Particularly in the context of internal conflicts, international law is frequently unable to create and sustain frameworks for peace in Africa. In Peacebuilding in the African Union, Abou Jeng explores the factors which have prevented such steps forward in the interaction between the international legal order and postcolonial Africa. In the first work of its kind, Jeng considers whether these limitations necessitate recasting the existing conceptual structure and whether the Constitutive Act of the African Union provides exactly this opportunity through its integrated peace and security framework. Through the case studies of Burundi and Somalia, Jeng examines the structures and philosophy of the African Union and assesses the capacity of its practices in peacemaking. In so doing, this book will be of great practical value to scholars and legal practitioners alike.

An 'implementation crisis' has been identified in the enforcement of rulings of UN and regional human rights bodies, and fundamental but crucial questions remain unanswered: what exactly does it mean to implement and comply with international and regional human rights decisions, and what factors influence whether a state implements and complies or not? Much more is now known about the work of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, but a gap still exists in the literature on the implementation of the findings of the Commission. This book draws upon the data and evaluation from a four-year research project, analysing the range of pronouncements of the African Commission, including its decisions on individual communications, provisional measures, resolutions, and promotional and protective mission reports. It investigates the extent to which states implement these findings and examines how that implementation is monitored by others.

Archbishop Stephen Langton hoped with Magna Carta to realise an Old Testament, covenantal kingship in England. At the Charter's 800th anniversary, distinguished jurists, theologians and historians from five faith-traditions and three continents ask how Magna Carta's biblical foundations have mattered and still matter now. A Lord Chief Justice, a Chief Rabbi, a Grand Mufti of Egypt, specialists in eight centuries of law, scholars and advocates committed to the rule of law and to the place of religion in public life all come together in this testimony to Magna Carta's iconic power. We follow the Charter's story in the religious life of the UK, America and now Continental Europe, and reflections on religio-legal traditions far from the Common Law enrich the story. Magna Carta, Religion and the Rule of Law invites all religions to ask what contribution they themselves should make to the rule of law in today's secular, democratic polities.

Many of us take for granted the idea that the right to religious freedom should be protected in a free, democratic polity. However, this book challenges whether the protection and privilege of religious belief and identity should be prioritized over any other right. By studying the effects of constitutional promises of religious freedom and establishment clauses, Frank B. Cross sets the stage for a set of empirical questions that examines the consequences of such protections. Although the case for broader protection is often made as a theoretical matter, constitutions generally protect freedom of religion. Allowing people full choice in holding religious beliefs or freedom of conscience is central to their autonomy. Freedom of religion is thus potentially a very valuable aspect of society, at least so long as it respects the freedom of individuals to be irreligious. This book tests these associations and finds that constitutions provide national religious protection, especially when the legal system is more sophisticated.

More than twenty years after the fall of communism, many countries in Central and Eastern Europe are still seeking truth and justice for the repression suffered under communist rule. This search has been particularly notable in the Baltic states, given the three countries' histories as both former Soviet republics and later member-states of the European Union. On the one hand, the legacy of Stalinist oppression was more severe in these countries than elsewhere in Central Europe, but on the other hand much of this past could more easily be externalized onto the former Soviet Union (and by extension Russia) following re-independence. Transitional and Retrospective Justice in the Baltic States develops a novel conceptual framework in order to understand the politics involved with transitional and retrospective justice, and then applies this outline to the Baltic states to analyze more systematic patterns of truth- and justice-seeking in the post-communist world.

Can harsh interrogation techniques and torture ever be morally justified for a nation at war or under the threat of imminent attack? In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist strikes, the United States and other liberal democracies were forced to grapple once again with the issue of balancing national security concerns against the protection of individual civil and political rights. This question was particularly poignant when US forces took prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq who arguably had information about additional attacks. In this volume, ethicist Paul Lauritzen takes on ethical debates about counterterrorism techniques that are increasingly central to US foreign policy and discusses the ramifications for the future of interrogation. Lauritzen examines how doctors, lawyers, psychologists, military officers, and other professionals addressed the issue of the appropriate limits in interrogating detainees. In the case of each of these professions, a vigorous debate ensued about whether the interrogation policy developed by the Bush administration violated codes of ethics governing professional practice. These codes are critical, according to Lauritzen, because they provide resources for democracies and professionals seeking to balance concerns about safety with civil liberties, while also shaping the character of those within these professional guilds. This volume argues that some of the techniques used at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere were morally impermissible; nevertheless, the healthy debates that raged among professionals provide hope that we may safeguard human rights and the rule of law more effectively in the future.

Is judicial review an effective and appropriate way to regulate counter-terrorism measures? Some argue that the judiciary is ill-equipped to examine such measures, for instance because they lack the expertise of the institutions which bring them about under exigent conditions. Others claim that subjecting counter-terrorism measures to judicial review is crucial for maintaining a jurisdiction's principles of constitutionalism. This volume brings together voices from all sides of the debate from a broad range of jurisdictions, from North America, Europe and Australasia. It does not attempt to 'resolve' the argument but rather to explore it in all its dimensions. The debates are essentially concerned with fundamental questions of organising and making accountable the exercise of power in a particularly challenging environment. The book is necessary reading for all those concerned with counter-terrorism, but also with broader public law, constitutional law and administrative law principles.

One of the most remarkable aspects pertaining to the legal bans and societal debates on the face veil in Europe is that they rely on assumptions which lack any factual basis. To rectify this, Eva Brems researched the experiences of women who wear a face veil in Belgium and brought her research results together with those of colleagues who did the same in four other European countries. Their findings, which are outlined in this volume, move the current discussion on face veil bans forward by providing a much-needed insider perspective. In addition, a number of legal and social science scholars comment on the empirical findings and on the face veil issue more generally.

This is a groundbreaking application of contemporary philosophy to human rights law that proposes several significant innovations for the progressive development of human rights. Drawing on the works of prominent philosophers of the Other including Emmanuel Levinas, Gayatri Chakravorti Spivak, Judith Butler, and most centrally the Argentine philosopher of liberation Enrique Dussel, this book develops an ethics based on concrete face-to-face relationships with the Marginalized Other. It proposes that this ethics should inspire a human rights law that is grounded in transcendental justice and framed from the perspective of marginalized groups. Such law would continuously deconstruct the original violence found in all human rights treaties and tribunals and promote preferential treatment for the marginalized. It would be especially attentive to such issues as access to justice, voice, representation, agency, and responsibility. This approach differs markedly from more conventional theories of human rights that prioritize the autonomy of the ego, state sovereignty, democracy, and/or equality."

For the first time in 400 years a number of leading common law nations have, fairly simultaneously, embarked on charity law reform leading to an encoding of key definitional matters in charity legislation. This book provides an analysis of international case law developments on the ever growing range of issues now being generated by clashes between human rights, religion and charity law. Kerry O'Halloran identifies and assesses the agenda of 'moral imperatives', such as abortion and gay marriage that delineate the legal interface and considers their significance for those with and those without religious belief. By assessing jurisdictional differences in the law relating to religion/human rights/charity the author provides a picture of the evolving 'culture wars' that now typify and differentiates societies in western nations including the USA, England and Wales, Ireland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

The Ninth Edition of this pathbreaking casebook continues its tradition of comprehensive coverage, with problems and exercises that allow students to hone skills as counselors, litigators, and policy advisors. These virtues have become especially important in light of the many changes to immigration and citizenship law since the Eighth Edition went to press in mid-2016. This new edition opens with a reworked foundational chapter that guides students through the casebook in two key dimensions: a basic framework for constitutional immigration law, and an overview of the core administrative law principles that recently have risen to prominence in the making of immigration and citizenship law. This Ninth Edition has thoroughly updated coverage of admissions categories, unauthorized migrants, admission procedures, detention, citizenship, removability, refugees and asylum, federal enforcement, and state and local measures. The treatment of every topic is streamlined, making for a slimmer volume. In each chapter, the Ninth Edition emphasizes both core and cutting-edge issues, while optimizing teachability for a wide variety of course settings.

This collection of essays explores current developments in privacy law, including reform of data protection laws, privacy and the media, social control and surveillance, privacy and the Internet, and privacy and the courts. It places these developments into a broader international context, with a particular focus on the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Adopting a comparative approach, it creates an important resource for understanding international trends in the reform of privacy and data protection laws across a variety of contexts. Written by internationally recognised experts, Emerging Challenges in Privacy Law: Comparative Perspectives provides an accessible introduction to contemporary legal and policy debates in privacy and data protection law. It is essential reading for academics, policy makers and practitioners interested in current challenges facing privacy and data protection law in Europe and in the common law world.

Internet Privacy Rights analyses the current threats to our online autonomy and privacy and proposes a new model for the gathering, retention and use of personal data. Key to the model is the development of specific privacy rights: a right to roam the internet with privacy, a right to monitor the monitors, a right to delete personal data and a right to create, assert and protect an online identity. These rights could help in the formulation of more effective and appropriate legislation, and shape more privacy-friendly business models. The conclusion examines how the internet might look with these rights in place and whether such an internet could be sustainable from both a governmental and a business perspective.

Human rights in peace and development are accepted throughout the Global South as established, normative, and beyond debate. Only in the powerful elite sectors of the Global North have these rights been resisted and refuted. The policies and interests of these global forces are antithetical to advancing human rights, ending global poverty, and respecting the sovereign integrity of States and governments throughout the Global South. The link between poverty, war, and environmental degradation has become evident over the last 60 years, further augmenting international consciousness of these issues as interconnected with the rest of the human rights corpus. This book examines the history of this struggle and outlines practical means to implement these rights through a global framework of constitutional protections. Within this emerging framework, it argues that States will be increasingly obligated to formulate policies and programs to achieve peace and development throughout the global society.

International human rights law has only recently concerned itself with water. Instead, international water law has regulated the use of shared rivers, and only states qua states could claim rights and bear duties towards each other. International human rights law has focused on its principal mission of taming the powers of a state acting territorially. Takele Soboka Bulto challenges the established analytic boundaries of international water law and international human rights law. By demonstrating the potential complementarity between the two legal regimes and the ensuing utility of regime coordination for the establishment of the human right to water and its extraterritorial application, he also shows that human rights law and the international law of watercourses can apply in tandem with the purpose of protecting non-national non-residents in Africa and beyond.

Rights for Others is an empirical study of what happens when international human rights are applied domestically in The Netherlands. It tracks recent debates in Dutch society on citizenship and the rights of immigrants, and analyses the shift from the perception of human rights as a 'foreign policy concern' to the slow processes of homecoming in what has traditionally been a left-wing society, but now includes many more right-wing political parties. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, Oomen combines insights from law, sociology and anthropology to explain how rights gain significance in framing social and political discussions. The book provides comprehensive coverage on relevant constitutional law, legal culture and rights realization as well as discussing case material on human rights education, polarization, socio-economic rights, domestic violence and the rights of minorities. This is an invaluable contribution to the global fields of human rights and socio-legal studies for scholars and researchers.

The conventional interpretation of equality under the law singles out certain groups or classes for constitutional protection: women, racial minorities, and gays and lesbians. The United States Supreme Court calls these groups 'suspect classes'. Laws that discriminate against them are generally unconstitutional. While this is a familiar account of equal protection jurisprudence, this book argues that this approach suffers from hitherto unnoticed normative and political problems. The book elucidates a competing, extant interpretation of equal protection jurisprudence that avoids these problems. The interpretation is not concerned with suspect classes but rather with the kinds of reasons that are already inadmissible as a matter of constitutional law. This alternative approach treats the equal protection clause like any other limit on governmental power, thus allowing the Court to invalidate equality-infringing laws and policies by focusing on their justification rather than the identity group they discriminate against.

Why do governments pass freedom of information laws? The symbolic power and force surrounding FOI makes it appealing as an electoral promise but hard to disengage from once in power. However, behind closed doors compromises and manoeuvres ensure that bold policies are seriously weakened before they reach the statute book. The politics of freedom of information examines how Tony Blair's government proposed a radical FOI law only to back down in fear of what it would do. But FOI survived, in part due to the government's reluctance to be seen to reject a law that spoke of 'freedom', 'information' and 'rights'. After comparing the British experience with the difficult development of FOI in Australia, India and the United States - and the rather different cases of Ireland and New Zealand - the book concludes by looking at how the disruptive, dynamic and democratic effects of FOI laws continue to cause controversy once in operation. -- .

This book demonstrates the difficulties the law is likely to encounter in regulating the expressive activities of the state, particularly with regard to the stigmatization of vulnerable groups and minorities. Freedom of speech is indispensable to a democratic society, enabling it to operate with a healthy level of debate and discussion. Historically, legal scholars have underappreciated the power of stigmatization, instead focusing on anti-discrimination law, and the implicit assumption that the state is permitted to communicate freely with little fear of legal consequences. Whilst integral to a democratic society, the freedom of a state to express itself can however also be corrosive, allowing influential figures and organizations the possibility to stigmatize vulnerable groups within society. The book takes this idea and, uniquely weaving legal analysis with extant psychological and sociological research, shows that current legal approaches to stigmatization are limited. Starting with a deep insight into what constitutes state expressions and how they can become stigmatizing, the book then goes on to look into the capacity the law currently has to limit these expressions and asks even if it could, should it? This fascinating study of an increasingly topical subject will be of interest to any legal scholar working in the field of freedom of expression and discrimination law.

This book contains a global comparative study of implementation and monitoring mechanisms for national disability strategies. It comprises a comparative study that was conducted at international, regional, and comparative country levels and that highlights critical success factors in implementing disability strategies or action plans worldwide. It explores emerging synergies between what is required to implement principles of international law contained in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and what it is possible to achieve through national policy and systems development. A number of critical success factors for implementing and monitoring strategies are identified, including leadership from government and civil society, participation of disabled people in implementation and monitoring, transparency and accountability in reporting on progress, independent monitoring and external review, and the ability to measure progress with indicators of disability equality.

This edited volume offers original scholarship on economic and social human rights from leading and new cutting-edge scholars in the fields of economics, law, political science, sociology and anthropology. It analyzes the core economic and social rights and the crucial topic of non-discrimination, and includes an innovative section on 'meta' rights. The main chapters answer important questions about economic and social rights performance around the world by emphasizing the obstacles that prevent governments from fulfilling their obligations. The interdisciplinary analysis offers a detailed and up-to-date discussion to help scholars and policy makers find the best ways to instantiate economic and social rights. The authors examine the role of the associated obligations, and especially the obstacles to respect, protect and fulfil those obligations. The book's introductory and concluding chapters address conceptual issues and correct mistakes often made by critics of economic and social rights.

Human rights are considered one of the big ideas of the early twenty-first century. This book presents in an authoritative and readable form the variety of platforms on which human rights law is practiced today, reflecting also on the dynamic inter-relationships that exist between these various levels. The collection has a critical edge. The chapters engage with how human rights law has developed in its various subfields, what (if anything) has been achieved and at what cost, in terms of expected or produced unexpected side-effects. The authors pass judgment about the consistency, efficacy and success of human rights law (set against the standards of the field itself or other external goals). Written by world-class academics, this Companion will be essential reading for students and scholars of human rights law.

Banning Black Gods is a global examination of the legal challenges faced by adherents of the most widely practiced African-derived religions in the twenty-first century, including Santeria/Lucumi, Haitian Vodou, Candomble, Palo Mayombe, Umbanda, Islam, Rastafari, Obeah, and Voodoo. Examining court cases, laws, human rights reports, and related materials, Danielle N. Boaz argues that restrictions on African diaspora religious freedom constitute a unique and pervasive form of anti-Black discrimination. Emphasizing that these twenty-first-century cases and controversies are not a new phenomenon but rather a reemergence of colonial-era ideologies and patterns of racially motivated persecution, Boaz focuses each chapter on a particular challenge to Black religious freedom. She examines issues such as violence against devotees, restrictions on the ritual slaughter of animals, limitations on the custodial rights of parents, and judicial refusals to recognize these faiths as protected religions. Boaz introduces new issues that have never been considered as a question of religious freedom before-such as the right of Palo Mayombe devotees to possess remains of the dead-and she brings together controversies that have not been previously regarded as analogous, such as the right to wear headscarves and the right to wear dreadlocks in schools. Framing these issues in comparative perspective and focusing on transnational and transregional issues, Boaz advances our understanding of the larger human rights disputes that country-specific studies can overlook. Original and compelling, this important new book will be welcomed by students and scholars of African diaspora religions and discerning readers interested in learning more about the history of racial discrimination

Particularly in the context of internal conflicts, international law is frequently unable to create and sustain frameworks for peace in Africa. In Peacebuilding in the African Union, Abou Jeng explores the factors which have prevented such steps forward in the interaction between the international legal order and postcolonial Africa. In the first work of its kind, Jeng considers whether these limitations necessitate recasting the existing conceptual structure and whether the Constitutive Act of the African Union provides exactly this opportunity through its integrated peace and security framework. Through the case studies of Burundi and Somalia, Jeng examines the structures and philosophy of the African Union and assesses the capacity of its practices in peacemaking. In so doing, this book will be of great practical value to scholars and legal practitioners alike.