scholarly journals Who was the First One? The Subject and Method of a History of Human Rights

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-36
Author(s):  
Ivo Cerman
Keyword(s):  
2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
DEVIN O. PENDAS

When the late Kenneth Cmiel undertook the first systematic analysis of the emerging historiography of human rights in 2004, he surveyed a field that was ‘refreshingly inchoate’. In the ensuing seven years, the scholarship on the history of human rights has burgeoned considerably. Yet one might still reasonably characterise the field overall as inchoate. Like any new subfield of historical inquiry, there is a clear lack of consensus among leading historians of human rights about even the most elementary contours of the subject. What are human rights? When and where did they emerge? How and why did they spread (if, indeed, they spread at all)? Who were the crucial agents in this history? Few historians working in the field seem to agree in their answers to any of these questions.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filip Spagnoli

The subject of the thesis - the universal value of human rights and democracy - is highly topical in view of the 'democratic imperialism' of the current (dd 2002) US-government. While leaving aside the problem of the acceptability of war as a means to promote democracy (e.g. the second Gulf War), the thesis focusses on a philosophical, moral and pragmatical defence of the universal application of democracy and human rights. Only if this defence is successful can the discussion on the means and tactics of democratic imperialism begin.The originality of the thesis is its defence of the universal value of both democracy and human rights. Whereas the defence of the universality of human rights has a long tradition, there is as yet almost no literature on the universal desirability of democracy. The defence is partly philosophical, ethical, political, legal and practical. It draws on the history of philosophy and ethics, as well as on political science.


Author(s):  
D. G. Vasilevich

The article examines the doctrine of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen. The connection between the theory of human rights and freedoms and the history of the development of society is traced. The works of thinkers of the past are analyzed. The dynamics of views on the development of rights and freedoms is shown. Special attention is focused on two basic concepts of rights and freedoms – natural-legal and positivist, the general and special in their content are highlighted. Both of these concepts consider human rights as a certain view of the world outlook, worldview, which are based on the principle of humanism, and also as a system of humanistic values that determine relationships in society. Attention is drawn to the essential features of human rights. A brief analysis of three generations of human rights is carried out. It is emphasized that this classification is classical. However, new times force us to look at the classification problem in a new way. The classification of human and civil rights allows you to see their evolution, the historical connection of times, the general trend of development. The conclusion is substantiated that in the current period of human development, taking into account the achievements of science, primarily biomedicine, we can talk about the fourth generation of human rights, the socalled somatic rights. In this century, the focus on somatic human rights has become a feature. They increasingly occupy the attention of international organizations, become the subject of discussion at the national and international levels, since through their prism the nature of the relationship between a person and a state is assessed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (10) ◽  
pp. 2663-2667
Author(s):  
Dmytro M. Bielov ◽  
Myroslava V. Hromovchuk ◽  
Yaroslav V. Hretsa ◽  
Vasyl V. Tymchak

The aim: To study the constitutional and legal principles and the influence of various factors on the mechanism of realization of somatic rights in the process of biomedical research. Materials and methods: Formal-logical methods of analysis and synthesis allowed to reveal the content of the concepts that make up the subject of research, to classify them, as well as to formulate intermediate and general conclusions. The systematic method allowed to study the role and significance of somatic human rights among other human and civil rights and freedoms. Using the historical method, the doctrinal basis of the study was analyzed, and the main stages of the formation of biomedical research with human participation were identified. Conclusions: The historiography of somatic human rights in biomedical research in a broad sense is a field of scientific knowledge. Studies the development of constitutional and legal science and its patterns; in the narrow sense, it is a set of works on various problems of the history of modern constitutionalism, human rights, the influence of religion on human rights and the mechanism of their implementation and protection in a certain historical period.


2018 ◽  
pp. 173-181
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Mowbray

This chapter focuses on the image of bilingual (Breton and French) road signs in Brittany, France. The issue of language policy in Brittany was the subject of several cases brought before the UN Human Rights Committee in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This chapter explores these cases and the way in which they influenced the debate around bilingual road signs in Brittany. It considers what the history of these road signs tells us about international law and its engagement with issues of language, identity, and the politics of ‘the state’, and argues that this story reveals both the legal limits of international law and, paradoxically, the broad reach of its influence as a discourse.


Author(s):  
Amélia Do Carmo Sampaio Rossi ◽  
Cézar Bueno de Lima

O artigo faz uma reflexão sobre os direitos humanos, tomando como referencial de análise sociocultural o Brasil, país caracterizado pelo histórico de exclusão econômico- social e fragilidade dos mecanismos democráticos de participação popular nos processos de criação, efetivação e controle social das políticas públicas. O método de análise empregado foi o dialético-comparativo utilizando-se de pesquisa bibliográfica e documental na construção de uma abordagem interdisciplinar que tomou em consideração a complexidade dos aspectos jurídicos, sociológicos e econômicos do tema abordado. O pressuposto teórico adotado questiona o conteúdo político-jurídico universalista expresso nas declarações dos direitos humanos, por entender que as condições materiais e socioculturais que fizeram surgir a democracia representativa e balizadora dos direitos humanos, em países marcados por revoluções econômicas, tensões e conflitos de classe, como Inglaterra e França, não ocorreram no mesmo tempo e da mesma maneira em relação ao Brasil, por exemplo, país marcado por um longo processo de colonização e instabilidade democrática. As recentes experiências de democratização política e constitucionalismo latino-americano abrem perspectivas inovadoras de criação, defesa e promoção de direitos humanos.Palavras-Chaves: Direitos humanos fundamentais. Constitucionalismo latino americano. Globalização neoliberal. Exclusão social.Fundamental Human Rights and Constitution: Latin American contemporary constitutionalism and its emancipatory possibilities in the context of neoliberal globalization.                                                    AbstractThe article makes a reflection on human rights taking Brazil as historical and socio-cultural reference, a country which historic is characterized by  history of economic  and social exclusion and fragility of the democratic mechanisms of popular participation in the processes of creation, effectiveness and social control of public policies. The method employed was the dialectical -comparative using bibliographical and documentary research in the construction of an interdisciplinary approach that took into account the complexity of the juridical, sociological and economic aspects of the subject. The theoretical assumption adopted questions the universalist political-juridical content expressed in the human rights declarations, since it understands that the material and socio-cultural conditions that have given rise to representative democracy and are landmark to human rights in countries marked by economic revolutions, tensions and class conflicts, such as England and France, did not occur at the same time and in the same way in relation to Brazil, for example, a country marked by a long process of colonization and political instability. Recent experiences of Latin American political democratization and  Latin American constitutionalism open up innovative perspectives for the creation, defense and promotion of human rights.Keywords: Fundamental human rights. Latin American constitutionalism. Neoliberal Globalization. Social exclusion.Derechos Humanos Fundamentales y la Constitución: constitucionalismo  contemporáneo latinoamericano y sus posibilidades emancipatorias en el contexto de la globalización neoliberal.Resumen El artículo es una reflexión sobre los derechos humanos, tomando como análisis sociocultural referencial de Brasil, un país que se caracteriza por la exclusión social histórica y la fragilidad económica de los mecanismos democráticos de participación popular en los procesos de creación, realización y control social de las políticas públicas. El método de análisis empleado fue la comparación dialéctica mediante la investigación bibliográfica y documental sobre la construcción de un enfoque interdisciplinario que tuvo en cuenta la complejidad de los aspectos jurídicos, sociológicos y económicos del tema tratado. El supuesto teorico adoptado inquire el contenido política y jurídica universalista expreso en las declaraciones de derechos humanos, entendiendo que las condiciones socio-culturales materiales y que dio origen a la democracia representativa y balizadora de los derechos humanos en los países marcados por las revoluciones económicas, las tensiones y los conflictos de clase como Inglaterra y Francia, no se produjo al mismo tiempo y de la misma manera en relación a Brasil, por ejemplo, un país marcado por un largo proceso de colonización y la inestabilidad democrática. Las experiencias recientes de democratización política y el constitucionalismo  latinoamericano ha abierto perspectivas innovadoras de creación, defensa y la promoción de los derechos humanos.Palabras Clave: Derechos humanos fundamentales. Constitucionalismo latinoamericano. La globalización neoliberal. Exclusión social.


2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-106
Author(s):  
Greg Taylor

AbstractRecently there have been calls from Islamic nations for the creation of a crime of “defamation of religion.” Austria already has such an offense: section 188 of the Criminal Code of 1974 prohibits giving “justified offense” (berechtigtes Ärgernis) by “publicly disparag[ing] or ridicul[ing] a person who, or an object which, is the subject of veneration of a domestically established church or religious community, or a dogma, a lawful custom or a lawful institution of such a church or religious community.” This has recently been applied to secure the conviction of an activist of the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria, who announced at a semi-public seminar attended by about thirty people, including one undercover journalist, that Mohammed was a pedophile. Drawing on the law of comparable jurisdictions, this article traces the history of the provision and considers how it is applied by the courts. In this article it is contended that this provision, while rarely used, unduly restricts public discussion. At the least, the provision needs both reinterpretation and amendment; international human rights sources suggest that repeal should be seriously considered given that the existing offense of sedition is available for serious cases.


Paleobiology ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 6 (02) ◽  
pp. 146-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Oliver

The Mesozoic-Cenozoic coral Order Scleractinia has been suggested to have originated or evolved (1) by direct descent from the Paleozoic Order Rugosa or (2) by the development of a skeleton in members of one of the anemone groups that probably have existed throughout Phanerozoic time. In spite of much work on the subject, advocates of the direct descent hypothesis have failed to find convincing evidence of this relationship. Critical points are:(1) Rugosan septal insertion is serial; Scleractinian insertion is cyclic; no intermediate stages have been demonstrated. Apparent intermediates are Scleractinia having bilateral cyclic insertion or teratological Rugosa.(2) There is convincing evidence that the skeletons of many Rugosa were calcitic and none are known to be or to have been aragonitic. In contrast, the skeletons of all living Scleractinia are aragonitic and there is evidence that fossil Scleractinia were aragonitic also. The mineralogic difference is almost certainly due to intrinsic biologic factors.(3) No early Triassic corals of either group are known. This fact is not compelling (by itself) but is important in connection with points 1 and 2, because, given direct descent, both changes took place during this only stage in the history of the two groups in which there are no known corals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 13-26
Author(s):  
Brandon W. Hawk

Literature written in England between about 500 and 1100 CE attests to a wide range of traditions, although it is clear that Christian sources were the most influential. Biblical apocrypha feature prominently across this corpus of literature, as early English authors clearly relied on a range of extra-biblical texts and traditions related to works under the umbrella of what have been called “Old Testament Pseudepigrapha” and “New Testament/Christian Apocrypha." While scholars of pseudepigrapha and apocrypha have long trained their eyes upon literature from the first few centuries of early Judaism and early Christianity, the medieval period has much to offer. This article presents a survey of significant developments and key threads in the history of scholarship on apocrypha in early medieval England. My purpose is not to offer a comprehensive bibliography, but to highlight major studies that have focused on the transmission of specific apocrypha, contributed to knowledge about medieval uses of apocrypha, and shaped the field from the nineteenth century up to the present. Bringing together major publications on the subject presents a striking picture of the state of the field as well as future directions.


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