Compensation for Wrongful Conviction/Miscarriage of Justice in Hong Kong in Light of A v Secretary for Justice and Another [2020] hkcfi 427; hcal 176/2018 (11 March 2020)

Author(s):  
Jamil Ddamulira Mujuzi

Abstract Article 14(6) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (iccpr) provides for the right to compensation for wrongful conviction or miscarriage of justice. In Hong Kong, there are two compensation schemes for people who have been wrongfully convicted – the statutory scheme under Article 11(5) of the Bill of Rights Ordinance and the ex gratia scheme (also applicable to wrongful imprisonment). Although there are cases in which Hong Kong courts have dealt with the right to compensation under the ex gratia scheme, it was only in March 2020, in A v Secretary for Justice and Another, that the High Court, for the first time, dealt with a case on the right to compensation under Article 11(5). In this article, the author discusses the right to compensation for wrongful conviction in Hong Kong generally and in particular under Article 11(5) of the Bill of Rights Ordinance. The author deals with the case of A v Secretary for Justice and Another and illustrates how the High Court’s interpretation of Article 11(5) of the Bill of Rights Ordinance is likely to impact on the right to compensation for wrongful conviction in Hong Kong in the future.

Author(s):  
Yolanda Carmela Vaccaro Alexander

Los ciudadanos latinoamericanos que residen en España disfrutan de un marco legal diferenciado respecto de lo que atañe a los residentes procedentes de otras zonas en el marco de los lazos históricos y culturales que unen España y Latinoamérica reflejados en la legislación española. España mantiene suscritos convenios de Doble Nacionalidad con la mayor parte de países latinoamericanos. Y, desde 2009, ha suscrito tratados de reciprocidad en materia de sufragio en elecciones locales con diferentes países, la mayor parte de ellos latinoamericanos, tratados que permitieron que en las elecciones locales celebradas en España el 22 de mayo de 2011 los latinoamericanos concernidos pudieran ejercer el derecho al voto activo en España por primera vez sin necesidad de haberse acogido a los mencionados convenios de Doble Nacionalidad. La encuesta «Ciudadanía inmigrante», analizada en este artículo y realizada para la tesis doctoral «Derechos civiles y políticos de los residentes latinoamericanos en España. El derecho de sufragio», de la doctoranda autora de este artículo, da pautas sobre la percepción de los latinoamericanos residentes en España en torno a los derechos civiles y políticos y sobre su comportamiento respecto de los citados comicios de 2011.Latin American citizens residing in Spain enjoy a distinct legal framework compared to other foreign residents. That difference is based on the historical and cultural relations between Spain and Latin America. Spain has agreements on dual nationality with most Latin American countries. Starting in 2009 Spain has signed several reciprocity agreements about the right to vote in local elections with several countries, most of them in Latin America. On May 22, 2011 many Latin American citizens residing in Spain could exercise their right to vote in the Spanish local elections for the first time without having dual citizenship. The «Immigrant Citizenship» survey, analyzed in this article and developed for the doctoral thesis «Civil and Political Rights of Latin American Residents in Spain. The right to vote», provides guidance on the perception of Latin American living in Spain about civil and political rights and their behavior with respect to said elections.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-244
Author(s):  
Jamil Ddamulira Mujuzi

Human rights treaties (including Article 14(6) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (iccpr); Article 3 of the Protocol No. 7 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; and Article 10 of the American Convention on Human Rights) explicitly protect the right to compensation for wrongful conviction or miscarriage of justice. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights is silent on this right. The Human Rights Committee, the European Court of Human Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have developed rich jurisprudence on the ambit of the right to compensation for wrongful conviction or miscarriage of justice. States have adopted different approaches to give effect to their obligation under Article 14(6) of the iccpr. Relying on the practice and/or jurisprudence from States in Africa, Europe, North America, Asia, and Latin America and on the jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee, the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the article illustrates the approaches taken by some States to give effect to Article 14(6) of the iccpr and the relevant regional human rights instruments.


2004 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Karadjova

AbstractThis article presents an overview of how those East European countries that are members of the Council of Europe have approached the problems of restitution as a means of reparation for past injustices. In doing so, attention will be paid to: the entitled persons and the extent of restitution; the underlying motivations vis-à-vis the form of reparation (restitution in kind or compensation), and attitudes towards minority groups and foreigners as part of the restitution process. Emphasis will also be given to the role played by international instruments (the ECHR and its future Protocol 12, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, various UN resolutions, etc), as well as by judicial institutions (the European Court of Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Committee) in the evolution of the restitution process in Eastern Europe in general, and regarding such issues as equality between foreigners and nationals as well as minority and religious groups and the elaboration of an international standard of restitution as reparation for abuses of human rights in particular. The bodies of the ECHR have managed to avoid problems related to restitution and reparations for past injustices by arguing that the right of restitution is not guaranteed by art.1 of Protocol 1 to the the ECHR. But the entry into force of a new Protocol 12 to the Convention will likely result in changes being made in this thought process, at least as regards the position of foreigners. If measures denying restitution, owing to the claimant's nationality, were taken after ratifi cation of Protocol 12, the way should be opened in the future to foreigners (in addition to procedures before the UN Human Rights Committee) to more effectively defend their rights relative to such restorative measures: notably, the possibility of seizing the Strasbourg Court with claims relating to justifi cation for "unequal treatment". The right to remedy the injustices committed to the victims of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law has appeared with increasing frequency on the agenda of the UN Commission on Human Rights. Furthermore, in its recent case law, the UN Human Rights Committee has evidenced a concern over several questions relating to the respect of possessions; it has already opted for the proposition that any discrimination on the basis of nationality in restitution legislation can be deemed to be a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Lastly, after ratifi cation of Protocol 12, we can expect a link to be forged between the vision of the UN Commission on Human Rights and that of the European Court of Human Rights that may—in the future—lead to the elaboration of a common international mechanism regulating restitution as a means for the reparation of abuses of human rights.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 655
Author(s):  
Dawid Marko

<p>The commentary raises the problem of the admissibility of the issuing cumulative penalty in cumulative judgement by appeal court for the first time or issuing that penalty within the different scope of punishment, from the perspective of the power to alter decisions of a court of the first instance, the principle of two-instance court proceedings, access to court and the right of defence. By discussing the essence of the constitutional and convention provisions, the author attempts to answer the question what the scope of the appeal court’s power is to alter cumulative judgement issued in the first instance, by concluding that neither Article 176 (1) of the Polish Constitution, nor Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and Article 2 of Protocol no. 7 to the ECHR supplementing its content, as well as Article 14 (5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in principle stand in the way of such an approach, which should be reflected in the process of interpretation of Article 437 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, in the author’s opinion, doubts arise, from the perspective discussed above, if the appellate court were to take into account, when imposing the cumulative penalty, a unit judgement unknown, for various reasons, to the court of first instance, to which a special part of the considerations and critical remarks is devoted.</p>


Author(s):  
Clooney Amal ◽  
Webb Philippa

This chapter examines the right to a remedy for fair trial violations. The right to a remedy is recognised in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and regional human rights treaties, many of which also recognise a specific right to compensation when there has been a miscarriage of justice. Financial compensation and declaratory relief are awarded most frequently although some international bodies also regularly award more far-reaching remedies, such as the release of the defendant, the quashing of a conviction, a reduction in the sentence, a retrial of the defendant, or reforms to legislation. This chapter compares the practice of international and regional courts and human rights bodies and comments on states’ record of compliance with such remedies. It concludes that greater attention should be paid to this issue by practitioners and decision-makers at international bodies.


1978 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente Navarro

This paper presents an analysis and critique of the U.S. government's current emphasis on human rights; and (a) its limited focus on only some civil and political components of the original U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, and (b) its disregard for economic and social rights such as the rights to work, fair wages, health, education, and social security. The paper discusses the reasons for that limited focus and argues that, contrary to what is widely presented in the media and academe: (1) civil and political rights are highly restricted in the U.S.; (2) those rights are further restricted in the U.S. when analyzed in their social and economic dimensions; (3) civil and political rights are not independent of but rather intrinsically related to and dependent on the existence of socioeconomic rights; (4) the definition of the nature and extension of human rights in their civil, political, social, and economic dimensions is not universal, but rather depends on the pattern of economic and political power relations particular to each society; and (5) the pattern of power relations in the U.S. society and the western system of power, based on the right to individual property and its concomitant class structure and relations, is incompatible with the full realization of human rights in their economic, social, political, and civil dimensions. This paper further indicates that U.S. financial and corporate capital, through its overwhelming influence over the organs of political power in the U.S. and over international bodies and agencies, is primarily responsible for the denial of the human rights of the U.S. population and many populations throughout the world as well.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-123
Author(s):  
Jamil Ddamulira Mujuzi

Abstract Article 12(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (iccpr) provides that ‘[n]o one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.’ The jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee shows that Committee members have often disagreed on the question of whether the right under Article 12(4) is reserved for citizens only or it can be claimed by non-citizens who consider the countries in which they were born or they have lived for longer periods as their own. In its earlier case law, the Committee held that Article 12(4) is applicable to nationals only. Since 1999, when General Comment No.27 was adopted, the Committee has moved towards extending the right under Article 12(4) to non-nationals. Its latest case law appears to have supported the Committee’s position that Article 12(4) is applicable to non-nationals. Central to both majority and minority decisions in which the Committee has dealt with Article 12(4), is whether the travaux préparatoires of Article 12(4) support either view. This article relies on the travaux préparatoires of Article 12(4) to argue that it does not support the view that Article 12(4) is applicable to non-nationals.


Belleten ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 76 (276) ◽  
pp. 385-402
Author(s):  
Murat Kılıç

The origins of the imperial cult in Smyrna date back to the Hellenistic period. It is a fact that political concerns were effective in the generation of such cults. Predicting the super power of the future and proving to be a loyal ally whilst acting in satisfactory behaviors were essential factors. The right preference made between two fighting or contending powers ensured that a city would benefit from various privileges in the future. For example, Symrna, which had established a cult in the city previously on behalf of Stratonice, the mother of Antiochus II of Seleucid dynasty, would do the same by building a temple in the name of the dty of Rome for the first time in Asia in 195 BC, after recognizing the rising power. Later on, while giving permission to the provinces that wanted to establish an imperial cult, the Roman emperors and the Senate would consider first, their relationships with Rome in the past and second, their origins. Smyrna, building its relationships with the Roman state on a solid basis, was granted the title of neokoros three times by the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Hadrianus and Caracalla, respectively. In this essay, the development of the Roman imperial cult in Smyrna is discussed within the historical process outlined above. An attempt has been made to put forth new opinions about the issue by discussing the academicians' evaluations on the imperial cult, which apparently was effectively executed in Smyrna between the first and third centuries AD, with the support of epigraphic and numismatic evidences.


Author(s):  
Lee Demetrius Walker ◽  
Melissa Martinez ◽  
Christopher Pace

Abstract Building on research that applies the policy deference model to high court decision-making during external war, we propose that conflict intensity, political government's preference on liberalization, and the gender of appellant impact the manner in which courts follow policy deference during internal war in transitioning countries. Contextually, we argue that shifts in women's roles and gender relations during internal conflict in transitioning societies condition the manner in which civilian courts make decisions on civil and political rights cases. During external war in advanced democracies, policy deference infers that courts will rule more conservatively on civil and political rights cases. Using habeas corpus cases as a representation of civil and political rights’ protection from El Salvador's civil war period (1980–1992) and two measures of conflict intensity, our findings indicate that the court's decision-making process deviates from conventional expectations derived from the policy deference model in three ways: (1) conflict intensity solely affects the court's decision-making on habeas corpus cases involving men; (2) the political government's choice for political liberalization affects the court's decision-making on both women and men cases; and (3) gender conditions the manner in which policy deference applies in a society that is experiencing societal change.


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