Search results for: property rights
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 2763

Search results for: property rights

2553 Rock Property Calculation for Determine Hydrocarbon Zone Based on Petrophysical Principal and Sequence Stratigraphic Correlation in Blok M

Authors: Muhammad Tarmidzi, Reza M. G. Gani, Andri Luthfi

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to identify rock zone containing hydrocarbons with calculating rock property includes volume shale, total porosity, effective porosity and water saturation. Identification method rock property based on GR log, resistivity log, neutron log and density rock. Zoning is based on sequence stratigraphic markers that are sequence boundary (SB), transgressive surface (TS) and flooding surface (FS) which correlating ten well log in blok “M”. The results of sequence stratigraphic correlation consist of eight zone that are two LST zone, three TST zone and three HST zone. The result of rock property calculation in each zone is showing two LST zone containing hydrocarbons. LST-1 zone has average volume shale (Vsh) 25%, average total porosity (PHIT) 14%, average effective porosity (PHIE) 11% and average water saturation 0,83. LST-2 zone has average volume shale (Vsh) 19%, average total porosity (PHIT) 21%, average effective porosity (PHIE) 17% and average water saturation 0,82.

Keywords: hydrocarbons zone, petrophysic, rock property, sequence stratigraphic

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2552 The Human Right to a Safe, Clean and Healthy Environment in Corporate Social Responsibility's Strategies: An Approach to Understanding Mexico's Mining Sector

Authors: Thalia Viveros-Uehara

Abstract:

The virtues of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are explored widely in the academic literature. However, few studies address its link to human rights, per se; specifically, the right to a safe, clean and healthy environment. Fewer still are the research works in this area that relate to developing countries, where a number of areas are biodiversity hotspots. In Mexico, despite the rise and evolution of CSR schemes, grave episodes of pollution persist, especially those caused by the mining industry. These cases set up the question of the correspondence between the current CSR practices of mining companies in the country and their responsibility to respect the right to a safe, clean and healthy environment. The present study approaches precisely such a bridge, which until now has not been fully tackled in light of Mexico's 2011 constitutional human rights amendment and the United Nation's Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UN Guiding Principles), adopted by the Human Rights Council in 2011. To that aim, it initially presents a contextual framework; it then explores qualitatively the adoption of human rights’ language in the CSR strategies of the three main mining companies in Mexico, and finally, it examines their standing with respect to the UN Guiding Principles. The results reveal that human rights are included in the RSE strategies of the analysed businesses, at least at the rhetoric level; however, they do not embrace the right to a safe, clean and healthy environment as such. Moreover, we conclude that despite the finding that corporations publicly express their commitment to respect human rights, some operational weaknesses that hamper the exercise of such responsibility persist; for example, the systematic lack of human rights impact assessments per mining unit, the denial of actual and publicly-known negative episodes on the environment linked directly to their operations, and the absence of effective mechanisms to remediate adverse impacts.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, environmental impacts, human rights, right to a safe, clean and healthy environment, mining industry

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2551 Impact of Development Induced Displaced on Tribal Indigenous Women of North East India

Authors: Bitopi Dutta

Abstract:

Forced Displacement of marginalised groups has been widely debated whole across the world, including India. This paper will do a gender analysis of Development Induced Displacement(DID) in tribal indigenous societies of North East India (NEI), a region that is frequently quoted as a relatively gender equal society as compared to the other parts of India. The central argument of the paper concerns how patriarchies in the discourses of the state and societies work together in shaping a particular gendered experience for women (and men) - in this context a violent gendered transformation in displaced indigenous communities. The primary analysis of the paper will be centered on the acquisition of Common Property Resources (CPRs) under the Land Law of India which has devastating consequences for the tribal women since CPRs forms the basis of their high status, identity and autonomy. Tracing the trajectory of DID in the NEI since 1947 to 2010, this paper will locate the violent gendered transition that these tribal societies have undergone during this period vis.a.vis their tradition which was grounded on a far more gender equal worldview. The paper will place this argument in terms of the lost status and impoverishment of tribal women in the social and economic domain reflected in terms of loss of property and land ownership rights, monetisation of the tribal economy under the sole custody of the men, forced internalisation of this reduced status by the women themselves and so on. DID in this sense will not only be understood as only physical displacement, but also as social and cultural displacement. Interviews of people displaced/affected by the development projects will be the primary mode of data collection which will be supplemented with documentary research using Government Data, and local archives of the region.

Keywords: common property resources, displacement, north east India, tribal, women

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2550 Patients’ Rights: An Enquiry into the Activities of Local Psychiatric Centers Managed by Muslims in South-West Nigeria

Authors: Shaykh-Luqman Jimoh

Abstract:

In Nigeria, aside the eight Government hospitals designated Psychiatric hospitals, there are also many local psychiatric centers managed by muslims and non-muslim individuals. These centers have been heavily criticized for human right abuses. This study is an inquiry into the truth or otherwise of the criticism. The study focuses on the activities of local centers managed by muslim individuals in South-West Nigeria with a view to determining the extent they uphold or violate their patients’ fundamental human rights as guaranteed by Islam. Information about the activities of the centers were collected through oral interviews. Both descriptive and analytical methods were used in the study. The study revealed that while there are some activities of the local centers managed by muslims in the study area that could be regarded as outright violation of patients’ fundamental human rights, some others, in view of the rationale behind them, may not necessarily constitute outright violation of the patients’ fundamental human rights as hitherto painted except where excesses are committed. The study therefore, using Islamic paradigm, suggests general measures that could be taken to improve on the activities of the centers.

Keywords: local psychiatric centers, muslim exorcists, patients’ rights, South-West Nigeria

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2549 The Limits of Charity: Advancing a Rights-based Justice Model to Remedy Poverty and Hunger

Authors: Tracy Smith-Carrier

Abstract:

In 1995, the World Health Organization declared that poverty was the biggest killer and the greatest cause of suffering in the world. Income is certainly a key social determinant of health, the lack of which causes innumerable health and mental health conditions. In seeking to provide relief from financial hardship for residents within their populace, states in the Global North have largely turned to the non-profit and charitable sector. The stigma and shame of accessing charity is a significant barrier for many, but what is more problematic is that the embrace of the charitable model has let governments off the hook from responding to their international human rights obligations. Although states are signatories to various human rights treaties and conventions internationally, many of these laws have not been implemented domestically. This presentation explores the limits of the charitable model in addressing poverty in countries of the Global North. Unlike in the ages passed, when poverty was thought to be an individual problem, we now know that poverty is largely systemic in nature. In this presentation, we will identify the structural determinants of poverty, outline why people are reticent to access charitable programs and services and how income security is reproduced through the charitable model, and discuss evidence-informed solutions, such as a basic income guarantee, to move beyond the charitable model in favour of a rights-based justice model. To move beyond charity, we must demand that governments recognize our fundamental human rights and address poverty and hunger using a justice model based on substantive human rights.

Keywords: basic income, charity, poverty, income security, hunger, food security, social justice, human rights

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2548 Transition Economies, Typology, and Models: The Case of Libya

Authors: Abderahman Efhialelbum

Abstract:

The period since the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, and the collapse of the former Soviet Union in December 1985 has seen a major change in the economies and labour markets of Eastern Europe. The events also had reverberating effects across Asia and South America and parts of Africa, including Libya. This article examines the typologies and the models of transition economies. Also, it sheds light on the Libyan transition in particular and the impact of Qadhafi’s regime on the transition process. Finally, it illustrates how the Libyan transition process followed the trajectory of other countries using economic indicators such as free trade, property rights, and inflation.

Keywords: transition, economy, typology, model, Libya

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2547 Protection of Human Rights in Polish Centres for Foreigners – in the Context of the European Human Rights System

Authors: Oktawia Braniewicz

Abstract:

The phenomenon of emigration and migration increasingly affects Poland's borders as well. For this reason, it is necessary to examine the level of protection of Human Rights in Polish Centres for Foreigners. The field study covered 11 centers for Foreigners in the provinces Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region, Lubelskie Region, Lodzkie Region, Mazowieckie Region and Podlaskie Region. Photographic documentation of living and social conditions, conversations with center employees and refugees allow to show a comprehensive picture of the situation prevailing in Centres for Foreigners. The object of reflection will be, in particular, the standards resulting from art. 8 and 13 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and article 2 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The degree of realization of the right to education and the right to respect for family and private life will be shown. Issues related to learning the Polish language, access to a professional translator and psychological help will also be approximated. Learning Polish is not obligatory, which causes problems with assimilation and integration with other members of the new community. In centers for foreigners, there are no translators - a translator from an external company is rented if necessary. The waiting time for an interpreter makes the refugees feel anxious, unable to communicate with the employees of the centers (this is a situation in which the refugees do not know either English, Polish or Russian). Psychologist's help is available on designated days of the week. There is no separate specialist in child psychology, which is a serious problem.

Keywords: human rights, Polish centres, foreigners, fundamental freedoms

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2546 Compilation and Statistical Analysis of an Arabic-English Legal Corpus in Sketch Engine

Authors: C. Brierley, H. El-Farahaty, A. Farhan

Abstract:

The Leeds Parallel Corpus of Arabic-English Constitutions is a parallel corpus for the Arabic legal domain. Analysis of legal language via Corpus Linguistics techniques is an important development. In legal proceedings, a corpus-based approach to disambiguating meaning is set to replace the dictionary as an interpretative tool, and legal scholarship in the States is now attuned to the potential for Text Analytics over vast quantities of text-based legal material, following the business and medical industries. This trend is reflected in Europe: the interdisciplinary research group in Computer Assisted Legal Linguistics mines big data collections of legal and non-legal texts to analyse: legal interpretations; legal discourse; the comprehensibility of legal texts; conflict resolution; and linguistic human rights. This paper focuses on ‘dignity’ as an important aspect of the overarching concept of human rights in current constitutions across the Arab world. We have compiled a parallel, Arabic-English raw text corpus (169,861 Arabic words and 205,893 English words) from reputable websites such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation and CONSTITUTE, and uploaded and queried our corpus in Sketch Engine. Our most challenging task was sentence-level alignment of Arabic-English data. This entailed manual intervention to ensure correspondence on a one-to-many basis since Arabic sentences differ from English in length and punctuation. We have searched for morphological variants of ‘dignity’ (رامة ك, karāma) in the Arabic data and inspected their English translation equivalents. The term occurs most frequently in the Sudanese constitution (10 instances), and not at all in the constitution of Palestine. Its most frequent collocate, determined via the logDice statistic in Sketch Engine, is ‘human’ as in ‘human dignity’.

Keywords: Arabic constitution, corpus-based legal linguistics, human rights, parallel Arabic-English legal corpora

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2545 Policy Brief/Note of Philippine Health Issues: Human Rights Violations Committed on Healthcare Workers

Authors: Trina Isabel Santiago, Daniel Chua, Jumee Tayaban, Joseph Daniel Timbol, Joshua Yanes

Abstract:

Numerous instances of human rights violations on healthcare workers have been reported during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. This brief aims to explore these civil and political rights violations and propose recommendations to address these. Our review shows that a wide range of civic and political human rights violations have been committed by individual citizens and government agencies on individual healthcare workers and health worker groups. These violations include discrimination, red-tagging, evictions, illegal arrests, and acts of violence ranging from chemical attacks to homicide. If left unchecked, these issues, compounded by the pandemic, may lead to the exacerbations of the pre-existing problems of the Philippine healthcare system. Despite all pre-existing reports by human rights groups and public media articles, there still seems to be a lack of government action to condemn and prevent these violations. The existence of government agencies which directly contribute to these violations with the lack of condemnation from other agencies further propagate the problem. Given these issues, this policy brief recommends the establishment of an interagency task force for the protection of human rights of healthcare workers as well as the expedited passing of current legislative bills towards the same goal. For more immediate action, we call for the establishment of a dedicated hotline for these incidents with adequate appointment and training of point persons, construction of clear guidelines, and closer collaboration between government agencies in being united against these issues.

Keywords: human rights violations, healthcare workers, COVID-19 pandemic, Philippines

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2544 Protection of Victims’ Rights in International Criminal Proceedings

Authors: Irina Belozerova

Abstract:

In the recent years, the number of crimes against peace and humanity has constantly been increasing. The development of the international community is inseparably connected to the compliance with the law which protects the rights and interests of citizens in all of their manifestations. The provisions of the law of criminal procedure are no exception. The rights of the victims of genocide, of the war crimes and the crimes against humanity, require particular attention. These crimes fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court governed by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. These crimes have the following features. First, any such crime has a mass character and therefore requires specific regulation in the international criminal law and procedure and the national criminal law and procedure of different countries. Second, the victims of such crimes are usually children, women and old people; the entire national, ethnic, racial or religious groups are destroyed. These features influence the classification of victims by the age criterion. Article 68 of the Rome Statute provides for protection of the safety, physical and psychological well-being, dignity and privacy of victims and witnesses and thus determines the procedural status of these persons. However, not all the persons whose rights have been violated by the commission of these crimes acquire the status of victims. This is due to the fact that such crimes affect a huge number of persons and it is impossible to mention them all by name. It is also difficult to assess the entire damage suffered by the victims. While assessing the amount of damages it is essential to take into account physical and moral harm, as well as property damage. The procedural status of victims thus gains an exclusive character. In order to determine the full extent of the damage suffered by the victims it is necessary to collect sufficient evidence. However, it is extremely difficult to collect the evidence that would ensure the full and objective protection of the victims’ rights. While making requests for the collection of evidence, the International Criminal Court faces the problem of protection of national security information. Religious beliefs and the family life of victims are of great importance. In some Islamic countries, it is impossible to question a woman without her husband’s consent which affects the objectivity of her testimony. Finally, the number of victims is quantified by hundreds and thousands. The assessment of these elements demands time and highly qualified work. These factors justify the creation of a mechanism that would help to collect the evidence and establish the truth in the international criminal proceedings. This mechanism will help to impose a just and appropriate punishment for the persons accused of having committed a crime, since, committing the crime, criminals could not misunderstand the outcome of their criminal intent.

Keywords: crimes against humanity, evidence in international criminal proceedings, international criminal proceedings, protection of victims

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2543 The Applicability of Just Satisfaction in Inter-State Cases: A Case Study of Cyprus versus Turkey

Authors: Congrui Chen

Abstract:

The European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter ECtHR) delivered its judgment of just satisfaction on the case of Cyprus v. Turkey, ordering a lump sum of 9,000,000 euros as the just compensation. It is the first time that the ECtHR applied the Article 41 of just compensation in an inter-state case, and it stands as the highest amount of just compensation awarded in the history of the ECtHR. The Cyprus v. Turkey case, which represents the most crucial contribution to European peace in the history of the court. This thesis uses the methodologies of textual research, comparison analysis, and case law study to go further on the following two questions specifically:(i) whether the just compensation is applicable in an inter-state case; (ii) whether such just compensation is of punitive nature. From the point of view of general international law, the essence of the case is the state's responsibility for the violation of individual rights. In other words, the state takes a similar diplomatic protection approach to seek relief. In the course of the development of international law today, especially with the development of international human rights law, States that have a duty to protect human rights should bear corresponding responsibilities for their violations of international human rights law. Under the specific system of the European Court of Human Rights, the just compensation for article 41 is one of the specific ways of assuming responsibility. At the regulatory level, the European Court of Human Rights makes it clear that the just satisfaction of article 41 of the Convention does not include punitive damages, as it relates to the issue of national sovereignty. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that the relief to the victim and the punishment to the responsible State are two closely integrated aspects of responsibility. In other words, compensatory compensation has inherent "punitive".

Keywords: European Court of Human Right, inter-state cases, just satisfaction, punitive damages

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2542 Using the Family Justice System to Respond to ISIS Returnees: The UK Experience

Authors: Fatima Ahdash

Abstract:

Over the last 6-7 years, the UK has resorted to using the family courts and the family justice system more generally as a way of dealing with children and young people either traveling to or returning from ISIS territories in the Middle East. This is an important innovation in counter-terrorism laws and practices in the UK: never before have the family courts been used for the purpose of preventing and countering terrorism anywhere in the world. This paper will examine this innovation; it will explore how, why, and the implications of the interaction between family law and counter-terrorism, particularly on the human rights of the parents and children involved. It will question whether the use of the family courts provides a more useful, and perhaps human rights compliant, method of tackling terrorism and extremism when compared to other more Draconian legal and administrative methods.

Keywords: counter-terrorism, family justice, law, human rights

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2541 Sustainable Building Law - The Legal Issues Abound

Authors: Richard J. Sobelsohn

Abstract:

Green Building and Sustainable Development help fight climate change, and protects the ozone, animal habitats, air quality, and ground water. The myriad of reasons to go Green has multiplied to the point that a developer that is building a ground-up or renovating/retrofitting a property has a plethora of choices to get to the green goal post. Sustainability not affects the bottom line but satisfies corporate mandates (ESG), consumer demand, market requirements, and the many laws dictating green building practices. The good news is that there are many paths a property owner can take to become green. The bad news is that there are many paths a property owner can take to become green, and they need to choose which direction to take. Certification of a building used to be the highest achievement in the Green building world. Now there are so many variables and laws with which a property owner must comply, and the legal analysis has mushroomed. Operation and Maintenance have also become one of the most important functions for a prudent Green Building owner. So adding to the “development/retrofit” parties involved in the sustainable building legal world, we now need to include all those people who keep the building green, and there are a lot of them!

Keywords: green building, sustainable development, legal issues, greenwashing, green cleaning, compliance, ESQ

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2540 Life Imprisonment: European Convention on Human Rights Standards and the New Serbian Criminal Code

Authors: Veljko Turanjanin

Abstract:

In this article, an author deals with the issue of life imprisonment. Life imprisonment represents a new sentence in the Serbian legislature, in addition to the standard one, imprisonment. The author elaborated on judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), imposing the possibility of parole for the person sentenced to life imprisonment, emphasizing rehabilitation as the primary goal of penalties. According to the ECtHR, life imprisonment without parole is not permitted. The right to rehabilitation is very strictly set in the ECtHR jurisprudence. Life imprisonment represents a new sentence in the Serbian legislature, in addition to the standard one, imprisonment. The legislator provided the possibility of parole for most criminal offenses after 27 years in prison, while for some of them, a possibility of parole is explicitly prohibited. The author points out the shortcomings of the legal solution that exists in Serbia, which flagrantly threatens to violate the human rights of the offenders.

Keywords: European Court of Human Rights, life imprisonment, parole, rehabilitation

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2539 Equal Right to Inherit: A South African Perspective

Authors: Rika van Zyl

Abstract:

South Africa’s racial discrimination past has led to the drafting of the Constitution with the Bill of Rights for the people of South Africa. The Bill of Rights prohibits the state from unfairly discriminating directly or indirectly on certain grounds, one of which is race and another is gender. This has forced changes to the law of succession. The customary law rule of male primogeniture was abolished to ensure that women were not excluded from the intestate succession of the male head of the family in 2005. It was said that this rule cannot be reconciled with the notions of equality and human dignity contained in the Bill of Rights. The freedom of testation has further come under fire in South Africa, where it was found to be unfair discrimination and against public policy to exclude a specific gender (women) from inheriting in a private will. Although no one has the right to inherit in South Africa, any person with an interest can approach the court alleging that a right in the Bill of Rights has been infringed. A will that is found inconsistent with the South African Bill of Rights then cannot be enforced. Recent case law found that to leave out a specific gender (women) from a will, based entirely on the fact that they are of said specific gender, is in contravention of the Constitution and should, therefore, be declared invalid. It was said that the courts should take a transformative constitutional approach when equality rights are affected. Otherwise, the historical and insidious unequal distribution of wealth in South Africa will continue along the fault lines such as gender. This decision has opened the debate on the extent to which the state can interfere with the private autonomy of an individual who is deceased. Some of these arguments will be discussed, including the ambit of public policy in this regard.

Keywords: equality, discrimination, succession, public policy

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2538 Promoting Gender Equality within Islamic Tradition via Contextualist Approach

Authors: Ali Akbar

Abstract:

The importance of advancing women’s rights is closely intertwined with the development of civil society and the institutionalization of democracy in Middle Eastern countries. There is indeed an intimate relationship between the process of democratization and promoting gender equality, since democracy necessitates equality between men and women. In order to advance the issue of gender equality, what is required is a solid theoretical framework which has its roots in the reexamination of pre-modern interpretation of certain Qurʾānic passages that seem to have given men more rights than it gives women. This paper suggests that those Muslim scholars who adopt a contextualist approach to the Qurʾānic text and its interpretation provide a solid theoretical background for improving women’s rights. Indeed, the aim of the paper is to discuss how the contextualist approach to the Qurʾānic text and its interpretation given by a number of prominent scholars is capable of promoting the issue of gender equality. The paper concludes that since (1) much of the gender inequality found in the primary sources of Islam as well as pre-modern Muslim writings is rooted in the natural cultural norms and standards of early Islamic societies and (2) since the context of today’s world is so different from that of the pre-modern era, the proposed models provide a solid theoretical framework for promoting women’s rights and gender equality.

Keywords: contextualism, gender equality, Islam, the rights of women

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2537 Human Rights in the United States: Challenges and Lessons from the Period 1948-2018

Authors: Mary Carmen Peloche Barrera

Abstract:

Since its early years as an independent nation, the United States has been one of the main promoters regarding the recognition, legislation, and protection of human rights. In the matter of freedom, the founding father Thomas Jefferson envisioned the role of the U.S. as a defender of freedom and equality throughout the world. This founding ideal shaped America’s domestic and foreign policy in the 19th and the 20th century and became an aspiration of the ideals of the country to expand its values and institutions. The history of the emergence of human rights cannot be studied without making reference to leaders such as Woodrow Wilson, Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt, as well as Martin Luther King. Throughout its history, this country has proclaimed that the protection of the freedoms of men, both inside and outside its borders, is practically the reason for its existence. Although the United States was one of the first countries to recognize the existence of inalienable rights for individuals, as well as the main promoter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, the country has gone through critical moments that had led to questioning its commitment to the issue. Racial segregation, international military interventions, national security strategy, as well as national legislation on immigration, are some of the most controversial issues related to decisions and actions driven by the United States, which at the same time mismatched with its role as an advocate of human rights, both in the Americas and in the rest of the world. The aim of this paper is to study the swinging of the efforts and commitments of the United States towards human rights. The paper will analyze the history and evolution of human rights in the United States, to study the greatest challenges for the country in this matter. The paper will focus on both the domestic policy (related to demographic issues) and foreign policy (about its role in a post-war world). Currently, more countries are joining the multilateral efforts for the promotion and protection of human rights. At the same time, the United States is one of the least committed countries in this respect, having ratified only 5 of the 18 treaties emanating from the United Nations. The last ratification was carried out in 2002 and, since then, the country has been losing ground, in an increasingly vertiginous way, in its credibility and, even worse, in its role as leader of 'the free world'. With or without the United States, the protection of human rights should remain the main goal of the international community.

Keywords: United States, human rights, foreign policy, domestic policy

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2536 Human Rights to Environment: The Constitutional and Judicial Perspective in India

Authors: Varinder Singh

Abstract:

The primitive man had not known anything like human rights. In the later centuries of human progress with the development of scientific and technological knowledge, the growth of population and the tremendous changes in the human environment, the laws of nature that maintained the Eco-balance crumbled. The race for better and comfortable life landed mankind in a vicious circle. It created environmental imbalance, unplanned and uneven development, breakdown of self-sustaining village economy, mushrooming of shanty towns and slums, widening the chasm between the rich and the poor, over-exploitation of natural resources, desertification of arable lands, pollution of different kinds, heating up of earth and depletion of ozone layer. Modem International Life has been deeply marked and transformed by current endeavors to meet the needs and fulfill the requirements of protection of human person and of the environment. Such endeavors have been encouraged by the widespread recognition that protection of human being and the environment reflects common superior values and constitutes a common concern of mankind. The parallel evolutions of human rights protection and environmental protection disclose some close affinities. There was the occurrence of process of internationalization of both human rights protection and environmental protection, the former beginning with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the latter with the 1972 Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment.It is now well established that it is the basic human right of every individual to live in a pollution free environment with full human dignity. The judiciary has so far pronounced a number of judgments in this regard. The Supreme Court in view of various laws relating to environment protection and the constitutional provision has held that right to pollution free environment. Article-21 is the heart of the fundamental rights and has received expanded meanings from time to time.

Keywords: human rights, law, environment, polluter

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2535 Political Deprivations, Political Risk and the Extent of Skilled Labor Migration from Pakistan: Finding of a Time-Series Analysis

Authors: Syed Toqueer Akhter, Hussain Hamid

Abstract:

Over the last few decades an upward trend has been observed in the case of labor migration from Pakistan. The emigrants are not just economically motivated and in search of a safe living environment towards more developed countries in Europe, North America and Middle East. The opportunity cost of migration comes in the form of brain drain that is the loss of qualified and skilled human capital. Throughout the history of Pakistan, situations of political instability have emerged ranging from violation of political rights, political disappearances to political assassinations. Providing security to the citizens is a major issue faced in Pakistan due to increase in crime and terrorist activities. The aim of the study is to test the impact of political instability, appearing in the form of political terror, violation of political rights and civil liberty on skilled migration of labor. Three proxies are used to measure the political instability; political terror scale (based on a scale of 1-5, the political terror and violence that a country encounters in a particular year), political rights (a rating of 1-7, that describes political rights as the ability for the people to participate without restraint in political process) and civil liberty (a rating of 1-7, civil liberty is defined as the freedom of expression and rights without government intervention). Using time series data from 1980-2011, the distributed lag models were used for estimation because migration is not a onetime process, previous events and migration can lead to more migration. Our research clearly shows that political instability appearing in the form of political terror, political rights and civil liberty all appeared significant in explaining the extent of skilled migration of Pakistan.

Keywords: skilled labor migration, political terror, political rights, civil liberty, distributed lag model

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2534 Carolina Maria De Jesus' Narrative in a Fundamental Rights Perspective

Authors: Eliziane Fernanda Navarro, Aparecida Eleonora Sitta

Abstract:

Child of the Dark is the work of the Brazilian author Carolina Maria de Jesus, published at the first time by Ática and Francisco Alves in 1960. It is, mostly, a story of lack of rights. It lacks to men who live in the slums what is essential in order to take advantage of the privilege of rationality to develop themselves as civilized humans. It is, therefore, in the withholding of the basic rights that inequality finds space to build itself to be the main misery on Earth. Antonio Candido, a Brazilian sociologist claims that it is the right to literature has the ability to humanize men, once the aptitude to create fiction and fable is essential to the social balance. Hence, for the forming role that literature holds, it must be thought as the number of rights that assure human dignity, such as housing, education, health, freedom, etc. When talking about her routine, Carolina puts in evidence something that has great influence over the formation of human beings, contributing to the way they live: the slum. Even though it happens in a distinct way and using her own linguistics variation, Carolina writes about something that will only be discussed later on Brazil’s Cities Statute and Erminia Maricato: the right to the city, and how the slums are, although inserted in the city, an attachment, an illegal city, a dismissing room. It interests ourselves, for that matter, in this work, to analyse how the deprivation of the rights to the city and literature, detailed in Carolina’s journal, conditions human beings to a life where the instincts overcome the social values.

Keywords: Child of the Dark, slum, literature, architecture and urbanism, fundamental rights, Brazil

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2533 Legal and Contractual Framework for Private Experiments in Space

Authors: Linda Ana-Maria Ungureanu

Abstract:

As space exploration opens to new actors, we are faced with the interesting question of regulating more complex structures that enable private experiments. From intellectual property implications to private and public law, there is a multitude of factors and legal structures that need to be taken into consideration when opening space, and these structures need to be harmonized with the International Space Treaties governing space exploration. In this sense, this article presents an overview of the legal and contractual framework applicable to private experiments conducted in space and/or in relation to off-world environments. Additionally, the article analyses the manner in which national space agencies regulate agreements concluded with private actors and research institutions. Finally, the article sets a series of de lege ferenda proposals for the regulation of general research and development rules and intellectual property matters that are connected to experiments and research conducted in space and/or concerning off-world environments.

Keywords: private space, intellectual property, contracts, ESA guidelines, EU legislation, Intellectual property law, international IP treaties

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2532 Partial Privatization, Control Rights of Large Shareholders and Privatized Shares Transfer: Evidence from Chinese State-Owned Listed Companies

Authors: Tingting Zhou

Abstract:

The partial privatization of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is a dynamic process. The main features of this process lie in not only gradual and sequential privatizations, but also privatized shares transfer. For partially privatized SOEs, the introduction of private sector ownership is not the end of the story because the previously introduced private owners may choose to leave the SOEs by transferring the privatized shares after privatization, a process that is called “privatized shares transfer”. This paper investigates the determinants of privatized shares transfer from the perspective of large shareholders’ control rights. The results captures the fact that the higher control rights of large shareholders lead to more privatized shares transfer. After exploring the impacts of excessive control rights, the results provide evidence supporting the idea that firms with excessive numbers of directors, senior managers or supervisors who also have positions in the largest controlling shareholder’s entity are more likely to transfer privatized shares owned by private owners. In addition, the largest shareholders’ ownership also plays a role in privatized shares transfer. This evidence suggests that the large shareholders’ control rights should be limited to an appropriate range during the process of privatization, thereby giving private shareholders more opportunity to participate in the operation of firms, strengthen the state and enhance the competitiveness of state capital.

Keywords: control rights of large shareholders, partial privatization, privatized shares transfer, state-owned listed companies

Procedia PDF Downloads 264
2531 Vehicle Risk Evaluation in Low Speed Accidents: Consequences for Relevant Test Scenarios

Authors: Philip Feig, Klaus Gschwendtner, Julian Schatz, Frank Diermeyer

Abstract:

Projects of accident research analysis are mostly focused on accidents involving personal damage. Property damage only has a high frequency of occurrence combined with high economic impact. This paper describes main influencing parameters for the extent of damage and presents a repair cost model. For a prospective evaluation method of the monetary effect of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), it is necessary to be aware of and quantify all influencing parameters. Furthermore, this method allows the evaluation of vehicle concepts in combination with an ADAS at an early point in time of the product development process. In combination with a property damage database and the introduced repair cost model relevant test scenarios for specific vehicle configurations and their individual property damage risk may be determined. Currently, equipment rates of ADAS are low and a purchase incentive for customers would be beneficial. The next ADAS generation will prevent property damage to a large extent or at least reduce damage severity. Both effects may be a purchasing incentive for the customer and furthermore contribute to increased traffic safety.

Keywords: accident research, accident scenarios, ADAS, effectiveness, property damage analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 320
2530 The Web of Injustice: Untangling Violations of Personality Rights in European International Private Law

Authors: Sara Vora (Hoxha)

Abstract:

Defamation, invasion of privacy, and cyberbullying have all increased in tandem with the growth of the internet. European international private law may struggle to deal with such transgressions if they occur in many jurisdictions. The current study examines how effectively the legal system of European international private law addresses abuses of personality rights in cyberspace. The study starts by discussing how established legal frameworks are being threatened by online personality rights abuses. The article then looks into the rules and regulations of European international private law that are in place to handle overseas lawsuits. This article examines the different elements that courts evaluate when deciding which law to use in a particular case, focusing on the concepts of jurisdiction, choice of law, and recognition and execution of foreign judgements. Next, the research analyses the function of the European Union in preventing and punishing online personality rights abuses. Key pieces of law that control the collecting and processing of personal data on the Internet, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the e-Commerce Directive, are discussed. In addition, this article investigates how the ECtHR handles cases involving the infringement of personal freedoms, including privacy and speech. The article finishes with an assessment of how well the legal framework of European international private law protects individuals' right to privacy online. It draws attention to problems with the present legal structure, such as the inability to enforce international judgements, the inconsistency between national laws, and the necessity for stronger measures to safeguard people' rights online. This paper concludes that while European international private law provides a useful framework for dealing with violations of personality rights online, further harmonisation and stronger enforcement mechanisms are necessary to effectively protect individuals' rights in the digital age.

Keywords: European international private law, personality rights, internet, jurisdiction, cross-border disputes, data protection

Procedia PDF Downloads 48
2529 Transparency of Algorithmic Decision-Making: Limits Posed by Intellectual Property Rights

Authors: Olga Kokoulina

Abstract:

Today, algorithms are assuming a leading role in various areas of decision-making. Prompted by a promise to provide increased economic efficiency and fuel solutions for pressing societal challenges, algorithmic decision-making is often celebrated as an impartial and constructive substitute for human adjudication. But in the face of this implied objectivity and efficiency, the application of algorithms is also marred with mounting concerns about embedded biases, discrimination, and exclusion. In Europe, vigorous debates on risks and adverse implications of algorithmic decision-making largely revolve around the potential of data protection laws to tackle some of the related issues. For example, one of the often-cited venues to mitigate the impact of potentially unfair decision-making practice is a so-called 'right to explanation'. In essence, the overall right is derived from the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) ensuring the right of data subjects to access and mandating the obligation of data controllers to provide the relevant information about the existence of automated decision-making and meaningful information about the logic involved. Taking corresponding rights and obligations in the context of the specific provision on automated decision-making in the GDPR, the debates mainly focus on efficacy and the exact scope of the 'right to explanation'. In essence, the underlying logic of the argued remedy lies in a transparency imperative. Allowing data subjects to acquire as much knowledge as possible about the decision-making process means empowering individuals to take control of their data and take action. In other words, forewarned is forearmed. The related discussions and debates are ongoing, comprehensive, and, often, heated. However, they are also frequently misguided and isolated: embracing the data protection law as ultimate and sole lenses are often not sufficient. Mandating the disclosure of technical specifications of employed algorithms in the name of transparency for and empowerment of data subjects potentially encroach on the interests and rights of IPR holders, i.e., business entities behind the algorithms. The study aims at pushing the boundaries of the transparency debate beyond the data protection regime. By systematically analysing legal requirements and current judicial practice, it assesses the limits of the transparency requirement and right to access posed by intellectual property law, namely by copyrights and trade secrets. It is asserted that trade secrets, in particular, present an often-insurmountable obstacle for realising the potential of the transparency requirement. In reaching that conclusion, the study explores the limits of protection afforded by the European Trade Secrets Directive and contrasts them with the scope of respective rights and obligations related to data access and portability enshrined in the GDPR. As shown, the far-reaching scope of the protection under trade secrecy is evidenced both through the assessment of its subject matter as well as through the exceptions from such protection. As a way forward, the study scrutinises several possible legislative solutions, such as flexible interpretation of the public interest exception in trade secrets as well as the introduction of the strict liability regime in case of non-transparent decision-making.

Keywords: algorithms, public interest, trade secrets, transparency

Procedia PDF Downloads 103
2528 Countering Terrorism and Defending Human Right after 9/11: The European Perspective

Authors: Anita Blagojević

Abstract:

It is well known that the terrorist attacks on the New York City and Washington, D.C. prompted unprecedented international action to enhance international cooperation in the prevention and suppression of terrorism. In the months (and years) after September 11, the world community focused on two main efforts: first, on efforts to bring those responsible for terrorist attacks to justice, and second, on efforts to prevent future terrorist attacks. In that sense, many governments took advantage of these efforts to strengthen their national security. In that process, however, human rights and civil liberties of certain groups of people were alleged. As a consequence, part of the price paid for protecting national security against terrorist attacks was the threat of infringement on people's fundamental rights and freedoms. The aim of this paper is to analyze the role of the European Union and the Council of Europe in finding the answer to the one of the main security dilemma for the present era: how to find the balance between the protection of national security and guarantee of the people's rights and fundamental freedoms?

Keywords: terrorism, antiterrorism, European Union, Council of Europe, human rights

Procedia PDF Downloads 351
2527 The Right to a Fair Trial in French and Spanish Constitutional Law

Authors: Chloe Fauchon

Abstract:

In Europe, the right to a fair trial is enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights, signed in 1950, in its famous Article 6, and, in the field of the European Union, in Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, binding since 2009. The right to a fair trial is, therefore, a fundamental right protected by all the relevant treaties. The right to a fair trial is an "umbrella right" which encompasses various sub-rights and principles. Although this right applies in all the proceedings, it gets a special relevance in criminal matters and, particularly, regarding the defendant. In criminal proceedings, the parties are not equal: the accusation is represented by a State-organ, with specific prerogatives, and the defense does not benefit from these specific powers and is often inexperienced in criminal law. Equality of arms, and consequently the right to a fair trial, needs some specific mechanisms to be effective in criminal proceedings. For instance, the defendant benefits from some procedural rights, such as the right to a lawyer, the right to be informed of the charges against them, the right to confront witnesses, and so on. These rights aim to give the defendant the tools to dispute the accusation. The role of the defense is, therefore, very important in criminal matters to avoid unjustified convictions. This specificity of criminal matters justifies that the focus will be put on them during this study. Then this paper will also focus on French and Spanish legal orders. Indeed, if the European Court and Convention on Human Rights are the most famous instruments to protect the right to a fair trial, this right is also guaranteed at a constitutional level in European national legal orders in Europe. However, this enshrinement differs from one country to the other: for instance, in Spain, the right to a fair trial is protected explicitly by the 1978 constitutional text, whereas, in France, it is more of a case-law construction. Nevertheless, this difference between both legal orders does not imply huge variations in the substantive aspect of the right to a fair trial. This can be specifically explained by the submission of both States to the European Convention on Human Rights. This work aims to show that, although the French and Spanish legal orders differ in the way they protect the right to a fair trial, this right eventually has the same substantive meaning in both legal orders.

Keywords: right to a fair trial, constitutional law, French law, Spanish law, European Court of Human Rights

Procedia PDF Downloads 38
2526 Social Networks Global Impact on Protest Movements and Human Rights Activism

Authors: Marcya Burden, Savonna Greer

Abstract:

In the wake of social unrest around the world, protest movements have been captured like never before. As protest movements have evolved, so too have their visibility and sources of coverage. Long gone are the days of print media as our only glimpse into the action surrounding a protest. Now, with social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, we have access to real-time video footage of protest movements and human rights activism that can reach millions of people within seconds. This research paper investigated various social media network platforms’ statistical usage data in the areas of human rights activism and protest movements, paralleling with other past forms of media coverage. This research demonstrates that social networks are extremely important to protest movements and human rights activism. With over 2.9 billion users across social media networks globally, these platforms are the heart of most recent protests and human rights activism. This research shows the paradigm shift from the Selma March of 1965 to the more recent protests of Ferguson in 2014, Ni Una Menos in 2015, and End Sars in 2018. The research findings demonstrate that today, almost anyone may use their social networks to protest movement leaders and human rights activists. From a student to an 80-year-old professor, the possibility of reaching billions of people all over the world is limitless. Findings show that 82% of the world’s internet population is on social networks 1 in every 5 minutes. Over 65% of Americans believe social media highlights important issues. Thus, there is no need to have a formalized group of people or even be known online. A person simply needs to be engaged on their respective social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat) regarding any cause they are passionate about. Information may be exchanged in real time around the world and a successful protest can begin.

Keywords: activism, protests, human rights, networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 65
2525 Child Marriages in Africa: Using a Rights-Based Approach to Protect the Girl-Child in Nigeria

Authors: Foluke Abimbola

Abstract:

The United Nations Convention on the rights of the child has been signed and ratified by several countries due to the concern about various abuses and crimes committed against children both locally and internationally. It is a shame that in view of the peculiar hardships being experienced by children today, the natural right to childhood has to be protected by a vast array of laws and international conventions. 194 countries have so far acceded to and ratified the convention on the Rights of a Child while some countries such as Nigeria have enacted the convention as a domestic law, yet child abuse is still rampant not only in Nigeria but all over the world. In Nigeria, the Child Rights Act was passed into law in 2003, with its provisions similar to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child. Despite the age of marriage provided in the Nigerian Child’s Rights Act 2003, many communities still practice child marriages to the detriment of the girl-child. Cases where these children have to withdraw from school as a result of these unripe marriages abound. Unfortunately, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 appears to indirectly support early marriages for girls in section 29 (4) where it states that a woman who is married is deemed to be of full age whereas ‘full age’ as a general term in the Constitution is from 18 years old and above. Section 29 (4) may thus be interpreted to mean that a girl of 12 years old, if married, is deemed to be of ‘full-age.’ In view of these discrepancies which continue to justify this unwholesome practice, this paper shall proffer solutions to this unlawful act and make recommendations to existing institutions, using a rights-based approach, on how to prevent and/or substantially reduce this practice. A comparative analysis with other African countries will be adopted in order to conduct a research for effective policies that may be implemented for the protection of these girls. Thus, this paper will further examine the issue of child marriage which is still quite rampant in African countries particularly in Nigeria which also affects the girl-child’s right to an education. Such children are in need of special protection and this paper will recommend ways in which state institutions, particularly in Nigeria, may be able to introduce policies to curb incidences of child marriage and child sexual abuse while proffering strategies for the prevention of these crimes.

Keywords: child abuse, child marriages, child rights, constitutions, child rights, the girl-child

Procedia PDF Downloads 118
2524 Connecting African Ubuntu and Social Work Practices for Human Rights: The Value of Dignity and Worth of a Person

Authors: Meinrad Haule Lembuka

Abstract:

Social work profession one of its primary mission is to restore and maintain human rights where social workers recognise all humanity as equal, and so too the philosophies that have developed across the world’s regions. Ubuntu means African Humanism, where realization of human rights has been a primary role for every member of community to protect other member. Before Universal declaration of human rights, African societies had a long history of embracing human rights through Ubuntu approach model. The article used Ubuntu theory to guide the review process of existing literature since Ubuntu theory since is grounded in African cultural values and ecology, and it was thought that application of Ubuntu theory was relevant to reflect reality of Ubuntu model and indigenization of social work in African context. Results have shown that in realization of human rights, Ubuntu was practiced is termed as model, philosophy, cultural values, way of life or framework originated in sub-sahara Africa and some of remarkably practice model in several African communities such as Angola, (gimuntu), Botswana (muthu), Burkina Faso (maaya), Ghana (biako ye), Malawi (umunthu), Mali (maaya/hadama de ya), Namibia (omundu), Nigeria (mutunchi/iwa/agwa), (bantu), Sierra Leonne (maaya), South Africa (ubuntu/botho) and Tanzania (utu/obuntu/bumuntu). Collective and holistic mechanism of Ubuntu is found through an Ubuntu framework that is contributed by individual, family, community and spirit that is characterised by interconnectedness of all things and beings. Each society has its own name but the practice remained the same and realization of human rights in Africa context was centred through human dignity, Ubuntu is built under cultural values of humanism that brings implications for African social worker to integrate this indigenous model into social work practice in restoring and maintain human rights. Social workers should promote policies and practices that demonstrate respect for human life, difference, support and expansion of cultural knowledge and resources, advocate for programmes and institutions that demonstrate cultural competence and promote policies that safeguard the rights and confirm equity and social justice for all people.

Keywords: African ubuntu, indigenous practice, African humanism, African human rights, social work and human rights

Procedia PDF Downloads 33