scholarly journals Forced sterilization and abortion in Japan: Family and constitution

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-63
Author(s):  
Yuichiro Tsuji

This study analyzes the €ght between the Japanese judiciary and legislature. In Japan, under the ex-Eugenic Protection Act, disabled people were obligated to undergo sterilization procedures for about 20 years. This surprising Act was established in 1948 and enabled doctors to sterilize people in order to eliminate hereditary diseases; they could also perform this procedure on physically or developmentally disabled people without their consent. The 2016 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women advised that research and compensation is urgent and necessary, but the government stated that it was a legal medical operation, and no compensation was necessary. Even under concrete judicial review, the judiciary in Japan may exercise its power to provide remedies for minorities who cannot amend statutes in the political process, or their constitutional rights will be infringed upon. is study argues that even concrete judicial reviews work to prevent serious damage before it occurs. This study will use a legal approach to review the first voting rights decision, as well as several decisions that are relevant to families in Japan. Under a concrete judicial review of the Japanese constitution, a plaintiff needs to bring a dispute in law to the court and allege that the statute or administrative disposition infringes on their human rights as provided for in the constitution. If there is no statute in the case, it is very difficult for a plaintiff to compel the legislature to pass the statute. If the legislature does not function well, the judiciary is obligated to find a way to encourage the legislature or the government to provide a remedy. The judiciary cannot compel the legislature, but may show some of the steps that it follows in its decisions.

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raúúl Beníítez Manaut ◽  
Andrew Selee ◽  
Cynthia J. Arnson

Mexico's democratic transition has helped reduce, if not eliminate, the threat of renewed armed conflict in Chiapas. However, absent more active measures from the government and the Ejéército Zapatista de Liberacióón Nacional (EZLN) to seek a permanent peace agreement and come to terms with the legacies of the past, the conflict will linger on in an unstable déétente, which we term ““armed peace.”” While this situation is far better than the open hostilities of the past, it also belies the promise of a fully democratic society in which all citizens are equally included in the political process. La transicióón democráática en Mééxico ha contribuido a reducir, si no eliminar, la posibilidad de que el conflicto armado en Chiapas se reanude. Sin embargo, sin esfuerzos mas activos por parte del gobierno y del Ejéército Zapatista de Liberacióón Nacional (EZLN) para buscar un acuerdo de paz permanente y saldar cuentas con el pasado, el conflicto permaneceráá en un estado inestable que llamamos ““paz armada””. Aunque esta situacióón es mucho mejor que las tensiones y agresiones del pasado, no cumple los requisitos de una sociedad plenamente democráática en que todos los ciudadanos participan en condiciones de igualdad en el proceso políítico.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Tawanda Zinyama ◽  
Joseph Tinarwo

Public administration is carried out through the public service. Public administration is an instrument of the State which is expected to implement the policy decisions made from the political and legislative processes. The rationale of this article is to assess the working relationships between ministers and permanent secretaries in the Government of National Unity in Zimbabwe. The success of the Minister depends to a large degree on the ability and goodwill of a permanent secretary who often has a very different personal or professional background and whom the minster did not appoint. Here lies the vitality of the permanent secretary institution. If a Minister decides to ignore the advice of the permanent secretary, he/she may risk of making serious errors. The permanent secretary is the key link between the democratic process and the public service. This article observed that the mere fact that the permanent secretary carries out the political, economic and social interests and functions of the state from which he/she derives his/her authority and power; and to which he/she is accountable,  no permanent secretary is apolitical and neutral to the ideological predisposition of the elected Ministers. The interaction between the two is a political process. Contemporary administrator requires complex team-work and the synthesis of diverse contributions and view-points.


2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lubomír Kopeček ◽  
Jan Petrov

The Czech Constitutional Court has gained a strong position within the political system. This article examines the judicial review of legislation from the point of view of the relation between the court and the parliament. The authors analyze trends in the use of petitions proposing the annulment of statutes, who makes use of the petitions, how successful the petitioners are, and what issues the petitions concern. The article pairs a quantitative view with a qualitative analysis of key selected decisions by the court, especially in the sphere of mega-politics. The authors test whether judicial review of legislation serves as a tool for parliamentary opposition. The results show the decisive effects of a legislative majority in the lower house of the parliament. If the government lacks a majority, the use of judicial review of legislation as an oppositional tool fades. Also important is the weakness of the upper house, which makes senators more likely to resort to using judicial review of legislation. An especially crucial factor is the presence of independent and semi-independent senators who, without broader political backing, see judicial review of legislation as a welcome tool. The most frequent topics of the petitions were transitional justice, social policy, and the legislative process.


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-165
Author(s):  
Rully Khairul Anwar ◽  
Agus Rusmana ◽  
M. Taufiq Rahman

This study examines the politics of information within organizations or groups of traditional medical practitioners in West Bandung Regency of West Java Province. The political process of information here includes the activities of how the government implements information policies in relation to traditional medicine. The study also learned how traditional medicine groups respond to public policy on traditional medicine. The method used is qualitative with data collection technique through observation, interview, documentation, and literature study. The results show that there is local politics of information distribution activity in West Bandung society marked by the existence of the managers of traditional medicine, patients, the government with its regulations, and other politics of information distribution activities that led to the maintenance of science and traditional medical services. It is clear that the main reason for the politics of information to exist was economic.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-111
Author(s):  
Julizar Idris ◽  
Abdul Hakim ◽  
Sarwono Sarwono ◽  
Bambang Santoso Haryono

Abstract Public policy formulation as a political process is a dynamic formulation of policies involving many actors, ranging from the executive, legislative, academic, to non-governmental organizations. The purpose of this study was to find out the political process of drafting the Oil and Gas Law and determine the model for the formulation of the Oil and Gas Law in the Republic of Indonesia’s House of Representatives. This research method uses a qualitative approach, through observation, in-interview techniques and documentation of secondary data in the process of collecting data. Data analysis using the Interactive Model method by Miles & Huberman's. The results of the study indicate that the political process of drafting the Constitution of Oil and Gas takes place in the following stages: planning, drafting and discussion. Politically, the planning of the Constitution of Oil and Gas comes from several sources: (1) the bill from the President; (2) the bill from the House of Representatives; and (3) the bill from the Regional Representative Council. The long political process in the public policy formulation in the House of Representatives starts from the process of inventorying input from factions, commissions, and the public to be determined as a Legislative Body decision, then the decision is to be consulted with the Government; afterwards, the results of the consultation are reported to the Plenary Session to make the decision.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 819-836
Author(s):  
Wonil Cha

Abstract Socio-economic rights are regarded as an indispensable foundation of substantial freedom. At the same time, the embodiment of socio-economic rights in the Constitution is generally associated with concerns about their quality as a fundamental right and their judicial enforcement. The South Korean Constitution upholds the principle of the welfare state in the preamble, the fundamental social rights of Articles 31 to 36 and Article 119 (2), providing the legal basis for the regulation and coordination of economic affairs by the State. The implementation of these constitutional norms and ideals was left largely to the political process beyond judicial review for many decades. As a result of the rapid economic development, the democratization process and the introduction of constitutional review in the last 30 years, the normative discussion of basic social rights, both on societal and legal level, has taken on a new life. This article examines the South Korean Constitutional Court’s approach to judicial review in the socio-economic field with due regard to this changing reality.


1994 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark E. Rush

The Supreme Court's approach to representation and redistricting has been grounded on a vision of fairness which extends only as far as the electoral process itself. Accordingly, the doctrine of one-person one-vote, as well as the Court's advocacy of remedial redistricting measures, has focused on ensuring that the electoral routes to legislative representation remained open. Recently, a new wave of challenges to this approach has arisen in legal scholarship and the lower federal courts because its focus on maintaining an open and pluralist political process overlooks the political realities of governing: gaining representation means little if one remains an impotent minority. This article assesses the merits of this new “neopluralist” challenge and the extent to which the Supreme Court and lower federal courts have already begun to incorporate some of its elements. The article concludes by pointing out that this incorporation has led to the establishment of two lines of precedent which are based on irreconcilable notions of representation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 273-311
Author(s):  
Igor V. Omeliyanchuk

The article examines the attitude of the monarchists to the political figures who headed the Council of Ministers in 1905–1914. Monarchist organizations that functioned in Russia in the beginning of the 20th century were absolutely loyal to the monarch but at the same time were rather skeptical towards the government appointed by him. With most criticism they treated the first Chairman of the Council of Ministers – S. Yu. Witte. They blamed him not only for the destruction of farming in favor of industry development, making the population take to drinking with the aim to replenish the treasury, betrayal of Russian’s interests in the negotiations in Portsmouth and constitutionalism, but also expressly accused him in supporting the revolutionary movement in Russia with goal of seizing the supreme power. P.A. Stolypin was initially received by the monarchists rather loyally in the position of the head of government, but later he also caused displeasure of the Rights when he followed the way of “the constitutionalism” and relied on parliamentary parties in his work, leaving the non-conventional monarchists on the sideline of political process. Moreover, the Rights claimed that Stolypin was to blame for the split in the monarchist camp into the “Dubrovintsy” and the “Obnovlentsy” whose struggle against each other weakened the Rights on the verge of the critical challenge. The new head of the government V.N. Kokovtsov was well supported by the Rights for a certain time who saw him as a kind of “technical” Prime Minister, not outshining the monarch. But when Kokovtsov refused to financially support the “Obnovlentsy” wing of the Rights, who were at first quite loyal to the government, they drifted into the camp of the opposition. And “Dubrovintsy” approved of some of Kokovtsov’s actions in the spheres of finance and economy, but still were wary of the Prime Minister as they saw him as supporter of liberal ideas in the government. So, only I.L Goremykin, who were twice appointed Prime Minister in the period of interest, was not subjected to the criticism of the Rights, who highly valued his devotion to the monarch and thus disregarded the lack of actual success of the government headed by him.


Author(s):  
Geoffrey Marshall

The analysis of British political institutions in the twentieth century has not emerged solely from the writing of textbooks by political scientists. The genesis of general thinking about the government of the United Kingdom is to a lesser degree the product of professional reflection than is the development of theories about comparative government. It evolves more directly from the political process itself and from the controversies about government that government itself generates. This chapter discusses the powers of Parliament, the nature of cabinet government, the accountability of ministers, the dignified institutions, the re-modelling of Dicey’s institution, political institutions and public inquiry, and theory and analysis in political institutions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 115-132
Author(s):  
Steven Gow Calabresi

This chapter looks at the Japanese experience with judicial review. The Supreme Court of Japan does not enforce those parts of the Japanese Constitution, like Article 9, which prohibits war making; Article 21, which protects freedom of speech; or Article 89, which forbids taxpayer money from being used to hire Shinto priests. The Supreme Court of Japan thus refuses to enforce important articles in the Constitution of Japan. It does rubber stamp and thus legitimize actions taken by the political branches of the government. Why has judicial review of the constitutionality of legislation failed to take root in Japan? Japan does not need either a federal or a separation of powers umpire, since Japan is, firstly, a unitary nation-state with no need for a federalism umpire; and, secondly, a parliamentary democracy with a weak upper house of the legislature. Moreover, Japan has never atoned for the wrongs it committed during World War II nor has it truly admitted to even having done the horrible things that Japan did. A nation cannot get rights from wrongs judicial review and a Bill of Rights unless it admits it has done something wrong. Finally, the Japanese Constitution contains an inadequate system of checks and balances. As a result, the Supreme Court of Japan may not have the political space within which it can assert power.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document