scholarly journals HUMAN RIGHTS, INEQUALITY AND PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION: A CASE STUDY ON SANITATION FROM BRAZIL

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 149-171
Author(s):  
Ana Paula Barcellos ◽  
Marcia Castro ◽  
Ricardo Moura

Disaggregated data on the relative success of the UN millennium goals made clear that the progress achieved in many countries, Brazil included, was not equitable, positioning the question “How to address inequalities?” as the next pressing challenge in human rights. Public law litigation could be regarded as a tool to reduce inequality, particularly in Brazil, given a unique institution of its legal system, the Public Prosecutors Office. This paper uses public interest litigation discussing access to sanitation services to test this hypothesis. In 2013, only 58.2% of the households had access to sanitation, with significant regional inequality in coverage. Boolean analysis was applied to assess court orders (2003-2013) and results showed a disconnect between litigation and demand for sanitation, indicating that areas that were better off in various social and economic indicators were the ones receiving attention. The paper suggests reflections on how public interest litigation could target those most in need.

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 149-171
Author(s):  
Ana Paula Barcellos ◽  
Marcia Castro ◽  
Ricardo Moura

Disaggregated data on the relative success of the UN millennium goals made clear that the progress achieved in many countries, Brazil included, was not equitable, positioning the question “How to address inequalities?” as the next pressing challenge in human rights. Public law litigation could be regarded as a tool to reduce inequality, particularly in Brazil, given a unique institution of its legal system, the Public Prosecutors Office. This paper uses public interest litigation discussing access to sanitation services to test this hypothesis. In 2013, only 58.2% of the households had access to sanitation, with significant regional inequality in coverage. Boolean analysis was applied to assess court orders (2003-2013) and results showed a disconnect between litigation and demand for sanitation, indicating that areas that were better off in various social and economic indicators were the ones receiving attention. The paper suggests reflections on how public interest litigation could target those most in need.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 149-171
Author(s):  
Ana Paula Barcellos ◽  
Marcia Castro ◽  
Ricardo Moura

Disaggregated data on the relative success of the UN millennium goals made clear that the progress achieved in many countries, Brazil included, was not equitable, positioning the question “How to address inequalities?” as the next pressing challenge in human rights. Public law litigation could be regarded as a tool to reduce inequality, particularly in Brazil, given a unique institution of its legal system, the Public Prosecutors Office. This paper uses public interest litigation discussing access to sanitation services to test this hypothesis. In 2013, only 58.2% of the households had access to sanitation, with significant regional inequality in coverage. Boolean analysis was applied to assess court orders (2003-2013) and results showed a disconnect between litigation and demand for sanitation, indicating that areas that were better off in various social and economic indicators were the ones receiving attention. The paper suggests reflections on how public interest litigation could target those most in need.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 149-171
Author(s):  
Ana Paula Barcellos ◽  
Marcia Castro ◽  
Ricardo Moura

Disaggregated data on the relative success of the UN millennium goals made clear that the progress achieved in many countries, Brazil included, was not equitable, positioning the question “How to address inequalities?” as the next pressing challenge in human rights. Public law litigation could be regarded as a tool to reduce inequality, particularly in Brazil, given a unique institution of its legal system, the Public Prosecutors Office. This paper uses public interest litigation discussing access to sanitation services to test this hypothesis. In 2013, only 58.2% of the households had access to sanitation, with significant regional inequality in coverage. Boolean analysis was applied to assess court orders (2003-2013) and results showed a disconnect between litigation and demand for sanitation, indicating that areas that were better off in various social and economic indicators were the ones receiving attention. The paper suggests reflections on how public interest litigation could target those most in need.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 149-171
Author(s):  
Ana Paula Barcellos ◽  
Ricardo Moura ◽  
Marcia Castro

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 707-723
Author(s):  
Gerard J Kennedy ◽  
Lorne Sossin

Concentrating on Canadian experience, specifically litigation under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the ‘Charter’), this article seeks to reconcile the access to justice benefits of summary procedures with the government litigant's duty to act in the public interest (or as a ‘model litigant’) and uphold the rule of law. Though acknowledging the benefits that can result from the use of summary procedures to end litigation, the authors observe that compliance with strict requirements in procedural law are frequently dispensed with in the Charter context. In fact, summary procedures can have a devastating effect on the development of Charter rights. The authors ultimately posit that the government should have a duty of restraint in using summary procedures to end public law litigation, and courts should be reluctant to permit the government to preclude such litigation aimed at advancing the evolution of the Charter from reaching hearings on the merits.


Author(s):  
Divan Shyam

This chapter examines public interest litigation (PIL) and its place in Indian constitutional law. The chapter begins with an overview of PIL as an instrument for dealing with public grievances such as flagrant human rights violations by the State, or for vindicating the public policies embodied in statutes or constitutional provisions. It then discusses the evolution of PIL in India and four distinct factors that contributed to its growth. It also explores how courts efficiently deploy judicial resources and decide genuine disputes of a legal character by recognising only those persons with locus standi, or legal standing. Finally, it describes a range of procedural innovations that distinguish PIL from conventional litigation and explains how the growth of PIL affected traditional notions of justiciability. It shows how the phenomenon of PIL has shaped both the nature of rights-based claims within Indian constitutional law as well as the role of the Supreme Court within Indian democracy.


1992 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 1258
Author(s):  
Judith Mosoff

The author explores the area of public interest litigation using her experiences as counsel for an HIV infected prisoner to illustrate public interest concepts and concerns. The author first provides a background to the case and then discusses the special considerations that must be addressed in public interest litigation. She points out how this approach differs from private interest litigation in such areas as the overall goal of litigation and in the relationship between counsel and other actors. In concluding, the author notes particular areas that need to be examined and improved for more effective public interest litigation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M. Forster ◽  
Vedna Jivan

AbstractPublic interest litigation [‘PIL’], typically defined as proceedings in which the public or the community at large has some pecuniary or legal interest, demonstrates an ability to foster human rights compliance. It does this by enabling broader community or ‘public’ interests to be recognised and enforced through the judicial process, thereby revealing greater potential than private rights litigation in addressing the systemic nature of many human rights violations. This in turn has presented greater opportunities domestically to monitor each state's accountability to international human rights standards.This paper compares and contrasts the emergence and development of PIL in two jurisdictions - India and Australia. India was chosen for its remarkable and extensive development of PIL unparalleled in Commonwealth jurisdictions to date, and Australia, for its adoption of a much more restrained and traditional trajectory in line with other members of the Commonwealth. Although PIL has developed differently in the two countries, inevitably shaped by differences in culture, economic development, law and politics, both provide illustrations of PIL's potential (and limitations) in facilitating the development of human rights norms in domestic legal systems.


Public Voices ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Ken Nichols

Star Trek began as a 1960s television series led by a swashbuckling starship Captain, an intellectual off-world first officer, and a multicultural, heart-of-gold crew. In the third of a century since its appearance on our home screens, the series Gene Roddenberry created has become a world-wide phenomenon.Star Trek is also a rich treasure trove of administrative literature: The setting — usually a starship, sometimes a planetary government organization. The characters are clearly delineated, colorful, share common goals, distinguish between their personal and professional roles and concerns, and serve well as archetypes for distinct organizational personalities. And the missions are clear, benevolent, in the public interest, and frequently controversial.As you watch an episode of one of the four Star Trek series, how many of these facets can you observe?That’s public administration, all right, but in a very different wrapper


Author(s):  
Marta Pietras-Eichberger

The study analyzed selected issues related to the scope of human rights and freedoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland and Russia. The author wanted to compare the regulations issued by a Member State of the European Union and a country outside the European Union, often using undemocratic methods of exercising power. The work focuses on research problems related to the principles of protection, the confrontation of individual interests with the public interest, and the impact of the regimes introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic on human rights law in both countries. The thesis of the study is that in the event of a threat to public health, analogous restrictions on human rights are introduced both in an undemocratic country and in a country belonging to international structures identifying with democratic values. The state of the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed, and in some area even contributed to the creation of mechanisms reserved for crisis situations, posing a direct and real threat to public safety and health.


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