scholarly journals Protecting vulnerable suspects in police investigations in Europe: Lessons learned from England and Wales and Belgium

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-334
Author(s):  
Lore Mergaerts ◽  
Roxanna Dehaghani
Keyword(s):  
Lessons Learned ◽  
European Level ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Police Investigations ◽  
Ideal Approach ◽  
Domestic Level

This article provides an analysis of the provisions relating to vulnerable suspects, with a focus on adults, in England and Wales and in Belgium. In doing so, the various problems and lessons learned from each jurisdiction are examined. Situated within the context of how these provisions have been developed, both at a domestic level and at a European level, we argue that neither system offers an ideal approach to the vulnerability of suspects, but we also posit that the two jurisdictions can learn from one another in their approach. Herein, we suggest that both jurisdictions must do more to protect adult vulnerable suspects and offer potential avenues for improvement.

Trans‐European Party Groupings: Emergence of New and Alignment of Old Parties in the Light of the Direct Elections to the European Parliament

1979 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 455-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul‐H. Claeys ◽  
Nicole Loeb‐Mayer
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
The Other ◽  
European Level ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Direct Elections ◽  
Special Case ◽  
Domestic Level

TWO QUESTIONS ARISE WHEN CONSIDERING THE CHANGES that might be brought about by direct elections and by developments in the new European Parliament. One concerns institutionalized cooperation between political parties. To what extent can the three existing European party federations – Socialist, Christian Democrat, Liberal – be considered as a step towards the formation of genuine European political parties? Are they anything more than alignments of traditional parties coordinating their action at European level? The other question is related to parties or groups which have not until now created close-knit ad hoc structures. A special case is that of the Communist parties, which have not organized specific links at Communit level. Another problem is raised by non-traditional parties and groups that have in most cases little or no parlia mentary representation at either national or European level. Will some of them take advantage of the European sphere of action to make more impression than they have been able to do at domestic level, in cooperation with similarly oriented partners in other member countries?

Accountability for Sexual and Gender-based Violence During Mass Repression and in Conflict

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-324
Author(s):  
Daniela Kravetz
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Domestic Level

Abstract This article examines how national courts in Argentina and Guatemala are applying the international criminal law framework to address sexual violence perpetrated during mass repression and in conflict. It focuses on the emerging domestic jurisprudence in both countries and explores the challenges to prosecuting sexual and gender-based violence at the domestic level and the lessons learned from these experiences.

scholarly journals On the (De-)Fragmentation of Statehood in Europe: Reflections on Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde's Work on European Integration

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 403-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vlad Perju
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Vertical Integration ◽  
Common Good ◽  
European Level ◽  
Nation States ◽  
The Common ◽  
Horizontal Fragmentation ◽  
Post War ◽  
Domestic Level

It has become a standard critique of European integration that the upward transfer of sovereignty in market-related matters leads to the fragmentation of statehood between the supranational, European level and the largely incapacitated nation-states that retain jurisdiction over social and distributive policies. My article takes up this critique in the elaborate version of one of Germany's leading post-war constitutional theorists, Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, whose approach has been influential in how German constitutionalism relates to the project of European unification. In this account, vertical integration uses law to sever economics from democratic politics, fragments the concern for the common good of citizens and undermines the unity of statehood. I contrast this account to instances of horizontal fragmentation of statehood, such as those underway in member-states such as Hungary or Poland where the nation state's constitutional structures are coming undone at the hands of authoritarian populists. The European Union's role of defending the rule of law within its constitutive states seeks to restore their normative integrity and, as such, is best understood as a role of verticalde-fragmentationof political and constitutional transformations at the domestic level. The question if statehood can be established at the European level gains greater urgency and complexity in light of these developments.

scholarly journals Believing in Something Better: Our Recommendations

2021 ◽  
pp. 445-477
Author(s):  
Carmelo Danisi ◽  
Moira Dustin ◽  
Nuno Ferreira ◽  
Nina Held
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Previous Analysis ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
European Level ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Domestic Level ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractThe previous chapters have offered an in-depth, empirically and theoretically informed analysis of a broad range of issues affecting SOGI asylum claimants and refugees in Europe, with a focus on Germany, Italy and the UK. This analysis has applied new insights to findings unearthed by previous research and shone light on issues that have so far been relatively neglected. But the question often posed to us as academics is ‘so what?’ To address this question, this chapter offers a range of recommendations addressed to decision-makers, policy-makers, governments, NGOs and service providers, aimed at improving the socio-legal framework that applies to SOGI asylum. These apply mainly at a domestic level, but also refer to the European level, where relevant, to offer proposals that recognise the intersections of national, European and international frameworks. As in the previous analysis, we are strongly guided by our participants’ voices, complemented by broader scholarly debates and our analysis and views of these. Our data and analysis thereof also shed light on broader issues in the asylum system, and many of the recommendations set out here would benefit non-SOGI asylum claimants and refugees as well. We hope they will be of wider value in this way.

scholarly journals Not ‘Very English’ - on the Use of the Polygraph by the Penal System in England and Wales

2020 ◽  
pp. 002201832097628
Author(s):  
Kyriakos N Kotsoglou ◽  
Marion Oswald
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Penal System ◽  
Test Results ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Police Investigations ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Scientific Institutions ◽  
Polygraph Testing

One of the most striking developments in the penal system in England and Wales is the increasing use of the polygraph by probation services. Despite severe criticism from scientific institutions and academic discourse, the legal order increasingly deploys the long-discredited polygraph in order to extract adverse statements from released offenders. Our article is structured as follows: First, we summarise the statutory and regulatory framework for the current use of the polygraph in the monitoring of sex offenders released on licence, and the proposed expansion of the polygraph testing regime as set out in the Domestic Abuse Bill and the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill respectively. We then review our findings in respect of governing policies and procedures uncovered by our FOI-based research, highlighting the concerning lack of consistency in respect of both practice and procedure. In the subsequent sections we set out the main arguments deployed by polygraph proponents, and posit our view that none of these arguments can withstand scrutiny. We conclude by proposing a moratorium on any further use of the polygraph by the State, in order to thoroughly evaluate its effect on the integrity of the legal order, human rights and, more generally, the Rationalist aspirations of the penal system. In addition, and given already existing law, we propose a process of independent oversight and scrutiny of the use of the polygraph in licence recall decisions and other situations impacting individual rights, especially police investigations triggered by polygraph test results.

European Environmental Policy at a Time of Crisis

2018 ◽  
pp. 199-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Burns ◽  
Paul Tobin ◽  
Sebastian Sewerin
Keyword(s):  
Path Dependence ◽  
General Pattern ◽  
European Level ◽  
Environmental Leadership ◽  
International Pressure ◽  
European Environmental Policy ◽  
Intervening Variables ◽  
Domestic Level ◽  
The Eu

This concluding chapter brings together the findings of the volume in order to address our key questions. We find that, while there have been examples of both policy expansion and dismantling, the general pattern is one of stasis. The role of the EU is ambiguous—there is no strong evidence of policy dismantling at the European level—but it is equally clear that policies pursued by the Troika have led to dismantling at the domestic level within some EU states. However, it also appears that the EU provides a buffer against ideological swings and provides policy stability for its members. Path dependence and international pressure are identified as two key intervening variables shaping the level and form of policy change. Overall, the EU’s environmental leadership credentials are diminished, and the lack of policy activity comes at a time when ambitious policies are needed to meet environmental challenges.

scholarly journals Whom do European corporations lobby? The domestic institutional determinants of interest group activity in the European Union

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean D. Ehrlich ◽  
Eryn Jones
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Private Interests ◽  
Institutional Determinants ◽  
Level Increase ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Domestic Level ◽  
The Eu

The complicated and multi-layered policymaking process in the European Union presents private interests, such as business firms, with an interesting strategic choice of whom and how to lobby. As the costs of lobbying at the domestic level increase, firms are expected to, instead, devote their resources to lobbying at the European level. Specifically, this article examines how domestic access points and domestic partisanship affect the costs and benefits of lobbying at the domestic versus European level. Using data on firm-level decisions to lobby the EU, this research finds that in countries where is it more costly (or less beneficial) to lobby domestically, firms are more likely to lobby at the EU level.

scholarly journals What are Governmental Human Rights Focal Points?

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-94
Author(s):  
Sébastien Lorion ◽  
Stéphanie Lagoutte
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Focal Points ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Introductory Article ◽  
Human Rights Regime ◽  
Single Field ◽  
Specific Manifestation ◽  
Domestic Level ◽  
Field Of Inquiry

This Special Issue aims at raising understanding of governmental human rights focal points (GHRFPs). It forms part of a renewed attention to the importance of domestic-level institutions within the international human rights regime. GHRFPs have emerged as a key recommendation of UN bodies, and a defined trend in setting up such State structures is observed in practice. Addressing GHRFPs as a single field of inquiry, this introductory article presents a common analytical approach, which makes it possible to analyse various forms of GHRFPs, with a view to generalising findings and enriching each type of GHRFP with the experiences and lessons learned of others. Hereby, the Special Issue consolidates and structures a research agenda on GHRFPs around key attributes identified in a preliminary manner, in order to spark some critical and constructive analysis of this specific manifestation of the domestic institutionalisation of human rights.

scholarly journals Improving Prosecutions of Human Trafficking for Labour Exploitation: Lessons Learned from Two European Jurisdictions (England and Wales and Belgium)

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-64
Author(s):  
Amy Weatherburn
Keyword(s):  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Judicial Process ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Labour Exploitation

The increasing number of identified victims of human trafficking for labour exploitation and the low number of associated prosecutions calls into question the effective implementation of anti-trafficking measures in European countries.<br/> This paper will focus on two European jurisdictions (England and Wales and Belgium) and consider the low prosecution rates for human trafficking for labour exploitation. In brief, the number of referrals of potential victims of human trafficking for labour exploitation to the National Referral Mechanism has, in England and Wales, increased exponentially from 393 to 2,840 between 2012 and 2017, whereas in Belgium it has remained stable. Overall, prosecutions remain low, as the complexity of the human trafficking phenomenon creates challenges for the investigatory and judicial process, namely, the operationalisation of the principle of irrelevance of consent, where the victim demonstrates apparent consent to exploitative working conditions, the participation of victims in criminal proceedings, and the complexity of the factual circumstances.<br/> In addition to relevant literature, this paper will draw on the findings of a comparative analysis of criminal cases from 2010 to 2017 in the two domestic jurisdictions. This paper will identify the main obstacles for the identification, investigation and prosecution of these cases, and provide some insight into what is needed to secure more effective access to justice for victims of human trafficking.

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