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Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University

Theses/Dissertations

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Full-Text Articles in Human Rights Law

Patents And Plants: Rethinking The Role Of International Law In Relation To The Appropriation Of Traditional Knowledge Of The Uses Of Plants (Tkup), Ikechi Mgbeoji May 2022

Patents And Plants: Rethinking The Role Of International Law In Relation To The Appropriation Of Traditional Knowledge Of The Uses Of Plants (Tkup), Ikechi Mgbeoji

PhD Dissertations

Legal control and ownership of plants and traditional knowledge of the uses of plants (TKUP) is often a vexed issue, particularly at the international level because of the conflicting interests of states or groups of states in the matter. The most widely used form of juridical control of plants and TKUP is the patent system which originated in Europe. This thesis rethinks the role of international law and legal concepts, the major patent systems of the world and international agricultural research institutions as they affect legal ownership and control of plants and TKUP. The analysis is cast in various contexts …


Voices From Below—Africa’S Contribution To The Development Of The Norm Of Corporate Responsibility To Respect Human Rights, Akinwumi Olawuyi Ogunranti Jan 2022

Voices From Below—Africa’S Contribution To The Development Of The Norm Of Corporate Responsibility To Respect Human Rights, Akinwumi Olawuyi Ogunranti

PhD Dissertations

The long conversations about corporate responsibility predominantly take place in forums and conferences in the Global North. Yet, the majority of the human rights abuses and their impacts are felt by peasants, farmers, children, and women in local communities in the Global South who do not have a voice in the institutionalized governance systems that animate global affairs. This thesis answers the question of how norms and human rights institutions in Africa can influence the corporate responsibility to respect (CR2R) norm as embedded in pillar II of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Through the theory …


Fiscal Decolonization-Indigenous Fiscal Autonomy And Tax Jurisdiction, Riad Kherallah Oct 2021

Fiscal Decolonization-Indigenous Fiscal Autonomy And Tax Jurisdiction, Riad Kherallah

LLM Theses

This thesis focuses on the relationship between Indigenous fiscal autonomy and self-determination. Indigenous nations’ ability to achieve self-determination is dependent upon their ability to autonomously finance self-government. Unfortunately, Canada’s colonial policies have weakened Indigenous economies and rendered them dependent upon the Crown. Due to Indigenous nations’ lack of fiscal autonomy, Crown policies designed to promote Indigenous self-government have proven inadequate. This thesis argues for using the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a blueprint for developing more equitable economic relations. While there are various elements to Crown-Indigenous economic relations, this thesis focuses on the distribution of …


Responsible Business Conduct In The Extractive Industries: Prospect Of Respecting Women's Human Rights In Ghana, Veronica Dossah May 2021

Responsible Business Conduct In The Extractive Industries: Prospect Of Respecting Women's Human Rights In Ghana, Veronica Dossah

LLM Theses

Business operations in the extractive industries (EI) continue to violate women’s human rights and the environment in the communities in which they operate. In Ghana, existing laws and regulations do not preclude businesses from such violations. This makes it important to reflect on innovative means including soft laws which could encourage companies operating in the EI in Ghana to respect women’s human rights and the environment over and above compliance with national laws and regulations. This thesis examines the problem of land grabbing by EI companies operating in Ghana, the unique negative impacts women in mining communities face as a …


Using Canadian Law To Prevent, Respond To And Remedy Maltreatment In Sport: Listening To And Learning From Athletes, Wendy Macgregor Oct 2020

Using Canadian Law To Prevent, Respond To And Remedy Maltreatment In Sport: Listening To And Learning From Athletes, Wendy Macgregor

LLM Theses

This thesis addresses maltreatment of athletes in Canada, in the post-Nassar era, by considering applicable law, policy, academic literature and a qualitative study. Athlete maltreatment may include: psychological, physical and sexual maltreatment, and neglect. Prevalence and impacts of maltreatment are examined. Legal and administrative options available to complainants are discussed, as well as applicable international human rights and child rights conventions, Canadian legislation, legal principles, and jurisprudence. An academic literature review provides maltreatment definitions in order to lay the groundwork for the discussion. Academic perspectives and proposals for redress are considered. A qualitative athlete study produced four key themes which …


An Analysis Of The Human Rights Approach To Climate Change: The Right To A Healthy Environment, Intergenerational Equity And Climate Litigation, Unwana Emmanuel Udo Oct 2020

An Analysis Of The Human Rights Approach To Climate Change: The Right To A Healthy Environment, Intergenerational Equity And Climate Litigation, Unwana Emmanuel Udo

LLM Theses

Climate change litigation is a viable tool in the fight against climate change. For the past 2 decades, climate litigation has largely been based on torts and administrative law. However, courts have recently been quite receptive to human rights arguments in climate cases, thereby necessitating recognition of the human rights approach as an important facet of climate litigation. It is important for intergenerational equity to be integrated into the human rights approach to climate change. One of the major benefits of intergenerational equity to the human rights approach is its potential to catalyze the recognition of the right to a …


Business And Human Rights In The Context Of Sanctions: A Road To Filling The Governance Gap, Bahareh Jafarian May 2020

Business And Human Rights In The Context Of Sanctions: A Road To Filling The Governance Gap, Bahareh Jafarian

LLM Theses

As concerns about the negative impacts of sanctions on the human rights of civilians and the environment increases, it is necessary to reflect upon the lawfulness and legal status of such measures in international law, and their impact on business enterprises and the field of Business and Human Rights (BHR). While current academic literature tends to focus on implementation, enforcement and business compliance with unilateral and multilateral sanctions, the negative impacts of sanctions on non-state actors and resulting human rights violations are overlooked. Specifically, the relationship between sanctions law and the responsibility of businesses to respect human rights and the …


Just Care: A Relational Approach To Autonomy And Decision Making Of Parents Committed To Religious Or Indigenous Traditional Practices, Tu-Quynh Trinh May 2019

Just Care: A Relational Approach To Autonomy And Decision Making Of Parents Committed To Religious Or Indigenous Traditional Practices, Tu-Quynh Trinh

LLM Theses

Hamilton Health Sciences Corp. v. D.H. and B. (R.) v. Children’s Aid Society of Metropolitan Toronto tell important stories about people and relationships—and about parenthood; autonomy; religious believers and cultural communities; and the role of the state in family, culture, and religion. Their narratives were influenced by liberalism and emphasize a degree of individualism that is incongruous given the subject matter of parent child relationships and their place within communities and the law. This thesis explores the application of relational theory and the integrated principles of justice and care to these issues. Ultimately, the stories these judicial opinions tell help …


Protecting Women's Rights? Prospects Under The Un Human Rights Treaty System: A Case Study On India 2005-2017, Deepali Oct 2018

Protecting Women's Rights? Prospects Under The Un Human Rights Treaty System: A Case Study On India 2005-2017, Deepali

LLM Theses

The establishment of the United Nations Treaty System was the fundamental step for the protection and enforcement of women’s rights. The system is designed to monitor the human rights standards in countries that have ratified the treaties, called state parties. However, the system is facing several challenges that have compromised its effective working for the protection and enforcement of women’s rights. The thesis seeks to explain the challenges to the effective working of the system, that is, why the system does not work as designed in protecting women’s rights against three specific issues: domestic violence, sexual trafficking, and reproductive rights. …


Regional Human Rights Regimes And Environmental Protection: A Comparison Of European And American Human Rights Regimes’ Histories, Current Law, And Opportunities For Development, Don Mccrimmon May 2017

Regional Human Rights Regimes And Environmental Protection: A Comparison Of European And American Human Rights Regimes’ Histories, Current Law, And Opportunities For Development, Don Mccrimmon

PhD Dissertations

This work reviews the Inter-American and European human rights regimes and their abilities to respond to point-source pollution, climate change, and ecosystem conservation. It begins by reviewing leading human rights theories and the development of the relationship between human rights and the environment. It then focuses on European human rights, both under the ECHR and the CFREU, and highlights the ECHR’s ability to respond to instances of point-source-pollution though the right to privacy. The work then looks at the Inter-American human rights regime, its structure, history and ability to respond to environmental challenges. It reviews the regime’s tendency to use …


On The "Poverty Of Responsibility": A Study Of The History Of Child Protection Law And Jurisprudence In Nova Scotia, Ilana Luther Sep 2015

On The "Poverty Of Responsibility": A Study Of The History Of Child Protection Law And Jurisprudence In Nova Scotia, Ilana Luther

PhD Dissertations

This thesis presents a history of child protection law and jurisprudence in Nova Scotia. The thesis begins by examining the development of the first child protection statute in Canada, the Nova Scotia Prevention and Punishment of Wrongs to Children Act in 1882. The Act was developed amidst a climate of reform in late-19th century Halifax, at the urging of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The Act, along with a number of other pieces of “domestic relations” legislation at the time, was focused on protecting children in poverty. With the passing of the Act, the legislature not …


Sex And The Supremes: Towards A Legal Theory Of Sexuality, Elaine Craig Oct 2010

Sex And The Supremes: Towards A Legal Theory Of Sexuality, Elaine Craig

PhD Dissertations

This thesis examines how the Supreme Court of Canada, across legal contexts, has tended to conceptualize sexuality. It focuses primarily on areas of public law including sexual assault law, equality for sexual minorities, sexual harassment and obscenity and indecency laws. There were a number of trends revealed upon reviewing the jurisprudence in this area. First, the Court’s decisions across legal contexts reveal a tendency to conceptualize sexuality as innate, as a pre-social naturally occurring phenomenon and as an essential element of who we are as individuals. This is true whether one is speaking of the approach to gay and lesbian …


Governance Of Health Research Involving Humans In Developing Countries: The Nigerian Example, Cheluchi Onyemelukwe Oct 2010

Governance Of Health Research Involving Humans In Developing Countries: The Nigerian Example, Cheluchi Onyemelukwe

PhD Dissertations

An intense debate has occurred regarding research involving humans in developing countries in recent years. Research in this area has focused mainly on examining the ways in which the economic inequalities in healthcare between developing countries and developed countries have affected the types of research conducted in developing countries by external sponsors. Research has also focused on how these inequalities, and the difficulties in applying the international ethical guidelines, give rise to ethical concerns and controversies. Recent literature has therefore examined several ethical concerns in health research in developing countries. What is missing in the literature on research oversight in …


Enforcing Idealism: The Implementation Of Complementary International Protection In Canadian Refugee Law, Zofia Przybytkowski Jan 2010

Enforcing Idealism: The Implementation Of Complementary International Protection In Canadian Refugee Law, Zofia Przybytkowski

LLM Theses

This thesis evaluates Canadas compliance with human rights-based complementary international protection. Through an analysis of the roots of international refugee protection, it first links the evolution of the latter with the development of human rights law instruments. It then defines complementary protection as the corpus of legal bases for asylum claims outside of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. It uses various human rights instruments to outline international protection obligations, which take three different forms of complementary protection. The first one consists in independent protection mechanisms outside of the Refugee Convention, the most important being the formulation of …


From Hot Air To Action? Climate Change, Compliance, And The Future Of International Environmental Law, Meinhard Doelle Oct 2005

From Hot Air To Action? Climate Change, Compliance, And The Future Of International Environmental Law, Meinhard Doelle

PhD Dissertations

This dissertation considers the evolution, current state, and future prognosis of the global climate change regime under the umbrella of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The focus of the dissertation is on State compliance with the Kyoto Protocol. Compliance is considered from the perspective of the internal compliance regime developed under the Kyoto Protocol as well as a select set of potential external international law influences. The dissertation concludes with an assessment of the level of compliance to be expected and its potential influence on the future of the climate change regime. Implications for international environmental law …


Providing Access To Generic Antiretroviral Drugs To People Living With Hiv/Aids In Developing Countries: An Examination Of Legal Obligations, Cheluchi Onyemelukwe Oct 2004

Providing Access To Generic Antiretroviral Drugs To People Living With Hiv/Aids In Developing Countries: An Examination Of Legal Obligations, Cheluchi Onyemelukwe

LLM Theses

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a devastating medical, social and economic problem in many developing countries. Presently, the only therapeutic remedies for the disease are antiretroviral drugs, which do not cure HIV/AIDS but are effective in restoring the health of people living with HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately, these drugs are unavailable to many people living with the disease in developing countries. This has been attributed to the exorbitant prices resulting from the patent rights of multinational pharmaceutical companies over the drugs. Legal literature has therefore focused principally on intellectual property rights as obstacles to access to antiretroviral drugs in developing countries. This thesis, …


Retrieving The Rejected Stone: Rethinking The Marginalization Of The Economic, Social And Cultural Rights Under The African Charter On Human And Peoples' Rights, Shedrack Chukwuemeka Agbakwa Jan 2000

Retrieving The Rejected Stone: Rethinking The Marginalization Of The Economic, Social And Cultural Rights Under The African Charter On Human And Peoples' Rights, Shedrack Chukwuemeka Agbakwa

LLM Theses

The 'African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights' is unique in its conceptualization of rights. Among other things, it provides in a single document a core of both economic, social and cultural rights, as well as civil and political rights. However, the 'Charter's' Preamble clearly demonstrates where the emphasis of the document lies. The 'African Charter' asserts a belief that the satisfaction of economic, social and cultural rights is a guarantee for the enjoyment of civil and political rights. Given the grave economic problems facing Africa, the emphasis on economic, social and cultural rights as a precondition for the enjoyment …


In The Path Of Our Ancestors: The Aboriginal Right To Cross The Canada-United States Border, Pamela Doris Palmater Jan 1999

In The Path Of Our Ancestors: The Aboriginal Right To Cross The Canada-United States Border, Pamela Doris Palmater

LLM Theses

In this thesis, I will argue that the Aboriginal peoples whose traditional territories straddle the Canada - United States border have the right to pass and repass the border freely. With this right comes the ability to live and/or work in either country without having to apply for permission each time with Immigration officials. I have suggested that instead of litigating these rights, the governments of both Canada and the United States should commence tri-partite discussions on how best to accommodate these rights, both on an interim basis and permanently through legislation. One of the measures that I have suggested …


A Matter Of Balancing: The Inability To Force Treatment On All Voluntary, Treatment-Incapable Patients In Ontario, Cindy L. Blancher Jan 1998

A Matter Of Balancing: The Inability To Force Treatment On All Voluntary, Treatment-Incapable Patients In Ontario, Cindy L. Blancher

LLM Theses

This thesis concentrates on the question of whether or not voluntary, treatment incapable patients who have had their treatment consented to by a substitute decision-maker can be involuntarily treated. It is my opinion that under the current legislative scheme in Ontario the restraint of a voluntary, treatment incapable patient for the purposes of treatment is illegal subject to the following exceptions: (a) a guardianship order exists that contains authority to restrain and detain; or (b) a Power of Attorney for Personal Care has been executed by the now treatment incapable individual authorizing his substitute decision-maker to have him detained and …


Use Of Discretion In Independent Migrant Selection: A Study Of Canadian Immigration Law, Policy And Practice, Philip Lupul Jan 1998

Use Of Discretion In Independent Migrant Selection: A Study Of Canadian Immigration Law, Policy And Practice, Philip Lupul

LLM Theses

Canadian immigration law has traditionally relied upon broad grants of discretionary authority as a tool for immigrant application processing. Such authority has had two facets--a procedural aspect allowing for flexibility in methods and processes for handling applications, and a substantive aspect relating to actual decision making. This thesis examines such discretion in the particular context of the Independent category of migration that is provided for under the current Immigration Act and Regulations. This thesis argues that discretionary power has recently been significantly affected by two evolving trends. Hampered by fiscal constraints, the bureaucracy has sought to reduce usage of positive …


Development Projects And Project-Affected Peoples: The Need To Advance Sustainable Development By Establishing An International Development Institutions Inspection Panel To Redress Grievances, Ram Anand Shankar Jan 1997

Development Projects And Project-Affected Peoples: The Need To Advance Sustainable Development By Establishing An International Development Institutions Inspection Panel To Redress Grievances, Ram Anand Shankar

LLM Theses

Indigenous and tribal communities are frequently affected by development projects in an adverse manner. Often they do not have any effective way of redressing their grievances, particularly against noncompliance of environmental guidelines and rules by International Development Institutions. This thesis explores avenues open to affected peoples to redress their grievances regarding the negative impacts of development projects. The thesis begins by defining "Project Affected Peoples," explores the concept of sustainable development, and suggests consequent principles for development projects. Then follows an examination of an existing grievance-redressal mechanism, the World Bank Inspection Panel, which has been mandated to redress complaints from …