The Rights Revolution in the Age of Obama and Ferguson: Policing, the Rule of Law, and the Elusive Quest for Accountability

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 657-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynda G. Dodd
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Private Enforcement ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Court Cases ◽  
Police Use Of Force ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Impact

Recent political science scholarship examining the institutional features of the rights revolution has highlighted the importance of the private enforcement of civil rights. This article discusses a less well-known line of Supreme Court cases concerning government liability that have undermined effective private enforcement of constitutional rights. I examine the impact of the Court’s “procedural assault” on private civil rights enforcement and possible responses to the recent protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere across the country regarding police use of force. After identifying the ways in which the Court has undermined a core strand of the rights revolution, I assess the challenges confronting the Obama administration and civil rights leaders as they respond to these developments.

Is Rule of Law an Equilibrium Without (Some) Private Enforcement?

Privatization ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 246-275
Author(s):  
Gillian K. Hadfield ◽  
Barry R. Weingast
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Private Enforcement ◽  
Voluntary Participation ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Social Sanctions ◽  
Enforcement Authority ◽  
Social Orders

This chapter argue against the presumptive priority of government even in the domain of law: in recent work, the authors have developed a framework for analyzing law in which they suggest that the main distinction between legal and other social orders is the presence of an entity capable of changing rules. But an equilibrium in which these rules generate compliance does not require a centralized enforcement authority; indeed, the authors argue that fully centralized enforcement is in fact incapable of sustaining an equilibrium characterized by rule of law. Rather, the need to coordinate and incentivize voluntary participation under decentralized enforcement yields the normatively attractive legal attributes associated with the rule of law, and the authors draw on classical Athens to illustrate this model. On their account, private enforcement – in the sense of social sanctions and exclusion, limited use of force, and cooperation with authorized enforcers – are essential for a legal system to achieve the rule of law..

scholarly journals Constitutional rights and their limitations: A critical appraisal of the COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin van Staden
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Court Cases ◽  
The South ◽  
Legal Doctrine ◽  
African Government ◽  
High Court ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
South African Constitution

The purpose of the rule of law, entrenched as supreme in section 1(c) of the South African Constitution, is to guard against tyranny. If the rule of law is conceptualised as a meta-legal doctrine that is meant to permeate all law in the promotion of certainty, predictability and accessibility, in the interests of safeguarding constitutional rights, this makes sense. Yet, the COVID-19 pandemic has seen the reach of state power expand at the expense of these rights. South Africa's COVID-19 lockdown, and within at least its first five months carrying the endorsement of the courts, has made a mockery of the rule of law so conceived. This article considers the constitutionality of South Africa's COVID-19 lockdown against the backdrop of the constitutional rights limitation regime within the broader theoretical framework of constitutionalism and the rule of law. This analysis is conducted in the context of some early challenges brought against the lockdown in four High Court cases. The article concludes that the South African government, with the partial endorsement of the courts, has strayed beyond the bounds of the Constitution and engaged in unjustified violations of constitutional rights.

scholarly journals Constitutional Complaint in Indonesia Through the Lens of Legal Certainty

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Standy Wico ◽  
Michael Michael ◽  
Patricia Louise Sunarto ◽  
Anastasia Anastasia
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Legal Certainty ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Legal Standing ◽  
The Government

To date, there is no trial mechanism for Indonesian citizens to claim their rights through the constitutional complaint, even if the Constitutional Court has existed since 2003. In fact, civil rights guaranteed in the 1945 Constitution are often ignored by the government even though these rights are essential in promoting the rule of law. This paper aims to revisit the range of constitutional complaints and further consequences about the legal certainty by taking into account the rationale of civil rights protection following the establishment of the Constitutional Court for adjudicating civil complaints. This study uses juridical research with normative and comparative approaches. In this context, a constitutional complaint is different from the judicial review for which, the actions of government officials are deemed to be detrimental and violate the constitutional rights of citizens. Rather, it is an adjudication for protecting civil rights when it is found the constitutional rights are breached by the government so that each citizen has legal standing before the Constitutional Court. As for the effort to apply legal certainty to constitutional complaints, a legal basis is needed, namely the laws that regulate and their application. By doing so, it can be implemented after amending the 1945 Constitution that outlines the additional power-wielding to the Constitutional Court. KEYWORDS: Constitutional Complaint, Constitutional Court, Indonesian Constitution.

scholarly journals Problems of protecting human rights in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 96-100
Author(s):  
N. S. Latypova
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Global Response ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Emergency Measures

As part of the global response of States to the COVID-19 pandemic, most governments are currently forced to take emergency measures to respond to the emerging national threat, introducing bans and restrictions, establishing additional responsibilities and measures to control citizens, which inevitably raises the question of the need to preserve the fundamental principles of the rule of law and the basic constitutional rights and freedoms of man and citizen in the context of the pandemic. The purpose of this article is to analyze the main problems of protecting human and civil rights in the context of a pandemic and to determine the basic principles and rules on which States are based when adopting legislation that restricts the rights and freedoms of citizens.

Harmonisasi terhadap Peraturan Daerah No. 14 Tahun 2006 tentang Pengelolaan Pelestarian Kawasan Konservasi Laut Daerah dalam Perlindungan Pulau Pariwisata Kabupaten Indramayu

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 142
Author(s):  
Saiful Kholik ◽  
Imas Khaeriyah
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Marine Conservation ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Inconsistency Regional Regulation No.14 of 2006 about marine conservation area of the island of Biawak, Gososng, which Cendekian provides protection but in fact failed to provide protection as evidenced by dredging island sandbar and cendekian conducted PT.Pertamina UP VI Balongan INDRAMAYU. The problem in this research How Formulation Policy Act No. 10 Year 2009 on the Indonesian Tourism with the Indramayu Regional Regulation No. 14 of 2006 regarding marine conservation area of the island of Biawak, Gososng, Cendekian And How Harmonization Act No. 10 of 2009 with the Indramayu Regional Regulation No. 14 of 2006 regarding formulation Act No. 10 Year 2009 on the Indonesian Tourism with the Indramayu Regional Regulation No. 14 of 2006 about marine conservation area of the island of Biawak, Gososng, Cendekian, the purpose of this research to understand and analyze the extent to which policy The findings of the community or field of law local governments about the environmental damage done by companies or individuals are not equal accordance with regional regulations in force, nor the Law in force so that the function of law in society indramayu not fit the mandate to establish a change and justice based Formulation public corporate criminal liability.Inskonsitensi happens to local regulation No.14 of 2006 makes no harmonized with the regulations of each other so that the impact of this inskonsistensi makes the sector particularly environmental law enforcement get uncertainties that result in coastal communities Indramayau.Conclusion Harmonization of regulations of the center and regions delivering the policy formulation of the rule of law area to comply with the regulations above in order to avoid inconsistency, the occurrence of this inconsistency resulted in the rule of law and justice for the indramayu, suggestion that the government should was nearly revise regulations related area, especially the government must dare to take action to give effect to the perpetrator deterrent effect rule-based running as well as possible.

Lawyers as Activists

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Dorf ◽  
Michael S. Chu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Court Action ◽  
The Government ◽  
Trump Administration

Lawyers played a key role in challenging the Trump administration’s Travel Ban on entry into the United States of nationals from various majority-Muslim nations. Responding to calls from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which were amplified by social media, lawyers responded to the Travel Ban’s chaotic rollout by providing assistance to foreign travelers at airports. Their efforts led to initial court victories, which in turn led the government to soften the Ban somewhat in two superseding executive actions. The lawyers’ work also contributed to the broader resistance to the Trump administration by dramatizing its bigotry, callousness, cruelty, and lawlessness. The efficacy of the lawyers’ resistance to the Travel Ban shows that, contrary to strong claims about the limits of court action, litigation can promote social change. General lessons about lawyer activism in ordinary times are difficult to draw, however, because of the extraordinary threat Trump poses to civil rights and the rule of law.

International Arbitration as a Tool of Global Governance

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Nappert
Keyword(s):  
Global Governance ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
International Arbitration ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Arbitration Process ◽  
Fact Finding ◽  
Exercise Of Discretion ◽  
The Impact

It has been posited that the international arbitration process carries with it not only fact-finding and lawmaking functions but also a governance function insofar as “arbitrators … can and do engage in autonomous normative action while still adhering to the rule of law.” This contribution explores the role and ambit of the exercise of discretion by international arbitration tribunals and its interplay with the tribunals’ governance function, as arbitrators must consider “the impact of their rulings on states, persons or entities not directly represented in the case before them.” It questions whether the use of discretion is suited to the governance role of arbitral tribunals and serves, rather than compromises, the effective exercise of that role. It asks what measures ought to be considered to make arbitrators better prepared for the exercise of their governance function.

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