Public Hearings Research Articles

The Right to a Public Hearing in Criminal Cases in the Digital Age

Summary The author analyses the right to a public hearing in criminal cases in the light of the development of communication technology, the media, and the digitalization of courts. After a presentation of the current Strasburg standards he shows the competing values and the need for balance. He presents the possible solutions of preserving the right in relation to traditional hearings, hybrid hearings, virtual hearings, and online courts. It is argued that the development of different forms of remote hearings changes the perception and implementation of the right to a public hearing and that developments in technology call for limitations on the public character of hearings, rather than for increasing publicity. It was also observed that the Strasburg jurisprudence not only identifies the negative obligations of parties concerning the right, but also requires them to take some positive actions.

THE TIME OF ECOLOGICAL RIGHTS

This article analyzes the metamorphosis of law in order to promote ecological rights. It hypothesizes whether the promises of the social contract have been fulfilled in relation to the collective good of the environment in light of the transformations of law, society, and the State in modern times. To this end, first, by connecting memories of the past, the axes of individual (or private) law and the successive solutions adopted until the inclusion of collective rights in the 1988 Constitution will be rescued, with the resolution of global, local, and radiated collective conflicts; second, by disconnecting the past to connect the future, the standardization of ecological rights in constitutional text will provide us with the opportunity to list environmental principles and outline the distribution of administrative and legislative powers in environmental matters; Thirdly, by zooming in on the main general environmental laws, we confirm that the law is changing and that it can offer means for recovering the environmental deficit, according to the rural environmental registry (CAR), the environmental recovery program (PRA), protected territorial spaces, administrative licenses, etc., with the possibility of three-dimensional liability of the polluter. In conclusion, we want to confirm the hypothesis of the problematic metamorphosis of the law and its virtuous image before the social mirror with the commitment to preserve and protect the environment. Finally, guided by the hypothetical-deductive method, the article takes an evaluative approach to the formal sources of the environment, based on books, scientific articles, public hearings, case law and legislation.

Listening to regulators about the challenges in regulating emerging disruptive technologies

Purpose This study aims to investigate the regulatory challenges of emerging disruptive Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Brazil and the strategies regulators use to address them. Design/methodology/approach It is an empirical qualitative research on Brazil’s three administrative levels, focusing on the legislative houses’ specialised Science and Technology Committees. It combines archival analysis of public meeting records with elite interviews of parliamentarians and technocrats who participated in Public Hearings in 2019, which results in this paper analysed through the Theory of Communicative Action with a critical stance. Findings The research reveals that regulatory challenges gain new dimensions by involving discussions about emerging ICT. Factors such as time constraints, rapid technological evolution and widespread adoption compound these challenges, straining the preference for the incremental pace of regulation and the traditional model of specialised regulatory agencies. The research captures some regulators’ values, underlying concerns and perceived necessities for surmounting these challenges. It also outlines the preferred process for ICT regulation, revealing parliamentary assistants and executive intermediate-level specialists as gateways for interest groups’ action. Social implications The study's findings highlight the crucial role of specific actors as gateways to the covert action of interest groups, particularly Big Tech firms. This contribution is significant as it empowers civil society and academia to monitor and mitigate the risk of regulatory capture, thereby promoting a more transparent and equitable regulatory environment. Originality/value This research is original in directly engaging with the key figures (lawmakers, legislative assistants and specialised bureaucrats) involved in the critical and timely issue of regulating emerging disruptive technologies.

Teaching in Immigration Court: Engaged Anthropology, Student Supervision, and Ethical Challenges Involved in Observing Public Hearings of Asylum Claimants

Teaching in Immigration Court: Engaged Anthropology, Student Supervision, and Ethical Challenges Involved in Observing Public Hearings of Asylum Claimants

Conceptualising the People's Parliament Approach in the Parliament of Malaysia

This study explores the Parliament of Malaysia’s transition towards a more public-friendly institution, part of a global trend towards transparent and people-centric parliamentary processes. Utilising 16 articles from the Inter-parliamentary Union’s Public Engagement Hub and additional literature, the research compares Malaysia’s initiatives with those of the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. The analysis focuses on public engagement strategies such as public broadcasting of sessions, committee hearings, public visits, research services, and the potential for a parliamentary budget office and petition systems. Findings indicate Malaysia’s progress in some areas, like public broadcasting and committee hearings, while identifying gaps in others, like interactive visitor experiences and comprehensive digital engagement. The study highlights the challenge of balancing security with accessibility, especially under legal frameworks like the Protected Areas and Protected Places Act 1959 (Act 298). Recommendations include enhancing the Parliament’s virtual tour and establishing a more engaging visitor centre. The study concludes that while Malaysia has made commendable strides in public engagement, there are opportunities for improvement, particularly in areas requiring substantial legal and structural changes. This study contributes to understanding the dynamics of public engagement in parliamentary processes, underscoring the significance of a People’s Parliament spirit in democratic governance.

Popular Participation And Social Control As A Principle Of The Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS)

The following article addresses the importance of popular participation and social control in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), as established by the Federal Constitution of 1988. These principles aim to ensure that health is a universal right and a state duty, and that the community plays an active role in the formulation, implementation, and oversight of health policies. Popular participation allows citizens to influence health decisions and ensures that their needs are reflected in public policies. This is achieved through meetings, consultations, and public hearings. Social control enables citizens to oversee the implementation of health policies, ensuring transparency and accountability among health managers. Health Councils, Health Conferences, and Health Ombudsman Offices are the main mechanisms for implementing these principles. Health Councils, operating at municipal, state, and federal levels, include representatives from the government, health professionals, and users, and are involved in the formulation, evaluation, and oversight of health policies. Health Conferences bring together a broad range of participants to discuss and propose improvements to the SUS, while Ombudsman Offices serve as channels for citizens to file complaints, suggestions, and reports of irregularities. However, the text also highlights challenges such as low community engagement, lack of resources and training, and issues of representativeness. These challenges impact the effectiveness of Health Councils and Conferences. To overcome these issues, it is necessary to promote greater awareness, improve infrastructure, and ensure diverse representation, ensuring that health policies adequately address the needs of the population.

Design of an Intelligent Agent for the reproduction of official documents using an Intelligent Artificial Clerk (G.A.I)

In this article we will propose the "Intelligent Artificial Clerk" which is an Intelligent Agent designed to assist users, editors, facilitators of interactive meetings and rapporteurs in general, and in particular the clerks of the High Court of Kananga in order to save them from heavy tasks related to the reproduction of official documents, in particular minutes during hearings and public hearings. Apart from this task, this intelligent agent will also allow the court to be seized remotely and will transmit interviews and trials in audio format via Mp3 files.

Consulting citizens: Addressing the deficits in participatory democracy

‘Democracy’ is a pliable, and much abused concept, yet constitutional law cannot do without it. It is usually linked to the equally flexible notions of rule of law and constitutionalism. Due to many changes in public life around the world, entrenched ideas of governmental propriety, including being democratic, are undergoing a ‘loss of meaning’. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 explicitly requires democracy to be participatory. Despite various official efforts to formulate the modalities of public consultation and an established routine of public hearings and calls for comment on draft legislation and policies, it has not developed beyond a ‘box-ticking’ exercise, sometimes amounting to outright abuse. As a corrective to the shortcomings of standard electoral democracy a novel approach to the involvement of the citizenry in contentious decision-making has emerged in many parts of the democratic world. It takes the form of citizens’ assemblies composed to achieve descriptive representation rooted in an age-old method of randomised selection, known as ‘sortition’. To employ these mechanisms to realise genuine participatory democracy would require surmounting the difficulties presented by the complexity of South African society. Modern technology and advances in sortition methodology hold promises of overcoming the difficulties, but it would also require a political sea change.

Making public or quiet listening? Media logics and public inquiries into the abuse of children

This article examines the tensions between ‘publicness’ and ‘privacy’ in national commissions of inquiry. Through the insights of those who worked deep inside Australia's landmark Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (RCIRCSA, 2013–2017), and the evidence provided in its final report, we explore the organisational and media logics of the Commission's highly publicised public hearings, and the ‘quiet’ institutional listening practices of its private sessions and engagement with marginalised communities. Royal Commissions are an important mechanism for raising awareness of past crimes on the public agenda. Our research finds that while the revelatory outcomes of the RCIRCSA have been well documented, its private sessions, engagement and research are less well understood. We argue ‘publicness’ is a relatively unchallenged good that is enacted through news media and the royal commission process, but media logics can limit their capacity to address the ongoing causes and impacts of child sexual abuse against the most impacted children. Participants reflected on the media logics that drove strategic decisions to ‘make public’ some cases and institutions, while others remained in the Commission's private realm. The article concludes that the confidential sharing of evidence has been undervalued in inquiry media studies that often centre the journalists’ role in uncovering and publicly revealing previously unheard stories. Drawing on international comparisons we find that while quiet listening risks negating the opportunity to amplify experience, it may also counter the potential silencing effects of unwanted public media scrutiny and protect potential witnesses from further harm.

Serra and Us

Abstract Yve-Alain Bois discusses and describes the many essays that October editors and contributors have written about Richard Serra, particularly Rosalind Krauss, Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Yve-Alain himself, Leah Dickerman (most recently), and Hal Foster (most abundantly). The article begins: “I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that no artist can be more immediately identified with October than Richard Serra, particularly during the journal's first decades. Several of its editors or editors-to-be wrote repeatedly about his work, in the journal and elsewhere, and he himself participated directly in the life of the publication via a lengthy interview, not to mention his unwavering financial support since issue 39 (Winter 1986). “In 1991, The Destruction of Tilted Arc: Documents appeared in the October book series; edited by Clara Weyergraf-Serra and Martha Buskirk, it offered nearly three hundred pages of documentation concerning the legal battle waged (and lost) by the artist to prevent the destruction by the American government of the site-specific work it had commissioned for Federal Plaza in New York City (installed in 1981, it was dismantled in 1989). Needless to say, the October gang came en bloc to defend the work at the public hearing (the testimonies of Rosalind Krauss, Annette Michelson, Douglas Crimp, Benjamin Buchloh, and regular contributor Abigail Solomon-Godeau figure in the book). “In 2000, the first volume of the October Files appeared; edited by Hal Foster, it took Serra as its subject. Memorial tributes are an awkward genre in that they are almost inevitably nostalgic and take a narcissistic turn (“me and the great man”). But what if one were simply to commemorate the prolonged interaction of the journal's editors with Serra's work by chronologically recapitulating the various instances of their engagement? This will be done with pride, for sure, but also as a duty to forestall amnesia.”

Justice for institutional child abuse survivors: Comparing views from survivor and non-survivor led advocacy groups

BackgroundHow victims and survivors of non-recent institutional child abuse – and the advocacy groups that support them – conceptualise justice has become a central concern for policy makers designing redress schemes. ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore articulations of justice by two types of advocacy organisations in Australia – survivor and non-survivor led groups – by examining transcripts from public hearings of the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Participants and SettingHearings held in 2015 for Case Study 25: Redress and Civil Litigation were analysed. The analysis focuses on five survivor led groups and 13 non-survivor led groups. MethodsUsing a framework adapted from Daly (2014, 2017), qualitative content and thematic analysis was used to analyse transcript data to identify “survival needs” and “justice interests”. ResultsFor survivor led groups, validation was the most frequently coded justice interest, while for the non-survivor led groups, the category of survival needs was the most frequently recorded element. ConclusionsAdvocacy groups contribute highly valuable insights and perspectives to redress consultation and design processes. A key justice interest emphasised by survivor led groups was the need for public acknowledgement of how offending institutions wield power, both in the abuse of children and in the subsequent strategies employed to ensure survival of the institution and avoid justice processes. For non-survivor led groups, communicating their professional expertise about what victims and survivors need from a redress scheme was paramount.

Planning in the age of acceleration: a perspective on digital inclusion in online urban planning meetings

In the age of technological acceleration, new digital shifts and the increased use of ICT have changed the ways we work, live, sleep, and shop. Remarkable transformations have left footprints in the planning world as well, with many urban planners harnessing technology to improve and expedite planning processes. This process accelerated further during the COVID pandemic, which forced many planning committees and local governments to conduct public meetings, hearings, and participatory processes remotely in order to allow the planning machine to continue rolling while abiding by social distancing rules. Developments such as this have been part of a broader shift toward the increasing reliance of planning on video-conferencing and other technological innovations. While this new policy has proved advantageous to many, it has also had regressive impacts and severely affected social inclusion in the planning process. This paper reviews these outcomes by focusing on the Israeli planning system post-COVID, which continues to embrace videoconferencing as a tool in planning. The findings illustrate the vulnerability of certain groups to the accelerated digitalization of urban planning. Despite planners’ awareness of these outcomes and adaptations made to existing means of e-participation, online planning meetings are not geared toward using tools and platforms to improve practice; instead, remote participation remains largely a ‘pro-developers’ process and could marginalize other participants.

The future of preventive health care for people with intellectual disabilities in Australia: an analysis of the Disability Royal Commission’s approach, findings and recommendations

The Disability Royal Commission (the Commission) investigated many issues, one of which was whether people with cognitive disabilities, including people with intellectual disabilities, faced systemic neglect in the Australian health system. Using a method of co-design with people with intellectual disabilities, we analysed the Commission’s approach and recommendations about preventive health care. We identified how the Commission’s recommendations can inform the achievement of the National Preventive Health Strategy (the Strategy) for people with intellectual disabilities. We found that a strength of the Commission’s process was the multiple ways it inquired about the experience of accessing preventive health care. However, the inclusiveness of the invitations to participate in the Commission’s work and the location of the public hearings were limitations for key stakeholders. Our analysis also noted that the Commission’s public hearings focused on the supply side of healthcare access (health services) compared to the demand side of access (health users). This was a missed opportunity to learn from health users about their experiences. Two challenges to the implementation of the recommendations include the focus on cognitive disability instead of intellectual disability, and the focus on health care in general, rather than specifically on preventive health care. We also found that the Commission’s recommendations mainly relate to the leadership, governance and funding elements in the Strategy, with a few actions relevant to prevention, partnerships, information, research, surveillance and preparedness. It is important that all the elements required to mobilise prevention systems are considered and actioned to achieve the Strategy.

Wives’ Discrimination by Spouse’s Culpability in the Globalised Fisheries Industry: Insights From Public Political Hearing on Mafia Island, Tanzania

Globalisation has been lauded for transforming African women’s financial and cultural lives. However, current discourses fail to demonstrate the new hurdles women have to survive in the fishery globalised world. This article uses public political hearing insights, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to show how Mafia Cooperative women employees in the Mafia region were discriminated against in unprecedented ways. The data were examined thematically. The results show that women’s right to work was based on their marital status and husbands’ behaviour, and not their skills or experience. Such behaviour violates human and workplace rights and should be strongly chastised.

Optimization of Judicial Review System in Non-Prosecution for Corporate Compliance

As the reform of corporate compliance progresses, the system of non-prosecution for corporate compliance grants prosecutors significant discretionary power, making it inevitable for courts to participate in corporate compliance. Issues arising from corporate compliance reform, such as insufficient time for compliance rectification hearings, inadequate third-party supervision, judicial discretion abuse, and lack of unified standards for compliance effectiveness assessment, should be addressed. This can be achieved by establishing unified standards for compliance effectiveness, improving the transparency of public hearings, emphasizing the construction of a diversified institutional framework for multi-party participation in corporate compliance, enhancing coordination and constraints among public security organs, procuratorates, courts, administrative agencies, and third-party organizations, and improving the judicial review of corporate compliance to optimize the judicial scrutiny of the non-prosecution system for corporate compliance.

City Limits: Urban Nature Rules and the Role of Civic Engagement in Minneapolis—St. Paul Metro Area, USA

Formal rules define urban governance, yet in democratic systems like the United States, institutions governing public input shape decision-making. Governance literature needs more breadth on how civic engagement varies across types of nature and its implications for urban social-ecological systems. We analyzed five cities’ ordinances within the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan region, identifying nature-based rules and civic engagement mechanisms. We found ten engagement mechanisms across six nature types, primarily discussed within zoning ordinances—farm animals being the exception. Public hearings were the most frequently mentioned engagement mechanism, yet they have documented biases toward elite perspectives. Despite codification of engagement opportunities, it remains unclear whether utilized mechanisms support substantive input and influence into urban nature governance. Our study not only lays groundwork for research on how to address the inequitable distribution of nature-related benefits and burdens felt by some urban communities, but also inspires further exploration into this crucial area of study.

Educating the Adult Learners: Development of Digital Marketing Strategies for Local Community Products of Pasakngam Village, Chiang Mai, Thailand

This study aimed to educate adult learners by addressing marketing challenges faced by Pasakngam Village, Chiang Mai. The objectives were 1) examine current marketing management procedures and the needs for community products 2) analyze and develop a digital marketing strategy model, and 3) educate the adult villagers on digital marketing strategies. This research employed a participatory phenomenological method to collect both quantitative and qualitative data including public hearings, in-depth interviews with village and product group leaders, focus group meetings with 34 village members and surveys with 215 tourists. Analytical tools included statistical analysis with SPSS software for quantitative data and content analysis for qualitative data. The research findings disclosed a lack of structured marketing management and digital, as well as insufficient public relations plans. The community attempts to promote products via a Facebook page were lacked proper supervision. The research introduced practical workshops based on the Reach, Act, Convert, Engage (RACE) to teach digital marketing to the community members. The villagers learned to operate digital marketing strategies by creating and sharing promotional videos on digital platforms such as YouTube and Facebook, aiming to increase tourist visits and product visibility. The digital marketing strategies improved community engagement and product promotion, highlighting the need for ongoing training and strategy refinement. The research underscores the importance of equipping local communities with digital marketing skills to enhance economic resilience and sustainable development. The study's comprehensive approach provides a replicable model for similar communities seeking to leverage digital marketing for local product promotion.

Factors Affecting User Satisfaction of Local Van (Songthaew): A Case Study of The Local Van (Songthaew) Route 1263 In Pattanakarn Road Soi 20, Bangkok

The research aims to identify the factors affecting satisfaction and suggestions from users of local van (songthaew) route 1263. This will propose measures to manage the operations and improve level of satisfaction. The researcher has established a set of questionnaires for 400 random respondents and using Multiple Regression Analysis to determine the correlation between factors that affect satisfaction. Discover correlations between factors influencing satisfaction using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. It was found that factors affecting user satisfaction of local van (songthaew) route 1263 in Pattanakarn road soi 20 by the average satisfaction score of the factors that affect satisfaction (Y1) would be management (X1), physical aspects of vehicles (X2), service (X3), safety (X4) and environment (X5). The equation of predicting satisfaction is Y1 = -2.164E-15 + 0.148 X1 + 0.333 X2 + 0.259 X3 + 0.148 X4 + 0.111X5 The variables can predict the overall satisfaction (Y1) with adjusted R-Square all four factors have equivalent to 1.000 for accuracy (100.0%), the relationship between variables is equal to 1.000. The above equation shows the overall satisfaction across all with an average predictive value (Predicted Y1) of 3.28 (moderate satisfaction). There is a correlation (Pearson Correlation) among there five factors and their satisfaction in the order of the relationship as follow: service (r = 0.764), safety (r = 0.739), environment (r = 0.638), physical aspects of vehicles (r = 0.236) and management (r = 0.058) a significant relationship except for management. The top three additional suggestions from users are installation of GPS systems on the local van (songthaew) route 1263 for convenient passenger tracking (23.0%), decreasing the running time (15.5%), and repairing damaged seats (14.5%). Prioritizing the bus operations management and safety regulations must be established by relevant governmental agencies to promote customer satisfaction. Vehicle examinations must strictly adhere to substantial practices. Operators should receive training on safe driving and outstanding service to boost passenger confidence and service. User suggestions regarding the management are, for example, an appropriate schedule and bus operation punctuality. There should be collaboration between government agencies and the private sector in order to accommodate passengers on main public transportation while connecting with local ones. A public hearing among stakeholders from both the private and governmental sectors should be held in order to gain ideas for improvement, such as fare promotion. Customer satisfaction will be improved if the above measures, along with all other recommendations, are taken into serious consideration by the operator and government agencies.

On the Institution of Public Hearing – An Analysis from the Theoretical Point of View and the Perspective of the State’s Political Practice (Fifth to Ninth Term of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland)

On the Institution of Public Hearing – An Analysis from the Theoretical Point of View and the Perspective of the State’s Political Practice (Fifth to Ninth Term of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland)

Tobacco industry strategies to influence the regulation of new and emerging tobacco and nicotine products in Latin America and the Caribbean.

To document tobacco industry strategies to influence regulation of new and emerging tobacco and nicotine products (NETNPs) in Latin America and the Caribbean. We analyzed industry websites, advocacy reports, news media and government documents related to NETNPs, focusing on electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. We also conducted a survey of leading health advocates. We applied the policy dystopia model to analyze industry action and argument-based strategies on NETNP regulations. Industry actors engaged in four instrumental strategies to influence NETNP regulation - coalition management, information management, direct involvement in and access to the policy process, and litigation. Their actions included: lobbying key policy-makers, academics and vaping associations; providing grants to media groups to disseminate favorable NETNP information; participating in public consultations; presenting at public hearings; inserting industry-inspired language into draft NETNP legislation; and filing lawsuits to challenge NETNP bans. The industry disseminated its so-called harm reduction argument through large/influential countries (e.g., Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico). Industry discursive strategies claimed NETNPs were less harmful, provided safer alternatives, and should be regulated as so-called harm reduction products or have fewer restrictions on their sale and use than those currently in place. Our analysis provides a better understanding of industry strategies to undermine tobacco and nicotine control. To help counter industry efforts, health advocates should proactively strengthen government capacities and alert policy-makers to industry attempts to create new regulatory categories (so-called reduced-risk products), provide misleading information of government authorizations of NETNPs, and co-opt so-called harm-reduction messages that serve the industry's agenda.