Digital Commons Network^™

Advancing Human Rights In Patient Care: The Law In Seven Transitional Countries, Leo Beletsky, Tamar Ezer, Judith Overall, Iain Byrne, Jonathan Cohen

Jonathan R. Cohen

No abstract provided.

Advancing Human Rights In Patient Care: The Law In Seven Transitional Countries, Leo Beletsky, Tamar Ezer, Judith Overall, Iain Byrne, Jonathan Cohen

Jonathan R. Cohen

No abstract provided.

Walking Is A Right (Civil And Human), Robert Bullard

Robert D Bullard

PowerPoint opening keynote presented at the National Walking Summit in Washington, DC last month. Here is link to the Summit. http://walkingsummit.org/keynote-speakers . Some of themes include - walking as a right, "outdoor apartheid," "walking while black," and connecting nature walks and health (walking is good for the mind, body, spirit and soul) run through the talk.

Embodying The Population: Five Decades Of Immigrant/Integration Policy In Sweden, Leila Brännström

Leila Brännström

Transnational Law, Evolving, Peer Zumbansen

Peer Zumbansen

This chapter is the substantively revised and expanded version of the original contribution to the first edition of the Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law (J. Smits, ed., 2006). It reviews and discusses the theoretical scholarship on the concept of transnational law, going back to Philip Jessup’s introduction of the term in the nineteen-fifties and tracing it to the present day. The chapter highlights the relevance and potential of the idea of transnational in a range of fields, including commercial law (lex mercatoria), corporate law, international human rights law, comparative constitutional law, anthropology, and ‘global administrative law’. The chapter concludes with …

Beyond Territoriality: The Case Of Transnational Human Rights Litigation, Peer Zumbansen

Peer Zumbansen

Cases for civil damages that have been brought before Western courts by victims of torture and persecution against states officials or corporations, challenge the principles of state sovereignty and jurisdictional competence. While national courts can in cases of serious crimes hear cases that grow out of acts committed in another country, the same is not true for cases for civil compensation. A persisting and rising number of private law cases that attempts to empower disenfranchised victims of crime and abuse, points to the necessity of reconsidering the prevailing procedural and substantial obstacles that govern the so-far unsuccessful civil law suits. …

Approximating Law And Development, Human Rights And Transitional Justice, Peer Zumbansen, Ruth Buchanan

Peer Zumbansen

This chapter is the introduction to the forthcoming edited collection "Law in Transition: Human Rights, Developments and Transitional Justice", edited by the authors and forthcoming with Hart Publishing (Oxford, 2013). The book will appear in the "Osgoode Reader" series and brings together many of the leading experts of the increasingly pertinent intersection of development, rights and transitional justice studies. The Introduction traces the theoretical and practical challenges of this discursive interaction and argues that it is only through such dialogue that a better understanding of the institutional and normative issues arising in contemporary law & development and TJ contexts will …

A Perspective From Honduras' Civil Society Truth Commission, Craig Scott

Craig M. Scott

The present document formed the basis for a presentation by the author to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development of the House of Commons of Canada during a March 9, 2011, hearing on the situation in Honduras. After referencing the June 28, 2009, coup d’ état in Honduras, the author describes how the post-coup political situation led to the creation of two commissions – a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Comisión de la Verdad y de Reconciliación, or CVR) given its mandate to investigate the “crisis” of June 28, 2009, by the current holder of the Honduran Presidency, …

Taking Tea With Torturers, Craig Scott

Craig M. Scott

This working paper (3000 words, including 19 footnotes) was written on January 29-31, 2011, as events unfolded in Egypt. It was published in the present version as an article on January 31, 2011, by OpenDemocracy, and may be republished with attribution for non-commercial purposes following the Creative Commons guidelines. The article’s sub-title is “From the Shah of Iran to Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister to Egypt’s Mubarak, cozy relationships in US foreign policy need to be questioned.” Its point of departure is the Thatcher-Pinochet friendship, which is related to Hillary Clinton's interview in Egypt in 2009 when she downplayed the US …

A Surfer’S Guide To Us Foreign Policy In Egypt, Or Has Obama Been Snookered?, Craig Scott

Craig M. Scott

This short article (3800 words, including 14 footnotes) was written and published on February 8, 2011, by OpenDemocracy.net, and may be republished with attribution for non-commercial purposes following the Creative Commons guidelines. OpenDemocracy.net’s summary blurb reads: “Reading the Washington runes. What happened with Mr. Wisner, Egypt lobbyist and Obama's special envoy to Mubarak? Is this an ugly farce, an ethical travesty or a cronyistic scandal?” The purpose of the article is to explore two hypotheses surrounding the sending by President Obama of former US Ambassador to Egypt, Frank Wisner, as Obama’s envoy to President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt during the …

Diverse Persuasion(S): From Rhetoric To Representation (And Back Again To Rhetoric) In International Human Rights Interpretation, Craig Scott

Craig M. Scott

This article proceeds from a way of thinking about legal-rights reasoning that is grounded in the rhetorical tradition. In light of questions of political legitimacy and personal ethics, a central premise of the article is that the rhetorical enterprise must situate itself within a paradigm of dialogic communication in which mutual persuasion is the orientation to argument and the quest for intersubjective validation of claimed premises, lines of argument, and conclusions is the purposive mode. The first step in the article is to move from a general conception of law as a field of rhetoric to an account of how …

On Legalism, Popular Agency And "Voices Of Suffering": The Nigerian National Human Rights Commission In Context, Obiora Chinedu Okafor, Shedrack C. Agbakwa

Obiora Chinedu Okafor

The set of standards for the evaluation of National Human Rights Commissions (NHCs) formulated and applied by the UN constitute the dominant conception of an ideal NHC. Virtually every scholar, nongovernmental organization, and governmental body that has commented on the effectiveness of NHCs shares this dominant UN-driven conception of the ideal NHC. However, this dominant conception is significantly limited, and requires fundamental enlargement and revision if the NHCs animated by its vision are to have a significantly increased transformative potential. A performance assessment study of the Nigerian National Human Rights Commission (using the more holistic vision of ideal NHC developed …

Assessing Baxi’S Thesis On The Emergence Of A Trade-Related Market-Friendly Human Rights Paradigm: Recent Evidence From Nigerian Labour-Led Struggles, Obiora Chinedu Okafor

Obiora Chinedu Okafor

The objective of the article is to assess some of the sub-claims that emerge from Baxi’s thesis on an emergent trade-related market-friendly human rights paradigm in the light of the available evidence regarding the intense contestations and confrontations that have occurred between Nigeria’s politically and economically transitional Obasanjo regime and a local labour-led coalition. The piece sets out to ascertain the contextual and localised validity of these ‘Baxian’ sub-claims, within the wider context of the government vs. labour confrontations in Nigeria during the neo-liberal socio-economic reforms undertaken in that country between 1999 and 2005.

Accountability Across Borders: Mining In Guatemala And The Canadian Justice System, Shin Imai, Bernadette Maheandiran, Valerie Crystal

Shin Imai

This paper has been updated and revised and is now available on ssrn as: "Access to Justice and Corporate Accountability: A Legal Case Study of HudBay in Guatemala" http://ssrn.com/abstract=2358981.

Access To Justice And Corporate Accountability: A Legal Case Study Of Hudbay In Guatemala, Valerie Crystal, Shin Imai, Bernadette Maheandiran

Shin Imai

This case study looks at the avenues open for addressing serious allegations of murder, rape and assault brought by indigenous Guatemalans against a Canadian mining company. While first generation law and development reforms have facilitated foreign mining in Guatemala, “second generation” reforms have not yet provided a meaningful way of addressing conflicts arising from the development projects. The judicial mechanisms available in Guatemala are difficult to access and suffer from problems of corruption and intimidation. The corporate social responsibility mechanisms applicable to the mining company cannot provide enforceable orders. Canadian courts have been reluctant to permit law suits against Canadian …

Shadows And Light: Addressing Information Asymmetries Through Enhanced Social Disclosure In Canadian Securities Law, Aaron A. Dhir

Aaron A. Dhir

In this paper, I explore the mechanics of social disclosure in Canada. In section II, I review the extent to which Canadian companies have been reporting social information. In section III, I canvass the degree to which such disclosure is actually required under securities law vis-a`-vis the continuous disclosure obligation that requires public companies to provide periodic and timely disclosure to investors. I focus on three of the key components of periodic disclosure - quarterly/annual financial statements, the management discussion and analysis and, most importantly, the annual information form. Although many firms are underreporting, it is clear that a sufficient …

International Human Rights In Canada: At The Juncture Of Law And Politics, Faisal Bhabha

Faisal Bhabha

This paper addresses the topic of international human rights law from the Canadian perspective. As the title suggests, this paper’s analysis of the topic sits at the intersection of law and politics, where all questions of international law necessarily do. It proceeds in three parts. First, it provides a sketch of the political context, drawing from recent events and trends, to describe a conflicted official government approach to international human rights. Next, it examines the formal legal status of international human rights law in Canada, drawing selectively from Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence. Finally, it addresses the adoption of the …

Constant Development And The Right To The Right To The Environment As The Third Generation Of Human Rights, Masume Zareie

masume zareie

From among the third generation of human rights , the right of Constant development is Considered as the basis for Other Crucial rights. The rights of the environment are part of general international rights which regulate the Occasions between those obedient of international rights (governments and international organizations.)this legal order is mainly based on bilateral and multilateral treaties and judicial international Convention the right to the environment is reflective of high and basic values similar to the environment is reflective of high and basic values similar to the right to life , the right to health and life of standard …

The North-South Divide In International Environmental Law: Framing The Issues, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

The unprecedented degradation of the planet’s vital ecosystems is among the most pressing issues confronting the international community. Despite the proliferation of legal instruments to combat environmental problems, conflicts between rich and poor nations (the North-South divide) have compromised the effectiveness of international environmental law, leading to deadlocks in environmental treaty negotiations and non-compliance with existing agreements. Through contributions from scholars based in five continents, International Environmental Law and the Global South examines both the historical origins of the North-South divide in European colonialism as well as its contemporary manifestations in a range of issues, including food justice, energy justice, …

International Environmental Law And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

The unprecedented degradation of the planet’s vital ecosystems is among the most pressing issues confronting the international community. Despite the proliferation of legal instruments to combat environmental problems, conflicts between rich and poor nations (the North-South divide) have compromised the effectiveness of international environmental law, leading to deadlocks in environmental treaty negotiations and non-compliance with existing agreements. Through contributions from scholars based in five continents, International Environmental Law and the Global South examines both the historical origins of the North-South divide in European colonialism as well as its contemporary manifestations in a range of issues, including food justice, energy justice, …

Old Poison In New Bottles: Trafficking And The Extinction Of Respect, Winston P. Nagan, Alvaro De Medeiros

Winston P Nagan

The new form of slavery comes by that relatively innocuous title, “trafficking.” Trafficking is an illustration of the dynamic character of the social and antisocial forces that conspire to undermine the idea of human dignity in the world community. The forms of crime are in fact dynamic. Frequently the institutional forces behind crime have capital, lethal functionaries, technology, and a capacity to advance criminal interests, both within states and across state lines. To the extent that crime itself is dynamic it must as well be acknowledged that human rights violations in general also have a dynamic character. In short, when …

Property, Wealth, Inequality And Human Rights: A Formula For Reform, Berta E. Hernández-Truyol, Shelbi D. Day

Berta E. Hernández-Truyol

This essay scrutinizes the persistence of inequality in the United States through a human rights lens and grapples with the troubling disparities unearthed by two works: American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass and Black Wealth/White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality. These two highly enlightening and, simultaneously, deeply troubling and depressing books elucidate the myriad locations at which inequalities persist and the historical, social, psychological, and legal foundations of, and explications for, such disparities in the African American community. This work proposes a human rights paradigm that provides a methodology to analyze, deconstruct and unravel the …

Building Bridges Iv: Of Cultures, Colors, And Clashes--Capturing The International In Delgado's Chronicles, Berta E. Hernández-Truyol

Berta E. Hernández-Truyol

Sex, race, gender, sexuality, color, religion, language, nationality, ethnicity, culture, poverty - socially constructed categories, social tropes that relegate "others" to subordinated positions in the varied and various cultural and economic marketplaces of both global and local societies. Richard Delgado's transformational work engages all of these tropes insightfully, disturbingly, and illuminatingly. His rich literature conceptualizes persons as multidimensional, complex beings and exposes society as the pre-fabricated stage in which diverse interactions evolve. Delgado's epistemological stance is fluid, non-rigid, and grounded on subjectivity. In this essay I will focus on Delgado's latest book When Equality Ends: Stories About Race and Resistance. …

Afterword – Straightness As Property: Back To The Future-Law And Status In The 21st Century, Symposium: Liberalism And Property Rights, Berta E. Hernández-Truyol, Shelbi D. Day

Berta E. Hernández-Truyol

As is evident from the other works in this Symposium, throughout history in both the United States and the greater Western World, status-based exclusion of individuals and groups from property rights has been central to the existence of political and social hierarchies. Specifically, exclusion based on status — whether it be nationality, culture, race, sex or sexuality — has plagued our history and has been integral in the formation and development of both constitutional and property law regimes. Consequently, both regimes are at best uneven in the grant and distribution of rights and benefits. A forward-looking examination of the link …

Latinas, Culture And Human Rights: A Model For Making Change, Saving Soul, Berta E. Hernández-Truyol

Berta E. Hernández-Truyol

This essay provides an overview of progresses achieved for women in the Americas by virtue of the use of the human rights model to further women's rights and attain betterment of their lives. Specifically, this work reviews the location of Latinas both within and outside the United States fronteras. As women of color within larger U.S. society and as women within their comunidad Latina, Latinas experience different multifaceted subordinations. A human rights model that recognizes the multidimensional nature of gendered racial discrimination and of racialized gender discrimination can serve to improve the lives of Latinas as well as non-Latina women …

Globalized Citizenship: Sovereignty, Security And Soul, Berta E. Hernández-Truyol

Berta E. Hernández-Truyol

Human rights law has redefined the concepts of sovereignty and citizenship. Just as transnationalization has weakened the hegemony of the political elites (corporate economic elites and domestic ruling classes) by strengthening citizenship claims of all persons, so, too, a globalized citizenship grounded on a human rights model will strengthen personhood by denationalizing states' claims on individuals' rights. The human rights narrative has been imagined, crafted and delivered by Northern/Western powers--the hegemon--however, for the human rights model to be of utility to the globalized citizen project, it must be reconstituted with an antisubordination agenda. It must include the voices of the …

The International Law Of Game Of Thrones, Perry S. Bechky

Perry S. Bechky

Game of Thrones depicts a violent and, some might say, lawless world. Few would think that world evidences much international law. Yet, this article identifies several rules of international law observable on the show and relates them to real-world international law. Observable rules include some fundaments of the law of treaties, customary norms, and (most surprisingly) at least one humanitarian peremptory norm. These rules cover a range of subjects, including sovereignty, state responsibility, jurisdiction, immunities, and human rights. The article also discusses the special legal status of the Night’s Watch, which is governed by the most important legal “text” in …

Theories Of State Compliance With International Law: Assessing The African Union's Ability To Ensure State Compliance With The African Charter And Constitutive Act, Stacy-Ann Elvy

Stacy-Ann Elvy

No abstract provided.

Succession By Estoppel: Hong Kong's Succession To The Iccpr, Peter K. Yu

Peter K. Yu

No abstract provided.

Is The Alien Tort Statute Sacrosanct--Retaining Forum Non Conveniens In Human Rights Litigation, Aric K. Short

Aric Short

I argue in this article that no reasonable basis exists to justify federal courts refusing to consider forum non conveniens arguments in cases brought under the Alient Tort Statute; in fact, good reasons exist to retain the doctrine in its undiluted form. The purpose and design of forum non conveniens make it sufficiently flexible to be invoked in even the most compelling human rights cases brought in the United States. If applied properly, the doctrine will identify ATS cases that cannot and should not be dismissed to foreign fora; however, if forum non conveniens operates as it should, it also …