scholarly journals The EU’s role in policing the rule of law: reflections on recent Polish experience

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-366
Author(s):  
Robert Grzeszczak ◽  
Stephen Terrett
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Polish Experience ◽  
Legislative Agenda ◽  
Constitutional Tribunal ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
New Framework

Although Brexit has understandably been the primary focus of much recent EU-related discussion, it is not the only threat to the EU’s long-term stability. The growing impact of populism has already influenced the Brexit referendum result and an anti-liberal resurgence within the EU. Events in Poland have led to criticism of the EU’s apparent impotence in counteracting governments determined to implement an antiliberal, national-populist legislative agenda that threatens the rule of law. This article offers a critical analysis of the mechanism contained in Article 7 TEU and the tools created by the European Commission within its New Framework, viewed through the prism of escalating violations of the rule of law in Poland, with particular focus on the destabilisation of the Constitutional Tribunal. It analyses whether such criticisms are justified and, if so, whether a more robust framework for addressing anti-liberal populism is required. We compare the EU’s evolution into an organisation that protects individual human rights with its fledgling evolution into an organisation that seeks to police the rule of law. We argue that, in contrast to its successful human rights evolution, the EU’s current efforts towards enforcing the rule of law give little cause for optimism.

The EU’s role in policing the rule of law: reflections on recent Polish experience

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-366
Author(s):  
Robert Grzeszczak ◽  
Stephen Terrett
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Polish Experience ◽  
Legislative Agenda ◽  
Constitutional Tribunal ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
New Framework

Although Brexit has understandably been the primary focus of much recent EU-related discussion, it is not the only threat to the EU’s long-term stability. The growing impact of populism has already influenced the Brexit referendum result and an anti-liberal resurgence within the EU. Events in Poland have led to criticism of the EU’s apparent impotence in counteracting governments determined to implement an antiliberal, national-populist legislative agenda that threatens the rule of law. This article offers a critical analysis of the mechanism contained in Article 7 TEU and the tools created by the European Commission within its New Framework, viewed through the prism of escalating violations of the rule of law in Poland, with particular focus on the destabilisation of the Constitutional Tribunal. It analyses whether such criticisms are justified and, if so, whether a more robust framework for addressing anti-liberal populism is required. We compare the EU’s evolution into an organisation that protects individual human rights with its fledgling evolution into an organisation that seeks to police the rule of law. We argue that, in contrast to its successful human rights evolution, the EU’s current efforts towards enforcing the rule of law give little cause for optimism.

scholarly journals Reframing LGBT rights advocacy in the context of the rule of law backsliding

Intersections ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 85-103
Author(s):  
Barbara Grabowska-Moroz ◽  
Anna Wójcik
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Electoral Campaigns ◽  
Civil Lawsuits ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender ◽  
Constitutional Tribunal ◽  
Lgbt People

Adopting the methods of institutional analysis and case law analysis, the paper answers how specific elements of rule of law backsliding impact advocacy for minorities’ rights’ recognition. The phenomenon is analysed in the case of Poland, a state that since 2015 has been experiencing directed erosion on rule of law standards. Between 2018 and 2020, governmental leaders in Poland targeted lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the context of electoral campaigns. The paper discusses long-term legal, political, and social factors contributing to creating an environment where such anti-LGBT campaigns are possible. It further demonstrates that specific elements of rule of law backsliding, such as politically subordinating the Constitutional Tribunal and the office of the Prosecutor General, enable authorities to apply discriminatory legal instruments to limit the targeted minority’s rights and also make resistance to it with legal means more complex. Against this backdrop, the paper argues that human rights defenders’ immediate responses—private civil lawsuits, artistic projects, and monitoring of discriminatory actions of the authorities—were key for drawing domestic and international attention to anti-LGBT campaigns, which later led to the European Union’s institutions concrete actions and an independent Commissioner for Human Rights’ legal actions. Cumulatively, these actions contributed to reversing elements of the anti-LGBT campaign in Poland.

scholarly journals “孝治天下”與“法治天下”——新時代的“孝文化”建設初探

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-41
Author(s):  
Lian YU
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Filial Piety ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Care Policies

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.“孝治天下”是中國傳統社會的治理模式，從而形成了具有中國特色的“孝文化”，但是這個文化卻在現代化的過程中遇到了質疑和批判。然而，在老齡化和養老問題突出的今天，“孝文化”重新成為社會討論的話題，由此帶來一系列的問題：我們如何回應五四新文化以來學者對所謂儒家“封建壓迫”的批判？我們如何重新構建當今時代的“孝文化”？本文探討和“孝治天下” 與“法治天下”之間的衝突與融合，提出二者互動的辯證關係。筆者認為，傳統的孝道必須與社會結構的轉型聯繫起來，從而形成一個符合現代社會的、新型的“孝文化”。“Ruling the world with filial piety” was an effective management model in traditional Chinese society, particularly during the Confucian era. However, this commitment to filial piety was powerfully challenged by China’s New Culture Movement at the beginning of the twentieth century, and disintegrated almost entirely during the Cultural Revolution approximately 50 years later. However, filial piety has recently re-emerged as a topic of debate due to the problems created by China’s aging society. In this paper, the possibility of reconstructing a culture of filial piety is investigated in relation to the rule of law, as discussed by public-policy makers. On the one hand, long-term care policies must be tailored to modern Chinese society, which has been transformed in the last few decades by changes to family structure and the relationship between family and society. On the other hand, policy makers responsible for long-term care policies must acknowledge the traditional value system that has shaped the Chinese way of thinking and moral logic.In the West, the concept of the rule of law is intrinsically connected with that of human rights. Moving away from the traditional perception of filial piety as a moral duty, it is proposed in this paper that the Confucian ideal of filial piety can be interpreted in terms of human rights. The author combines the Western principle of the rule of law with the Confucian concept of filial piety—that is, legality with morality—to show that filial piety should not be regarded merely as a virtue or a moral sentiment, but as a legallyprotected and promoted entity. The author argues that adherence to the principle of filial piety, although decreasing in modern China, remains the most important means of regulating the treatment of elderly people by their adult children, and cultivating awareness of the moral responsibility to provide elderly care.DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 1148 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.

Poland-EU constitutional crisis will not end soon

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Constitutional Tribunal ◽  
The Government ◽  
Polish Government ◽  
The Eu

Subject European Commission concerns about the rule of law in Poland. Significance The Commission has sent a formal Opinion to the Polish government, activating the first stage in the EU's 'Rule of Law Framework'. It expresses concerns about respect for the rule of law in Poland (a fundamental founding value of the EU), and in particular about the Polish government's handling of the crisis over the Constitutional Tribunal (TK, for Trybunał Konstytucyjny) Impacts Poland's EU position is likely to suffer as a result of the dispute, making it more difficult for it to achieve other political goals. Polish politics will remain unsettled and polarised, with the opposition using the Commission's Opinion to challenge the government. Legal uncertainty may translate into lower investment by individuals and enterprises dampening economic growth in the medium-to-long term.

Toward a Political Theory of Criminal Law

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Melissaris
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Social Cooperation ◽  
Moral View ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Crime And Punishment ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Liberty Principle

The aim of this paper is to outline a political theory of criminal law, that is, a theory that does not rely on any controversial moral view on fault and punishment. The argument is based largely on John Rawls's work but also addresses some inconsistencies regarding crime and punishment therein. The paper will make a case for a mixed theory of criminal law and punishment along the following lines: The fair terms of social cooperation generate duties for the violation of which one can be held properly responsible. However, nothing in this determines what the accountability-seeking measure may be or its intensity. These are matters of appropriateness to be determined in terms of the assurance of the participants in a well-ordered society and the long-term stability of social cooperation. Criminalization and punishment are contingent, historically qualified means of achieving stability and assurance, serving only as last resort. Although the institution of punishment is subject to the constraints of the rule of law, which stem directly from the liberty principle, questions such as the intensity of punishment or the proportionality between offenses and penalties depend on the proper workings of the utilitarian calculus in combination with the requirements of democratic decision-making.

Rule of Law in India

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harish Narasappa
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Application Of Law ◽  
Primary Element ◽  
The Status ◽  
Dispute Resolution Mechanism

Rule of law is the foundation of modern democracies. It envisages, inter alia, participatory lawmaking, just and certain laws, a bouquet of human rights, certainty and equality in the application of law, accountability to law, an impartial and non-arbitrary government, and an accessible and fair dispute resolution mechanism. This work’s primary goal is to understand and explain the obvious dichotomy that exists between theory and practice in India’s rule of law structure. The book discusses the contours of the rule of law in India, the values and aspirations in its evolution, and its meaning as understood by the various institutions, identifying reason as the primary element in the rule of law mechanism. It later examines the institutional, political, and social challenges to the concepts of equality and certainty, through which it evaluates the status of the rule of law in India.

In Search of a Standard: References to the Rule of Law in the Case-law of the European Court of Human Rights

ICL Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-69
Author(s):  
Eszter Polgári
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
European Court ◽  
Structured Analysis ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Grand Chamber

AbstractThe present article maps the explicit references to the rule of law in the jurisprudence of the ECtHR by examining the judgments of the Grand Chamber and the Plenary Court. On the basis of the structured analysis it seeks to identify the constitutive elements of the Court’s rule of law concept and contrast it with the author’s working definition and the position of other Council of Europe organs. The review of the case-law indicates that the Court primarily associates the rule of law with access to court, judicial safeguards, legality and democracy, and it follows a moderately thick definition of the concept including formal, procedural and some substantive elements. The rule of law references are predominantly ancillary arguments giving weight to other Convention-based considerations and it is not applied as a self-standing standard.

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