Recognising Freedom of Thought in Irish Constitutional Law

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Maria Cahill
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Explicit Recognition ◽  
Order Part ◽  
Freedom Of Thought ◽  
The Right ◽  
Formal Recognition

Abstract Recent technological advances have made clear that law needs to take a stance in relation to freedom of thought. Although there is no formal recognition of freedom of thought in the text of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, I will argue that such a right does exist in Irish law on the basis of both implicit and initial explicit recognition for freedom of thought in the decisions of the superior courts. Part 2 lays out the ways in which freedom of thought is implicitly recognised in the Irish legal system, both through the protection of other constitutional rights and through the place of international law in the Irish legal order. Part 3 takes the analysis a step further, using the doctrine of unenumerated rights (a peculiarity of Irish constitutional law) to spotlight an overlooked Supreme Court judgment in which the right to freedom of thought has been judicially recognised in the absence of a textual mandate in the Constitution. It then proceeds to shore up arguments in favour of such recognition, arguing that protecting freedom of thought is a good thing, because it honours human freedom and human dignity.

Constitutional Protection of the Right to Self-Determination

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Marishet Mohammed Hamza
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Constitutional Protection ◽  
Domestic Legislation ◽  
The Right ◽  
Legal Right

Abstract The right to self-determination is an essential international law principle that holds an erga omnes character. Also, the right is often enshrined under domestic legislation, including constitutions. The 1995 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Constitution (fdre Constitution) is one such constitution and, uniquely, it explicitly recognizes the right to self-determination including the right of secession as an unconditional right of the nations, nationalities, and peoples in Ethiopia. This paper selects the fdre Constitution and analyses whether such constitutional law frameworks better address some of the contentious matters concerning the right to self-determination under international law. In a comparative perspective (with international law), the article analyses, inter alia, how the fdre Constitution approach the questions of who the subjects of the right to self-determination are, and the substantive guarantees for exercising internal and external aspects of the right to self-determination with particular emphasis on secession as a legal right.

Allegiance, Diplomatic Protection and Criminal Jurisdiction Over Aliens

1947 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Lauterpacht
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Considerable Importance ◽  
Criminal Jurisdiction ◽  
Diplomatic Protection ◽  
The Right

The cause célèbre of King v. William Joyce, subsequently reported as Joyce v. Director of Public Prosecutions, was concerned to a large extent with matters of interest for international law, and it is mainly from this point of view that it is proposed to discuss it in the present article. Obviously the case is also of considerable importance both for criminal law, in so far as it is concerned with the crime of treason, and for constitutional law inasmuch as it bears directly on the question of the nature and the obligations of allegiance. However, it is probable that the case books which will claim it most insistently will be those of international law. For the decision in Rex v. Joyce is not only an authority on certain aspects of allegiance owed by aliens and of the right of a State to assume jurisdiction over acts committed by aliens abroad. It sheds light on such questions as the nature of diplomatic protection of citizens, the right of a State to protect diplomatically persons who are not its citizens, the obligation of allegiance of so-called protected persons, and some others. Not all these questions were judicially answered, but they loomed large in argument and imparted to the proceedings the complexion of a case concerned predominantly with international law. In view of this it may be pertinent to preface this article by drawing attention to a point which appears to be a mere matter of terminology but which, it is believed, raises an issue of wider significance.

Equal to the Constitution: the Sources of Law of Highest Legal Force in the Russian Federation

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (8) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
Михаил Пресняков ◽  
Mikhail Pryesnyakov
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
The Other ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Juridical Acts ◽  
The Right

In article the question of validity of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and some other sources of the right which can also possess the highest validity is considered. In particular the author comes to a conclusion that legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation possess the highest validity and in total with the constitutional provisions represent the actual Constitution. On the other hand, both laws on amendments to the Constitution, and the universally recognized norms of international law on the validity stand below constitutional precepts of law. Acts of the Constitutional Assembly of the Russian Federation may in future be qualified as having the highest judicial effect. Such acts may abolish or change any provision of the present Constitution. At the same time the universally recognized norms of international law and the laws of the Russian Federation regulating amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation as independent juridical acts and sources of constitutional law are inferior as compared with the constitutional legal norms.

Transnational Constitutional Law

2021 ◽  
pp. 134-156
Author(s):  
Chris Thornhill
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Political System ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Global Society ◽  
Relative Autonomy ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Political Perspective ◽  
Definition Of

This chapter presents an account of the constitutional law of transnational society from a distinctively political perspective. It uses a neoclassical definition of the constitution as the legal norms that frame the actions of a political system to examine and construct constitutional functions that reach beyond the legal systems of nation-states. It advances the thesis that the concept of transnational constitutional law can be applied to three separate legal-political domains in contemporary global society. This concept can be used to analyze constitutional aspects of international law, and it can be applied to national constitutional law, both of which have a strong transnational dimension and are supported by normative elements that are formed through transnational processes. This concept can also be applied to characterize and examine an emergent, conclusively transnational legal order, in which legal formation occurs in more spontaneous and contingent fashion. In each domain, constitutional norms produce an underlying inclusionary structure for distinct political functions in society, and transnational constitutional law is defined, most essentially, by its ability to support the relative autonomy of political exchanges and political interactions.

scholarly journals The Right of Intervention for the Protection of Nationals : Reassessing the Doctrinal Debate

2005 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 441-493
Author(s):  
Jean Raby
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Practical Reasons ◽  
The Past ◽  
International Legal Order ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Right ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Self Defence

The legality of a forceful intervention by a state to protect its nationals has been the subject of a continuing controversy over the past 15 years. Many see it as an unlawful use of force prohibited by the Charter of the United Nations, others see it as a lawful exercice of a self-standing right recognized under contemporary international law, some finally claim it falls under the scope of self-defence. The author proposes not to restate that debate, but more to reassess it, examining and challenging some of the arguments raised on both sides of the question. Within that debate, it will be concluded that the international legal order does indeed recognize the validity of the use of force for such a purpose : if the avenue of self-defence is rejected, for conceptual as well as practical reasons, the right of intervention to protect nationals is indeed, for the author, part of the comtemporary international legal order. Then, the author wishes to broaden the debate and proposes another option, which has not been explored by scholars and publicists but which is found more satisfactory than any other approach : intervention to protect nationals can be justified under international law because of the existence, in a particular case, of a "state of necessity" as defined by the International Law Commission.

THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF ‘SUPRA-CONSTITUTIONAL’ LIMITS ON CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

2013 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 557-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaniv Roznai
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Constitutional Amendment ◽  
Constitutional Amendments ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Constitutional System ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis article examines whether there are any limitations on constitutional amendment powers that are external to the constitutional system and above it—‘supra-constitutional’ limits. It considers the theory and practice of the relationship between natural law, international law or other supranational law, and domestic constitutional law in a comparative prism. After considering the alleged supremacy of supranational law over constitutional amendments, the author explores the problem of the relationship between the different legal orders in the external/internal juridical spheres, and the important potential and actual role of national courts in ‘domesticating’ supranational law and enforcing its supremacy. It is claimed that despite the growing influence of supranational law, state practice demonstrates that constitutional law is still generally superior to international law, and even when the normative hierarchical superiority of supranational law is recognized within the domestic legal order, this supremacy derives not from supranational law as a separate legal order, but rather from the constitution itself. Therefore, it is claimed that existing practice regarding arguments of ‘supra-constitutional’ limitations are better described by explicit or implicit limitations within the constitution itself, through which supranational standards can be infused to serve as valid limitations on constitutional amendment powers.

scholarly journals A Distinct Right to Freedom of Thought in South America

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 245-270
Author(s):  
Cláudio de Oliveira Santos Colnago ◽  
Bethany Shiner
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
South America ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
The Other ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Positive Duty ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Freedom Of Thought ◽  
The Right

Abstract The right to freedom of thought is guaranteed by Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights, yet current jurisprudence interprets the right as a mere dimension of freedom of expression, also protected by Article 13. Contemporary neurotechnology research presents the possibility for human thoughts to be tracked, recorded, analysed and predicted. This applies pressure upon the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ current understanding of the right to freedom of thought. Firstly, this paper will examine how Article 13 has been interpreted by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights at different stages of its jurisprudence. Secondly, by considering both technological advances and the other rights guaranteed by the Convention, this paper argues for an evolution in the interpretation of Article 13 whereby the right to freedom of thought is understood as a distinct right, separate from freedom of expression. Finally, this paper proposes that the positive duty to secure Convention rights requires States to enact preventative legislation and regulations. Existing bioethics principles should be drawn upon to inform human rights-compliant laws and regulations that require the architectural design of technologies to limit the potential to infringe upon freedom of thought.

scholarly journals O direito à moradia sob a perspectiva dos direitos sociais: Os reflexos da inefetividade das políticas públicas habitacionais na atuação do poder judiciário

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dandara Cordeiro de Oliveira Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
John Rawls ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
The State ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Effective Mechanism ◽  
Social Law ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Right

This dissertation intends to analyze the performance of the Judiciary in the implementation of public habitation policies, as an effective mechanism and also check them. It will be based on the process of judicialization of public policies as a reflection of this ineffectiveness, evaluating the legal order of the country with a focus on the Constitutional Law on Habitation, which must be protected by the State. Therefore, it will work on the idea of the Right to Habitation built as a Social Law and will start from the problem of the effectiveness of Social Rights, which consequently leads to the inoperability on public habitation policies. And the Judiciary contribution to remedy state omissions and failures in the face of the realization of Social Rights and the Right to Habitation. From the problematic of the effectiveness of public habitation policies and consequently the Right to Habitation, by constructing the conception of justice based on the material equality of John Rawls, will be raised the hypothesis of action of the Judiciary Power and the reflexes of this activity in the concretization of the policies, in view of the growing process of judicialization.

EU LOYALTY AS GOOD FAITH

2015 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 829-874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geert De Baere ◽  
Timothy Roes
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Good Faith ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
German Constitutional Law ◽  
The Eu

AbstractComparing the EU law principle of loyalty with international law good faith and the duty of federal good faith in German constitutional law (Bundestreue), this article contributes to the discussion on the nature of the EU legal order and its relationship to international law more generally by finding that EU loyalty is in essence a specific incarnation of the international law principle that treaties are to be interpreted in good faith. At the same time, it challenges the assumption that international law good faith differs fundamentally from federal good faith. To this end, the article points at historical links between both, and posits that good faith is in essence a principle of constructive interpretation, the strictures of which increase with the level of integration of the legal order in which it is applied.

Diminishing constitutional law: The first three decades of women’s exclusion adjudication in Israel

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yofi Tirosh
Keyword(s):  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
High Court ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sex Equality ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
Constitutional Adjudication

Abstract Balancing between sex equality and religious interests has been a challenge for Israel’s constitutional law from the state’s inception. In recent years, however, the expanding repertoire of practices known as women’s exclusion has brought forth this tension with new formulations, intensity, and public sensitivity. This article maps the three decades of Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ or “the Court”) adjudication on women’s exclusion. The modesty requirements and sex-based physical segregation that have become rampant in Israel require re-articulations of the scope and status of the right to equality, as well as other constitutional rights such as dignity and liberty. The thirty-year database compiled for the purpose of this article encompasses all women’s exclusion cases decided by the HCJ. The database was built based on an annotated definition of women’s exclusion cases as a legal field, developed and explained in this article. The database reveals what might be defined as diminishing constitutional adjudication. In the 1990s, the Court labored in elevating sex equality, developing a doctrinal structure that guards it against religion-based demands to legitimize exclusion norms. In contrast, in the past decade, the Court has almost completely refrained from reviewing cases on merit or writing reasoned opinions, adopting ad-hoc problem-solving approaches or taking dispute resolution approaches prompting the parties to find compromise, without delineating the legal framework that should guide the disputes.

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