(Not) Proving the Public Good: Scientific Evidence and the Margin of Appreciation

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-262
Author(s):  
Ciarán Burke ◽  
Alexandra Molitorisová
Keyword(s):  
Public Good ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Legal Cases ◽  
The Public ◽  
European Court ◽  
Margin Of Appreciation ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
National Governments

Abstract The article offers a critical look at the complex relationship between the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and policy-supportive (scientific) evidence. In particular, due to now commonplace, evidence-based policy-making of national governments, the Court is effectively supplemented with various statistics and studies and tasked with reviewing policy measures aiming to improve the public good. This article investigates the ECtHR’s use and interpretation of policy-supportive evidence in the proportionality analysis, and how this affects the margin of appreciation. The recent case of Dubská and Krejzová concerning the ban on home births, which the article explores in detail, is illustrative in this regard. Although the Court appears to review scientific evidence substantively, an increased proliferation of statistics and studies may bring about controversy in relation to legal cases, without having a conclusive impact upon the outcome of a dispute.

Muslim Reformists, Female Citizenship, and the Public Accommodation of Islam in Liberal Democracy

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Fadel
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Political Equality ◽  
The Public ◽  
European Court ◽  
Margin Of Appreciation ◽  
Gender Hierarchy ◽  
Normative Justification

AbstractThe European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in a trilogy of cases involving Muslim claimants, has granted state parties to the European Convention on Human Rights a wide margin of appreciation with respect to the regulation of public manifestations of Islam. The ECHR has justified its decisions in these cases on the grounds that Islamic symbols, such as the ḥijāb, or Muslim commitments to the shari‘a — Islamic law — are inconsistent with the democratic order of Europe. This article raises the question of what kinds of commitments to gender equality and democratic decision-making are sufficient for a democratic order, and whether modernist Islamic teachings manifest a satisfactory normative commitment in this regard. It uses the arguments of two modern Muslim reformist scholars — Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī and ‘Abd al-Ḥalīm Abū Shuqqa — as evidence to argue that if the relevant degree of commitment to gender equality is understood from the perspective of political rather than comprehensive liberalism, doctrines such as those elaborated by these two religious scholars evidence sufficient commitment to the value of political equality between men and women. This makes less plausible the ECHR's arguments justifying a different treatment of Muslims on account of alleged Islamic commitments to gender hierarchy. It also argues that in light of Muslim modernist conceptions of the shari‘a, there is no normative justification to conclude that faithfulness to the shari‘a entails a categorical rejection of democracy as the ECHR suggested.

Judicial Politics in the European Community

1994 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 535-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
KAREN J. ALTER ◽  
SOPHIE MEUNIER-AITSAHALIA
Keyword(s):  
Policy Making ◽  
Mutual Recognition ◽  
Judicial Politics ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Political Role ◽  
European Court ◽  
Political Access ◽  
Single European Act ◽  
Dominant Member ◽  
National Governments

Was the European Court of Justice a key actor in the “relaunching” of European integration in the 1980s? This article examines the crucial political role that was played by the Court with its Cassis de Dijon judgment in the rejuvenation EC harmonization policy and the development of the Single European Act. The authors challenge the dominant view that the Court's legal decisions in themselves create policy consequences, or that legal verdicts reflect the views of dominant member states, so as to create focal points around which a policy consensus emerges. They argue, instead, that the Cassis verdict acted as a catalyst, provoking a political response by the Commission, which attempted to capitalize on the verdict to create a “new approach to harmonization.” This political entrepreneurship by the Commission triggered the mobilization of interest groups that lobbied their national governments for and against mutual recognition. Generalizing from the case, this article concludes that the Court performs three crucial roles in the EC policy-making process: opening political access to self-interested individuals, launching ideas into the policy-making arena, and provoking political responses through bold argumentation and unpopular verdicts.

scholarly journals Engineering advice in policy making: a new domain of inquiry in evidence and policy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam C.G. Cooper ◽  
Lorenzo Marvulli ◽  
Katie Black ◽  
John Holmes ◽  
Harshal Mehta
Keyword(s):  
Policy Making ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
The Public ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
Evidence Based Policy ◽  
Engineering Team ◽  
Related Science ◽  
Engineering Practices

Most, if not all empirical research on evidence-based policy has three features: firstly, it typically focuses on the application of science and scientific expertise on policy; secondly, it is executed by ‘outsider’ researchers who are not part of the public administration or policy-making process but observers of it (for example, Stevens, 2010); and thirdly, the major topical focus is in social policy areas such as health, education and crime (Oliver et al, 2014). This study advances the perspectives on evidence-based policy making by exploring the role of engineering expertise in policy making. We first make the case that, although related, science and engineering represent different epistemic communities in relation to policy practice. This difference, we argue, can give rise to particular styles of interaction that can make the governance of engineering expertise in policy making different to that for science or scientists. We then report on the findings of a study of the relationship between a new engineering team in a UK ministry with a technical portfolio and the policy colleagues they worked with across a range of programme areas. Through 18 interviews with policy officials, we identify a range of interactions that imply a need to consider styles of management and approaches to internal deployment of experts within policy organisations, as well as the implications for policy making and engineering expertise, given the way policy and engineering practices overlap.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>Engineering advice has never been properly identified and studied in the academic social science literature to date.</li><br /><li>Engineering advice is an important and potent source of evidence in policy making in topical areas like energy policy.</li><br /><li>In contrast to science advice, engineering advice as a practice significantly overlaps with policy practice meaning important conflict or complementarity is possible, dependent on how the advice is deployed.</li></ul>

Interest Groups, Iron Triangles and Representative Institutions in American National Government

1984 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Gais ◽  
Mark A. Peterson ◽  
Jack L. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Public Good ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
National Government ◽  
Special Interests ◽  
The Public

President Carter will perhaps be remembered most for his perceived incompetence, an impression produced largely by his inability to forge coalitions in Congress, and by his failure as an ‘outsider’ to intervene effectively in the established policy-making processes in Washington. In his farewell address, Carter alluded to what he believed to be the source of his troubles – the fragmentation of power and decision-making exploited by influential special interests. Carter believed that he was trapped in a web of organized groups allied with well-placed congressional and bureaucratic sympathizers seeking to protect their narrowly defined interests and frustrating his own broader vision of the public good.

ISLAMIC INSTITUTIONS AND PROPERTY RIGHTS: THE CASE OF THE 'PUBLIC GOOD' WAQF

2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya Shatzmiller
Keyword(s):  
Property Rights ◽  
Public Good ◽  
Legal Cases ◽  
The Public ◽  
Institutional Economic ◽  
Economic Progress ◽  
Learning Institutions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Theoretical Paradigms ◽  
Muslim Spain

AbstractThe paper examines the institutional economic performance of the public good waqf with the intent of demonstrating the relevance of institutions to the momentous debate over Islamic backwardness and European progress and the waqf's role as supporter of learning institutions and promoter of social integration. Through the application of two sets of theoretical paradigms designed for measuring institutional behaviour, property rights and institutional arrangements, to legal cases supplied by fatwās from North Africa and Muslim Spain it will be possible to analyze and evaluate the impact of one of the major institutions of the premodern Islamic world on economic progress. L'article étudie la performance économique du waqf fiduciaire public, (waqf khairī), en tant qu'institution économique. Le but est de démontrer la pertinence de cette performance quant au débat sur la décadence économique des sociétés musulmanes par rapport au progrès que connut l'Europe. Sera étudié le rôle de l'activité économique institutionelle du waqf en général, et particulièrement dans les fonctions qui lui étaient attribuées, comme le soutien des institutions scolaires ainsi que la promotion de l'integrité sociale. Par l'application de deux paradigmes théoriques conçues pour mesurer le comportement institutionel, les droits de propriété et l'adaptation aux changements dans les conditions économiques rapportés par les documents juridiques tels les fatwās de l'Afrique du Nord et de l'Espagne musulmane, il sera possible d'analyser et d'évaluer l'impact de l'une des plus importantes institutions du monde islamique pré-moderne sur le progrès économique.

scholarly journals What If? An Experiment to Include a Religious Narrative in the Approach of the European Court of Human Rights

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-241
Author(s):  
Anicée Van Engeland
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Wide Margin ◽  
The Public ◽  
European Court ◽  
Margin Of Appreciation ◽  
Living Together ◽  
The Veil ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
And Gender

According to some interpretations of Islam supported by gender activists, the veil can be perceived as a passport that enables women to participate in public affairs. This argument has been overlooked by the courts, including the European Court of Human Rights. The latter has adopted a discourse that considers the veil to be a threat to public order and gender equality, and more recently, an obstacle to social cohesion. By doing so, the Court has excluded veiled European Muslim women from the public sphere. The Court has justified curbing freedom of religion by granting states a wide margin of appreciation on the basis of the concept of “living together.” I argue that the Court needs to take the “passport veil” into account to be consistent with its argument on living together. A shift of approach and discourse would constitute a new way of understanding integration through the veil.

scholarly journals Empowering Researchers and Knowledge-Producing Organizations for Evidence-Informed Health Policy Making: Interventions in the Iranian Health System

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
leila Doshmangir ◽  
Hakimeh Mostafavi ◽  
Reza Majdzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Health Policy ◽  
Health System ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Effective Interaction ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Framework Analysis ◽  
Community Based Interventions ◽  
Iranian Health System

Abstract Background: Providing appropriate information to policymakers by strengthening evidence-based capacity is a key factor in the development of evidence-based policy making (EIPM). This study aims to examine the necessary interventions in the Iranian health system for empowering researchers and knowledge-producing organizations to strengthen EIPM.Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using interviews and document review. The views and experiences of enterviewees were extracted through semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was used and continued until data saturation. Thematic framework analysis and MAXQDA 12 software were used for data analysis.Results: Necessary interventions for empowering researchers and knowledge-producing organizations were categorized into health system interventions, community-based interventions, organization interventions, and individual interventions.Conclusion: Incompatibility of health policy decisions with scientific evidence derived from research highlights the importance of creating a common language among health policymakers and researchers. In this regard, developing scientific and practical interventions, educating health researchers on knowledge translation, and using mechanisms and networks for effective interaction will be constructive.

scholarly journals Securing the Future of the European Court of Human Rights in the Face of uk Opposition

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberley Brayson
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
European Convention ◽  
The Political ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
European Court ◽  
Margin Of Appreciation ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Cost ◽  
National Governments

This article highlights transnational consequences for access to justice of political posturing by national governments in respect of the European Convention on Human Rights (echr). It charts the uk context preceding the adoption of Protocol 15, which inserts the concepts of subsidiarity and the margin of appreciation into the echr preamble. The article argues that whilst this was an attempt to curb the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) powers, this proved limited in effect, as the court is too well established as a Supreme Court for Europe in the cosmopolitan legal order of the echr. The political-legal interplay which is the genesis of the echr system means that political manoeuvring from national governments is inevitable, but not fatal to its existence. However, the legitimacy of the ECtHR is secured only through political concessions, which act to expel surplus subjects from echr protection. The article concludes that the legitimacy of the ECtHR is therefore secured at the cost of individuals whose rights are worth less than the future of the court.

Policy analysis and the legislature in Colombia

2020 ◽  
pp. 81-98
Author(s):  
Mónica Pachón ◽  
Manuela Muñoz
Keyword(s):  
Policy Making ◽  
Party System ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
The Public ◽  
Legislative Branch ◽  
Public Policy Process ◽  
Policy Making Process ◽  
Legislative Output

This chapter describes the operation of the legislative branch in Colombia and the challenges of applying evidence-based analysis in the public policy process that occur within such a highly politicized environment. It summarizes some of the previous findings of the research conducted on the role of Congress in the contemporary policy-making process. It also shows how Congress has played an important part in reacting to executive bills, protecting constituency interests, leading public debates, and occasionally affecting the agenda impeding governmental action. The chapter covers the period after the 1991 Constitution, examining mostly the legislative output of Congress. It underscores the rules establishing the separation of powers and evaluates the nature of the party system determining the separation of purpose among the branches and the legislative output.

Advancing Evidence‐Based Instruction for the Public Good

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (164) ◽  
pp. 115-126
Author(s):  
Teniell L. Trolian ◽  
KC Culver
Keyword(s):  
Public Good ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
The Public ◽  
Based Instruction
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