Citizenship Rights Research Articles

Analysis of the access to electronic communications metadata for the purposes of criminal law enforcement in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Objective: This research intended to analyse the adequacy of the legal frameworks of the access to electronic communications metadata in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the purposes of law enforcement with the current Law of the European Union, an essential topic for balancing the effectiveness of criminal investigations with the fundamental rights of citizens in the current connected societies, moreover as the negotiations for accession are currently ongoing. Methodology: The Comparative Method of Legal Research, in the strict sense, was mostly followed, also taking into consideration the Case Law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the privacy and data protection policies of the main electronic communications operator in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Results: After identifying and evaluating in detail the main issues arising from the current national legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, this research shows that, in general terms, it is already compatible with the rules and principles in force in the European Union, following the case-law of its Court of Justice. Contributions: The research puts into evidence the current state of the Sources of Law in Bosnia and Herzegovina and how they are adjusting to the standards of the European Union, especially regarding privacy and data protection in electronic communications, as well as points out the necessary legislative initiatives in order to achieve a full compliance of criminal investigations with such standards, that may serve as guidelines for the other countries also in accession processes.

Challenging Discourses of Sexual Violence on X: The Linguistic Representation of Victims and Perpetrators in Kavanaugh’s Confirmation Process

In September 2018, American Justice Brett Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford during his nomination to the US Supreme Court. The sexual allegations provoked a crisis in American society concerning the rights of female American citizens and created a heated debate among X (formerly Twitter) users, who commented on the event and expressed their (dis)affiliation. Research has shown that X is one of the most sexist and abusive social media services due to the constant spread and negotiation of different discourses relating to rape culture on the platform (Mendes et al. 2018). Consequently, the objectives of this research are to examine the linguistic patterns and discourses employed by X users to denounce patriarchal oppression and negotiate the identities of the different social actors involved in Kavanaugh’s confirmation process. To do so, two datasets of posts (previously known as ‘tweets’) containing the opposing hashtags #KavanaughConfirmation and #NoKavanaughConfirmation were analyzed and contrasted drawing on Corpus-Assisted Discourse Analysis tools (i.e., keywords and concordances) (Partington et al. 2013) and Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (Lazar 2005). The results revealed a high presence of keywords concerning gender and violence to construct identities of victims and perpetrators. However, not only were such identities related to sexual violence but also political and institutional violence. In addition, the analysis revealed the creation of discursive protests on X to resist patriarchal discourses and practices in American society.

Constitutional legal limits to privacy protection

Relevance. The right to privacy, as one of the basic constitutional rights of man and citizen, is subject to protection in accordance with Art. 23, 24 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. On the basis of constitutional justice and the scientific views of theorists, the content of the law in question is disclosed, problems of a legislative and terminological nature that affect its content and the establishment of limits of constitutional legal protection are described.The purpose of the study is to supplement theoretical provisions that contribute to the deepening of scientific knowledge about the protection of the constitutional right to privacy, its content and the limits of constitutional legal protection.Objectives: to analyze the practice of the Constitutional and Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in cases of protecting the right to privacy and the scientific positions of scientists regarding its concept; describe the state of constitutional and legal protection and the content of the right in question; identify legislative and terminological gaps impeding its proper protection; define the boundaries of constitutional legal protection.Methodology. The study was carried out using methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, documentary, formal-legal, system-analytical and formal-logical methods. The results of the study are formulated theoretical provisions characterizing the content of the right to privacy and the objective limits of its constitutional and legal protection.Conclusion. In the theory of constitutional law and the practice of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, there is a change in the trend in the interpretation of the right to privacy from «negative» to «positive». It is transformed by supplementing the concept of private life with new types of information that make it up (the right to genetic inviolability, inviolability of personal data, secrecy when using reproductive technologies, etc.). A forecast is given on the modernization of the system of personal human rights with the recognition of an independent right to protect personal data.

The Need for data protection law in Nepal: Securing Citizen's Rights in the Digital Age

The Need for data protection law in Nepal: Securing Citizen's Rights in the Digital Age

Gender and Asylum-Seeking in a European Borderland: Intersectional Discriminations and “Lessened” Citizenship

This paper presents a feminist analysis of the manifold and intertwined discriminations faced by asylumseeking women in a European “borderland”—specifically, Greece. It explores how these discriminations operate across law, policy, practice, and discourse, while highlighting the dynamic interplay of intersectional discriminations with citizenship rights and practices. Data were collected through 35 interviews with asylumseeking women. The analysis shows that (a) intersectional discriminations occur at both macro- and microlevels, reproducing and consolidating the women’s “lessened” citizenship, while (b) “lessened” citizenship reinforces their precarious status and leaves them vulnerable to multiform, multi-sited gender-based violence.

CONTEMPORARY MIGRANT CRISIS WITH THE SPECIAL OVERVIEW OF THE PROTECTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF THE CITIZENS OF IMMIGRATION COUNTRIES

The contemporary migrant (refugee) crisis that began in 2010 in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East is by no means accidental, but a very well-planned and executed migration of people. This plan slowly leads to the formation of a completely new world order in such a way as to destroy the previous national one, and create a completely new limited sovereignty. The de-sovereignation of nation-states has become a scourge of the modern age. A typical example is the European Union, which, in the era of the contemporary migrant crisis, has set itself a great challenge and task, to preserve the national identity of its member states. In the paper, the authors presented the legal and institutional framework for the protection of basic human rights of migrants. The paper contains a special reference to respect for the constitutional rights of citizens of the countries of immigration in the age of the migrant crisis. The contemporary migrant crisis has led to an enormous increase in people smuggling, but also influenced the increase in human trafficking. In the paper, the authors point to the distinction between human smuggling as a criminal offense against public order and peace and human trafficking as a criminal offense against humanity and other goods protected by international law. In the final deliberations, it was pointed out the necessity of respecting international documents, encouraging national, regional and global cooperation, as well as public condemnation of discrimination and hate speech.

Affections of Hurricane OTIS and Its Impact on Human Rights

The fury of Hurricane OTIS on October 24, 2023 exposed pre-existing social inequalities and inequities in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico. OTIS also evidenced the omissions before the hurricane, the abandonment during the hurricane and the inabilities after the hurricane of the authorities in charge of protecting society. The actions of the three levels of government were reprehensible before and after the impact of the hurricane. First, because there was no timely warning plan, the places of refuge were not made known, much less the level of destruction that the hurricane would cause. And after the hurricane, there was no response plan or protocols to respond to the most basic needs and protect citizens. This work was carried out under an inductive-deductive method in which a documentary review of national and international legislation was carried out, as well as literature related to the topic of research on natural disasters and human rights after Hurricane OTIS in Acapulco, Guerrero. , Mexico. The problems that subsequently prevailed and that affected the human rights of citizens were primarily the lack of prevention, safety and security, health, work, housing, public services, pollution and unequal access in the provision of aid. Definitely, aid in an emergency situation due to a natural disaster must be based on the perspective of human rights in order to provide relevant and effective assistance that fully meets all the basic needs of the victims for their prompt recovery and reconstruction.

Living with ‘thin’ documents: a note on identity documents and liminal citizenship in the chars of Assam, India*

ABSTRACT This paper, based on my doctoral ethnographic research amongst the Miya community in one of the chars of Western Assam, shows how a particular category of identity documents shape their subjectivities, experiences, and aspirations. I focus on the identity documents which have errors, like mistakes in names, dates of birth or addresses, and badly angled photos. I refer to them as thin documents. Because of the thin documents, the Miyas find it difficult to assert formal citizenship rights, which they could normally assert based on accurate documentation. For the thin documents to help prove the Miyas’ citizenship, they must be further supported by an additional set of documents. The process questions the Miya’s formal citizenship rights. I present narratives of the Miya people living with thin documents to illustrate how the materiality of the identity document binds the Miya people to a state of liminal citizenship. I ask: what do these errors in the identity document or thin documents tell us about citizenship, particularly liminal citizenship with reference to the Miya community of Assam?

Values and preferences in COVID-19 public health guidelines: a systematic review

BackgroundInternationally accepted standards for trustworthy guidelines include the necessity to ground recommendations in values and preferences. Considering values and preferences respects the rights of citizens to participate in health decision-making and ensures that guidelines align with the needs and priorities of the communities they are intended to serve. Early anecdotal reports suggest that COVID-19 public health guidelines did not consider values and preferences. To capture and characterize whether and how COVID-19 public health guidelines considered values and preferences. MethodsWe performed a systematic review of COVID-19 public health guidelines. We searched the eCOVID-19 RecMap platform—a comprehensive international catalog of COVID-19 guidelines—up to July 2023 and the Guidelines International Network Library—an international library of guidelines published or endorsed by Guidelines International Network member organizations—up to May 2024. We included guidelines that made recommendations addressing vaccination, masking, isolation, lockdowns, travel restrictions, contact tracing, infection surveillance, and school closures. Reviewers worked independently and in duplicate to review guidelines for consideration of values and preferences. ResultsOur search yielded 130 eligible guidelines, of which 41 (31.5%) were published by national organizations, 70 (53.8%) by international organizations, and 19 (14.6%) by professional societies and associations. Twenty-eight (21.5%) guidelines considered values and preferences. Among guidelines that considered values and preferences, most did so to assess the acceptability of recommendations (23; 82.1%) and by referencing published research (25; 89.3%). Guidelines only occasionally engaged laypersons as part of the guideline development group (8; 28.6%). None of the guidelines performed systematic reviews of the literature addressing values and preferences. ConclusionMost COVID-19 public health guidelines did not consider values and preferences. When they were considered, it was often suboptimal. Disregard for values and preferences might have partly contributed to divisive and unpopular COVID-19 policies. Given the possibility of future health emergencies, we recommend guideline developers identify efficient and effective methods for considering values and preferences in crisis situations.

Citizenship, language and digital rights: the question of language in the process of decolonising the internet and digital rights

PurposeMuch of the vocabulary of digital rights have not been translated into Kiswahili. This means that technology experts and digital rights defenders often use English words when they are discussing technology. This contributes to the frailty of efforts to defend digital rights because those who attempt to explain the importance of these issues to the broader societies are forced to rely on English vocabulary that is not rooted in or connected to Kiswahili contexts. This paper aims to discuss the importance of inviting people to use African languages on the internet.Design/methodology/approachKiswahili is the most widely spoken African language in the world. Nearly 140 million people in East Africa speak Kiswahili as a first or second language, including in Kenya and Tanzania where it is the national language. There is a long history of Kiswahili writing, publishing and cultural production in Kiswahili. Kiswahili is also the only African language that is an official language at the African Union. Even so, Kiswahili lags behind significantly in the development of a vocabulary and grammar of technology.FindingsBeyond vocabulary, the use of African languages online is important to strengthening democracy on the internet because language is keenly connected to identity. Efforts to translate the vocabulary of technology into Kiswahili are aimed at encouraging societies in East Africa to build communities online that represent their interests keenly. This article therefore looks at the importance of language in building society and the efforts by residents of East Africa to decolonise the internet, so that they are able to exist in their fullness on the internet. The article further examines the semiotics of language in digital innovation, and the importance of representing Kiswahili language communities properly online in efforts to decolonise the internet. This paper does not presume that Kiswahili is the only African language that can decolonise the internet, because even Kiswahili has a history of domination over other language communities in the region. Rather, the article uses the example of Kiswahili to urge the use of indigenous languages to defend digital diversity.Originality/valueThe importance of this article is in demonstrating the importance of language in the movement to develop digital rights and especially to remove colonial approaches to technology, an issue that, to the best of the author’s knowledge, has never been discussed in relation to the Kiswahili language.

PROBLEMS OF ELIMINATING LEGAL CONFLICTS OF LEGISLATION REGARDING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF HEALTH PROTECTION

Introduction. The relevance of the topic lies in the fact that the problem of legal conflicts regarding the activities of public administration in the field of health care is extremely important for any legal democratic society that is in the process of building or reforming its state system. The issue of collisions becomes especially important in the context of the reform of the administrative system and public administration in Ukraine, which has been going on for ten years, as well as in the conditions of bringing the legal framework into compliance with the requirements of martial law and European integration processes. Legal disputes can lead to inconsistencies in legislation, delays in decision-making, and even legal confusion, which is unacceptable in wartime. Understanding how to overcome legal conflicts can lead to faster and more efficient governance, especially between authorities in different countries and regions. This ensures not only better coordination, but also protection of the rights of citizens who may suffer from unclear legislation. The aim of the study. Identify and characterize conflicting points in the current legislation that regulate the activities of public administration in the field of health care. Materials and methods. In the course of conducting an in-depth study on the regulatory and legal regulation of the activities of the public administration in the field of health care, as a result of which 250 workers in the field of health care were interviewed, which confirm the imperfection of the current legislation in the field of health care. The results showed that the majority of medical workers do not support making any amendments to the legislation – 86% of them, 2% – support the global change of the current legislation, 2% refrained from answering. Results and discussion. The authors comprehensively define legal disputes in the field of healthcare as legal contradictions that arise due to subjective or objective reasons or errors during the implementation by patients of their rights and obligations due to the adoption of legal acts containing conflicting norms. In addition, legal disputes have the following features. First, they depend on the national legal system and, accordingly, on the legal regulation in the field of health care. Secondly, the sphere of public medical legal relations, in which legal disputes most often arise, is the question of medical significance. Thirdly, legal disputes most often arise when regulating typical issues, such as establishing the quality and efficiency of the provision of medical services; management of medical teams; possession, use and disposal of communal property. Conclusions. the proposed reforms of public administration in the field of health care have the potential to further guarantee the realization of everyone's right to health care. Summarizing the key directions of solving legal conflicts in the field of health care, the following tasks can be identified: 1) state guarantees of free medical care for socially vulnerable population groups; 2) introduction of adequate health care financing and an effective system of mandatory health insurance; 3) creation of conditions for the free development of entrepreneurship in the field of health care and formation of the basis for competition between medical institutions and formation of the basis for fair competition between health care institutions; 4) improvement of the country's legislation in the field of health care in accordance with international legal standards; 5) create optimal conditions for healthy childbirth, primarily in terms of living conditions, education and nutrition; 6) implement an active demographic policy aimed at increasing the birth rate and reducing the mortality rate; 7) ensure the ability to meet the needs of the population, primarily in the sphere of health care, education and nutrition.

The political economy of senior care in China: theorising with Chinese feminisms

This article explores the political economy of eldercare labour and the gendered politics of care work in China. Building on insights from research conducted in 2016–17 in Shanghai, we argue that gendered regimes of productive and reproductive labour, processes of class formation and economic reforms articulate with a regime of differential urban citizenship rights – urban and rural hukou – in shaping and influencing the lived experience of paid eldercare workers. As a framework for understanding ‘who cares’ in local eldercare labour markets in China, we follow recent work interweaving social reproduction theory (SRT) and intersectionality. In conversation with those debates, we experiment with mobilising intersectionality alongside SRT as we explore these eldercare workers’ paths into the sector, but argue that attention to the Chinese context and Chinese feminist contributions can also transform SRT and intersectional approaches through historically and materially grounded analyses of evolving relations of exploitation and oppression. This approach enriches the feminist political economy of paid eldercare through attention to who is channelled into this work in one of the world’s largest, and fastest-ageing, economies.

Statelessness of Rohingyas and their Right to Bangladeshi Citizenship

Abstract Since the outbreak of violence and persecution against Rohingyas in 2017 they have been fleeing Myanmar and taking refuge in Bangladesh. A significant number of them are married to a Bangladeshi citizen and their children are entitled to Bangladeshi citizenship by descent. However, these Rohingyas are not registered as Bangladeshi citizens. As a result, a significant number of Rohingyas and their children have become stateless. As Bangladesh is not a party to the statelessness conventions, the issues surrounding the statelessness of these Rohingyas can hardly be addressed under these conventions. This article explores the citizenship rights of these Rohingyas outside of these conventions. It argues that, although Bangladesh is not a party to the statelessness conventions it is a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international human rights treaties under which it is obliged to grant citizenship status to the Rohingyas who are married to a Bangladeshi citizen or born to a Bangladeshi parent.

Genesis of the Development of Political Rights and Freedoms of Human and Citizens

This article examines the genesis of the origin of political rights of man and citizen in the context of an individual’s claims to freedom at various stages of the existence of human society; reflects the conditions for the exercise of political rights and freedoms of the individual until the end of the Soviet period; the issues of the transition of individual freedom into political freedom as an element of subjective rights are considered, the dependence of the level of individual freedom on the type and political regime of states is noted. When studying the problem, general and specific scientific methods of scientific knowledge were used: comparative legal, formal logical, method of dialectical knowledge of social and legal phenomena. The author came to the conclusion that the socio-legal essence of an individual’s political rights and freedoms was originally composed of spiritual, religious, philosophical, legal, moral and ethical values.

Legal Certainty in the Decisions of the Honorary Council of the Constitutional Court: A Case Study of Chairman Anwar Usman's Ruling

The existence of the Constitutional Court in the life of the nation and state is in order to guarantee and prove the existence of positive law, especially laws, so that these laws remain in accordance with the constitution so that later the constitutional rights of citizens can be maintained. The purpose of this research is as evaluation material and learning material for law enforcers, students and other parties. This type of research is included in the juridical-normative category, namely research carried out by examining theories, concepts, legal principles and regulations that are appropriate and related to the object of research. The Constitutional Court decision that has been issued against Anwar Usman cannot be challenged in the State Administrative Court because the Constitutional Court's decision is not a state administrative decision so it does not fall within the scope of what can be litigated in the state administrative court. Another reason that could be the basis for approval or inaccuracy of the State Administrative Court's lawsuit in relation to the Constitutional Court's decision is related to the ad hoc nature inherent in the Constitutional Court. Compliance with ethical standards in the decision-making process in law enforcement agencies is a crucial element in maintaining the trust and reputation of state administration in the eyes of the public. The presence of ethical standards in the Constitutional Court is considered the basis for upholding constitutional principles which are moral and behavioral guidelines for all members of the judiciary.

ИСТОРИЯ ЗАКОНОДАТЕЛЬНОГО ЗАКРЕПЛЕНИЯ ПРАВ И СВОБОД ЧЕЛОВЕКА И ГРАЖДАНИНА В КОНСТИТУЦИЯХ РОССИИ: СРАВНИТЕЛЬНО-ПРАВОВОЕ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ

The article is devoted to the historical process of including the rights of citizens of the RSFSR into the basic laws of our state, and later – the rights and freedoms of man and citizen in the Russian Federation. The corresponding norms of the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918, the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1925, the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1978, the Constitution of the Russian Federation – Russia are analyzed in comparison, including in comparison with similar norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The considered constitutions as the main normative legal acts of the state allowed us to conclude that the rights and freedoms of man and citizen were legislated in 1918, in the first Soviet Constitution. Subsequently, with the development of the state and society, the volume of human and civil rights and freedoms in Russia increased. The Constitution of the Russian Federation, adopted by popular vote on December 12, 1993, contains the largest number of such rights and freedoms, which, taking into account modern federal legislation, complies with generally recognized norms of international law.

Constitutional citizenship and indigeneity: the case of Latin America

The article explores the impact of the recognition of plurinationality and related pluralist constitutional concepts on the constitutional construction of the relationship between the modern state and Indigenous nations and citizens. It uses the prism of the Indigenous constitutional citizen in order to undertake this task, focusing on the Latin American region and challenging some settled precepts about the place of the citizen in the modern state. The article concludes that Latin America presents a complex and evolving constitutional framework with regard to citizenship status, rights and identity in relation to the position of Indigenous peoples under the law. In plurinational states, legal conditions are in place for Indigenous peoples to identify both as citizens of the modern, settler state and as members of Indigenous nations. However, thus far, as regards effective implementation the story is somewhat more ambivalent. The enquiry is important, however, as it opens the issue of citizenship up to further enquiry with regard to the impact of pluralistic thinking.

A Unique European Governance Structure : Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Basis of Its Legitimacy and Controversial Accountability

In order to assess the successes and failures of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) challenging road towards a fully functional democratic state aiming at membership in the European Union (EU), this paper examines the state-building process in BiH, and the transition from the post-Dayton political development, the work of the interim, ad-hoc political institution of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in BiH, as well as the justification – if any - of its future existence and operation. Guided by the coordination dilemma, the research question of this paper is a reflection on the challenges of self-enforcing democratic institutions and how the OHR substitutes for it. This paper claims that the original purpose of the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) was to create a powerful yet limited institution of the OHR, one that is to be given sufficient power to institute behaviour, but is prevented from abusing its power. However, this purpose deviated in the years that followed the signing of the DPA, creating and institution which doings resemble liberal imperialism. The hypothesis of the paper is that the OHR has been abusing its power and that it is time to close it because it is no more a substitute for the self-enforcing democratic institutions. This paper claims that the problem of political officials’ lack of respect for the political and economic rights of citizens they administer, as investigated by Weingast, is one of the central features of the operation of the OHR in BiH. The novelty of the paper lies in the attempt to test if OHR could be a case that could serve as a very good field to test Weingast’s model (1997).

Konsep dan Urgensi Konstitusi dalam Kehidupan Berbangsa dan Bernegara

This study explores the concept and urgency of the constitution in the context of national and state life. The Constitution is a fundamental legal document that provides a framework for the organization and operation of the state, as well as establishing the basic rights of citizens and limits on government power. The constitution also plays an important role in maintaining political stability, ensuring justice, and protecting human rights. The urgency of the constitution is reflected in its function as a basis for the supremacy of law, promoting national unity, and balancing power between state institutions. This study identifies that a good understanding of the constitution is important for the success of a democratic system and the sustainable development of a country.

Legal Guarantees of Physical Activity as Determinants of the Human Right to Health: The Ukrainian Experience in the European Integration Context

ABSTRACT The fact that physical activity (PA) is considered an important tool for promoting human health and a determinant of the right to health has contributed to the promotion of a separate human right to PA at the global level. This article compares the government policies and legal mechanisms for ensuring the right of citizens to health through PA in various EU member states and Ukraine. It has been established that in the absence of a single standard or conditions for implementing this right, the experiences of different European states are different in significant ways. According to our findings, the obstacles to ensuring the right of citizens to PA in Ukraine are due to (1) an inconsistent national development strategy, and adoption of unsystematic regulations without effective mechanisms for their practical implementation; (2) a lack of effective sectoral programs on PA for different social groups; (3) a low level of interest of the majority of citizens in PA as a means of promoting human health. The problem of realizing the rights of Ukrainian citizens has become much more acute due to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, starting in February 2022.