Personal Liberty Research Articles

An Ethical Anaylsis of the Arguments Both For and Against COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates for Healthcare Workers

BackgroundSince the development of the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved vaccine for the prevention of serious disease and death associated with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, health care workers have been expected to comply with mandatory immunization requirements or face potential termination of employment and censure by their state medical boards. Although most accepted this mandate, there have been several who have felt this was an unnecessary intrusion and violation of their right to choose their own health care mitigation strategies, or an infringement on their autonomy and other civil liberties. Others have argued that being a health care professional places your duties above your own self-interests, so-called fiduciary duties. As a result of these duties, there is an expected obligation to do the best action to achieve the “most good” for society. A so-called “utilitarian argument.” DiscussionWe explore arguments both for and against these mandatory vaccine requirements and conclude using duty- and consequence-based moral reasoning to weigh the merits of each. ConclusionsAlthough arguments for and against vaccine mandates are compelling, it is the opinion of the Ethics Committee of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine that vaccine mandates for health care workers are ethically just and appropriate, and the benefit to society far outweighs the minor inconvenience to an individual's personal liberties.

‘This Man is Really an Intolerable Pest’: Perceptions and Treatment of the Disabled in the Workhouse, 1834–1900

Peter Higginbottom has argued that historians have failed to hear, find and listen to the voices of workhouse inmates. Using the recent research undertaken by the AHRC project ‘In Their Own Write’ the focus of this article will be on the letters and statements made by disabled and infirm inmates. By using a range of the correspondence, it will explore the voice of the disabled in the workhouse and consider how those with impairments exhibited agency and fought for their perceived rights and correct treatment and will explore negotiations around poor nursing care, the removal of personal liberties, invasion of privacy surrounding issues with the mail, poor food and expectations of the type of work they should be given. At the centre of the argument and particularly for those with sensory problems it will argue that poverty was the main problem rather than individual impairments. Finally, it will examine how individuals took a bullish approach to challenging those in authority at the local and central level to ensure that obligations of aid and relief were met, albeit often unsuccessfully.

Protection of Resolution Professionals in India: The Frontline Workers in a CIRP

Of late, the harsh realities of being an Insolvency Resolution Professional (RP) in the Indian insolvency regime have come to the forefront. RPs have been kidnapped, beaten up, arrested, threatened and prosecuted for criminal charges. Unfortunately, both the United Nations Conference on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Guide on Insolvency and the domestic Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in India, do not provide for a foolproof mechanism required to arm the RPs to defend against such attacks. While the Courts have come to the rescue of RPs who have been victims to such violence, this article argues for a more radical change through a possible amendment in the Code which enables strict corporeal punishment for such violation of personal liberties. resolution professional, threat, police protection, discharge of duty and insolvency code

Meninism and Preconceived Ideology with specific Indian Dimension of Human Rights in Today’s Changing Globalized Scenario: A Critical Appraisal

Men and Women both are an integral part of nature and integrant with each and another for wholeness to ensure the existence and survival of this human life in contrary time also for revitalization and revival in this mortal world. When time is changed then human conduct also changes consequently some women are abusing the law against men resultantly human rights of men are being violated very seriously in the gravest manner which is the contravention of life, personal liberty and security of men. The deprivation and endanger of life, personal liberty and security of men is in very plight conditions under exceptions in India. To prevent the abuses of law, preconceived ideology, predefined consequences against men in the protection of human rights to secure ends of justice for men is now need of hour and necessity. This research paper deals with human rights of men in today’s changing scenario. It has specially been emphasized on the preconceived ideology of people against men on this basis the discrimination and decision are taken prejudicially. Some laws also are in existence due to this preconceived ideology which is not justified in today’s changing globalized world under rule of law and democratic society, subjecting to exceptions. This preconceived ideology and its predefined consequences against men are inconsistent with and in derogation of human rights, abridging and taking away the rights of men. It reveals the Quantum of doctrine of protective discrimination for women against men, bearing in mind the principle of reasonable classification. When any person says or justifies that the particular thing is right or wrong, the same is stated on the basis of foundation root or quantum of knowledge of that person thereby the person has the understanding and sensibility accordingly and consequently, the person acts. But this research article does not include misogyny. It is not against the feminism. The history gives the evidences about the untold sorrow of women for the contravention of their human rights. This research article also is in favour of women empowerment and women human rights but no innocent men be sentenced. Everyone has inherent human rights by birth including human rights of men. Human rights for men are also available as per laws in today’s changing globalized world.

The Reform of Abortion Law in India: A Critique

After six consecutive years of discourse, India has finally passed the amendment to its Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act of 1971. This paper addresses the problems that the 2021 Amendment may prove to be inadequate to resolve, considering the existing practical lacunae between the vision of the legislation and the implementation of the law. It analyses and conducts a study on the numerous socio-economic factors that relates to the nuances of unlawful abortions, the extent to which this amendment has been able to address such problems, and how effectively has the Judiciary been able to provide appropriate remedies in accordance with the jurisprudence of the law of abortion. The paper also deliberates on the viability of the prescribed specialised Medical Board in the present infirm medical infrastructure of the country. Furthermore, several crucial elements of the concerned legislation have been left to be addressed by the MTP Rules that is yet to be enacted. This paper, in order to provide suggestive measures for such voids, attempts to strike a balance between the right to personal liberty and the right to life of an unborn, placing reliance on a comparative evaluation of the laws regarding abortion above the gestation period in other jurisdictions. In conclusion, the paper appreciates the gradual progression of abortion law in India while establishing a nexus with the recent relevant legislative developments and the socio-political role of the debate between pro-choice and pro-life in the judicial decision-making.

IPA and WPA-SOAP position statement on deprivation of liberty of older persons with mental health conditions.

In recognition of the challenges faced by older persons deprived of their liberty, a call was made for input into the 2022 report to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) on older persons. This Position Statement outlines the views of two global organizations, the International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA) and the World Psychiatric Association Section of Old Age Psychiatry (WPA-SOAP), working together to provide rights and dignity-based mental health services to older persons and it was sent to the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons at HRC.

A Free Land is Hard to Find

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is Mark Twain’s representative novel, in which the black slave Jim’s personal liberty has been the focus of critical attention. However, the white boy Huckleberry Finn’s freedom is taken for granted and therefore seldom mentioned. It can be argued that Huck can neither find real freedom in the seemingly civilized society nor at its opposite side. This thesis divides Huck’s adventure process into three parts, tracing his escaping from his father’s and the widow Douglas’ parenting patterns, his rifting journey down the Mississippi River on the raft and to the island as well as his vagrancy in mob-ruled communities. By doing so, it attempts to demonstrate the infeasibility of gaining individual freedom, the freedom of life and the civil freedom accordingly.

Policing Interfaith Marriages: Constitutional Infidelity of the Love Jihad Ordinance

AbstractThe Indian Constitution guarantees that individuals have the freedom to choose their partners free from state interference. However, the Uttar Pradesh Vidhi Virudh Dharma Samparivartan Pratishedh Adhyadesh, 2020 (Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Law, 2020) prohibits religious conversion to the extent that it assumes all conversions are illegal, which may have a negative impact on interfaith marriages involving consenting adults. The author argues that the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Ordinance forbidding religious conversion are vague and inadequate for addressing forceful or unlawful conversion for marriages, do not demonstrate any reasonable relation to the object of the legislation, and are constitutionally repugnant. The author concludes that by conferring police powers on state agencies to intervene in interfaith marriages, the Uttar Pradesh Ordinance erodes citizens’ freedom to choose a partner and their individual autonomy, privacy, and personal liberty—rights that are enshrined under India’s constitution.

Right to be forgotten: Paving the way for the protection of privacy

The Indian Constitution gives some specific Fundamental Rights to the people of India and can’t be abused in any case, like the Right given under Article 21 i.e. Life and Personal Liberty. Right to be forgotten is one of them which is recently incorporated. Earlier, the right to forget was not accessible and enforceable in the courts of law by the public, but over the years Indian courts have recognized the Right to Forget for adjudicating several cases as part of Article 21, in civil writ petition no. 9478 of 2016 court recognized a person’s Privacy rights pertaining to the right to be forgotten without explicitly using it; also, in Jorawer Singh Mundy vs. Union of India & Ors, the court dealt with both the right to privacy and the right to forget concurrently. With the rise of various social media platforms, where information spreads in seconds, people's awareness of the Right to Forget has grown. The main aim of the paper is to discuss the right to forget as a standalone provision and also to spread awareness about it in public. After going through this paper one will understand the importance and its global acceptability as well as in India.

Svoboda protiv slavyanskoj identichnosti v politicheskih razmyshleniyah A.I. Gercena

Some contradictions in A.I. Herzen’s political thought maybe explained in comparison with his contemporaries such as J.S. Mill and A. de Tocqueville, in light of a broader understanding of liberty. It can be clearly seen that the spirit of classical republicanism is implied in his ideal of federal of the liberal Slavic people. His ideological context is based on the reality of Russian empire, influenced by the empire’s thoughts, and reflects the anti-empire ideal. Herzen’s account of personal liberty and his seemingly contradictory vision of the Slavic identity can be unified with his republican ideal, which is similar to idea of “empire for liberty”, and it could be a reflection of Russia today.

Indian Legal Regime for the Protection of Trees

Trees are inalienable from us because they provide life sustaining material. Trees provide us Oxygen, food,shelter, etc. They prevent global warming and attract rain. Trees provide habitat to millions of species. InHindu religion people believe certain tree to be residence of particular God. Our relation with trees is fromthe start of life on the earth to the death. We have right to life and personal liberty under article 21 of theconstitution of India that covers right to clean environment and it is possible only when cutting of trees isprevented. To protect forest various legislations are enacted by the Parliament of India. Still there is need ofstringent laws against the cutting of trees.

A Discourse on the Effectivenes of Health Communication on COVID-19 Infodemic and Conspiracy Theory in Nigeria

Communication is a necessity for the survival of society. In the face of so much misinformation or fake news in public domain, threatening public health, it has become even more important and needed. Whereas health communication is important in the fight against diseases especially those that have assumed the pandemic status, effective health communication is needed mostly, if the desired result and set objectives must be realized in record time. One important role communication plays in fighting diseases is that it helps eliminate misinformation as well as disinformation. COVID-19 came with all forms of conspiracy theories and fake news across various social media platforms, breeding some form of danger on public health. Such requires effective health communication. Health belief model is the theoretical framework for this paper. Through the use of summative evaluation design by consulting existing research documents in book chapters, journal article and online materials, the paper established that health communication possesses the required powers to quench all forms of infodemic and conspiracies regarding coronavirus. The paper emphasizes that in the face of infodemic and conspiracy theories regarding COVID-19, effective health communication becomes important and can be relied upon to help in quality communication to vulnerable groups on the risk and dangers associated with misinformation. The paper suggests that best ways government and other stakeholders can sustain efforts at stemming the tide with regards to misinformation in public domain without infringing on personal liberties of citizens is to improve efforts aimed at countering fake news across same platforms where fake news thrives.

Demonstrating the Purpose of the Principle of Proportionality Through the Lens of Rawlsian Concepts of Fairness and Justice

Rawls put forward two principles of justice in his theory of justice, one is the priority of liberty rights, and the other is distributive justice. Although this differential justice has caused a lot of discussions, there is no shortage of it as a guide to our thinking. From Rawls’ justice, civil liberties are the first things we should protect, but society has the least beneficiaries. How to regulate rights, opportunities and incomes in the face of the fewest beneficiaries require a role for public power, but the public power cannot be expanded. The principle of proportionality can timely limit public power and excessively damage citizens’ personal liberty. At present, the principle of proportionality adopted in our country is appropriateness, that is, the measures taken by public power authorities are for administrative purposes, necessity, it is necessary to take measures to achieve administrative purposes, and the principle of narrow proportionality, that is, when there are a variety of means to take measures that will cause the least damage to citizens; There is no review of the legality of public authorities. The legitimacy of purpose is to examine the legitimacy of the administrative purpose to be achieved by the legislature or the executive branch of public power. In Germany, the birthplace of the principle of proportionality, we have examined whether the purpose is legitimate as early as the pharmacy law case. Although the legitimacy of purpose is not explicitly stated, a number of courts have practiced the principle in practice and the normative inclusion of the legitimacy of purpose in the principle of proportionality cannot be ignored.

Legality of euthanasia concerning right to life

Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which deals with the protection of life and personal liberty, has been interpreted in several landmark cases by the courts of law. Every one of those formulations has enlarged the scope of Article 21 to encompass those aspects of life that give meaning, purpose, and dignity to existence. The terms "life" and "liberty" are deeply linked. Liberty gives a person the freedom to make decisions freely, and life without liberty would be meaningless. Thus, Article 21 integrated the concepts of life and liberty distinctly and also connected them through the use of a legal mechanism for their deprivation. Due to this interpretation, the right to die was never construed as an important aspect of the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed by Article 21. The right to die is a notion that is predicated on the belief that a person has the right to make any choice about the termination of his or her life (this also includes undergoing voluntary euthanasia). The major issue is whether individuals should have the right to die and what may be the rationale for such a right.

Public prosecutors and the right to personal liberty: An analysis of the jurisprudence of the UN Human Rights Committee and the European Court of Human Rights

This article discusses the approach of the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to interpreting and applying the right to personal liberty, in particular in relation to the judicial control of the deprivation of liberty. It appears that both institutions adopt an interpretative approach that aligns with the object and purpose of the right. However, in the application to individual cases, unlike the ECtHR, the HRC fails to clarify the scope of the relevant provision of the ICCPR, specifically, the independence and impartiality of the public prosecutor as ‘an other officer authorised by law to exercise judicial power’. That situation may ultimately undermine a more effective attainment of the object and purpose of the right to personal liberty. The article argues for the HRC to adopt a more systematic approach to interpreting and applying that right in particular and the provisions of the ICCPR in general.

“I bought you. You are my wife”: “Modern Slavery” and Forced Marriage

ABSTRACT Forced marriage is identified as a serious global challenge, and has recently been linked to modern slavery. In this article we seek to understand how slavery, institutions and practices similar to slavery, and other forms of exploitation are linked to forced marriage. Innovatively, we do this through deductive and linguistic analysis of the world’s largest database of survivor narratives.We found that people who are forced to marry experience a range of forms of exploitation and human rights violations, including institutions and practices similar to slavery and arguably“ slavery itself. This includes forced labor, forced pregnancy, forced sterilization, sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, trafficking in persons, and significant restrictions on personal liberty and movement. Sometimes this occurs during their marriage; sometimes it occurs before, leading to a forced marriage; on occasion it happens after, because of womens vulnerability on having exited a forced marriage. Our findings should prompt further research into the links between forced marriage, modern slavery, and trafficking in persons. Absent any further research, they should already help policy-makers and those on the front line to understand the links between these phenomena, and thus aid the achievement of both Sustainable Development Goal 5 (5.3) and 8 (8.7).

Examining the Extent of the Application of the United Nations Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in Nigeria

The right of persons to be protected from enforced disappearance is an offshoot of the fundamental right to personal liberty. The United Nations International Convention on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPAPED) came into force on 23 December 2010. Nigeria proclaims her commitment to its spirit and has ratified the Convention but is yet to domesticate the same. This article examines the extent of the application of the Convention in Nigeria. It argues that state practices are far from complying with the letters and spirit of the Convention as various acts of enforced disappearance of persons occur in the country. In this context, while pointing out concrete instances of state complicity in enforced disappearances, the paper highlights some of the recorded incidents of forced disappearances in the country committed by both state agents and non-state actors. It identifies the challenges militating against the effective implementation of the Convention and concludes by offering suggestions on how its application can be made more effective in Nigeria.

Comparative analysis of the legislation of foreign countries on criminal liability for enforced disappearance.

The article analyzes the foreign experience of criminal law counteraction to enforced disappearances on the basis of research of the legislation of 50 countries.
 A study of the criminal law of approximately 100 countries has shown that criminal law prohibitions on enforced disappearances are currently contained in the legislation of Albania, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, Congo, Croatia, the Czech Republic, El Salvador, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Northern Macedonia, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela.
 It is found that the place of enforced disappearance in the system of the Special Part of foreign criminal laws is defined differently. The article establishes that the vast majority of legislators recognized this act as a crime against international law order.
 It is noteworthy that many legislators did not single out a separate article on liability for enforced disappearance, but recognized this act as a type of crime against humanity, mentioning it in the relevant “general” article.
 The article establishes that while formulating the disposition of the relevant criminal law prohibition, most legislators of foreign countries proceeded from the definition of enforced disappearance, given in Art. 2 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and from the definition of this act, given in paragraph “i” of Part 2 of Art. 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Attention is drawn to the fact that these international legal acts set different standards for criminalizing enforced disappearances.
 There is a significant variety of existing approaches not only to criminalization, but also to penalizing enforced disappearances. The article emphasizes that the studied foreign experience may be needed in improving the domestic criminal law prohibition on liability for such encroachment. In particular, the overwhelming majority of legislators attribute enforced disappearances to crimes against international law order rather than to encroachments on personal liberty.

The Health of the Commonwealth: A Brief History of Medicine, Public Health, and Disease in Pennsylvania

The Health of the Commonwealth: A Brief History of Medicine, Public Health, and Disease in Pennsylvania

Abuse of Human Rights in The Neoliberal World Order: The Case of Israel Palestine Conflict

The rights which are entitled to human beings, are crucial for their existence and are formulated with the intention of safeguarding their life, personal liberty and dignity are referred to as human rights. The traditional notion of human rights and security perceived them as antithetical and separate concepts whereas the current idea propagates the interlinkage between the two and highlights the need to preserve human rights in order to enforce security. Neoliberalism seeks to reduce the role of the state including to diminish its social and welfare responsibilities which affects the protection and implementation of human rights. Thus, a pertinent question is raised: What aspects of neoliberalism are abusive of human rights in the contemporary international structure? This paper takes up the case study of the Israel-Palestine conflict, which dates back to the nineteenth century and analyses it from the perspective of human rights conservation. Israel refuses to give the status of ‘rightful sovereigns’ to the Palestinians residing in the West Bank and Gaza and therefore, believes that they are not entitled to any protection bestowed by the international humanitarian laws. This research further takes into account the aspect of human rights in the U.S. policies concerning Israel. The U.S. has been projecting itself as the torchbearer of liberalism and individual rights in the contemporary neoliberal world order. Yet, it provides military and economic support to Israel and virtually remains silent in its wrongful claims over Palestinian territories. The contemporary world order has seen different countries adopting rightist policies, excluding regional identities and promoting the concept of a homogenized society. The abuse of human rights which these circumstances bring about become equally pertinent as the newest threat to individual security and consequently affects the international socio-political domain.