This book addresses the impact of a range of destabilising issues on minority rights in Europe and North America. It brings together scholars from a range of disciplines This book will appeal to those with interests in minority rights, human rights, nationalism, law, and politics.

This book traces the evolution of the welfare interests of the child principle over the centuries in England & Wales to provide a record of the key milestones in its development. It does so by comparing and contrasting the part it has played in the public - care, protection and control - and in the private - matrimonial, adoption etc - sectors of family law. By analysing the content of the principle this book discloses the essence of what has been termed 'the golden thread running through the common law'. By considering the ways in which the legal system has shaped and been shaped by the principle, it reveals its structural influence. By identifying and assessing the significance of its operational role and functions, it shows how this principle has changed the law relating to children. In addition to a digest of cases and legislation that tracks the evolution of this legal principle, academics and other researchers will find a wealth of information on how that evolution reflects the corresponding changes in social mores. For those interested in the ethics and morality, there is much illuminating evidence on how the law has balanced this principle relative to others within both civil and criminal contexts.

This book offers a critical reinterpretation of Western European States' programmatic support for International Human Rights Law (IHRL) since the 1970s. It examines the systemic or structural constraints inherent to the international legal system and argues that order trumps justice in Western Europe's promotion of international human rights norms. The book shows that IHRL evolved as a result of a tension between two forces: A European understanding of international society, based on order, the centrality of the State and a minimalist conception of human rights; and a civil society and UN-promoted, mostly Western, particularly European but broader conception of human rights, based on justice. As such, human rights norms emerge and develop when (some) states' idea of order meets with advocates' idea of justice. We are living a historical juncture of shifting tectonic plates with rising nationalism in the Global North, ever growing power in the Global South and a declining presence of Europe in global affairs. The conditions under which IHRL emerged have fundamentally changed and unpacking the factors beneath the international recognition of human rights has never been more pressing. This book will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners in human rights law, public international law, international relations, critical legal theory and in European politics.

Prompted by an unprecedented rise of litigation since the 1990s, this book examines how the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) system and the Strasbourg Court interact with states and non-governmental actors to influence domestic change. Focusing on European Court of Human Rights litigation and state implementation of judgments related to minority discrimination and asylum/migration, it argues that a fundamental transformation of the Convention system has been under way. Repeat and strategic litigation, shifting methods of supervision and state implementation to remedy systemic violations, and above all the growing engagement of civil society and non-governmental actors, have prompted a distinctive trend of human rights experimentalism. The emergence of experimentalism has profound implications for the legitimacy, effectiveness and further reform of the ECHR system. This study provides an original constitutive account of regional human rights regimes and how they are activated by societal actors to claim rights, advance case law, and pressure for domestic legal and policy change. It will be of interest to international law and international relations scholars, political scientists, specialists on the ECHR, the Strasbourg Court, as well as to scholars interested in the human rights of immigrants and minorities.

This book shows how the legal systems of individual European countries protect patient autonomy. In particular, it explains the role of criminal law, that is, what criminal law protection of patient autonomy looks like on a European scale in both legal and social dimensions. Despite EU integration processes, the work illustrates that the legal orders of individual European countries are far from uniform in this area. The concept of patient autonomy here is generally in the context of the patient's freedom from unwanted medical activities: the so-called negative freedom. At the same time, in countries where there are no regulations clearly criminalising the performance of a therapeutic activity without the patient's consent, the so-called positive freedom is also discussed. The book will be a valuable reference work for academics, researchers and policy-makers working in Health Law, Medical Ethics, Applied Ethics and Criminal Law.

This book explores how the European Convention on Human Rights operates and influences on the global stage. The ECHR and its interpretation by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) considerably echo in and outside Europe. To what degree has that influence translated into its norms, doctrines and methods of interpretation being exported into equivalent systems which also enact the protection of fundamental rights? This book answers that question by exploring the judicial dialogue of the ECHR system with comparable legal orders. Through a horizontal and multifaceted study of regional and global systems, the book identifies the impact of the ECHR within the confines of their jurisprudence to provide scholars in the field of international human rights law with an essential text. Discussing the extent to which the ECHR penetrates into the judicial production of the most affected legal systems, the book mostly focuses on the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Committee. It also investigates whether there is room for cross-fertilisation between them and finally, moves on to explore the legal consequences of the interplay of these mechanisms with the ECtHR and what it means for the overall functioning of international human rights law.

This volume examines cases of accommodation and recognition of minority practices: cultural, religious, ethnic, linguistic or otherwise, under state law. The collection presents selected situations and experiences from a variety of regions and from different legal traditions around the world in which diverse societal stakeholders and political actors have engaged in processes leading to the elaboration of creative, innovative and, to a certain extent, sustainable solutions via accommodative laws or practices. Representing multiple disciplines and methodologies and written by esteemed scholars, the work analyses the pitfalls and successes of such accommodative practices, presenting insights into how solutions could or could not be achieved. The chapters address the sustainability and transferability of such solutions in order to further the dialogue in both scholarly and policy spheres. The book will be essential reading for academics, researchers, and policy-makers in the areas of minority rights, legal anthropology, law and religion, legal philosophy, and law and migration.

This volume is a collection of articles on the codification experience of China's Law of Personality Rights, explaining the design of the Law as well as its innovations. As the second volume of a two-volume set that elucidates the theory, practice, and codification of the Law in China, the book explains the legal advancement of the Law of Personality Rights as a standalone part of the Civil Code of China. This includes innovative legislative thinking, law system arrangements, rule designs, and a systematic refinement of the provisions of personality rights in terms of nature, system, types, content, exercising rules and protection methods. Regarding the implementation of the Law, the book points out that personality rights are changing with the times so a more complete system of legal interpretation should be built. The final three chapters are appraisals of different versions of the draft law, with amendments to some articles advanced based on shortcomings and omissions. The book will be an essential reference to scholars and students studying civil law, continental law, Chinese law, and the legal protection of personality rights.

Obligations: New Trajectories in Law provides a critical analysis of the role of obligations in contemporary legal and social practices. As rights have become the preeminent feature of modern political and legal discourse, the work of obligations has been overshadowed. Questioning and correcting this dominant image of our time, this book brings obligations back into view in a way that fits better with the realities of contemporary social life. Following a historical account of the changing place and priorities of obligations in modernity, the book analyses how obligations and practices of obedience are core to understanding how law sustains conditions of inequality. But it also explores the enduring role obligations play in furthering individual and collective well-being, highlighting their significance in practices that prioritize human and environmental needs, common goods, and solidarity. In doing so, it also offers an alternative and cogent assessment of the force, and the potential, of obligations in contemporary societies. This original jurisprudential contribution will appeal to an academic and student readership in law, politics, and the social sciences.

The existence of a structured enforcement system is an inherent feature of national legal orders and one of the core elements of State sovereignty. The very limited power to issue sanctions has often been deemed a gap in the EC legal order. Over the years, the situation has progressively changed. The Union's institutional setting is growing in complexity and a variety of agencies has been or is expected to be endowed with law enforcement responsibilities. In addition, the so-called competence creep has led the EU to play an increasingly prominent role in several areas of EU law enforcement, including the issuing of sanctions. This book examines these developments, focusing on both the general features of the EU legal order and the analysis of key-substantive areas, such as banking and monetary union, environmental law, and data protection. The work thus presents a general framework for understanding EU sanctioning based on structural features and general legal principles. Part I develops an analytical framework, tracking the most significant evolutive patterns of EU sanctioning powers. Part II adopts a more practical approach focusing on specific issues and policy areas. The book bridges a gap in existing literature and sheds new light on the relationship between the exercise of jus puniendi and the evolution of EU integration.

This book examines major conceptual challenges confronting freedom of religion or belief in contemporary settings. The volume brings together chapters by leading experts from law, religious studies, and international relations, who provide perspectives from both sides of the Atlantic. At a time when the polarization of 'culture wars' is aggravating tensions between secular and religious views about accommodating the conscientious claims of individuals and groups, and when the right to freedom of religion itself is facing misunderstanding and erosion, the work provides welcome clarity and depth. Some chapters adopt a primarily conceptual and historical approach; others analyze particular difficulties or conflicts that have emerged in European and American jurisdictions, along with concrete applications and recommendations for the future. The book will be a valuable resource for students, academics, and policy-makers with an interest in law, religion, and human rights.

This book addresses a gap in both contemporary theorising and empirical analysis of the European Union's (EU) law and policy frameworks on migration, sex work and anti trafficking. Drawing on the authors' previous research on these policies and with their practical experience of engaging with various EU institutions in law and policy-making fora around gender, equality and justice, the work examines the processes involved in constructing and enacting policy frameworks and legal interventions on these issues, within a feminist analytical framework. The authors map how EU agenda-setting operates, and detail the roles that various EU institutions, external groups and actors, including non-governmental organisations, play in promoting or blocking policy on these three issues. The book draws on feminist theorising on gender, policy-making and social justice to develop a general theoretical framework to help us understand how and why a consensus has seemingly been achieved at EU level on what constitutes gender equality in these three policy areas. The book presents a valuable resource for academics, researchers and policy makers in Law, Migration, EU policy making and Gender Studies.

This book examines the best language fair trial practices of the courts in arguably the most multilingual region of the world. It contains an instructive list of standards and approaches to linguistic dynamics, which may be considered a Language Fair Trial Rights Code. The book reveals valuable lessons across jurisdictions, including those outside of Africa, and suggests measures that may be taken to improve existing approaches.

This book evaluates the effectiveness of current international human rights law, and in particular the recent Istanbul Convention, in eradicating so-called honour killings in Turkey. So-called 'honour killings' have become an issue of concern for the international community. In Turkey, in particular, the practice still exists despite the adoption of the relevant human rights instruments. The book argues that the improvement of the status of women in Turkey in accordance with gender equality as well as the application of the principle of state due diligence, both requirements of the Istanbul Convention and international human rights law, are fundamental means towards eradicating the killing of women in the name of 'honour'. Using feminist approaches, in particular the intersectionality approach, the study looks at the application of such standards as well as the current obstacles. Through such a lens, the study discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the Turkish Constitution, Turkish Civil Code, Turkish Penal Code and Law to Protect Family and Prevent Violence Against Women and questions the judicial approach to the implementation of the women's right to life. It identifies the lacunae in the Turkish legislation that allow inadequate legal protection for women and the inconsistency of the judicial approach to the definition of the so-called honour killings in the judgements. The study then recommends some concrete amendments to the relevant legal provisions in order to better reflect the international framework and the feminist approaches. The book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers and policy-makers in the areas of international human rights law and feminist legal theory.

Presenting innovative field research conducted in new and emerging human rights museums across Asia and Latin America, the book adopts a broad museological approach. It does so by including national and community museums, as well as public and private museological initiatives, within its purview. Drawing on in-depth case studies about museums in Taiwan, Japan, Paraguay and Colombia - all discussed within their political and cultural contexts - the book examines the paradigmatic shift that has occurred within the museum field in the wake of the larger global transformations that have shaped contemporary geopolitics over the last 50 years. The diversity of geographical and political contexts, and the attention to lesser-known institutions within the canon of English museum studies literature, presents readers with a valuable opportunity to learn more about innovative museological models in non-English-speaking and non-Western contexts. Human Rights Museums will appeal to academics, scholars and students of museum studies and related disciplines, and to museum professionals seeking to know more about the diverse and evolving roles of museums in contemporary society.

This book reviews the challenges and opportunities in the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) at the regional and national levels in Africa. It contains an analysis of the relevant norms and monitoring mechanisms at the regional level, and case studies from selected African and other developing countries. The WHO has noted that tobacco use or exposure to tobacco is a major health risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This volume highlights the importance of taking measures to control tobacco use in Africa with a view to preventing these risks. With contributions from experts from the Global South, the book provides a critical analysis of the role that human rights can play in mitigating the impact of tobacco use and NCDs, and the implementation of the FCTC. The book contains a systematic and in-depth analysis of how efforts to realise the right to health under international and regional law can help to address the incidence of tobacco use in the developing world. The collection will be an important resource for academics, researchers and policymakers working in the areas of public health law and international human rights.

This book studies the history of intercultural human rights. It examines the foundational elements of human rights in the East and the West and provides a comparative analysis of the independent streams of thought originating from the two different geographic spaces. It traces the genesis of the idea of human rights back to ancient Indian and Greco-Roman texts, especially concepts such as the Rigvedic universal moral law, the Upanishadic narratives, the Romans' model of governance, the rule of law, and administration of justice. It also looks at Cicero's concept of rights and duties which focuses on quality of compassion and fair play, and Seneca's expositions on mercy, empathy, justice, and checks on the arbitrary exercise of power. An important contribution, this book fills a significant gap in the study of human rights. It will be useful for students and researchers of political science, ancient history, religion and civilizations, philosophy, history, human rights, governance, law, sociology, and South Asian studies. The book also caters to general readers interested in the history of human rights.

This book provides a stocktake and comparative socio-legal analysis of law enforcement cooperation strategies in four different regions of the world: the European Union (EU), North America, Greater China and Australasia. The work analyses law enforcement cooperation mechanisms within the socio-legal framework of global normmaking. The strategies addressed range from legal frameworks facilitating cooperation to formal and informal police networks and cooperation practices. The study also takes into account crime-specific engagement, for example campaigns focusing on drug crimes, terrorism, financial crime, kidnappings and other offences. It explores challenges in policing practice and human rights protection in each region that could be countered by existing strategies in another. As regions usually develop more advanced cooperation mechanisms than exist at a global scale, strategies found in the former could help find solutions for the latter. To map existing strategies and assess their impact on both human rights and policing practice this study relies on an assessment of the primary and secondary literature sources in each region as well as interviews with practitioners ranging from senior police officers to prosecutors, government officials, customs and military staff. This book presents a valuable resource for academics and postgraduate students, as well as policing and criminal justice practitioners, government officials and policy makers.

This book explores destitution from the perspective of international human rights law and, more specifically, economic, social, and cultural rights. The experience of destitution correlates to the non-realisation of a range of economic, social, and cultural rights. However, destitution has not been defined from this perspective. Consequently, the nexus between destitution and the denial of economic, social, and cultural rights remains unrecognised within academia and policy and practice. This book expressly addresses this issue and in so doing renders the nexus between destitution and the non-realisation of these rights visible. The book proposes a new human rights-based definition of destitution, composed of two parts. The rights which must be realised (the component rights) and the level of realisation of these rights which must be met (the destitution threshold) to avoid destitution. This human rights-based understanding of destitution is then applied to a UK case study to highlight the relationship between government policy and destitution, to illustrate how destitution manifests itself, and to make recommendations - founded upon engendering the realisation of economic, social, and cultural rights - aimed towards addressing destitution. This book will have global and cross-sectoral appeal to anti-poverty advocates, policy makers, as well as to researchers, academics and students in the fields of human rights law, poverty studies, and social policy.

This book addresses intersex rights violations and analyses intersex people's legal demands as expressed by intersex activists themselves and delivered through statements and reports issued by intersex rights organisations, the United Nations and the Council of Europe. Intersex people are born with sex characteristics that do not fit typical notions of male or female bodies, as a result of which they are stigmatised, marginalised and denied the recognition of their fundamental rights. Often, they are subjected to involuntary and harmful sex "normalising" surgeries at birth, which violate their bodily integrity, self-determination and informed consent, so as to comply with societal and legal norms. Moreover, binary legal frameworks prevent them from enjoying the rights to access identification documents, start a family, or be free from discrimination in all areas including employment and sports. To elaborate on intersex violations that emanate from binary laws, this book examines the situation of intersex rights in regional jurisdictions worldwide and within the European Union in particular. In the process, it identifies current legal barriers and suggests how intersex people could be accommodated under legal frameworks and achieve sex/gender equality beyond binary definitions.

This book rethinks the idea of privacy. It argues that a satisfactory account of privacy should not limit itself to identifying why privacy might be valuable. It also needs to attend to the further question of how it can be secured in those circumstances in which it proves to be valuable. Drawing on republican ideas about the relationship between freedom and self-government, the book asserts that privacy is valuable, because it enables us to lead non-dominated lives. It prevents others from acquiring power to interfere in our choices - to remove options that would otherwise be available to us, and to manipulate our decision-making. It further examines the means through which citizens might exercise effective control over decisions and actions that affect their privacy and proposes a democratic theory of privacy. With the emergence of the 'surveillance state,' this volume will be indispensable for scholars, students, and researchers in political theory, political philosophy, law, and human and civil rights. It will be of particular interest to policymakers, lawyers, and human rights activists.

This book seeks to provide and promote a better understanding and a more responsive and inclusive governance of the automation and digital devices in public institutions, particularly the law and justice sector. Concerns related to AI design and use have been exacerbated recently with the recognition of the discriminatory potential that can be embedded into AI applications in public service institutions. This book examines issues relating to the assigning of responsibility in a public service produced and delivered on the basis of an automated mechanism. It encourages critical thinking about the legal services and the justice institutions as they are transformed by AI and automation. It raises awareness as to the prospect of transformation we face in terms of responsibility and of agency and the need to design a citizen-centered and human rights compliant system of technology assessment and AI monitoring and evaluation. The book calls for a comprehensive strategy to enable professional practitioners and decision makers to engage in the design of AI driven legal and justice services. The work draws on on-going research and consulting activities carried out by the author across different countries and different systems in the legal and justice sector. The book offers a critical approach to encourage a new mindset among legal professionals and the justice institutions thus empowering and training them to develop the necessary responsiveness and accountability in the justice sector and legal systems. It will also be of interest to researchers and academics working in the area of AI, Public Law, Human Rights and Criminal Justice.

The 'Legal Pluriverse' Surrounding Multinational Military Operations conceptualizes and examines the "Pluriverse": the multiplicity of rules that apply to and regulate contemporary multinational missions, and the array of actors involved. These operations are further complicated by changes to the classification of the conflict, and the asymmetry of obligations on participants. Structured into five parts, this work seeks, through the diversity of its authorship, to set out the web of legal regimes applicable to military operations including forces from more than one state. It maps out the ways in which different regimes interact, beginning with the laws of armed conflict and their relation to international humanitarian and human rights norms, and extending through to areas like law of the sea and environmental law. A variety of contributors systematically compile and take stock of the various legal regimes that make up the pluriverse, assessing how these rules interact, exposing norm conflicts, areas of legal uncertainty, or protective loopholes. In this way, they identify and evaluate approaches to better streamline the different applicable legal frameworks with a view to enhancing cooperation and thereby ensuring the long-term success of multinational military operations.

This book develops a constitutional theory of international organization to explain the legitimation of supranational organizations. Supranational organizations play a key role in contemporary global governance, but recent events like Brexit and the threat by South Africa to withdraw from the International Criminal Court suggest that their legitimacy continues to generate contentious debates in many countries. Rethinking international organization as a constitutional problem, Oates argues that it is the representation of the constituent power of a constitutional order, that is, the collective subject in whose name authority is wielded, which explains the legitimation of supranational authority. Comparing the cases of the European Union, the World Trade Organization, and the International Criminal Court, Oates shows that the constitution of supranationalism is far from a functional response to the pressures of interdependence but a value-laden struggle to define the proper subject of global governance. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of international organization and those working in the broader fields of global governance and general International Relations theory. It should also be of interest to international legal scholars, particularly those focused on questions related to global constitutionalism.

How has contemporary humanitarianism become the dominant framework for how states construct their moral obligations to non-citizens? To answer this question, this book examines the history of humanitarianism in international relations by tracing the relationship between transnational moral obligation and sovereignty from the 16th century to the present. Whereas existing studies of humanitarianism examine the diffusion of such norms or their transmission by non-state actors, this volume explicitly links humanitarianism to the broader concept of sovereignty. Rather than only focusing on the expansion of humanitarian norms, it examines how sovereignty both challenges and sets limits on them. Humanitarian norms are shown to act just as much to reinforce the logic of sovereignty as they do to challenge it. Contemporary humanitarianism is often described in universalist terms, which suggests that humanitarian activity transcends borders in order to provide assistance to those who suffer. In contrast, this book suggests a more counterintuitive and complex understanding of moral obligation, namely that humanitarian discourse not only provides a framework for legitimate humanitarian action, but it also establishes the limits of moral obligation. It will be of great interest to a wide audience of scholars and students in international relations theory, constructivism and norms, and humanitarianism and politics.