scholarly journals Institutional Design, Prosecutorial Independence, and Accountability: Lessons from the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG)

Laws ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Verónica Michel
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
International Commission ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Short Article ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Third ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
State Agents ◽  
The Impact

In 2007 the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala began working to support the work of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate and prosecute cases of corruption. In this short article, I address three questions: What was the design of CICIG? What were its results? How did the institutional design contribute to the impact it had in Guatemala? To answer these questions, I first discuss the problem of impunity and provide an interdisciplinary review of the factors that impact when a state punishes crime. In the following section, I briefly explain the institutionalist framework that guides my analysis of the work of CICIG and explain the theoretical importance of institutional design in the functioning of prosecutorial organs. In the third section I describe the institutional design of CICIG, its impact, and its limitations. In this section I explain how key characteristics in its design made this international commission a creative solution against impunity in a context where prosecuting state agents for human rights violations or corruption was virtually impossible. I conclude this article highlighting some key lessons from CICIG on matters of institutional design.

Out with the old, in with the new: religion, charitable status and the Charities Act 2006

Legal Studies ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 619-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Iwobi
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Recent History ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Third ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Religion ◽  
Insight Into

The enactment of the Charities Act 2006 is widely viewed as one of the most momentous events in the recent history of English charity law, and the impact of the Act on the pre-existing law is still being debated. This paper inquires into the operation of the Act within the religious sphere. It seeks to explore the basis upon which charitable recognition was accorded within this sphere before the Act and to assess how far the law that was previously in force has been preserved, modified or rendered inoperative by the provisions of the Act. Three fundamental dimensions of the legal regime governing religious charities are especially relevant to this inquiry. The first dimension encompasses the elusive quest for the meaning of religion in the charitable sense. The second focuses on the long-standing requirement that religious purposes must be beneficial to the public in order to be charitable. The third is concerned with the human rights implications of conferring or withholding charitable status within the religious domain. Each dimension is examined in turn with a view to providing an insight into the complexities and difficulties inherent in the pre-existing law and the extent to which these have been addressed by the reforms contemplated by the Act.

scholarly journals Human rights litigation and the ‘war on terror’

2008 ◽  
Vol 90 (871) ◽  
pp. 573-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Duffy
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
Human Rights Norms ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe ‘war on terror’ has led to grave human rights violations and, in response, to a growing volume of human rights litigation. This article provides an overview of litigation that has unfolded in recent years in relation to issues such as arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, extraordinary rendition, extraterritorial application of human rights norms and the creeping reach of the ‘terrorism’ label. These cases provide a prism through which are displayed key characteristics of the war on terror as it affects human rights, and enables us to begin to ask questions regarding the role of the courts and the impact of human rights litigation in this area.

Human rights restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland and Russia. Legal and comparative aspects

2021 ◽  
Vol 2(24) ◽  
pp. 323-340
Author(s):  
Marta Pietras-Eichberger
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
The Public ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Research Problems ◽  
The Impact

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.

Measuring the impact of punishment and forgiveness: a framework for evaluating transitional justice

2006 ◽  
Vol 88 (861) ◽  
pp. 19-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Hazan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Community ◽  
Truth Commissions ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
The Impact

Truth commissions, international criminal tribunals, reparations, public apologies and other mechanisms of transitional justice are the new mantras of the post-cold-war era. Their purpose is to foster reconciliation in societies that have experienced widespread human-rights violations and to promote reform and democracy, the ultimate aim being to defuse tension. But to what degree are these mechanisms, which are financially and politically supported by the international community and NGOs, truly effective? Very little, in fact, is known about their impact. By examining the underlying hypotheses and workings of transitional justice and proposing a series of indicators to evaluate its results, this article helps to fill the gap.

scholarly journals Prophetic witness: An appropriate mode of public discourse in the democratic South Africa?

2010 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Etienne De Villiers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Critical Discussion ◽  
Second Step ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Third ◽  
Democratic Societies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Prophetic Witness ◽  
The Church

The question asked in the heading was answered in this article in four steps. In the first step, an attempt was made to find an accurate account of biblical prophecy by means of a critical discussion of certain influential interpretations of it. In the second step, the extent to which biblical prophecy could serve as a model for contemporary Christians was discussed and an acceptable Christian model of prophetic witness was formulated by drawing on the views of different authors. In the third step, the impact of democracy on the prophetic witness of the church was discussed. The Dutch theologian, Gerrit de Kruijf’s view that the public prophetic witness of the church is not appropriate in democratic societies was criticised and the legitimacy of certain forms of prophetic witness in such societies defended. In the final step, a number of examples of the prophetic witness that is needed in the present democratic South Africa were provided.

The Responsibility to Protect and its Critics: Explaining the Consensus

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Serrano
Keyword(s):  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
International Commission ◽  
World Summit ◽  
Member States ◽  
Small Minority ◽  
The Third ◽  
Pillar Structure ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Outcome Document

AbstractWhile critics have claimed that the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a North-South polarising issue and is therefore controversial, this is a deliberate misrepresentation in a rhetorical war led by a small minority of UN member states. The first section of this article briefly reviews the evolution of this emerging norm from its inception in the 2001 report by the International Commission on State Sovereignty and Intervention (ICISS), to its endorsement in 2005 by more than 150 heads of states in the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, to its more recent configuration in a three-pillar structure. The next part seeks to identify the main criticisms that have been levelled at R2P. It touches on some of the myths and allegations that have long accompanied R2P, as well as on the chief legitimate concerns underlying the shift towards implementation. The third and concluding section briefly touches upon the impact of the interventions in Libya and Côte D'Ivoire upon the evolving R2P consensus, and critically assesses the implications of a normative strategy that has put a premium on unanimity and unqualified consensus.

scholarly journals Epidemics, genome editing and human rights

2021 ◽  
pp. 199-209
Author(s):  
Branislav Fabry
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Genome Editing ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Western World ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Treatment ◽  
The Impact

The article deals with the contemporary legal and ethical challenges, caused by coronavirus COVID-19. It analyses the reason why the western world was so much surprized by that pandemics. The text mentions the succeses of western medicine in the battle against epidemics in the 20th century and sees it as one of the reason for underestimating the public health issues in 21st century. The article also emphasizes on other contemporary threat, the antimicrobiotic resistance and the need for new legal answers to pandemics. It deals with problem of human genome editing as the central topic by creating of hereditary immunity against new viral threats. The text also mentions the risks of such new treatment and the impact on human dignity that is understood as leading value in the contemporary legal regulation on biotechnology.

scholarly journals Dinamika Kemanusiaan Muslim Uyghur di Cina

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Nevy Rusmarina Dewi ◽  
Maulana Irsyad ◽  
Mufarikhin Mufarikhin ◽  
Ahmad Maulana Feriansyah
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Forced Marriage ◽  
Communist Ideology ◽  
Communist Government ◽  
The Impact

<p>Permasalahan kemanusiaan muslim Uighur di Cina menjadi salah satu bahasan dunia internasional, yang menjadi fokus  ialah pelanggaran hak asasi manusia oleh pemerintah Cina.  Dalam rangka  menerapkan ideology komunis di Cinabanyak strategi dipakai oleh pemerintah Cina dalam mendoktrin muslim Uighur diantaranya, menyiksa, mengurung, sampai  perkawinan paksa oleh suku Cina dan suku Uighur. Tujuan utamanya  agar suku Uighur dapat membaur dengan warga Cina yang lain dan tak ada lagi perbedaan di bawah Komunis. Hal  itu yang menjadikan alasan bahwa pelanggaran hak asasi terhadap suku Uighur ini terus berlanjut, dalam tulisan ini akan membahas dinamika muslim Uighur di bawah  ideologi Cina beserta dampak  permasalahan  kemanusiaan. Penelitian ini menggunakan  metode penelitian kualitatif  dengan menggunakan studi pustaka. Hasil  penelitian menunjukkan banyak terjadi pelanggaran kemanusiaan yang dilakukan oleh pemerintah Komunis Cina terhadap muslim Uighur. Pelanggaran yang terjadi telah masuk pada kategori pelanggaran HAM, namun dunia internasional tidak dapat menjangkaunya karena bagi pemerintah Cina hal ini merupakan masalah dalam negerinya.</p><p class="Affiliasi">Kata Kunci: Pelanggaran HAM, Muslim Uighur, Komunis</p><p> </p><p><em>The humanitarian problem of Uighur Muslims in China has become one of the international discussions, the focus being on human rights violations by the Chinese government. In order to implement communist ideology in China many strategies are used by the Chinese government in doctrining Uighur Muslims including, torturing, confining, to forced marriage by Chinese and Uighur tribes. The ultimate goal is for the Uighurs to blend in with other Chinese and there is no difference under the Communists. That is what makes the reason that human rights violations against the Uighurs continue, in this paper will discuss the dynamics of Uighur Muslims under Chinese ideology and the impact of humanitarian problems. This research uses qualitative research methods using literature study. The results showed that there were many humanitarian violations committed by the Chinese Communist government against Uighur Muslims. The violations that occur have been categorized as human rights violations, but the international community cannot reach them because for the Chinese government this is a problem in their country.</em></p><p><em>Keywords: human rights violations, Uighur Muslims, Communists.</em></p>

Transitional Justice in Comparative Perspective

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandra Lekha Sriram
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Impact

Chapter 2, by Chandra Lekha Sriram, offers comparative lessons and challenges in understanding transitional justice from a global perspective, with some examples from and reflections for the MENA region. She identifies four types of challenges in discussing the topic, which have arisen from experiences in other regions but are equally relevant in the region. The first is how the impact of transitional justice can be assessed, if at all. The second is that of who is calling for transitional justice, and what the views of it are, particularly from the grass-roots level. The third is that of the effects of institutional design of specific transitional justice measures. And the final challenge is the appropriate scope of such measures, including whether they should include a range of social and economic concerns.

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