Human Rights Law Commons^™

Human Rights States And Societies: A Reflection From Kenya, Willy Mutunga

The Transnational Human Rights Review

A human rights state is conceptualized as a liberal democratic state with a social democratic content, the modern day version of the capitalist welfare state. With the “collapses” of communism and neoliberalism, the paradigms of human rights and social justice have taken a center state. The birth of transformative constitutions and transformative constitutionalism linked to modern and comprehensive Bills of Rights have enriched the intellectual, ideological, and political debates of human rights and social justice paradigms. On one hand they have the ingredients of mitigating neo-liberalism while on the other hand they reflect some of the features of the paradigms …

Theorizing International Criminal Procedure Review Essay: Christoph Safferling's International Criminal Procedure, Sujith Xavier

The Transnational Human Rights Review

No abstract provided.

African Lessons For Post-2015 Global Right To Development Conceptualization And Practice, Obiora Chinedu Okafor

The Transnational Human Rights Review

No abstract provided.

Reinforcing The Identity Of The African Children's Rights Committee: A Case For Limiting The Lust For Judicial Powers In Quasi -Judicial Human Rights Mechanisms, Solomon T. Ebobrah

The Transnational Human Rights Review

Established as a quasi-judicial treaty supervisory body rather than an international court, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child struggles for relevance in the African human rights system where most non-state stakeholders arguably prefer organs with clear judicial powers. Thus, similar to the experiences of its older counterparts, the Committee appears to be under subtle pressure to substitute or at least reinforce its quasi-judicial character with more judicial powers and action. In essence, the Committee suffers from the uncertainty that prevails in international law regarding the definition of the term quasi-judicial; and the unclear …

Indigenous Rights Before The Inter-American Court Of Human Rights : A Call For A Pro Individual Interpretation, Valerio De Oliveira Mazzuoli, Dilton Ribeiro

The Transnational Human Rights Review

In its traditional conception, international law regulates relations between sovereign states. This definition is challenged by current developments of international law, especially in the area of human rights. The human person is arguably a bearer of rights and duties under international law. However, recognizing this individual legal personality is not enough. International bodies and treaties need to acknowledge that individuals are subjects of international law within a pluralistic world. In other words, the law of nations must crystalize the idea that individuals are, with all their cultural differences, subjects of international law. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights recognizes this …

The Relationship Between Human Rights And Judicial Globalization, Klodian Rado

The Transnational Human Rights Review

There are numerous academic writings about the actors, factors, and mechanisms that shape and drive human rights at national, transnational, and international levels. However, the relationship between human rights and the process of judicial globalization remains underexplored in recent scholarship, and the purpose of this study is to explore such a relationship and its effects. First, we provide a brief theoretical background of both human rights and judicial globalization concepts, and then, we focus on the relationship between them. By investigating existing empirical data, we uncover how judicial globalization is effecting and shaping human rights through various mechanisms and their …

The Failure Of The Canadian Human Rights Regime To Provide Remedies For Indigenous Peoples: Enough Time Has Passed, Jeffery Gordon Hewitt

LLM Theses

In 2008, Canada amended the Canadian Human Rights Act to remove s.67, which in essence precluded Indigenous Peoples from bringing complaints as against Canada and Band governments. Since the amendment took effect in 2010, a multi-fold increase has occurred in the number of complaints filed with the Human Rights Commission of Canada from dozens to hundreds. The first such significant complaint to be heard by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal was filed by the First Nation Child and Family Caring Society along with the Assembly of First Nations (the Complaint). The Complaint alleges Canada's funding with respect to First Nation …

Can, Do, And Should Legal Entities Have Dignity?: The Case Of The State, Maxwell O. Chibundu

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Threshold Liberty, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Cardozo Law Review

The Supreme Court's Thirteenth Amendment precedent is no longer sustainable. For starters, that precedent - which holds that the Amendment prohibits the "badges and incidents" of slavery, and that Congress has the power to "rationally" determine what constitutes a "badge or incident" of slavery - raises serious federalism and separation of powers concerns. To make matters worse, the Court itself has recently restricted the enforcement provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment (in City of Boerne v. Flores) and Fifteenth Amendment (in Shelby County v. Holder), rendering the generous bounds of the Thirteenth Amendment enforcement power an outlier among the …

Uncloaking The Secrecy Behind Large-Scale Land Deals, Jesse Coleman

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Large-scale investments in agriculture and forestry have far-reaching implications for the lives of affected individuals and communities. They are also an integral part of efforts by national governments to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and improve the governance of land resources. Despite their significance, these “land deals” and the contracts that govern them are often cloaked in secrecy, removed from relevant spheres of public scrutiny and debate.

Incentives To Incarcerate: Corporation Involvement In Prison Labor And The Privatization Of The Prison System, Alythea S. Morrell

Master's Projects and Capstones

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the entire world. The United States accounts for approximately 5% of the world’s population, yet it accounts for 25% of the world’s prisoners. Not only does the United States mercilessly incarcerate its own citizens, it disproportionately incarcerates African American and Latino men. This fact on its own is disturbing; however, when it is coupled with the fact that corporations profit from and lobby for an overly aggressive and ineffective criminal justice system, makes these statistics even more horrendous. Private prison companies such as Corrections Corporation of America and GEO Group admit …

Liberty At The Borders Of Private Law, Donald J. Smythe

Akron Law Review

Liberty is both dependent upon and limited by the State. The State protects individuals from the coercion of others, but paradoxically, it must exercise coercion itself in doing so. Unfortunately, the reliance on the State to deter coercion raises the possibility that the State’s powers of coercion might be abused. There is, not surprisingly, therefore, a wide range of literature on the relationship between law and liberty, but most of it focuses on the relationship between public law and liberty. This Article focuses on the relationship between private law and liberty. Private laws are enforced by courts. Since the judiciary …

Protecting Syrian Refugees: Laws, Policies, And Global Responsibility Sharing, Susan M. Akram, Sarah Bidinger, Aaron Lang, Danielle Hites, Yoana Kuzmova, Elena Noureddine

Faculty Scholarship

This article provides an excerpt of a report that maps out how the Syrian refugee crisis is being played out in four of the main states hosting the refugees, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey. This excerpt focuses on the laws and policies in the host states and how they are creating particularly devastating consequences for Palestinian refugees. The excerpt sets out the Report’s conclusions and recommendations, primarily the call for a global Comprehensive Plan of Action (cpa), with various components within and outside the Middle East region that build on existing legal obligations to better allocate responsibility for the refugee …

Forced Migration, The Human Face Of A Health Crisis, Lawrence O. Gostin, Anna E. Roberts

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Nearly 60 million refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced persons (IDPs) fled their homes in 2014, predominately from war-torn Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. The global response to assisting this vulnerable group has been wholly incommensurate with the need given the profound health hazards faced by forced migrants at each stage of their journey. The majority of forced migrants are housed in lower-income countries that do not have the infrastructure to assist the significant numbers of individuals who are crossing their borders and the humanitarian organizations who seek to assist in the response are grossly underfunded and under-resourced.

Countries have varying responsibilities …

In Re Guardianship Of Hailu, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 89 (Nov. 16, 2015), Adrienne Brantley

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that under NRS § 451.007 (the Uniform Determination of Death Act) the District court failed to consider whether the American Association of Neurology (AAN) guidelines adequately measure all functions of the entire brain and whether the guidelines are considered accepted medical standards by states that have adopted the Act.

April Miller Et Al. Vs. Kim Davis (Date Filled November 13, 2015), United States District Court For The Eastern District Of Kentucky

Media Collection

APRIL MILLER, PH.D., et al. PLAINTIFFS v. KIM DAVIS, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN HER OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS ROWAN COUNTY CLERK, et al. DEFENDANTS and RESPONSE OF THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANTS TO PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO ENFORCE SEPTEMBER 3 AND SEPTEMBER 8 ORDERS KIM DAVIS THIRD-PARTY PLAINTIFF v. STEVEN L. BESHEAR, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS GOVERNOR OF KENTUCKY, et al. THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANTS

April Miller Et Al. Vs. Kim Davis (Date Filled November 9, 2015), United States Court Of Appeals For The Sixth Circuit

Media Collection

APRIL MILLER, PH.D; KAREN ANN ROBERTS; SHANTEL BURKE; STEPHEN NAPIER; JODY FERNANDEZ; KEVIN HOLLOWAY; L. AARON SKAGGS; AND BARRY SPARTMAN, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. KIM DAVIS, INDIVIDUALLY, Defendant-Third-Party Plaintiff-Appellant, and STEVEN L. BESHEAR, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS GOVERNOR OF KENTUCKY, AND WAYNE ONKST, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS STATE LIBRARIAN AND COMMISSIONER, KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT FOR LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES, Third-Party Defendants-Appellees. ON APPEAL FROM U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY, CIVIL ACTION NO. 15-CV-00044, HON. DAVID L. BUNNING BRIEF FOR AMICUS CURIAE EAGLE FORUM EDUCATION & LEGAL DEFENSE FUND IN SUPPORT OF APPELLANT IN SUPPORT OF REVERSAL

Gender Perspectives On Torture And Other Cruel, Inhuman, Or Degrading Treatment Or Punishment: Expert Consultation, Brenda V. Smith

Research Reports & White Papers

The aim of this consultation with experts is to ensure that the Special Rapporteur receives the necessary exposure to the different practices, international standards and jurisprudence, and expert opinions that will help him draft his forthcoming thematic report for the United Nations Human Rights Council. The report will focus on assessing the unique experiences of women, girl children and LGBTI persons from the perspective of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment (“CIDTP”) in international law. The consultation will focus on specific practices where the mistreatment rises to the level of torture or CIDTP to identify gaps …

The Impasse Of Tibetan Justice: Spain's Exercise Of Universal Jurisdiction In Prosecuting Chinese Genocide, Craig Peters

Seattle University Law Review

Universal jurisdiction is the progressive and contentious legal principle that courts have competence to adjudicate cases involving alleged violations of international law regardless of the nation in which those crimes occurred, the nationality of the victim, or the nationality of the perpetrator. While the limits of more conventional theories of jurisdiction are defined by sovereignty, territory, and nationality, the exercise of universal jurisdiction is based solely on the nature of the crime alleged. That is, when a crime is so serious that it violates peremptory norms of international law, courts are entitled, or even obliged, to hear those cases regardless …

Us May Be Complicit In War Crimes In Yemen, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.