Following on from her previous nine books on discrimination law, Anne-Marie Mooney Cotter now focuses on the goal of child equality. Examining issues of child labour and the relevant laws which are designed to protect the most vulnerable in our society, the book explores the primary role of legislation and the judicial system and its impact on the fight for child rights and the ultimate goal of the end of inequality. The book considers the major common law countries of Australia and New Zealand, Africa and South Africa, Canada, Mexico and the United States, and the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the European Union Treaty in a historical and compelling analysis of discrimination worldwide. By providing a detailed examination of child rights and the law, it will be an important read for those concerned with equality and empowering those most vulnerable to discrimination, the children.

Human development is not simply about wealth and economic well-being, it is also dependent upon shared values that cherish the sanctity of human life. Using comparative methods, archival research and quantitative findings, this book explores the historical and cultural background of the death penalty in Africa, analysing the law and practice of the death penalty under European and Asian laws in Africa before independence. Showing progressive attitudes to punishment rooted in both traditional and modern concepts of human dignity, Aime Muyoboke Karimunda assesses the ground on which the death penalty is retained today. Providing a full and balanced appraisal of the arguments, the book presents a clear and compelling case for the total abolition of the death penalty throughout Africa. This book is essential reading for human rights lawyers, legal anthropologists, historians, political analysts and anyone else interested in promoting democracy and the protection of fundamental human rights in Africa.

Considering the steady increase in intellectual property rights in the last century, does it make sense to speak of 'user's rights' and can limitations on intellectual liberty be justified from a rights-based perspective? This book philosophically defends the importance of the public domain and user's rights through the use of natural-rights thought. Utilizing primarily the work of John Locke, it contends that considerations of natural justice and human freedom impose powerful constraints on the proper reach and substance of intellectual property rights, especially copyright. It investigates both the internal and external natural-rights constraints on intellectual property, and argues in particular for the importance to human freedom of the right to intellectual liberty - the right to inform one's actions by learning about the world. It concludes that respect for fundamental freedom-based interests require a balanced approach to the scope, strength and duration of intellectual property rights.

This volume addresses the contentious and topical issue of aboriginal self-government over child welfare. Using case studies from Australia and Canada, it discusses aboriginal child welfare in historical and comparative perspectives and critically examines recent legal reforms and changes in the design, management and delivery of child welfare services aimed at securing the 'decolonization' of aboriginal children and families. Within this context, the author identifies the limitations of reconciling the conflicting demands of self-determination and sovereignty and suggests that international law can provide more nuanced and culturally sensitive solutions. Referring to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is argued that the effective decolonization of aboriginal child welfare requires a journey well beyond the single issue of child welfare to the heart of the debate over self-government, self-determination and sovereignty in both national and international law.

Hein and Moon take up a serious problem of contemporary global governance: what can be done when international trade rules prevent the realization of basic human rights? Starting in the 1990s, intellectual property obligations in trade agreements required many developing countries to begin granting medicines patents, which often rendered lifesaving drugs unaffordable. At stake was the question of what priority would be given to health-particularly of some of the world's poorest people-and what priority to economic interests, particularly those of the most powerful states and firms. This book recounts the remarkable story of the access to medicines movement. The authors offer an explanation for how the informal, but powerful norm that every person should have access to essential medicines emerged after a decade of heated political contestation and against long odds. They also explore the stability and scope of the norm. Finally, the book examines the limitations of informal norms for protecting human rights, and when renewed focus on changing formal norms is warranted.

Patenting Lives includes contributions from various interests and perspectives, both in the context of current international developments in life patents and the global agenda of harmonization of international intellectual property. The book is divided into five sections reflecting the critical issues arising from patents and biotechnology - Context; Human Rights and Ethical Frameworks; Medicine and Public Health; Traditional Knowledge; and Agriculture. The international contributors from government, civil society, academia and the private sector provide diverse perspectives on life patents and the facilitation of social, cultural and economic development in the context of international principles of trade.

The chapters in this book explore the impact of recent shifts in global and regional power and the subsequent development and enforcement of international refugee protection standards in the Asia Pacific region. Drawing on their expertise across a number of jurisdictions, the contributors assess the challenges confronting the implementation of international law in the region, as well as new opportunities for extending protection norms into national and regional dialogues. The case studies span key jurisdictions across the region and include a comparative analysis with China, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Australia. This topical and important book raises critical questions for the Asia Pacific region and sheds light on the challenges confronting the protection of refugees and displaced persons in this area. Interdisciplinary in its approach, it will be of interest to academics, researchers, students and policy-makers concerned with the rights and protection of refugees.

This comparative study investigates the place of Hindu divorce in the Indian legal system and considers whether it offers a way out of a matrimonial crisis situation for women. Using the narratives of the social actors involved, it poses questions about the relationship between traditional jurisdictions located in rural areas and the larger legal culture of towns and cities in India, and also in the UK and USA. The multidisciplinary approach draws on research from the social sciences, feminist and legal studies and will be of interest to students and scholars of law, anthropology and sociology.

Issues of religious diversity in the workplace have become very topical and have been raised before domestic courts and the European Court of Human Rights. Examining the controversial and constantly evolving position of religion in the workplace, this collection brings together chapters by legal and social science scholars and provides a wealth of information on legal responses across Europe, Turkey and the United States to conflicts between professional and religious obligations involving employees and employers. The contributors examine how case law from the European Court of Human Rights, domestic experiences and comparative analyses can indicate trends and reveal established and innovative approaches. This multi-perspective volume will be relevant for legal practitioners, researchers, academics and policy-makers interested in human rights law, discrimination law, labour law and the intersection of law and religion.

Transitional justice is usually associated with international criminal courts and tribunals, but criminal justice is merely one way of dealing with the legacy of conflict and atrocity. Justice is not only a matter of law. It is a process of making sense of the past and accepting the possibility of a shared future together, although perpetrators, victims and bystanders may have very different memories and perceptions, experiences and expectations. This book goes further than providing a legal analysis of the effectiveness of transitional justice and presents a wider perspective. It is a critical appraisal of the different dimensions of the process of transitional justice that affects the imagery and constructions of past experiences and perceptions of conflict. Examining hidden histories of atrocities, public trials and memorialization, processes and rituals, artistic expressions and contradictory perceptions of past conflicts, the book constructs what transitional justice and the imagery involved can mean for a better understanding of the processes of justice, truth and reconciliation. In transcending the legal, although by no means denying the significance of law, the book also represents a multidisciplinary, holistic approach to justice and includes contributions from criminal and international lawyers, cultural anthropologists, criminologists, political scientists and historians

This book is concerned with how we can make sense of the confusing landscape of individualistic explanation in international law. Arguing that international law lacks the vocabulary to deal with the collective dimension and therefore perpetuates an individualistic vocabulary, the book develops and articulates a more appropriate collective approach for public international law. In doing so, it reframes longstanding problems such as the conflict between self-determination and the integrity of states and the effects and the limits of state sovereignty in an increasingly globalized world. Presenting fresh perspectives on a range of contemporary issues in international law, the book draws on the work of major contributors to legal and political theory.

Over the past two decades or so, legal literature has devoted much attention to various human rights issues at both the national and international levels. Yet there has been comparatively little written on the concept and importance of individual duty within the human rights discourse. This book attempts to comprehensively and systematically examine the corollary of human right - the principle of individual duty - from a number of different perspectives, including history, the law (principally international human rights and humanitarian law and national constitutional law), philosophy, jurisprudence, religion, and ethics. The author attempts to demonstrate that a greater emphasis upon individual duties is consistent with a cultural relativist critique, natural law theory, the experience of national legal systems and regional human rights systems, certain socio-political philosophies and conventional sociological postulates, and the dictates of good public policy. The author urges the assignment of a greater, indeed revived, role for the principle of individual duty in order to achieve a more salutary balance between rights and duties and in the relationship between individual freedom and the welfare of the general community.

As the population becomes more diverse internationally, Religious Discrimination has become increasingly important as an area of law around the world. Heaven Forbid allows readers a better understanding of the issue of religion and inequality and aims to increase the likelihood of achieving equality at both national and international levels for those suffering religious discrimination. Discussing the two most important trade agreements of our day - namely the North American Free Trade Agreement and the European Union Treaty - in a historical and compelling analysis of discrimination, Heaven Forbid provides a detailed examination of the relationship between religious issues and the law, and will be an important read for all those concerned with equality.

This edited volume brings together leading scholars on the death penalty within international, regional and municipal law. It considers the intrinsic elements of both the promotion and demise of the punishment around the world, and provides analysis which contributes to the evolving abolitionist discourse. The contributors consider the current developments within the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the African Commission and the Commonwealth Caribbean, and engage with the emergence of regional norms promoting collective restriction and renunciation of the punishment. They investigate perspectives and questions for retentionist countries, focusing on the United States, China, Korea and Taiwan, and reveal the iniquities of contemporary capital judicial systems. Emphasis is placed on the issues of transparency of municipal jurisdictions, the jurisprudence on the 'death row phenomenon' and the changing nature of public opinion. The volume surveys and critiques the arguments used to scrutinize the death penalty to then offer a detailed analysis of possible replacement sanctions.

In the days, months, and now years following the events of September 11th, 2001, discrimination against the Sikh community in America has escalated sharply, due in part to a populace that often confuses Sikhs, compelled by their faith to wear turbans, with the Muslim extremists responsible for the devastating terrorist attacks. Although Sikhs have since mobilized to spread awareness and condemn violence against themselves and Muslims, there has been a conspicuous absence of academic literature to aid scholars and commentators in understanding the effect of the backlash on the Sikh community. This volume provides a unique window onto this particular minority group's experience in an increasingly hostile climate, and offers a sharp analysis of the legal battles fought by Sikhs in post-9/11 America. In doing so, it adds a new chapter to the ongoing national story of the difficulties minority groups have faced in protecting their civil liberties in times of war.

Using gender and law in the political system of Jordan as a means of investigating broader issues surrounding the relationship between culture and political legitimacy, this volume offers an in-depth treatment of the laws that define, limit and expand women's rights. Arguing that gender issues aren't simply a 'special topic' in politics, but an indicator and symbol of the character of the political system as a whole, the significance of the politics of legitimacy as played out in issues of gender and law is not only about the content of policies and competition of interests, but about the power to determine the nature of the political system itself.

The regulation of the body provides an important concern in law, medical practice and culture. This volume contributes to existing research in the area by encouraging experts from a range of related disciplines to consider the legal, cultural and medical ways in which we regulate the body, further exploring how conceptions of self, liberalism, property and harm inform and influence contentious legal and ethical questions about what we can and cannot do to or with our own bodies.

In the post-2001 context of economic and political conflict, this book presents a timely and detailed examination of the role of the criminal law in the protection of the existing order from political dissent and destabilization. It reviews offences such as rebellion, treason, mutiny, espionage, sedition, terrorism, riot and unlawful assembly in the UK, US, Canada and Australia from a comparative perspective and investigates leading cases in their historical and political contexts. Also examining the impact on human rights and civil liberties, this book covers a neglected area of English-derived law and will encourage debate about crimes against states and governments.

This book proposes a significant reassessment of the history of Iraq, documenting democratic experiences from ancient Mesopotamia through to the US occupation. Such an analysis takes to task claims that the 'West' has a uniquely democratic history and a responsibility to spread democracy across the world. It also reveals that Iraq has a democratic history all of its own, from ancient Middle Eastern assemblies and classical Islamic theology and philosophy, through to the myriad political parties, newspapers and protest movements of more recent times. This book argues that the democratic history of Iraq could serve as a powerful political and discursive tool where the Iraqi people may come to feel a sense of ownership over democracy and take pride in endorsing it. This could go a long way towards mitigating the current conflicts across the nation and in stabilizing and legitimating its troubled democracy. Taking an interdisciplinary approach and referring to some of the most influential critical theorists to question ideological assumptions about democracy and its history, this book is useful to those interested in political and legal history, human rights and democracy.

This book analyzes the legality of the use of force by the US, the UK and their NATO allies against Afghanistan in 2001. The work challenges the main ground for resorting to force, namely, self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations' Charter, by examining each element of Article 51 that ought to have been satisfied in order to legitimise the use of force. It also examines the wider context, including comparable Security Council resolutions in historic situations as well as modern instances where force has been used, such as against Iraq in 2003 and against Lebanon in 2006. As well as making the case against the legality of the use of force, the book addresses wider questions such as the meaning of 'terrorism' in international law, the changing nature of conflict in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries including the impact of non-state actors and an overview of terrorism trends as well as the evolution of limitations on the resort to force from the League of Nations through to 2001. The book concludes with some insight into the possible future implications for the use of force by states, particularly when force is purportedly justified on the grounds of self-defence.

Examining the treatment of persons with mental disabilities in the criminal justice system, this book offers new perspectives that are crucial to an understanding of the ways in which society projects onto criminal defendants prejudices and attitudes about responsibility, free will, autonomy, choice, public safety, and the meaning and purpose of punishment, all with a focus on ways to enhance dignity in the criminal trial process. It is a detailed exploration of issues of adequacy of counsel; the impact of international human rights law, following the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD); the role of mental health courts; and the influence of therapeutic jurisprudence, procedural justice, and restorative justice on the legal process. It considers all of these perspectives in the context of criminal justice system issues such as competency findings, the insanity defense, and sentencing. Demonstrating how the question of treatment of persons with mental disabilities in the criminal justice system is not only a vital one for both scholars and practitioners, but also a central facet of international human rights law, this book suggests policy development, further scholarly inquiries, and newly invigorated thinking and action to place dignity at the core of the criminal justice system.

Taking Robert Post's seminal article 'The Social Foundations of Reputation and the Constitution' as a starting point, this volume examines how the concept of reputation changes to reflect social, political, economic, cultural and technological developments. It suggests that the value of a good reputation is not immutable and analyzes the history and doctrines of defamation law in the US and the UK. A selection of Australian case studies illustrates different concepts of defamation law and offers insights into their specific nature. Drawing on approaches to celebrity in media and cultural studies, the author conceptualizes reputation as a media construct and explains how reputation as celebrity is of great contemporary relevance at this point in the history of defamation law.

The human rights of communities in many resource-rich, weak governance States are adversely affected, not only by the acts of States and their agents, but also by powerful non-State actors. Contemporary phenomena such as globalisation, privatisation and the proliferation of internal armed conflict have all contributed to the increasing public influence of these entities and the correlative decline in State power. This book responds to the persistent challenges stemming from non-State actors linked to extractive industries. In light of the intersecting roles of multinational enterprises and non-State armed groups in this context, these actors are adopted as the primary analytical vehicles. The operations of these entities highlight the practical flaws of existing accountability regimes and permit an exploration of the theoretical challenges that preclude their direct legal regulation at the international level. Drawing insights from discursive democracy, compliance theories and the Pure Theory of Law, the book establishes a conceptual foundation for the creation of binding international obligations addressing non-State actors. Responding to the recent calls for a binding business and human rights treaty at the UN Human Rights Council, and the growing influence of armed non-State actors, the book makes a timely contribution to debates surrounding the direction of future developments in the field of international human rights law.

The rule of law, peace, disarmament, human rights: these are no longer words, but legal concepts steadily gaining force among nations. If the slow but sure codification of international law that began with the first Geneva Convention of 1864 has put down roots, against all odds, it is because of the passionate determination of a few visionary but practical actors on the world's stage. Pre-eminent among these "workers in the dawn" was the Russian jurist, diplomat and arbitrator F.F. Martens (1845-1909). Although Marten's reputation suffered during the Soviet era and on both sides of the Cold War, the lasting effect of his ideas and initiatives can be traced all the way from his early years as a Law Professor at Petersburg University (when his writing attracted the attention of the Czar), through his direct participation in the great Peace Conferences at Brussels and The Hague, to the legal underpinnings of the human rights regime embodied in today's international conventions and tribunals. His sense of community and the individual in a global context - a difficult notion for lawyers to grasp in a world of competing nation-states - has now become a widely-accepted norm with increasingly effective enforcement mechanisms. And even his contributions to procedural theory, in areas such as extradition of political criminals and transnational enforcement of administrative law, persist in coming to the forefront of today's international legal practice. This English translation of Martens' biography is the most complete text, as the Russian author, at the translator's request, took the opportunity to revise his original work and supplied two chapters missing from the original Russian edition of 1993 and subsequent editions and translations. Pustogarov was among the first scholars to gain access to the Archive of the Foreign Policy of Russia, and his biography of Martens contains hitherto unavailable information on the more-or-less secret political manoeuvres of the "Great Powers" in Martens' time.

This book analyzes the position of the ICC in relation to national court systems. The research illustrates that what seemed to be a straight forward relationship between the ICC and national courts under the complementarity mechanism, proves to be much more complex in practice. Using the referrals of Uganda and Darfur, the book demonstrates ways in which it might be possible to prosecute for crimes currently not prosecuted by the ICC and brings to light possible solutions to overcome the gaps in law and practice in the jurisdictional relation between the ICC and national systems. It will be of value to academics, students and policy-makers working in the area of international law, international organizations, and human rights.