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Full-Text Articles in Law

Is Zina Bil Jabr A Hadd, Taz‛Ir Or Siyasa Offence?: A Reappraisal Of The Protection Of Women Act 2006 In Pakistan”, Muhammad Munir Dr. Dec 2008

Is Zina Bil Jabr A Hadd, Taz‛Ir Or Siyasa Offence?: A Reappraisal Of The Protection Of Women Act 2006 In Pakistan”, Muhammad Munir Dr.

Dr. Muhammad Munir

This article briefly discusses the various laws passed by the regime of General Musharraf (1999-2008) to relieve the plight of helpless women in Pakistan and analyses the Protection of Women Act, 2006 from a legal, rather than from a political or emotional perspective. It scrutinizes the opinions of leading 'ulama, such as Justice (R) Taqi 'Uthmani, Mufti Muneebur Rahman, Moulana 'Abdul Malik, and Hasan Madani. The position of women rights' groups about the said law is discussed; the claim of the then government that the Act is compatible with the Qur'an and the Sunnah is examined; the various changes made …


"Precedent In Islamic Law With Special Reference To The Federal Shariat Court And The Legal System In Pakistan”, Muhammad Munir Dr. Nov 2008

"Precedent In Islamic Law With Special Reference To The Federal Shariat Court And The Legal System In Pakistan”, Muhammad Munir Dr.

Dr. Muhammad Munir

This paper attempts to answer the question whether the common law doctrine of precedent as practiced in Pakistan is compatible with the traditional Islamic legal system. After a survey of the various articles and books about the judicial system of Islam it concludes that there is little, if any, material about the role of precedent in Islamic law. The paper also examines the judicial system of India under the Moghuls and the East India Company and traces the origins and evolution of the doctrine of precedent in the Indian sub-continent, more particularly in Pakistan. The role of the principles of …


"Precedent In Islamic Law With Special Reference To The Federal Shariat Court And The Legal System In Pakistan”, Muhammad Munir Dr. Nov 2008

"Precedent In Islamic Law With Special Reference To The Federal Shariat Court And The Legal System In Pakistan”, Muhammad Munir Dr.

Dr. Muhammad Munir

This paper attempts to answer the question whether the common law doctrine of precedent as practiced in Pakistan is compatible with the traditional Islamic legal system. After a survey of the various articles and books about the judicial system of Islam it concludes that there is little, if any, material about the role of precedent in Islamic law. The paper also examines the judicial system of India under the Moghuls and the East India Company and traces the origins and evolution of the doctrine of precedent in the Indian sub-continent, more particularly in Pakistan. The role of the principles of …


Liberdade, Ética E Direito, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha Nov 2008

Liberdade, Ética E Direito, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Further than Ethics concieved as mere obedience, Republican Ethics expresses the idea of duty for freedom and Liberty. After Law concieved as only duty and imperative norms from power to the subjects, there is the possibility of a fraternal law, in new patterns. This article explores several ways in a new ethics and a new law paradigms, after the objective Roman Law and the subjective modern Law.


Suicide Attacks And Islamic Law, Muhammad Munir Dr. Mar 2008

Suicide Attacks And Islamic Law, Muhammad Munir Dr.

Dr. Muhammad Munir

Suicide attacks are a recurrent feature of many conflicts. Whereas warfare heroism and martyrdom are allowed in certain circumstances in times of war, a suicide bomber might be committing at least five crimes according to Islamic law, namely killing civilians, mutilating their bodies, violating the trust of enemy soldiers and civilians, committing suicide, and destroying civilian objects or properties. The author examines such attacks from an Islamic jus in bello perspective.


Marriage In Islam: A Civil Contract Or A Sacrosanct?, Muhammad Munir Dr. Mar 2008

Marriage In Islam: A Civil Contract Or A Sacrosanct?, Muhammad Munir Dr.

Dr. Muhammad Munir

Marriage is one of the most sacred contract in Islam and not an ordinary contract of sale and purchase. Since 1886 Courts in the Indo-Pak subcontinent have been ruling that marriage in Islam is a 'civil contract' without giving a deeper thought to the meaning of this phrase. This article examines some of the cases in which the true notion of marriage is distorted by courts in Pakistan and India. At the same time some important cases in which the real place of marriage in Islam is highlited are also discussed. Moreover, it examines the nature of marriage under Islamic …


"It's Hard Work": Reflections On Conscience And Citizenship In The Catholic Tradition, Amelia J. Uelmen Jan 2008

"It's Hard Work": Reflections On Conscience And Citizenship In The Catholic Tradition, Amelia J. Uelmen

Amelia J Uelmen

No abstract provided.


Denominations And Denominators: Applying Lucas V South Carolina Coastal Council To Resolve Rluipa "Substantial Burden On Religious Land Use" Cases, Elliott Joh Jan 2008

Denominations And Denominators: Applying Lucas V South Carolina Coastal Council To Resolve Rluipa "Substantial Burden On Religious Land Use" Cases, Elliott Joh

Elliott Joh

The free exercise of religion is a well-protected aspect of American life. Freedom of speech is sometimes curtailed during wartime, and the exclusionary rule prompts hostility when used in conjunction with the Fourth Amendment, but it is rare to hear anyone argue that the freedom of worship should be so abrogated. Discrimination on the basis of religion, however, is not so uncommon, and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (“RLUIPA”) was enacted to combat such discrimination by municipalities and local zoning authorities. Congress’s hope in enacting this legislation was that churches, mosques, and synagogues have a …


Freedom Of Religion, Avihay Dorfman Jan 2008

Freedom Of Religion, Avihay Dorfman

Avihay Dorfman

Why it is that the principle of freedom of religion, rather than a more general principle such as liberty or liberty of conscience, figures so prominently in our lived experience and, in particular, in the constitutional commitment to the free exercise of religion? The Paper argues, negatively, that the most prominent answers offered thus far fall short; and positively, that the principle of freedom of religion arises out of a thicker understanding of the much neglected relationship between religious liberty and democracy. Indeed, a proper account of the legitimacy of the democratic process, I argue, dissolves the mystery surrounding freedom …


On Conceptual Dichotomies And Social Oppression, Gila Stopler, Dana Freibach Heifetz Jan 2008

On Conceptual Dichotomies And Social Oppression, Gila Stopler, Dana Freibach Heifetz

Gila Stopler

This article aims to expose the philosophical and cultural mechanisms, which allow some forms of western religion (in this case mainstream Christianity) to join hands with western capitalism in the oppression of women and of the needy. Focusing on the example of the US, this article claims that both mainstream Christian religion and capitalism perpetuate and entrench discrimination against women and the oppression of the needy through the use of the cultural/philosophical dichotomy between love and justice and its corollary dichotomy between private and public. Against this background, the second part of the article examines several notions of love and …


John Paul Ii And Employee Participation In Corporate Governance, Michael Lp Lower Jan 2008

John Paul Ii And Employee Participation In Corporate Governance, Michael Lp Lower

Michael LP Lower

Catholic Social Thought ("CST") has called for employees to be active participants in the governance of the enterprises for which they work. This article looks at what CST has to say about employee participation. It shows that John Paul II's distinctive contribution was to lay bare the theological and philosophical justifications for CST's approach to this issue.


Christian Anthropology And The Theory Of The Firm, Michael Lp Lower Jan 2008

Christian Anthropology And The Theory Of The Firm, Michael Lp Lower

Michael LP Lower

Catholic social thought (CST), a branch of moral theology, reflects Christian anthropology (an understanding of human nature that draws on Revelation and natural law theory). CST's understanding of what communities (such as the corporation) are for and how they can best achieve their ends are coloured by its anthropological underpinnings. The same, it is argued, is true for economic theories such as the theories of the firm based on Coase. This paper compares Christian anthropology with the implicit anthropology underpinning some of the dominant economic theories of the firm. Differences at this level go a long way to explaining mismatches …


Liability For Terrorism In American Courts: Aiding-And-Abetting Liability Under The Fsia State-Sponsor Of Terrorism Exception And The Alien Tort Statute, Chad G. Marzen Jan 2008

Liability For Terrorism In American Courts: Aiding-And-Abetting Liability Under The Fsia State-Sponsor Of Terrorism Exception And The Alien Tort Statute, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

The issue of liability for terrorism and supporting terrorism in American domestic courts is one of the most active issues of current judicial decisionmaking in the area of foreign affairs. Through the state-sponsored terrorism exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Alien Tort Statute, liability extends to foreign governments (in the FSIA context) and to foreign governments, nonstate actors, or nonstate actors acting under color of law (under the ATS) when they provide support to terrorist activities.

In an October 2007 decision, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the Khulumani case held that a defendant is liable …


Excluding Religion Excludes More Than Religion, Richard Stith Jan 2008

Excluding Religion Excludes More Than Religion, Richard Stith

Richard Stith

This Article contends that excluding apparently religious perspectives from public debate may inadvertently exclude non-religious perspectives as well, consequently impoverishing public discussion. This contention is demonstrated through an examination of the current debate over embryonic stem cell research, in which the pro-life position is often declared unacceptably religious. The truth is that those who envision the unborn as under construction in the womb do not find a human being present when gestation has just begun, while those who understand the unborn to be developing see an identity of being from conception. But neither view is based on religion. To disqualify …


The Aspiration To Be A Catholic Social Scientist In The Eyes Of Robert Coles: The Search For Wisdom In An Information Age, Randy Lee Dec 2007

The Aspiration To Be A Catholic Social Scientist In The Eyes Of Robert Coles: The Search For Wisdom In An Information Age, Randy Lee

Randy Lee

The Catholic social scientist seeks to understand his world so he can know his God. He is called by love to the questions that he addresses, and the answers he finds to those questions draw him to a call of service, a call to make a life other than his own at least a little better. One of the pre-eminent Catholic social scientists of our time is the psychiatrist, medical doctor, and “hard” scientist, Dr. Robert Coles. This article seeks to consider five pieces of advice that Dr. Coles offers to those aspiring to be Catholic social scientists. First, work …


Human And Fundamental Rights And Duties In Portuguese Constitution. Some Reflections, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha Dec 2007

Human And Fundamental Rights And Duties In Portuguese Constitution. Some Reflections, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

The Portuguese Constitution (1976) came after a period of 48 years of authoritarianism and a closed society, in which some happy few enjoyed great privileges while the great majority of people were charged with heavy duties So, by a very understandable "law of human nature", the constituent law givers could not reasonably impose constitutionally many obligations, in an autonomous way. As rights and duties are the twin sides of the same coin, the juridical formulation under the sign of rights also implies obligations, related to those same rights. This is kinder and more pleasant to do by a liberating Constitution...


El Derecho Natural, Historia E Ideologia, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha Dec 2007

El Derecho Natural, Historia E Ideologia, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Intentemos retomar algunos hilos sueltos de discursos dispersos y con una nueva mirada analítica, procuremos ver una realidad sutil y huidiza: ese derecho natural que parece silencioso en nuestros días, y más silencioso aún en los discursos psitacistas: tanto en los pomposos como en los pseudo-rigurosos.


Princípio Republicano E Virtudes Republicanas, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha Dec 2007

Princípio Republicano E Virtudes Republicanas, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

O presente artigo procura unir traços de aparente heterodoxia, recuperando, porém, paradigmas e tópicos que não são novos. Com efeito, nem as virtudes, nem a república, nem sequer a felicidade são novidades. O que talvez seja novo (new again) é o espírito de buscar outra vez as raízes, as fontes, para um intento de renovação do ambiente juspolítico. Somos naturalmente favorável a uma Constituição principial e valorativa, como a nossa. Mas parece-nos que há nela lugar a Virtudes (que já existem nela), e que a descoberta das Virtudes nas Constituições, e, logo, no Direito, é, afinal, um ovo de Colombo. …


Da Constituição Antiga À Constituição Moderna. República E Virtude, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha Dec 2007

Da Constituição Antiga À Constituição Moderna. República E Virtude, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Virtude e República necessariamente têm de levar-nos à Antiguidade: desde logo porque a primeira “começa” com a helénica "areté". Logo, é preciso ir, antes de mais, à Grécia Antiga, e especialmente ao legado ateniense. “Directly or indirectly, Athenian democracy as an extraordinary experiment in social history thus stimulates our own thinking about crucial issues of our own democracy and society, incomparably more complex though they are. The point is precisely that the ancients help us focus on the essentials" - como afirma Kurt A. Raaflaub.


Uma Filosofia Constitucional Comum (Luso-Brasileira), Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha Dec 2007

Uma Filosofia Constitucional Comum (Luso-Brasileira), Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Onde melhor se pode aquilatar de uma filosofia constitucional? Além do cunho da constitução, que já vimos ser liberal na fórmula política (porque moderna ecodificada) e social na social, cultural e económica, o que mais exprime uma filosofia constitucional é a ética constitucional, e, antes de mais, são os valores. A Constituição cidadão brasileira e a Constituição portuguesa de 1976 comungam, em grande medida, dos meus valores de liberdade, igualdade, justiça, e outros, progressivos e de cidadania.


Trying To Vote In Good Conscience, Elizabeth F. Brown Dec 2007

Trying To Vote In Good Conscience, Elizabeth F. Brown

Elizabeth F Brown

This Article analyses the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ statement, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States, and how it addresses the economic and environmental issues raised during the 2008 Presidential election.