterizing viruses, patients and populations during the pandemic, using openly shared tools. All results will be publicly available with no initial claims for intellectual property rights. This World Alliance for Health and Wellbeing will catalyze the creation of medical and health products such as diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines that become common goods accessible to all, while seeking further alliances with civil society to bridge with socio-ecological and technological approaches that characterise urban systems, for a collective response to future health emergencies. Funding: This work was supported during its preparation phases by the State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Overseas Expertise Introduction Project for Discipline Innovation (111 Project, B17029) to SJC, LH, CA; European Union grants CASyM (FP7-n°305033) to CA, RB, JR, DR, DS, JT, OW; eTRIKS (IMI-1-n°115446) to CA, RB, YG; PREPARE (FP7n°602525) to CA, PO, SV; and initial funds in support of the deep phenotyping clinical study from philanthropic donors, Gilead, Merck and Novartis to JG, JH, LH; the Ricerca Corrente Program by the Italian Ministry of Health to AC, CPr, GS, AU, VV; the National Megaprojects of China for Infectious Diseases (2017ZX10103009-001, 2018ZX10305409-001-005), Double Firstclass projects from the Ministry of Education to the National Research Center for Translational Medicine Shanghai to SJC; Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project (2017SHZDZX01) to LJ. Conflict of Interest: Rudi Balling reports being a founder/shareholder of ITTM S.A. and Megeno S.A., outside the submitted work, he is co-inventor and holder of two issued patents; James Heath reports personal fees and other from PACT Pharma, outside the submitted work; Hiroaki Kitano reports grants from Minister of Health, Welfare, and Labor of Japanese Government, grants from Okinawa Prefecture Government, outside the submitted work; Doron Lancet reports personal fees from Weizmann Institute of Science and LifeMap Science Inc., outside the submitted work; Catherine Larue reports personal fees from Genfit, outside the submitted work; Peter Openshaw reports personal fees for consultancy work with Janssen, JJ Susanna Palkonen reports grants from Aimmune, Astra Zeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi, DBV Technologies, GSK, Leo Pharma, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi Genzyme, outside the submitted work, is employed by the EFA who receives unrestricted grants from corporate entities as above, represents EFA in the following advisory groups of these entities: Astra Zeneca COPD Advisory Committee, GSK Health Advisory Board and Novartis European Patient Advisory Group, receives no personal gain, honoraria, when applicable expenses are payed to her organization, is in a voluntary function the Chair of the Patient Access Partnership PACT who receives unrestricted grants from EFPIA, MedTech Europe, EUCOPE and Medicines for Europe for core operations, and project grants from individual companies, outside the submitted work; Christophe Pison reports personal fees and non-financial support from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GSK, Novartis, outside the submitted work; Mihael Polymeropulos reports other from Vanda Pharmaceuticals, outside the submitted work; Ulrike Protzer reports grants from VIR Biotechnology, grants and non-financial support from Roche, grants from Alios-JJ Peter Sterk reports other from Breathomix BV, outside the submitted work; Giulio Superti-Furga reports being a shareholder of Proxygen GmbH, Haplogen GmbH and Allcyte GmbH, outside the submitted work; Vincenzo Valentini reports personal fees from Merck Serono, Betaglue, outside the submitted work; Sylvie van der Werf reports other from Sanofi Pasteur, outside the submitted work; she is the holder of four issued patents. The other authors have declared no conflict of interest.

Religious Liberty in a Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic caused an unprecedented shutdown of the United States. The stay-at-home orders issued by most states typically banned large gatherings of any kind, including religious services. Churches sued, arguing that these bans violated their religious liberty rights by treating worship services more strictly than analogous activities that were not banned, such as shopping at a liquor store or superstore. This short Essay examines these claims, concluding that the constitutionality of the bans turns on the science of how the pathogen spreads, and that the best available scientific evidence supports the mass gathering bans.