Access to Justice and Legal Representation in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
pp. 140-153
Author(s):  
Oluwaseun Olanrewaju ◽  
Sunday Onuegbu
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Video Conferencing ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
Legal Representation ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Court Orders

In 2009, the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure (FREP) Rules of 1979 was revised to ease the cumbersome process encountered by applicants/lawyers in advocating for the enforcement of fundamental human rights in court. Despite this, human rights lawyers still encounter several challenges when representing applicants for the enforcement of fundamental human rights in court. This chapter examines these challenges and adopts primary research method. Data were gathered from human rights lawyers via video conferencing platforms: Skype and Zoom. Findings reveal that issues of procedural rules of court and disrespect for court orders are some of the challenges encountered by human rights lawyers. The chapter recommends that judges should avoid placing unnecessary emphasis on the procedural rules of court. In addition, human rights lawyers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should maintain continuous advocacy for the enforcement of fundamental human rights towards holding government and its agencies more accountable for disrespect of court orders.

scholarly journals The Role of NGOs (Non-governmental organizations) in Participatory Prevention of Environmental crimes

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Shirin Aghajani
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The Right ◽  
Development And Environment

Crimes against the environment are actions that in certain circumstances cause Pollution, destruction or damage to the environment. The importance of preventing these crimes is because it relates directly to the health of human beings. Today non-governmental actors play an important role in the national and international arena.The Geographical diversity of activities and their different functions has led to state actors cannot be indifferent to the role of these new actors. NGOs are involved in two "competing" or "partner" forms of governments. In issues related to human rights, these to be a competitor to governments. While in the case of issues such as health development and environment it is considered as a partner of governments. In Iran's legal system the action role of these organizations in regard to environmental protection is undeniable: But there is still a lot of vacuum at the reactionary stage: must provide suitable substrates for the active Participation of this actors in environmental litigation: In a way that they can achieve a favorable position in criminal proceedings: Also, the organization of NGOS as the right hand of governments in helping to solve these problems has also a special place. The research method was descriptive-analytic and the date was collected as a library. In this research we decided to investigate the role of grassroots institutions in preventing environmental crime and accomplish the strengths and weaknesses of these institutions.

Rozwój uniwersalnej ochrony praw człowieka

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 81-98
Author(s):  
Dawid Michalski
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
International Community ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Globalized World ◽  
Individual Human

The development of human rights in contemporary world was possible due to the application the achievements of legal philosophers. First of all, medieval thinkers laid the groundwork for today’s organized system of recognizing the important values which today define universal human rights. The United Nations, as the successor of the concepts of the League of Nations, is the entity which internationalized this issue. Trying to create a definition of human rights draws attention to the essential value of this concept, that is, dignity and freedom. Despite the difficulties in formulating a clear definition it was tried to describe them and extract the directory common. Analyzing human rights from the perspective of developmental stages, it turns out that at the stage of conceptualization it appeared in the issue of separation of fundamental rights of units. Thus, when juridification has ensured the rights arising from the philosophical concepts, which proved to be universal values also in the modern globalized world. However, this does not mean that the process was hassle-free. Specific problems inherent in the international community, like the lack of unanimity in crucial matters, significantly lengthened the process. Initially, it was not possible to work out effective mechanisms of protection, and only demands were developed. Only by historical changes and the important breakthrough events, legal and international efforts became possible to undertake joint efforts to ensure and guarantee the protection of individual human rights. These activities resulted in the adoption of multilateral normative acts, the provisions of which have proved to be fundamental to the contemporary activities of the international community and non-governmental organizations for the protection of individual human rights.

scholarly journals Views of university students on human rightsÜniversite öğrencilerinin insan haklarına ilişkin görüşleri

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 3843
Author(s):  
Nurten Sargın
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
University Students ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Content Analysis Method ◽  
The World ◽  
Child Brides

Introduction:  It is seen that scientific studies have been carried out in recent years across the world and in Turkey. Besides, non-governmental organizations have also been working hard on this issue. There are increasing efforts in public in order to develop and improve human rights, as well. University students are also among those who desire to work for the development and improvement of human rights. This study therefore intends to discover the views and attitudes related to human rights among university students.      Method: A qualitative research method was selected for the study. Open-ended questions related to human rights were prepared by the researcher. The questions were sent to three academics specialized in this field and their opinions were collected. Only those who volunteered were included in the study. The research data was analysed by the researcher using content analysis method. The study was carried out in Ankara in 2005. A total of 11 university students – 5 female and 6 male – participated in the study. The age of the participants ranged between 21 and 23 years.Results: The results revealed that participants have knowledge, awareness and sensitivity regarding human rights. They reported that they know about the human rights work going on around the world and in Turkey, the issues of murder of women and child brides should especially be addressed, the human rights work carried out in Turkey is not adequate and it should involve everyone and emotional violence occurs very often as a violation of human rights.    Extended English abstract is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file. ÖzetGiriş: Son yıllarda Dünya’da ve Türkiye’de insan hakları ile ilgili bilimsel çalışmaların yapıldığı görülmektedir. Ayrıca sivil toplum kuruluşları da çalışmalarını bu konuda yoğunlaştırmaktadır. İnsan haklarının geliştirilmesi ve iyileştirilmesine ilişkin de halk arasında eylemler artmaktadır. İnsan haklarının geliştirilmesi ve iyileştirilmesine ilişkin talepte bulunan bir kesim de üniversite öğrencileridir. Yapılan bu çalışma ile üniversite öğrencilerinin insan haklarına ilişkin görüşleri, duygu ve düşünceleri belirlenmeye çalışılmıştır.Yöntem: Yapılan bu çalışmada nitel araştırma yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Araştırmacı tarafından insan haklarına yönelik açık uçlu sorular hazırlanmıştır. Sorular alanda uzman olan üç öğretim elemanına gönderilerek görüşleri alınarak uygulanmıştır. Araştırmaya yalnızca gönüllü olan katılımcılar alınmıştır. Araştırmadan elde edilen veriler, araştırmacı tarafından içerik analizine tabi tutularak incelenmiştir. Araştırma 2015 yılında, Ankara’da yapılmıştır. 5 kız, 6 erkek toplam 11 üniversite öğrencisi ile araştırma yapılmıştır. Yaşları 21 ile 23 arasında değişmektedir.Sonuçlar: Araştırmadan elde edilen veriler incelendiğinde katılımcıların insan haklarına ilişkin bilgilerinin, farkındalıklarının ve duyarlılıklarının olduğu belirlenmiştir. Katılımcıların Dünya’da ve Türkiye’de yapılan çalışmalara ilişkin bilgilerinin olduğu, Türkiye’de kadın cinayetleri ve çocuk gelinler konularında özellikle durulması gerektiği, Türkiye’de insan hakları ile ilgili çalışmaların yeterli olmadığı, insan hakları çalışmalarının herkesi kapsaması gerektiği, insan hakları konusunda duygusal şiddetin sıklıkla görüldüğünü belirttikleri görülmüştür.

Are human rights archives accessible? Challenges and possible solutions to improve access for Dealing with the Past initiatives

Comma ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2020 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 139-150
Author(s):  
Romain Ledauphin ◽  
Claudia Josi ◽  
Rahel Siegrist
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Truth Commissions ◽  
Records Management ◽  
Maturity Model ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
The Past ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Federal Department ◽  
Definition Of

Records and archives containing information relating to grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law represent a fundamental source for, and can become trustworthy documentary evidence within, Dealing with the Past (DWP) processes including truth commissions, criminal tribunals, reparation programs, vetting processes and outreach projects. Those intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) working in the fields of human rights and peace and security are themselves important observers and actors in DWP processes and hence their records and archives are highly relevant to DWP initiatives. Such organizations should therefore be transparent and be able to facilitate DWP processes by granting access to their records. Given the International Council on Archives’ definition of “access” as relating to “… the availability of records for consultation as a result both of legal authorization and the existence of finding aids”, and the experience of swisspeace in advising DWP initiatives on collecting evidence and improving records management capacity, swisspeace together with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs developed a roadmap which centres on the development of an “archives accessibility maturity model”. This tool will not only improve hands-on access in practice, but will ultimately improve knowledge about the multi-layered complexity of archives’ accessibility, strengthening the capacity of IGOs, INGOs and DWP initiatives to design and implement their access regulations, and thereby improving DWP initiatives’ ability to make successful access requests.

Evolution of artificial intelligence and its impact on human rights: from sociolegal perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheshadri Chatterjee ◽  
Sreenivasulu N.S. ◽  
Zahid Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The Government ◽  
Unique Study ◽  
Rights Issues

Purpose The applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in different sectors have become agendas for discussions in the highest circle of experts. The applications of AI can help society and can harm society even by jeopardizing human rights. The purpose of this study is to examine the evolution of AI and its impacts on human rights from social and legal perspectives. Design/methodology/approach With the help of studies of literature and different other AI and human rights-related reports, this study has taken an attempt to provide a comprehensive and executable framework to address these challenges contemplated to occur due to the increase in usage of different AI applications in the context of human rights. Findings This study finds out how different AI applications could help society and harm society. It also highlighted different legal issues and associated complexity arising due to the advancement of AI technology. Finally, the study also provided few recommendations to the governments, private enterprises and non-governmental organizations on the usage of different AI applications in their organizations. Research limitations/implications This study mostly deals with the legal, social and business-related issues arising due to the advancement of AI technology. The study does not penetrate the technological aspects and algorithms used in AI applications. Policymakers, government agencies and private entities, as well as practitioners could take the help of the recommendations provided in this study to formulate appropriate regulations to control the usage of AI technology and its applications. Originality/value This study provides a comprehensive view of the emergence of AI technology and its implication on human rights. There are only a few studies that examine AI and related human rights issues from social, legal and business perspectives. Thus, this study is claimed to be a unique study. Also, this study provides valuable inputs to the government agencies, policymakers and practitioners about the need to formulate a comprehensive regulation to control the usage of AI technology which is also another unique contribution of this study.

International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law

1993 ◽  
Vol 33 (293) ◽  
pp. 94-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Doswald-Beck ◽  
Sylvain Vité
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The United Nations

International humanitarian law is increasingly perceived as part of human rights law applicable in armed conflict. This trend can be traced back to the United Nations Human Rights Conference held in Tehran in 1968 which not only encouraged the development of humanitarian law itself, but also marked the beginning of a growing use by the United Nations of humanitarian law during its examination of the human rights situation in certain countries or during its thematic studies. The greater awareness of the relevance of humanitarian law to the protection of people in armed conflict, coupled with the increasing use of human rights law in international affairs, means that both these areas of law now have a much greater international profile and are regularly being used together in the work of both international and non-governmental organizations.

scholarly journals Silencing Their Critics: How Government Restrictions Against Civil Society Affect International ‘Naming and Shaming’

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Smidt ◽  
Dominic Perera ◽  
Neil J. Mitchell ◽  
Kristin M. Bakke
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
The Other ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The One ◽  
Naming And Shaming ◽  
Flow Of Information ◽  
Cross National

Abstract International ‘naming and shaming’ campaigns rely on domestic civil society organizations (CSOs) for information on local human rights conditions. To stop this flow of information, some governments restrict CSOs, for example by limiting their access to funding. Do such restrictions reduce international naming and shaming campaigns that rely on information from domestic CSOs? This article argues that on the one hand, restrictions may reduce CSOs’ ability and motives to monitor local abuses. On the other hand, these organizations may mobilize against restrictions and find new ways of delivering information on human rights violations to international publics. Using a cross-national dataset and in-depth evidence from Egypt, the study finds that low numbers of restrictions trigger shaming by international non-governmental organizations. Yet once governments impose multiple types of restrictions, it becomes harder for CSOs to adapt, resulting in fewer international shaming campaigns.

Reports on categorization and classification of human rights violations in Chile (1974–1978)

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcela Ruiz ◽  
Oriana Bernasconi
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Social Recognition ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Legal Perspective ◽  
Communicative Process ◽  
Event Based ◽  
The Relationship

This study analyzes socio-discursive categories used to define and classify the political violence exerted in Chilean human rights reports (1974–1978) to understand the emergence of the repertoire of repression and the construction of victimhood as a social recognition and communicative process in Latin America during the 1970s. These reports are addressed as a professional discursive genre produced by non-governmental organizations whose purpose is to denounce the violation of human rights in the context of political controversies as well as in the Chilean totalitarian context. The discursive genre is characterized by objectivity, the credibility of the information, the event-based approach, the use of statistics to establish the type and magnitude of the violation of human rights. The corpus analyzed consists of 44 reports belonging to human rights archives. The statistical section and comments were coded according to narrative categories (participants, action, cause, time and space). The results show the predominance of the legal perspective to classify the violation of human rights, the emergence of the category of enforced disappearance, the relationship with the socio-political context and the categories elaborated to identify patterns of violation of human rights.

scholarly journals Advocacy as a tool for the realization of the fundamental right of a person to professional legal assistance

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 240-243
Author(s):  
P. Badzeliuk
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Legal Profession ◽  
The State ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Legal Assistance ◽  
The Right ◽  
Legal Entities

This article is devoted to the study of the implementation of the fundamental right of a person to professional legal assistance through the vectors of influence of the bar, the role of the human rights institution in the mechanism of such a right and its place in public life.An effective justice system provides not only an independent and impartial judiciary, but also an independent legal profession. Lawyers play an important role in ensuring access to justice. They facilitate the interaction between individuals and legal entities and the judiciary by providing legal advice to their clients and presenting them to the courts. Without the assistance of a lawyer, the right to a fair trial and the right to an effective remedy would be irrevocably violated.Thus, the bar in the mechanism of protection of human and civil rights and freedoms is one of the means of self-limitation of state power through the creation and active functioning of an independent human rights institution, which is an active subject in the process of fundamental rights. The main constitutional function of the state is to implement and protect the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, and the constitutional and legal status of the legal profession allows it to actively ensure the rights of civil society as a whole and not just the individual. Effectively implement the human rights function of the state by ensuring proper interaction between the authorities and civil society, while being an active participant in the law enforcement mechanism and occupying an independent place in the justice system.Thus, the activities of lawyers are a complex manifestation of both state and public interest. After all, it is through advocacy and thanks to it that the rule of law realizes the possibility of ensuring the rights and freedoms of its citizens. Advocacy, on the one hand, has a constitutionally defined state character, and on the other hand, lawyers should be as independent as possible from the state in order to effectively protect citizens and legal entities from administrative arbitrariness. Thus, the bar is a unique legal phenomenon that performs a state (public-law) function, while remaining an independent, non-governmental self-governing institution.

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