Protection Of Individual Human Rights Research Articles

Caught between 1945 and 1989: collective memory and the rise of illiberal democracy in postcommunist Europe

ABSTRACT Thirty years after 1989 Europe is once again divided, despite 15 years of integration within the European Union. In contrast to the West’s liberal conception of internationally constrained democracy rooted in the protection of individual human rights, Central Europe has developed an illiberal version centred on the popular sovereignty of the nation. I argue that these divergent understandings of democracy and the nation-state are rooted in collective memory. Whereas the West’s historical imaginary is based on the traumas of Nazism associated with 1945, Central Europe’s is dominated by the legacy of communism symbolically signified by 1989. These differing understandings of past teach strikingly different lessons for the present: one focused on the dangers of nationalism, the other on protecting national self-determination from external interference. The future of the EU depends on its ability create a broader historical narrative that can incorporate both the lessons of 1945 and 1989.

Freedom of science

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of “freedom of science” (“academic freedom”) for the advancement of society and mankind, which, however, is permanently endangered by powerful organisations, groups and individuals, who in pursuit of their one-sided interests are seeking to constrain information about the truth. As a broad term, freedom of science embraces freedom in research, learning, teaching and publication. All of these activities should be dedicated to identifying the truth and learning about the truth.Design/methodology/approachThree theoretical approaches are of importance for framing issues related to freedom of science, which in this paper are integrated into the framework of mindset agency theory: freedom is a value; “freedom” is claimed by agents who pursue specific interests (goals), which might constrain others; and individuals are agents who are interacting with each other within a social system – cooperation, ignorance or conflict.FindingsFreedom as a value is at the core of intellectual autonomy. Intellectual autonomy is a necessary condition for innovation and advancement of knowledge. The observable modes of interaction/coexistence among researchers are influenced by individual research goals and by the researchers’ access to resources, which may be deliberately constrained by opponents or other researchers as competitors.Research limitations/implicationsFor further research, which is beyond this paper, the authors can refer to: analyses of challenges of “academic freedom” – in terms of ethics, protection of individual human rights, political pressures and conflicts of interests; the issues of truth, i.e. the impact of fake news and creation of “alternate facts”; and the relation between academic freedom and employment (academic tenure) in present-day societies. Owing to lack of space, this paper cannot deal with the danger emerging from powerful organisations or powerful individuals, who are challenging freedom of science.Social implicationsIf there is no freedom of science then social progress is constrained. If there is no access to right data, decisions will be wrong.Originality/valueSo far, a comprehensive cybernetic model was not published, which supports systems thinking about scholars and teachers (inter)acting in research organisations.

The World Court of Human Rights Feasibility Study

AbstractThe idea of the World Court of Human Rights was first envisioned in 1947 along with other institutions designed to create a system capable of the worldwide protection of individual human rights. The focus of the present study is to determine key issues of the prospective establishment of the World Court by an examination of its theoretical position among the United Nations bodies, regional and another inter-governmental human rights organisation. Analysis of the function and mechanisms of the current international human rights protection system would lead to deliberation on the prospective substantial and procedural competences of the World Court, the enforcement mechanism, jurisdiction and related benefits. The objective of the final part is to discuss challenges regarding its political and legal feasibility. Without the visionaries of the past, there would be no substantial system of human rights today. The World Court of Human Rights is a vision for the future.

Legal Framework and Practice of the Protection of Environmental Human Rights in the Context of Armed Conflict

The state of the environment in general and the negative effects of armed conflict in particular are issues to be addressed. The impact of these factors on human rights is obvious. The purpose of this article is to analyze norms and practice of international law to determine the possibility of the protection of environmental human rights in the context of armed conflict. The analysis of international legal norms shows a deficit of special rules providing for the protection of environmental human rights in the context of armed conflict. The volume of international law providing for the direct protection of the human right to a healthy environment is extremely limited. They represent the norms of "soft law" and are not legally binding or, in the most general terms, are enshrined in some regional instruments. The existing state of international legal regulation of this issue necessitates recourse to international judicial and non-judicial bodies. In this context, the practice of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the European court on Human Rights, as well as acts adopted by the treaty bodies on human rights concerning the protection of individual human rights because of damage to the environment, may be relevant. The analysis of such practices and acts shows that the protection of environmental rights of the individual in the context of other human rights, namely: the right to life, right to adequate standard of living, the right to the highest attainable standard of health, right of ownership etc. In general, the protection of environmental human rights in the context of other human rights is possible in the conditions of an armed conflict, taking into account the characteristics of the latter. Therefore, this approach can ensure the protection of environmental human rights in the context of armed conflict.

Rozwój uniwersalnej ochrony praw człowieka

The development of human rights in contemporary world was possible due to the application the achievements of legal philosophers. First of all, medieval thinkers laid the groundwork for today’s organized system of recognizing the important values which today define universal human rights. The United Nations, as the successor of the concepts of the League of Nations, is the entity which internationalized this issue. Trying to create a definition of human rights draws attention to the essential value of this concept, that is, dignity and freedom. Despite the difficulties in formulating a clear definition it was tried to describe them and extract the directory common. Analyzing human rights from the perspective of developmental stages, it turns out that at the stage of conceptualization it appeared in the issue of separation of fundamental rights of units. Thus, when juridification has ensured the rights arising from the philosophical concepts, which proved to be universal values also in the modern globalized world. However, this does not mean that the process was hassle-free. Specific problems inherent in the international community, like the lack of unanimity in crucial matters, significantly lengthened the process. Initially, it was not possible to work out effective mechanisms of protection, and only demands were developed. Only by historical changes and the important breakthrough events, legal and international efforts became possible to undertake joint efforts to ensure and guarantee the protection of individual human rights. These activities resulted in the adoption of multilateral normative acts, the provisions of which have proved to be fundamental to the contemporary activities of the international community and non-governmental organizations for the protection of individual human rights.

Russkaya Pravda of Yaroslav Mudryi, the origins and traditions of national legislation

Problem setting. The emergence of the first national legal code – Russkaya Pravda was associated with the name of Grand Prince Yaroslav Mudryi. Since the law is normative background of the whole legal system, scientific interest represents research of hereditary traits «legal rights» if Kievan Rus’ and modern Ukraine. Although the level of law development and legal consciousness, the place in society life, learning values and legal conditions for a thousand years in our country have changed drastically, but remained from past times in succession important principles, traditions and institutions. Recent research and publications analysis. The authors of fundamental monographs «Legal custom as a source of Ukrainian law» / By Edition of. I. B. Usenko (2006), «The legal system of Ukraine: history, status and prospects» : 5 t. Vol. 1 (2008), new articles in the book «Russkaya Pravda of Yaroslav Mudryi, the beginning of legislation of Kievan Rus’» (2014 ) examined the sources of law of Kiev Rus, the use of customary law in the legal system of Ukraine. In this article attention is focused brief analysis on certain principles of succession and norms of institutes of the Russkaya Pravda (RP) of Yaroslav Mudryi and modern Codes of Ukraine and their interpretation in scientific comments. Paper objective. «Truth» in Russia is understood as a law by common law – justice. It is in the law of justice – its universal and timeless value. Since the days of long RP customary law were on a par with the norms of written law. In Ukraine, the legal tradition is an additional source of law, its role is increasing in terms of expanding the scope of private law. The article analyzes the norms of articles Civil Code of Ukraine, the Family Code of Ukraine that provides, as in RP the application of customs, established in civil relations. Paper main body. By comparing articled of ancient code with the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the author concludes: Old Russian and modern legislators consider the protection of human life as the major task, the same consider the actus reus of criminal act. RP is not only limited the use of blood revenge, but removed the death penalty from the list of punishments by princely court. This punishment was not allowed by the Criminal Code of Ukraine, thereby continuing the RP humane line in criminal law. Both legal acts, separated by a thousand years, settled two main objectives – protection of public relations from criminal offenses, the prevention of crime. RP envisaged the protection of individual human rights - the boyars, freemen, even dependent people (villains) and slaves. The legislator aimed to establish principles of equality in the state as it was understood that time. In times of Yaroslav Mudryi, Yaroslavichey and Vladimir Monomakh, Rus’ did not know persecution of people based on their religious beliefs, direct or indirect restriction of rights, or privileges on grounds of religious belief, gender, economic status or place of residence. Conclusions. It is concluded that the historical type of the Russkaya Pravda and modern domestic legal system, despite the past millennium, in total reflects – national traditions in legal understanding, evolution of legal consciousness and culture of the people, the principles of humanism, rule of law, legality, respect to human dignity etc. They reflect the continuity of the legal system of Ukraine initiated by customary law of Kievan Rus’, Russkaya Pravda of Yaroslav Mudryi.

An Evaluation of Disability Human Rights under the African Regional Human Rights System

In the past, Africans have used the concept of human rights as a great tool to free themselves from the rule of colonialism during the struggle for African states’ independence. 1 Although the newly independent states incorporated human rights principles into their national constitutions, it did not take them long to detract from and oppress their people en masse. The Organization of the African Unity (OAU), an association of the then independent African states, was established in May 1963 through the adoption of its Charter. As one scholar pointed out, ‘the protection of individual human rights against government abuse was not the motivating impulse behind the Charter. Rather, inspired by the anti-colonial struggles of the 1950s, the Organisation was dedicated primarily to the eradication of colonialism and the condemnation of abuse of the rights of Africans by nonAfricans, such as in the case of apartheid’. Thus, it is obvious that the protection of human rights in the Charter was insufficient and that human rights were not one of the primary concerns of the OAU during that time. In fact, African leaders used the organisation as a shield against criticisms of domestic human rights violations by their peers and other human rights organisations by heavily relying on the principles of non-interference, state sovereignty and territorial integrity in

Citizenship and Education in the Post-Yugoslav States

This paper explores interactions between citizenship and education in six post-Yugoslav contexts. The aim is to map out policies shaping the intended young citizens’ identities, which might differ from their lived experiences of citizenship. Focusing on the ethnocentric, multicultural, and civic dimensions of citizenship, the paper looks at how education governance structures and policies promote inclusive and exclusive citizenship by adopting and adapting international norms protecting group and individual rights. Universal and consociational education systems have been distinguished, with the ethnocentric and exclusive citizenship concepts reflected in the context-dependent status of different minorities, and in the language policies that perpetuate dominant ethnic groups. Inclusive elements have been recognised in the anti-discriminatory measures for inclusion of Roma students in mainstream education. Minority language instruction options reflect multicultural approaches to linguistic and cultural rights in education, although ethnocentric motives can be discerned behind their territorial implementation. Observance of the EU membership criteria and relevant norms are an important driving force for adopting social inclusion and minority rights in education-relevant legislation and policy documents. The study illustrates how the domestic consolidation and limited implementation of these norms created tensions between ensuring group rights in education and protection of individual human rights and non-discrimination.

Transformation of the Hungarian Constitutional Court: Tradition, Revolution, and (European) Prospects

The new Constitution and the new Act are changing the status of the Hungarian Constitutional Court by developing the Hungarian constitutional tradition, creating better collaboration between the Constitutional Court and the ordinary judiciary, and establishing an effective instrument for the protection of individual human rights. But the pattern of the Parliament reacting to the rulings of the Constitutional Court with constitutional amendments reduces the competences of the Constitutional Court. It is to be hoped that this process is coming to an end, because otherwise the achievement of the “paradoxical revolution of law” is endangered.Due to the former extensive competences in terms of law review and its limited influence on ordinary jurisdiction, the status of the Constitutional Court caused problems. Because of the abstract nature of the procedures, the distance from the ordinary judiciary, and the power dilemma between the Constitutional Court and the Parliament respectively, the Government decided the main stream of its ruling up to 2012.Now there are some important changes, especially the introduction of a widespread constitutional complaint. The abolition of the actio popularis is justified. The relationships between the state organs seem to be better clarified and adjusted. The European clause of the 1949/1989 Constitution, which was largely retained in the Fundamental Law, contains a fundamental concept, which is that the European Union is founded on strong sovereign Member States. On the other hand, the Fundamental Law strengthens Hungary's ties to Europe by making these an integral part of that law. As the Constitutional Court had not yet really applied the European Clause, it now has the opportunity to put these two concepts into practice and make them mutually compatible by enforcing them at a high level.The discussions concerning the newest constitutional developments in Hungary mainly have their origin in the power struggle between the constituent majority of the Parliament and the Constitutional Court. It is not clear, however, how long this conflict will continue to be a matter falling solely within the national sovereignty of Hungary. Due to the parliamentary super-majority of the governing parties, the Constitutional Court is losing its power. Hungary is a unitary state; it is an open question whether there is any substitution needed to balance the power of the governing parties. Nevertheless, in spite of the substantial restrictions on reviewing the constitutionality of financial laws and the several amendments of the new Constitution, the Constitutional Court still plays a role in safeguarding democratic checks and balances. Indeed, it can have a positive impact on the European integration of Hungary. It has been granted new competences to guarantee constitutional unity within the Hungarian legal system and to complete the enforcement of individual rights. The Constitutional Court should make better use of its new granted competence to remedy any possible grievance entirely.

Citizenship and Education Policies in the Post-Yugoslav States

This paper explores interactions between citizenship and education policies in six post-Yugoslav contexts, focusing on group and individual education rights, ethnocentric, multicultural and civic elements of citizenship in education policies, and the extent to which they encourage inclusive or exclusive concepts of citizenship. These interactions are explored by looking at education system structures, language and curricula policies. Universal and consociation education systems have been distinguished, with the ethnocentric and exclusive citizenship concepts reflected in the context-dependent status of different minorities, and in the uses of education to perpetuate dominant ethnic groups at different levels. Inclusive elements have been recognised in relation to the improving status of the Roma minority in education. A number of minority language instruction options, mostly available as a group right, reflect multicultural approaches to linguistic and cultural rights in education, although ethnocentric motives can be discerned behind their territorial implementation. Civic elements have been recognised in the introduction of civic education as curricular units, but ethnocentric ones prevail in other relevant school subject curricula, textbooks, and especially in hidden curricula precluding intercultural contact. The emphasis on group rights is strong, while monitoring non-discrimination and protection of individual human rights is scant.

Unofficial men, efficient civil servants: Raphael Lemkin in the history of international law

This article examines Raphael Lemkin's campaign for the Genocide Convention in the context of other internationalist projects pursued at the UN in the postwar era. Lemkin's papers at the American Jewish Historical Society, as well as at the New York Public Library, testify to his concern that his ambition to establish genocide as a particularly criminal act would be disrupted either by advocates of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or by international lawyers and civil servants working at the UN Legal Commission, prioritizing the concept of crimes against humanity and the Nuremberg Judgment. While his project to create an internationally recognized law to make genocide a crime was legalistic in its implicit faith in the power of lawmaking, Lemkin cannily sought to distance the Convention from those promoting the renewal of international law in a period defined more by realist skepticism about interwar approaches. Instead, he rooted genocide in a religiously inflected moral idiom that could distance his project from those pursuing a broader agenda of international legal codification, which met with scorn especially from those journalists whom Lemkin successfully recruited to the cause of prohibiting genocide. In order to demonstrate this claim, this article first establishes that Lemkin's concern to preserve the basic idea behind the minority protection treaties set him apart from other international jurists of the period working towards the establishment of binding legal enforcement for the protection of individual human rights. It then contextualizes Lemkin's rivalry with the legalists by examining the effort by UN civil servants and international lawyers to revive the prewar project to expand international law, arguing that it compels a reconsideration of Lemkin's, and the Genocide Convention's, place in the history of international law and legal order more broadly.

What reparation does a torture survivor obtain from international litigation? Critical reflections on practice at the Strasbourg Court

Although the Strasbourg Court is primarily a mechanism for the protection of individual human rights, many of the leading cases on violation of article 3 have a collective or a structural dimension. This is of great importance for the Convention Against Torture (CAT) definition of torture, which is that torture must have a purpose. Thus, the author's experience of many Kurdish and Chechen complaints against Turkey and Russia respectively is that they relate to the consequences of self-determination struggles and repressive state responses. Or, as in many of the Russian cases concerning article 3, they relate to the structural problems of the Russian penitentiary system, in which the officers, mostly ex-military, see the prisoners as the enemy. A successful claimant at Strasbourg in most cases obtains a declaration that a violation has been committed by the government, and a sum of money in ‘just satisfaction’. Compared with the practice of the Inter-American Court, this is minimalist. The enforcement procedure through the Committee of Ministers, for general measures, is opaque and slow. The question remains: why do it?

What Reparation Does a Torture Survivor Obtain from International Litigation? Critical Reflections on Practice at the Strasbourg Court

Although the Strasbourg Court is primarily a mechanism for the protection of individual human rights, many of the leading cases on violation of Article 3 have a collective or a structural dimension. This is of great importance for the CAT definition of torture, which is that torture must have a purpose. Thus, the author’s experience of many Kurdish and Chechen complaints against Turkey and Russia respectively have to do the consequences of self-determination struggles and repressive state responses. Or, as in many of the Russian cases concerning Article 3, the structural problems of the Russian penitentiary system, in which the officers, mostly ex-military, see the prisoners as the enemy. A successful claimant at Strasbourg in most cases obtains a declaration that a violation has been committed by the government, and a sum of money in “just satisfaction”. Compared with the practice of the Inter-American Court, this is minimalist. The enforcement procedure through the Committee of Ministers, for general measures, is opaque and slow. The question remains: why do it?

European Union Administration: Legitimacy and Efficiency

The decisions of the Court of First Instance (CFI) of the European Union, in September 2005, in the cases involving Messrs. Kadi and Yusuf highlight,1 if nothing else, one of the more profound governance dilemmas. Should human rights be respected even at the (possible) expense of effective governance? Or should effectiveness of governance be preferred, even at the (possible) expense of the protection of individual human rights? Messrs. Yusuf and Kadi, as is well known, somehow found themselves on a sanctions list adopted by the Security Council,2 and transposed into EU law: they

The workplace of the future liability issues and risk management

The nature and impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) involve major challenges for the management of liability issues in the workplace of the future. Risk management of these liability issues also needs to take account of other emerging trends in the workplace. The benefit of general regulatory regimes has been that they can be readily applied to novel situations to protect consumers and the community. When the public interest has required it, specific legislation has the capacity directly to address unsuitable business practices involving the use of ICTs and to provide appropriate consumer protection. Consistent with international objectives, a central element of the regulation of the future workplace environment will be the protection of individual human rights, particularly the right to privacy. The application of human rights concepts at a domestic level raises particular challenges in relation to the regulation of ICTs. Effective risk management in the future will require a consideration of data protection and document retention issues and the implementation of suitable training, compliance programmes and protocols.

Selective Adaptation and Institutional Capacity

Human rights policies and practices in the People's Republic of China have repeatedly been criticized for falling short of international standards. Although China has signed the international covenant on civil and political rights, so far it has ratified only the international covenant on economic, social, and cultural rights, despite repeated urgings by the international community. China's performance even under the agreements to which it is bound remains a subject of frequent criticism.1 While China's compliance with international human rights standards seems highly problematic, its human rights record can be explained at least in part by reference to China's divergent interpretations of these standards based on factors of local legal culture. The paradigm of explains much about the ways in which international legal standards are interpreted and applied in light of local legal cultural norms in China.2 As well, China's compliance with its international human rights commitments may be understood by reference to factors of institutional performance. The paradigm of institutional capacity explains the ways that conditions of perspective, identity, and organization affect the performance of governance institutions. As an alternative to normative analysis of human rights violations, the cultural and structural dimensions of selective adaptation and institutional capacity explain much about China's human rights policies and practice.LEGAL CULTURE AND SELECTIVE ADAPTATIONLegal culture analysis permits appreciation of the tensions between the globalized systems of liberal legal norms, from which many international human rights standards derive, and deeply embedded systems of local norms and values. China's legal reform project represents in significant part an effort to adapt selectively foreign models of law and governance drawn largely from the liberal tradition.3 This involves questions about the potential for normative community between Chinese legal culture and the foreign models China is seeking to apply to its development project. Proceeding from tenets about human equality and natural law, liberal political and legal norms stand generally for the proposition that government should be an agency of popular will.4 Such agency requires accountability, from political leaders through democratic elections and from administrative agencies acting within the limits of lawfully delegated authority. Responsible agency is thus a typology by which regulators and their political superiors are accountable to the subjects of regulation, and as a result are expected to exercise regulatory authority broadly in accordance with norms of transparency and the rule of law. Thus, the accountability of political and administrative agents may be described in terms of their responsibility to society. In contrast, norms of governance in China suggest a typology of patrimonial sovereignty, by which regulators are accountable primarily to their bureaucratic and political superiors, and as a result have few obligations to heed the subjects of rule in the process or substance of regulation. Under the dynamic of patrimonial sovereignty, political leaders and administrative agencies have responsibility for society but are not responsible to it. This helps to set an ideological context by which protection of individual human rights is relegated to secondary status, behind the primacy of the state.Tensions between responsible agency and patrimonial sovereignty affect compliance with international human rights standards through the dynamic of selective adaptation, by which non-local institutional practices and organizational forms are mediated by local norms. While parties to international human rights treaties accept compliance obligations upon ratification, as a practical matter interpretation and application of specific international human rights standards will depend on a degree of commonality between the sodocultural norms underlying these standards and local norms. …

An epidemic like any other? Rights and responsibilities in HIV prevention.

Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, HIV prevention has been closely associated with the protection of individual human rights. Traditional public health measures such as compulsory testing and isolation have largely been rejected as ineffective in public health terms and inappropriate in the context of human rights protection. HIV prevention has been based instead chiefly on elective measures --information, education, counselling, and voluntary testing. In the past five years there have been important clinical, epidemiological, and social developments in the AIDS epidemic. These changes, combined with a growing recognition of possible weaknesses inherent in a strictly voluntarist approach to HIV prevention, may herald a new approach to AIDS control which places more weight on social responsibility in the context of HIV prevention.

Law and Family Planning

Review of the relationship of law and population an examination of current laws governing birth control and family planning in countries around the world and an analysis of the legal problems and issues involved in future population control efforts are presented. Population characteristics and growth patterns are inextricably tied to the law of the State and it is emphasized that a very broad range of laws influence population beyond the immediate legislation on family planning. Besides laws on birth control and abortion regulations on advertising education marriage age of majority tax and health benefits for families and children all influence population growth. Present laws dealing directly or indirectly with population in most countries are characterized by contradiction and disparity vague language problems in enforcement and an inability to evaluate their influence and effect. There is an urgent need for the country to decide if it desires an antinatalist policy and if so to examine its laws so that they present a unified and active approach. All governments must face 4 major issues in law and population in the future: 1) the delineation of the extent of laws effect on population; 2) the compatibility of social welfare programs and population control; 3) the need for motivational as well as availability help in family planning; and 4) the protection of individual human rights while meeting the collective need.