Law Commons^™

Universal Human Rights And Threat To International Peace And Security: The United Nations' Obligation To Intervene, Godfrey Mhlanga

LLM Theses and Essays

This thesis seeks to establish the following:

• The nexus between the origins of the state and the universality of Human Rights
• That abuse of Human Rights is a threat to international peace and security, and
• It is an obligation for the international community under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) to intervene in the ‘internal affairs’ of a state which violates Human Rights.

The paper focuses on the paramountcy of Human Rights and argues that the doctrine of state sovereignty and cultural relativism undercut the essence and universality of Human Rights. The paper puts into perspective the interpretation of …

Comfort Women: Human Rights Of Women From Then To Present, Jinyang Koh

LLM Theses and Essays

This paper discusses the human rights of women through the atrocities in the Japanese comfort system during World War II. Approximately 100,000 military sexual slaves, so-called "comfort women", were recruited coercively, raped and mostly killed under the control of the Japanese government and military. The stance of Japan which has denied any legal liability in this matter affects severely the retrogression of the human rights of women. In order to ameliorate the human right at both international and domestic levels ultimately, it is significant to observe the facts of the comfort women issue, to analyze the legal liabilities of the …

International Legal Standards Governing The Use Of Child Soldiers, Dorcas B. Mulira

LLM Theses and Essays

This paper seeks to analyze the international laws governing the use of children in armedconflict. Despite the prohibition of the use of child soldiers in armed conflict in internationallaw, States and non-State actors continue to actively recruit, abduct, and directly use children,some as young as eight, in hostilities. International humanitarian law's limited scope prevents itfrom protecting the worldÕs most vulnerable children, child soldiers, while human rightsinstruments adopted to make up for these limitations lack enforcement mechanisms, thereforerendering the much-needed protection for child soldiers inadequate. As development ofinternational law concerning child soldiers progresses on paper, progress on the ground lagsbehind, thus …

The Land Of The Free: Human Rights Violations At Immigration Detention Facilities In America, Caitlin J. Mitchel

LLM Theses and Essays

In America today, aliens who commit even minor visa violations can be detained in one of many immigration detention facilities throughout the U.S. These detainees may be transferred to a facility far away from their homes, families, and attorneys. While imprisoned in these detention facilities, some detainees are treated as and housed with criminals. Their substantive and procedural rights are limited and their human rights are violated. The U.S. laws that should protect them are the very laws that strip them of their rights to court proceedings, challenges of decisions regarding detention, and judicial review. By issuing substantial reservations, declarations, …

Enforcement Of Human Rights Under Regional Mechanisms: A Comparative Analysis, Fekadeselassie F. Kidanemariam

LLM Theses and Essays

This is a study about the protection of human rights by regional human rights bodies. The thesis identifies the major regional human rights protection systems i.e. the African human rights system, the inter-American human rights System and the European human rights system. The paper examines the types of mechanisms employed by each regional system and examines each mechanism. The three major mechanisms dealt with in this work are inter-state complaints, state reporting, country reports, finally individual complaints, and execution of the judgments rendered by these regional bodies. The thesis analyzes the procedures involved in each of these mechanisms and examines …

Reservations, Human Rights Treaties In The 21st Century: From Universality To Integrity, Pierrick Devidal

LLM Theses and Essays

This thesis is a study of the question of the legality of reservations to international human rights treaties. The evolution of reservations law demonstrates that the system seek to promote universal adherence to multilateral treaties through flexible rules that reflects the superiority of national sovereignty in the international society. However, the flexibility of reservation law as codified in the Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties has facilitated wide acceptance of multilateral treaties at the cost of their integrity. In the case of human rights treaties, this issue is of paramount importance considering the essentiality of a balance between integrity …

The Impact Of Modernization And Development On Muslim Women In Egypt: A Legal Perspective, Mazahir Muhammed Ata El-Sid

LLM Theses and Essays

This study examines the effectiveness of the modernization theory in Egypt, a developing Muslim society. As in the case of other developing societies, Egypt's modernization is uneven. Therefore, I will examine modernization as it relates to Muslim women in Egypt in as far as they vary in their exposure to the modernizing influences of advanced technology. Egypt has experienced a variety of social, judicial, economic, demographic, and political modifications. These changes have greatly affected Muslim women in Egypt and their family life. Not all of the issues underlying modernization will be addressed in this research. Type of family structure and …

A Trade/Human Rights Linkage By The United States: Is Enforcing Human Rights By Use Of Trade Sanctions Effective?, Blaise Omondi Odhiambo

LLM Theses and Essays

Universally held basic human rights must remain separate from political rights. Such basic human rights are those that are so universal that all societies, systems, nations, and ideology could, and do espouse them. Conversely, political rights are those that are dependent upon compatibility with the system of government in place and arc therefore far less likely to gamer universal support. An effective multilateral enforcement mechanism can only succeed if there are universal agreement and acceptance of the protected rights. Accordingly, at the outset of such a mechanism, only basic human rights may be enforced through trade sanctions. Once such a …

Comparison Between Freedom Of Religion In Germany And In The United States In General And The Treatment Of The Church Of Scientology Specifically, Wolfgang Eichele

LLM Theses and Essays

The thesis first gives background information about the general development of fundamental rights in both Germany and the United States and specifically the freedom of religion. The analysis discusses in particular freedom of religion granted by Article 4 of the Basic Law in Germany and the religious clauses of the First Amendment of the American Constitution. In the first conclusion, the differences in the interpretations of the religious clauses both in Germany and the United States will be stated. These differences will then be illustrated by a discussion on the Church of Scientology through its basic facts, history, ideas, and …

Population. Environment. And Development: The Changing Paradigm Of The 1990s, Sharmini Abbasi

LLM Theses and Essays

Among the vast web of challenges before us in the wake of the new millennium population growth is one of the most worrying aspects of human existence. The consequences of the world's rapid population growth on human well-being and on the environment have been the subject of intense controversy for many years and got even more accentuated as the 1990s progress. However, the framework of international environmental law and agreement has for long failed to consider adequately the clear linkages between rapid population growth and environmental degradation. Thus, the study attempts to discuss and analyze competing for international perspectives, theories, …

Freedom Of Religion In Public Schools In Germany And In The United States, Inke Muehlhoff

LLM Theses and Essays

Unfortunately, in terms of religions, the strict neutrality is almost impossible to reach and most countries that have adopted such a principle still face religious conflicts. However, these conflicts have shifted from armed conflicts to legal conflicts and battles of words, which offer at least a more peaceful way to fight. One major battleground for these religious conflicts concerns the role of religion in the public school system. That battleground is the subject of this thesis. The discussion of how religion should be treated in the public school system will be based on a comparison between Germany and the United …

Judicial Review As A Tool For The Safeguard Of Human Rights: Prospects And Problems Of The U.S. Model In Malawi, Janet Laura Banda

LLM Theses and Essays

Judicial review is a judicial action that involves the review of an inferior legislative or executive act for conformity with a higher legal norm, with the possibility that the inferior norm may be invalidated or suspended if necessary. Although judicial review has been explicitly provided for in some written post-independence African constitutions, such review has not developed into a significant principle of African juridical democracy. This lack of development can be attributed to the emergence of dictatorships in the post-colonial era. However, Malawi’s weak judiciary system was remedied by the 1994 Constitution which gave the Malawian judiciary a central position, …

International Human Rights Standards On Sexual Violence Against Women As They Apply To Pornography, Claudia Giunta

LLM Theses and Essays

The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing in September 1995, and represented an important step towards the achievement of equality for women. At the Conference, the progress made towards equality was acknowledged, but it was also acknowledged that many goals have not been achieved yet, and that cultural changes of fundamental importance remain to be made. Indeed, in many countries the cultural approach to violence and discrimination against women is quite fatalistic; they believe violence against women cannot be solved by laws. However, this approach overlooks the role played by societies in tolerating practices of …

The Issue Of The Legal Validity Of Using Economic Sanctions To Enforce Human Rights, Thomas Hailu

LLM Theses and Essays

The international legal regime as it pertains to human rights is neither as established nor as definitive as it appears. It suffers from many disadvantages, the first and most important of which is the fact that the international legal regime has never been capable of effectively enforcing its rules or instituting appropriate remedies for its breaches. Some states have attempted to make up for this inability on behalf of international law by undertaking an enforcement mechanism either unilaterally or multilaterally; economic sanctions are often regarded as valuable tools of enforcement to be used against countries which are allegedly engaged in …

Permissible Accommodation Of Religion And The Alternative Burden, Ei Ichiro Takahata

LLM Theses and Essays

In this thesis, the author discusses the extent to which the government can afford to give accommodation within the limits of the Establishment Clause. In Chapter II, the author reviews the theory of the permissible accommodation referred to in the Supreme Court of the United States. In Chapter III, the author examines scholarly debates on the accommodation. Then, the author discusses German and Japanese law of the accommodation in Chapter IV. There, those cases suggest the possibility of alternative burdens on religious believers. The alternative burdens are considered the price of the accommodation. The author concludes that the government has …

Major Problems Of International Refugee Law, Wondwossen Lemma Kidane

LLM Theses and Essays

This thesis introduces the history behind the legal term “refugee” with the emphasis on the abstract and altogether ambiguous definition, international discrepancies, and the United Nations’ Convention of Status relating to Refugees adopted in 1951. The purpose of the thesis is to highlight the shortcomings of the Convention starting with the legal definition of a refugee then continuing to inherent defects of refugee law, problems of the exclusion/secession of refugee status as stated in the Convention, domestic application of the Convention, and finally some advances in points of suggestion.

The Role Of The Organization Of African Unity (Oau) In Regional Conflict Resolution And Dispute Settlement, Peter Mweti Munya

LLM Theses and Essays

The emergence of an artificially constructed modern state with internal contradictions, sophisticated state apparatus, and weaponry, coupled with external forces has made Africa one of the most unstable regions in the world, and peace prospects a daunting task. The post-cold war era punctuated by forces of economic liberalization and dominance of the Breton Woods institutions in the economic management of the developing countries has not only accelerated the economic marginalization of Africa placing her at the fringes of the global economy but also wrought insecurity in their wake. This post-cold war and serves to emphasize the need for the OAU …

Domestic Violence Against Women: A Comparative Analysis Of Remedies Under The American And Indian Legal Systems, Anita Elizabeth Jacob Ninan

LLM Theses and Essays

The purpose of this thesis is to compare the legal remedies available to women who are the victims of domestic violence in the United States and India and analyze whether the existing laws in the two systems are effective and sufficient in combating this growing problem. Domestic violence against women is a reality. It haunts the female species form the cradle to the grave, manifesting itself in sociocultural crime peculiar to some societies like India, such as female feticide, female infanticide, bride burning dowry deaths, and wife battering (both a developing country like India and an economically developed country like …