Human Rights and the Internet

The past decade has witnessed unprecedented use of the Internet for both advancing and suppressing human rights, giving rise to complex new issues that can both inspire and overwhelm. With ever-growing concerns about the (non-)regulation of our digital environment, it is surprising that both the theoretical and practical application of human rights to the Internet and our online lives remain unclear. <br><br>This book is a short and accessible introduction to the concepts of human rights, the Internet and the emergence of an era of human rights online as a new legal challenge. It will be of interest to a broad range of readers: policy makers and informed citizens, lawyers working with human rights defenders, and legal and human rights academics examining the emergence of this legal field.

CULTURAL IDENTITY, TRADITION, AND THE RITUAL KILLING OF BULLS – A NOTE ON A RECENT DECISION OF THE FRENCH CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL ON THE LEGALITY OF BULLFIGHTING

In a recent two-part article in this journal, the authors of this note analysed the controversy surrounding the ritual bull-killing which takes place during the Ukweshwama “first fruits” ceremony held each year in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. While much of the Ukweshwama ceremony is uncontroversial, the ritual killing of a bull by young Zulu warriors with their bare hands attracted strong opposition from certain animal-rights groups, which resulted in legal action and public controversy. The authors attempted to disentangle the different legal, historical, political and philosophical strands which combined to make up a complex story about the place of ancient rituals in the modern world, particularly those involving animal sacrifice. They also attempted to situate the controversy around the Ukweshwama bull-killing ritual within a contemporary global context, by comparing and contrasting the Zulu bull-killing ceremony on the one hand, and Spanish bullfighting on the other. The purpose of the present note is to report on recent developments in what is a global debate on the place of ancient rituals which involve the ritual killing of animals, within modern constitutional democracies. In particular, this note will examine and discuss the outcome of a recent legal challenge brought before the Constitutional Council of the Republic of France by certain animal-welfare groups in that country. The challenge was directed at bringing an end to a legal exception which operates in certain parts of the country – that is, those with an uninterrupted local tradition of bullfighting – excluding bullfighting from the provisions of animal-welfare legislation. The legal, political and cultural issues which arise as a result of this legal challenge are of relevance to those in South Africa who are concerned, one way or the other, about the future of the annual Ukweshwama bull-killing ritual in KwaZulu-Natal. Like it or not, although the bull-killing rituals which take place in the South of France and in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa are very different, the similarities between the rituals and their impact on broader society (legally, politically and culturally), are such that they cannot be ignored. The authors make a similar point in relation to the links between Spanish bullfighting and the Ukweshwama bull-killing ritual.

Prospect and Legal Challenges of Medical Tourism in Relation to the Advance Medical Directive (AMD) in Malaysia

People fly for several reasons. One of the goals is to obtain medical attention. This idea is known as “medical tourism.” In defending this concept, the notion of medical tourism is one of the prospects of increasing industries that have rapidly grown in Malaysia and other countries. One of the factors that led to this trend is the propensity to pursue better medical care at a lower cost. Around the same time, certain patients in modern society have begun to provide input on their medical care in cases where they are unable to give consent. Advance Medical Directive (AMD) is a particular directive containing the desires of a knowledgeable patient regarding his or her future medical plans if he or she becomes incompetent or unable to make any decisions regarding his or her body. However, the concern that arises in the sense of medical tourism is whether there are applicable laws in Malaysia that will ensure that the AMD of patients is enforced. The art of AMD is still relatively new in the country and, as a result, the legal status on the AMD is still vague and uncertain. The purpose of this article is, therefore, to define the laws that can be applied in relation to AMD in the context of medical tourism. The approach used in this article is qualitative. It found that Malaysia did not have a clear legal framework for AMD within the scope of medical tourism. This article concludes that this legal challenge can be overcome by means of the special AMD regulations on medical tourism in Malaysia.

Crisis Lawyering in a Lawless Space

This chapter tells the story of the initial legal intervention by a small bold group of radical lawyers at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and elsewhere to challenge the George W. Bush administration’s policy of indefinite detention and torture in Guantánamo in the immediate aftermath of September 11. That initial legal challenge was undertaken on pure principle but seemed initially futile given the president’s war on terror posturing and categorical denial of the applicability of law. Yet in part through CCR’s mobilization of hundreds of other lawyers and human rights advocates, just six years later there developed a legal and political consensus that the prison should be closed. While recognizing the courage and creativity of crisis lawyering during a historic period, this chapter underscores that the authoritarian legal architecture in Guantánamo, like all forms of repressive state power, is resilient and can render claims of rights by the disfavored unenforceable.

Digital Technologies for Sustainable Development: Dual Challenge of Sustainability and Inclusivity Perspective

This paper is a desk-review study and considers digital technologies for sustainable development: a challenge of sustainability and inclusivity. It takes a glance at the interaction of digital technologies and sustainable development, legal challenges of sustainable development. Digital technological inclusion of populace was based on mobile phones, which equally facilitate financial inclusion and help in reducing poverty. Digital technologies have ample of expanded opportunities for businesses and economic growth. Also, digital technologies have been successfully proved to be relevant. Digital technologies have changed the way SDGs are pursued and, fortunately, accelerated SDGs attainment, especially, when it is inclusive. Sustainability and inclusivity of digital technologies should be the challenge to be bordered about maximizing the gains from its adoption in promoting sustainable development. It is recommended that governments at all levels and institutions should be responsible for the provision of more digital technological facilities and infrastructures as well as for the provision of more basic amenities that would encourage investors in the area. Governments jointly with the private individuals should be prompt in taking actions (such as reporting fault) about safety and maintenance of the physical facilities and all other social capital, while the custodians of law (mostly lawyers – learned persons) should put under their surveillance any legal challenge that promotes exclusion and remedy such through the provision of law.