The Legal Regulation of Religious Symbols in the Public Sphere in the Czech Republic

The present article plays off two conceptions of the public sphere against one another. The first one sees in it a sign of what is already present in the private sphere, whereas the second regards it as a symbol that has to inscribe its own symbolic force into the private realm. That this is by no means a mere academic question becomes obvious by way of several examples analyzed at great length: the institution of mourning and the discussion about the presence of religious symbols in the public sphere. An argument for considering the Muslim veil as a protection against the divine is put forward in an attempt to clarify the presuppositions of our current predisposal against it. Ultimately, pluralism should perhaps not just be taken to refer only to the presence of others outside of us who we are able to numerically count, but might be the more difficult plight of having to cope with an otherness within each of us. Should the latter be the case, then we are in need of a public sphere where we can leave behind and thus honor what is not only differentiating us from others but also from ourselves.

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A Prohibition to Receive Remuneration (Gifts) in Connection with the Performance of Official Duties as a Measure of Anti-Corruption Criminological Security

Всероссийский криминологический журнал ◽

10.17150/2500-4255.2020.14(5).660-675 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 660-675

Author(s):

Irina Damm ◽

Aleksey Tarbagaev ◽

Evgenii Akunchenko

Keyword(s):

Public Sphere ◽

Russian Federation ◽

Civil Service ◽

Legal Regulation ◽

Civil Code ◽

Federal Law ◽

The Public ◽

The Russian Federation ◽

The Public Sphere ◽

To Receive

A prohibition for persons holding government (municipal) positions, for government (municipal) employees, and some other employees of the public sphere who are public officials to receive remuneration (gifts) is aimed at preventing bribery (Art. 290, 291, 291.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and could be viewed as a measure of anti-corruption criminological security. However, the existing collisions of civil, administrative and criminal law norms that regulate this prohibition lead to an ongoing discussion in research publications and complexities in practice. The goal of this research is to study the conditions and identify the problems of the legal regulation of receiving remuneration (gifts) in connection with the performance of official duties that prevent the implementation of anti-corruption criminological security. The authors use the legal theory of security measures to analyze the provisions of Clause 3, Part 1, Art. 575 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and Clause 6, Part 1, Art. 17 of the Federal Law «About the Public Civil Service in the Russian Federation», examine the doctrinal approaches to defining the priority of enforcing the above-mentioned norms, study the significant features of the category «ordinary gift» and conduct its evaluation from the standpoint of differentiating between gifts and bribes, also in connection with the criteria of the insignificance of the corruption deed. The empirical basis of the study is the decisions of courts of general jurisdiction. The authors also used their experience of working in Commissions on the observance of professional behavior and the resolution of conflicts of interests at different levels. The conducted research allowed the authors to come to the following fundamental conclusions: 1) the special security rule under Clause 6, Part 1, Art. 17 of the Federal Law «About the Public Civil Service in the Russian Federation», which sets a full prohibition for government employees to receive remuneration (gifts) in connection with the performance of official duties, contradicts Clause 3, Part 1, Art. 575 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (the existing legal-linguistic vagueness of categories in Art. 575 of the CC of the RF leads to problems in law enforcement and makes a negative impact on the anti-corruption mentality of people); 2) as the concepts «gift» and «bribe» do not logically intersect, the development of additional normative legal criteria for their delineation seems to be unpromising and will lead to a new wave of scholastic and practical disagreements; 3) the introduction of a uniform and blanket ban on receiving remuneration (gifts) in the public sphere by eliminating Clause 3, Part 1, Art. 575 of the CC of the RF seems to be an effective measure of preventing bribery, and its application is justified until Russian society develops sustainable anti-corruption mentality.

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The Hijab Debate in the Norwegian Press: Secular or Religious Arguments?

Journal of Religion in Europe ◽

10.1163/187489212x639208 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 223-243 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Cora Alexa Døving

Keyword(s):

Public Sphere ◽

John Rawls ◽

Jürgen Habermas ◽

Translation Process ◽

Empirical Examination ◽

Religious Motivation ◽

The Public ◽

Religious Symbols ◽

Jurgen Habermas ◽

The Public Sphere

Do religious debaters challenge the secular public sphere? This article is an analysis of the largest religion related debate in Norway: the debate about the hijab and the use of religious symbols in the public sphere. The article is empirically founded on the debates in 2009 that began with the question about to which degree the hijab could become part of the Norwegian police uniform for those who would wish to use it. The analysis is mainly centred on the arguments of the hijab wearers: to what degree is their religious motivation translated into a secular language? The empirical examination will show that Muslim debaters arguments can be characterized by a striking absence of references to religious concepts, and a just as striking use of secular ones. The article suggests that the lack of religious argumentation is an expression of an Islamic secularism rather than a result of a translation process. The hijab wearer's arguments are presented in the light of John Rawls’ and Jürgen Habermas’ thoughts about the need for translation—and its price.

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Women, Law and Employment in Pakistan: from ‘Protection’ to ‘Equal Treatment’?

International Journal of Discrimination and the Law ◽

10.1177/135822919600100302 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 207-232 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Siobhan Mullally

Keyword(s):

Public Sphere ◽

Legal Regulation ◽

Equal Treatment ◽

Domestic Sphere ◽

The Public ◽

Legislative Reform ◽

Women's Participation ◽

Labour Legislation ◽

International Labour Standards ◽

The Public Sphere

This paper examines the legal regulation of women's employment in the public sphere in Pakistan. A large part of the legislation relating specifically to the employment of women is highly protective in nature. The 1973 Constitution of Pakistan assumes that women are in need of protection. This assumption is reflected in the labour legislation and in the international labour standards that have been adopted by Pakistan. Much of the existing Labour Code is a legacy of the colonial period and reflects the concerns of the early British factory movement to preserve female modesty and ‘protect’ women's roles within the domestic sphere. This paper attempts to identify those areas of the law most in need of reform if the protective approach to women's participation in the public sphere is to be transcended. Although legislative reform does not necessarily lead to a change in workplace practices, the existence of discriminatory legislation, gaps in existing legislation and a lack of adequate enforcement machinery constitute significant institutional barriers to women's participation in the public sphere. For these reasons, it is argued, calls for law reform and a focus on legislative reform as a strategy for change may be justified.

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