Leading legal scholar John Witte, Jr. explores the role religion played in the development of rights in the Western legal tradition and traces the complex interplay between human rights and religious freedom norms in modern domestic and international law. He examines how US courts are moving towards greater religious freedom, while recent decisions of the pan-European courts in Strasbourg and Luxembourg have harmed new religious minorities and threatened old religious traditions in Europe. Witte argues that the robust promotion and protection of religious freedom is the best way to protect many other fundamental rights today, even though religious freedom and other fundamental rights sometimes clash and need judicious balancing. He also responds to various modern critics who see human rights as a betrayal of Christianity and religious freedom as a betrayal of human rights.

Die Konversion nach 140 BGB ist ein vielseitig einsetzbares Instrument der allgemeinen Rechtsgeschaftslehre zur Verwirklichung des Parteiwillens. Einige ihrer Grundlagenfragen sowie Anwendungsprobleme in Spezialgebieten sind allerdings noch immer nicht abschliessend geklart. An dieser Stelle setzt der Autor an und fragt nach den spezifischen Anwendungsbereichen und Auswirkungen des 140 BGB im Allgemeinen wie auch i.R. nichtiger Verfugungen von Todes wegen und Nachfolgeklauseln bei Personengesellschaften. Ausfuhrlich untersucht er hierzu Falle, in denen eine Konversion bisher fur moeglich erklart wurde. Dabei stellt er sich teilweise kritisch der vorherrschenden Auffassung entgegen und erklart, warum eine Konversion bisweilen dem Parteiwillen zuwiderlaufen wurde.

Enacted in 1966, The Freedom of Information Act (or FOIA) was designed to promote oversight of governmental activities, under the notion that most users would be journalists. Today, however, FOIA is largely used for purposes other than fostering democratic accountability. Instead, most requesters are either individuals seeking their own files, businesses using FOIA as part of commercial enterprises, or others with idiosyncratic purposes like political opposition research. In this sweeping, empirical study, Margaret Kwoka documents how agencies have responded to the large volume of non-oversight requesters by creating new processes, systems, and specialists, which in turn has had a deleterious impact on journalists and the media. To address this problem, Kwoka proposes a series of structural solutions aimed at shrinking FOIA to re-center its oversight purposes.

Enacted in 1966, The Freedom of Information Act (or FOIA) was designed to promote oversight of governmental activities, under the notion that most users would be journalists. Today, however, FOIA is largely used for purposes other than fostering democratic accountability. Instead, most requesters are either individuals seeking their own files, businesses using FOIA as part of commercial enterprises, or others with idiosyncratic purposes like political opposition research. In this sweeping, empirical study, Margaret Kwoka documents how agencies have responded to the large volume of non-oversight requesters by creating new processes, systems, and specialists, which in turn has had a deleterious impact on journalists and the media. To address this problem, Kwoka proposes a series of structural solutions aimed at shrinking FOIA to re-center its oversight purposes.

Surveillance of citizens is a clear manifestation of government power. The act of surveillance is generally deemed acceptable in a democratic society where it is necessary to protect the interests of the nation and where the power is exercised non-arbitrarily and in accordance with the law. Surveillance and the Law analyses the core features of surveillance that create stark challenges for transparency and accountability by examining the relationship between language, power, and surveillance. It identifies a number of features of surveillance law, surveillance language, and the distribution of power that perpetuate the existing surveillance paradigm. Using case studies from the US, the UK, and Ireland, it assesses the techniques used to maintain the status quo of continued surveillance expansion. These jurisdictions are selected for their similarities, but also for their key constitutional distinctions, which influence how power is distributed and restrained in the different systems. Though the book maintains that the classic principles of transparency and accountability remain the best means available to limit the arbitrary exercise of government power, it evaluates how these principles could be better realised in order to restore power to the people and to maintain an appropriate balance between government intrusion and the right to privacy. By identifying the common tactics used in the expansion of surveillance around the globe, this book will appeal to students and scholars interested in privacy law, human rights, information technology law, and surveillance studies.

Since World War II, a growing number of jurisdictions in both the developing and industrialized worlds have adopted progressive constitutions that guarantee social and economic rights (SER) in addition to political and civil rights. Parallel developments have occurred at transnational level with the adoption of treaties that commit signatory states to respect and fulfil SER for their peoples. This book is a product of the International Social and Economic Rights Project (iSERP), a global consortium of judges, lawyers, human rights advocates, and legal academics who critically examine the effectiveness of SER law in promoting real change in people's lives. The book addresses a range of practical, political, and legal questions under these headings, with acute sensitivity to the racial, cultural, and gender implications of SER and the path-breaking SER jurisprudence now emerging in the "Global South". The book brings together internationally renowned experts in the field of social and economic rights to discuss a range of rights controversies from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Contributors of the book consider specific issues in the litigation and adjudication of SER cases from the differing standpoints of activists, lawyers, and adjudicators in order to identify and address the specific challenges facing the SER community. This book will be of great use and interest to students and scholars of comparative constitutional law, human rights, public international law, development studies, and democratic political theory.

For the average person, genetic testing has two very different faces. The rise of genetic testing is often promoted as the democratization of genetics by enabling individuals to gain insights into their unique makeup. At the same time, many have raised concerns that genetic testing and sequencing reveal intensely personal and private information. As these technologies become increasingly available as consumer products, the ethical, legal, and regulatory challenges presented by genomics are ever looming. Assembling multidisciplinary experts, this volume evaluates the different models used to deliver consumer genetics and considers a number of key questions: How should we mediate privacy and other ethical concerns around genetic databases? Does aggregating data from genetic testing turn people into products by commercializing their data? How might this data reduce or exacerbate existing healthcare disparities? Contributing authors also provide guidance on protecting consumer privacy and safety while promoting innovation.

Dieses Buch bietet ein praktikables Konzept fur die Anknupfung gemischter und verbundener Vertrage vor dem Hintergrund der Rom I-Verordnung. Gemischte Vertrage erfordern in der Regel eine Schwerpunktbestimmung, fur die die Autorin einen Katalog von greifbaren Kriterien aufstellt. Verbundene Vertrage koennen auch einen verbraucherrechtlichen Bezug haben. Sie sind gemass Art. 6 Rom I-VO anzuknupfen. Fur Falle, in denen die Verbrauchereigenschaft verneint wird, befurwortet die Autorin eine akzessorische Anknupfung nach Art. 4 Abs. 3 Rom I-VO und setzt sich dabei umfassend mit dem in der Literatur verlangten Erfordernis der Parteiidentitat auseinander.

During the last 50 years interest in human rights has grown dramatically. Whilst newspapers focus mainly on dramatic issues: unlawful killing, torture, disappearances, or violations of freedom of speech; institutions charged with the implementation of human rights (as set out in international conventions and covenants) most frequently deal with allegations of human rights violations during criminal proceedings. The increasing internationalization of the administration of criminal law means that such cases are likely to become ever more important. In this book, the case-law of the international bodies dealing with such cases is presented and critically examined by an author who has contributed to its creation for almost a quarter of a century. The European Commission and European Court of Human Rights, in particular, have accumulated a considerable quantity of case-law, which is particularly interesting because it is intended to be valid in both Anglo-Saxon and Continental systems of criminal procedure.The law of the European Convention is emphasized because of its advanced procedures and the quality and quantity of its case-law. The book will be of interest to all scholars, practitioners, and students of international criminal law.

Im Mittelpunkt des Buches steht die Bestimmung der handelsrechtlichen Rechtsnatur von Gesellschafterkonten in Personenhandelsgesellschaften. Der Autor untersucht Kriterien aus Rechtsprechung und Literatur auf ihre Bedeutung fur die Qualifikation eines Gesellschafterkontos als Kapital- oder Forderungskonto. Die Erkenntnisse werden an typischen Gestaltungen erprobt und auf mittelbare Unternehmensbeteiligungen ubertragen. Das Ergebnis ist ein differenzierter Vorschlag fur eine gesellschaftsvertragliche Regelung von Gesellschafterkonten.

Mit der Einfuhrung der Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mit beschrankter Berufshaftung (PartG mbB) beabsichtigte der Gesetzgeber insbesondere Rechtsanwalten eine Alternative zur Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) zur Verfugung zu stellen. Vor diesem Hintergrund untersucht die Autorin, ob der vermeintliche Trend der Anwaltschaft zur LLP durch die Schaffung der PartG mbB gebrochen wird. Hierzu eroertert sie die bisherigen deutschen anwaltlichen Organisationsformen und untersucht eingehend moegliche Vor- und Nachteile der "deutschen" LLP. Umfassend analysiert die Autorin die rechtlichen Anforderungen, die (insbesondere haftungsrechtlichen) Rechtsfolgen sowie Vor- und Nachteile der PartG mbB und stellt diese vergleichend der LLP und den bisherigen Organisationsformen gegenuber.

The development of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice has transformed the European Union and placed fundamental rights at the core of EU integration and its principles of mutual recognition and trust. The impact of the AFSJ in the development of an EU standard of fundamental rights, which has come to the fore since the Treaty of Lisbon, is a topic of great theoretical and practical importance. This is the first systematic academic study of the AFSJ and its implications from the point of view of fundamental rights. The contributions to this collection examine the normative and jurisprudential development of the AFSJ in order to assess its effects on the overall construction of the scope and standards of protection of EU fundamental rights in this particularly complex and sensitive field of integration. The expert contributors systematically map and critically assess this area of EU law, together with the relevant case-law.

Im Haftungsprozess wegen fehlerhafter Ad-hoc-Publizitat steht der Anleger beim Nachweis der haftungsbegrundenden Kausalitat regelmassig vor grossen Schwierigkeiten. Im Kapitalanlagerecht hingegen wendet die Rechtsprechung die Vermutung aufklarungsrichtigen Verhaltens an und Beweisprobleme werden beseitigt. Um die Rechtfertigung der von der Rechtsprechung vorgenommenen und auf den ersten Blick ungerechtfertigten Differenzierung zu untersuchen, wird zunachst die Rechtsnatur der Vermutung aufklarungsrichtigen Verhaltens bestimmt. Es wird sodann gepruft, ob die Voraussetzungen der Vermutung aufklarungsrichtigen Verhaltens auch am Sekundarmarkt vorliegen und rechtsmethodische Voraussetzungen bei einer UEbertragung erfullt werden. Die Untersuchung schliesst mit rechtspolitischen Vorschlagen.

Die Konstellation scheint rar, die Loesung simpel: Wenn eine Schwangere stirbt, ihr Herz-Kreislauf-System und mithin die Schwangerschaft aber kunstlich auch nach dem Hirntod noch aufrechtzuerhalten sind, muss das Kind gerettet werden. Ist die Frau zudem Organspenderin, koennen freilich auch ihre Organe transplantiert werden. In dieser Absolutheit indes birgt dies einige medizinische wie rechtliche Fehler. In dieser Arbeit werden die medizinischen Umstande der Konstellation erlautert, um zu einer dogmatisch konsistenten wie praktikablen juristischen Loesung zu gelangen. Zu hinterfragen gilt, ob und wann die AErzte die Schwangerschaft abbrechen durfen, wann sie dem Ungeborenen Sterbehilfe leisten koennen und sollen. Zudem geht die Arbeit der Frage nach, wer entsprechende Entscheidungen trifft.

Free speech has positive dimensions of enablement and negative dimensions of non-restraint, both of which require protection for democracy to have substantial communicative legitimacy. In Democracy of Expression, Andrew Kenyon explores this need for sustained plural public speech linked with positive communicative freedom. Drawing on sources from media studies, human rights, political theory, free speech theory and case law, Kenyon shows how positive dimensions of free speech could be imagined and pursued. While recognising that democratic governments face challenges of public communication and free speech that cannot be easily solved, Kenyon argues that understanding the nature of these challenges (including the value of positive free speech) at least makes possible a democracy of expression in which society has a voice, formulates judgments, and makes effective claims of government. In this groundbreaking work, Kenyon not only reframes how we conceptualize free speech, but also provides a roadmap for reform.

Free speech has positive dimensions of enablement and negative dimensions of non-restraint, both of which require protection for democracy to have substantial communicative legitimacy. In Democracy of Expression, Andrew Kenyon explores this need for sustained plural public speech linked with positive communicative freedom. Drawing on sources from media studies, human rights, political theory, free speech theory and case law, Kenyon shows how positive dimensions of free speech could be imagined and pursued. While recognising that democratic governments face challenges of public communication and free speech that cannot be easily solved, Kenyon argues that understanding the nature of these challenges (including the value of positive free speech) at least makes possible a democracy of expression in which society has a voice, formulates judgments, and makes effective claims of government. In this groundbreaking work, Kenyon not only reframes how we conceptualize free speech, but also provides a roadmap for reform.

IVP Readers' Choice Award Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year The United States has more people locked up in jails, prisons, and detention centers than any other country in the history of the world. Mass incarceration has become a lucrative industry, and the criminal justice system is plagued with bias and unjust practices. And the church has unwittingly contributed to the problem. Dominique Gilliard explores the history and foundation of mass incarceration, examining Christianity's role in its evolution and expansion. He then shows how Christians can pursue justice that restores and reconciles, offering creative solutions and highlighting innovative interventions. The church has the power to help transform our criminal justice system. Discover how you can participate in the restorative justice needed to bring authentic rehabilitation, lasting transformation, and healthy reintegration to this broken system.

Although rights-based claims are diversifying and opportunities and resources for claims-making have improved, obtaining rights protections and catalysing social change in South Korea remain challenging processes. This volume examines how different groups in South Korea have defined and articulated grievances and mobilized to remedy them. It explores developments in the institutional contexts within which rights claiming occurs and in the sources of support available for utilizing different claims-making channels. Drawing on scores of original interviews, readings of court rulings and statutes, primary archival and digital sources, and interpretive analysis of news media coverage in Korean, this volume illuminates rights in action. The chapters uncover conflicts over contending rights claims, expose disparities between theory and practice in the law, trace interconnections among rights-based movements, and map emerging trends in the use of rights language. Case studies examine the rights of women, workers, people with disabilities, migrants, and sexual minorities.

Der Status des GmbH-Geschaftsfuhrers - ist er Dienst- oder Arbeitnehmer? - ist trotz der EuGH-Urteile in den Rechtssachen Danosa und Balkaya im deutschen Recht weiterhin ungeklart. Dies ist gleichermassen dogmatisch wie praktisch unbefriedigend. Dieser Problematik widmet sich das Buch. Die Autorin setzt sich kritisch mit dem durch die vorherrschende gesellschaftsrechtliche Auffassung gepragten Postulat der Inkompatibilitat von Organstellung und Arbeitnehmereigenschaft auseinander und wendet sich den Folgen fur den Mutterschutz zu. Die UEberprufung der Vereinbarkeit der Rechtslage de lege lata mit hoeherrangigem Recht berucksichtigt die ubergeordneten verfassungsrechtlichen Ziele und Leitprinzipien, die europaischen Harmonisierungsvorschriften sowie die Regelungsabsichten des nationalen Gesetzgebers. Die Reichweite und Folgen der Danosa-Entscheidung fur die nationale vertragliche und gesellschaftsrechtliche Ebene betrachtet die Autorin ebenso wie die Individualrechtsschutzmoeglichkeiten betroffener GmbH-Geschaftsfuhrerinnen.

This book considers the constitutional position of the judiciary and its role in shaping the individual's relations with the state.

Readers will gain the following:

A comprehensive analysis of the history of civil liberties and human rights in the UK, and the judiciary's role in upholding them

An understanding of the Human Rights Act of 1998 and its potential impact on the judiciary's relations with the parliament and the executive

An appreciation of the importance of political accountability and open government in the protection of liberty, together with recent legislative reforms in these areas

An awareness of why important critics believe fundamental freedoms are at risk in the UK in the post 9/11 and 7/7 atmosphere

A chance to draw comparisons between Britain, the USA and European countries in their attempts to create legal frameworks to protect civil liberties and human rights

This textbook provides an important, accessible introduction to an area of current widespread concern.

Key Features

* Offers a comprehensive introduction to three key issues: human rights legislation, the role of senior judges, and the protection of civil liberties

* Guides the reader through complex current debates on public order, covert and mass surveillance, and prevention of terrorism

* Provides updated descriptions of key statutes including the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005

* Assesses contemporary developments in American law and order policy including the USA/ Patriot Act

* Summarizes the arguments of civil liberties lobbies and successive governments

* Includes proposed changes in the law in the aftermath of the July 2005 London bombings

About this Publication: Human Dignity: Lodestar for Equality in South Africa provides an in-depth analysis of human dignity and its relationship to equality in South African law. The author argues that human dignity is the attributive key that unlocks the constitutional meaning of equality and unfair discrimination. Equality cannot be usefully debated without first asking the vital question 'Equality of what?' The answer, it is contended, must be 'human dignity'. The philosophical and Abrahamic religious roots of these constitutional concepts of dignity and equality are investigated, then further explored and illustrated in the comparative context of South African, German and Canadian constitutional jurisprudence. Clashes and tensions between rights inevitably occur when the equality and non-discrimination rights of a Bill of Rights are applied horizontally, that is between subjects of the state themselves. The human dignity of the contestants plays a vital role in resolving such tensions and conflicts. Human dignity moreover has a determining function when applying constitutionally mandated restitutionary (compensatory) equality and when determining what the legitimate extent and duration of such restitution is. These issues are also considered in a comparative constitutional context. Peer Reviews: 'Retired Justice Laurie Ackermann was one of the giants of the "Mandela Constitutional Court" appointed in 1994. His new book on human dignity matches the weight and the profundity of his judicial writing on the subject. It is an authoritative, lawyerly and commanding exposition of the value that is the key to South Africa's constitutional future-the dignity of all its peoples.' Justice Edwin Cameron, Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa 'In this work, the claim that it is the inherent dignity and worth of every human person that must inform the interpretation and enforcement of the constitutional right to equality is backed up, inter alia, by a useful exposition of the Kantian concept of dignity and an illuminating and context-sensitive engagement with comparative constitutional law. The author's argument is systematically developed within a range of contexts, including anti-discrimination law, disputes over the scope and limits of measures designed to remedy past injustices, and conflicts over the appropriate balance between equality and freedom in cases involving the horizontal application of the Bill of Rights. Throughout, the author presents a well-argued and robust defence of a constitutional vision which places the dignity of the individual at the heart of the Constitution's transformative project. This is an important contribution which is certain to stimulate further analysis and debate.' - Prof Henk Botha, University of Stellenbosch Law Faculty 'The most systematic, theoretically rich, and intellectually provocative treatment in the academic literature to date on the subject of human dignity in South Africa's evolving equality jurisprudence.' Prof Sandra Liebenberg, HF Oppenheimer Professor of Human Rights Law, University of Stellenbosch Law Faculty

20 Jahre Fachbereich Wirtschaftsrecht an der Westfalischen Hochschule Gelsenkirchen Bocholt Recklinghausen - das sind 40 Semester praxisorientierte Lehre und Forschung auf den Gebieten Jura und OEkonomie. Aus Anlass dieses Jubilaums ist der vorliegende Band entstanden, der schaukastenartig einen Einblick in den sich durch seine juristisch-oekonomische Interdisziplinaritat sowie seine Praxisorientierung bei der Ausbildung auszeichnenden Fachbereich gibt. Die zum uberwiegenden Teil aus Juristen und OEkonomen zusammengesetzten Autorenteams beleuchten jeweils ein wirtschaftsjuristisches Thema aus der Berufspraxis fallstudienartig sowohl aus rechts- als auch aus wirtschaftswissenschaftlicher Perspektive.

The European Union and Human Rights: Analysis, Cases, and Materials maps and critiques the EU's commitment to human rights in both internal and external affairs. The book covers the evolution as well as the current state of the EU's engagement with human rights, focusing, on the internal side, on the role of the EU law in the multi-faceted system of human rights protection and, on the external side, on the EU's efforts to bind its foreign policy to promoting himan rights. This book combines analysis of key developments with a wide range of sources, including extracts from legislation, case law, policy documents, and research of other scholars. The inclusion of both primary and secondary materials is intended to guide readers to acquire a deep understanding of EU human rights law and policy. This title devotes significant attention to explicating the fundamental concepts and systemic features of the EU's human rights protection and promotion. In addition, chapters devoted to individual topics provide more depth on a range of policy areas in both the internal and external dimension of EU affairs. Topics covered by these individual chapters include non-discrimination and competition law, migration, trade policy, and development cooperation.

Neuroscience has begun to intrude deeply into what it means to be human, an intrusion that offers profound benefits but will demolish our present understanding of privacy. In Privacy in the Age of Neuroscience, David Grant argues that we need to reconceptualize privacy in a manner that will allow us to reap the rewards of neuroscience while still protecting our privacy and, ultimately, our humanity. Grant delves into our relationship with technology, the latest in what he describes as a historical series of 'magnitudes', following Deity, the State and the Market, proposing the idea that, for this new magnitude (Technology), we must control rather than be subjected to it. In this provocative work, Grant unveils a radical account of privacy and an equally radical proposal to create the social infrastructure we need to support it.