Abstract
Citizenship, Inequality, and Difference: Historical Perspectives / Frederick Cooper. Princeton University Press, 2018. ISBN: 0-691-17184-X
Citizenship, Inequality, and Difference offers a concise and sweeping overview of citizenship’s complex evolution, from ancient Rome to the present. Political leaders and thinkers still debate, as they did in Republican Rome, whether the presumed equivalence of citizens is compatible with cultural diversity and economic inequality. Frederick Cooper presents citizenship as “claim-making”--the assertion of rights in a political entity. What those rights should be and to whom they should apply have long been subjects for discussion and political mobilization, while the kind of political entity in which claims and counterclaims have been made has varied over time and space. Citizenship ideas were first shaped in the context of empires. The relationship of citizenship to “nation” and “empire” was hotly debated after the revolutions in France and the Americas, and claims to “imperial citizenship” continued to be made in the mid-twentieth century. Cooper examines struggles over citizenship in the Spanish, French, British, Ottoman, Russian, Soviet, and American empires, and he explains the reconfiguration of citizenship questions after the collapse of empires in Africa and India. He explores the tension today between individualistic and social conceptions of citizenship, as well as between citizenship as an exclusionary notion and flexible and multinational conceptions of citizenship.
Convergences and Divergences Between International Human Rights, International Humanitarian and International Criminal Law / Paul de Hert, Stefaan Smis and Mathias Holvoet (eds). Intersentia, 2018. ISBN: 1-78068-640-4
Although rooted in a similar ideal, human rights (IHRL), international criminal law (ICL) and international humanitarian law (IHL) are separate fields of law, best represented as circles, each of which overlaps with the other two. However human rights often seems to absorb the other two, while in other situations, the lines between human rights law and its next door neighbours are blurred or contested. This volume consists of three main parts. The first main part explores the convergences and divergences between IHL and/or IHRL on the one hand, and ICL stricto sensu on the other hand. The second part investigates the convergences and divergences between IHRL and transnational crimes, or ICL in the broader sense, which suppresses crimes such as drug trafficking, trafficking in human beings and corruption through international treaties providing for domestic enforcement. The last main part of this volume provides the reader with novel and original insights as to how IHRL and IHL converge and diverge by considering if and how the norms of other branches of international law come into play and how the European Court of Human Rights has engaged with the sometimes contradicting norms of IHL. It furthermore analyses the relationship between the specific IHL and IHRL norms which prohibit arbitrary displacement and maps their interaction. Finally, the effectiveness of States’ investigations of war crimes committed by their armed forces is evaluated by emphasising attention to the relevant standards developed within IHRL, since IHL does not indicate specific criteria to evaluate the effectiveness of an investigation.
A Cosmopolitan Legal Order: Kant, Constitutional Justice, and the European Convention on Human Rights / Alec Stone Sweet and Clare Ryan. Oxford University Press, 2018. ISBN: 0-19-882534-X
This book provides an accessible introduction to Kantian constitutional theory and the law and politics of European rights protection. Part I sets out Kant’s blueprint for achieving Perpetual Peace, and to the elaboration of a Kantian-congruent model of constitutional justice, both within and beyond the nation state. Part II applies this theoretical framework to explain the gradual constitutionalization of a cosmopolitan legal order: a transnational legal system in which justiciable rights are held by individuals; where public officials bear the obligation to fulfil the fundamental rights of all who come within the scope of their jurisdiction; and where domestic and transnational judges supervise how officials act. The book argues that this order has emerged in Europe thanks to the combined effects of Protocol no. 11 (1998) of the European Convention on Human Rights and the incorporation of the Convention into national law. The book covers the strengthening of the Court’s capacities to meet the challenge of chronic failures of protection at the domestic level; its progressive approach to “qualified” rights, including privacy and family life, freedoms of speech, assembly, the press, conscience, and religion; the robust enforcement of “absolute” rights, including the prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment; and the Court’s aim to render justice to all people that come under its jurisdiction, even non-citizens who live - and whose rights are violated - beyond Europe. It explains how the European Court of Human Rights has become one of the most active and important advocates for human rights in the world, while helping to construct a nascent cosmopolitan constitution in Europe.
Drones and Other Unmanned Weapons Systems under International Law / Stuart Maslen et al. Brill, 2018. ISBN: 1389-6776
Drone strikes have become a key feature of counterterrorism operations in an increasing number of countries. This work explores the different domestic and international legal regimes that govern the manufacture, transfer, and use of armed drones. Chapters assess the legality of armed drones under jus ad bellum, the law of armed conflict, the law of law enforcement, international human rights law, international criminal law and domestic civil and criminal law. The book also discusses the application of law to fully autonomous weapons systems where computer algorithms decide who or what to target and when to fire.
Employment Law and Human Rights / Robin Allen et al. Oxford University Press, 2018. ISBN: 0-19-878397-3
The European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union have had a significant impact on UK employment law, but the ultimate contours of this are still developing and emerging, particularly post-BREXIT. In the face of these ever-changing human rights debates, questions concerning workplace behaviour are more abundant than ever: with such increased connectivity, how do we separate work life from private life? In the world of smartphones and tablets, is it lawful for employers to expect around the clock service and what flexibility should we expect in the workplace, both from employers and employees? This new edition examines these questions in detail, looking at the ongoing effects of human rights legislation on employment law. Including far more detailed coverage of the impact of equality laws on religion and beliefs, sexual orientation, and age, as well as the more established protected characteristics of race, sex, and disability, this book will provide practitioners with the vital information they need for the increasingly prevalent employment cases concerning human rights. This new edition has been substantially revised to take into account new legislation and the wealth of cases that have emerged since the previous edition published in 2007.This book provides an introduction to the sources and practices of human and fundamental rights and their relationship to employment law, before launching into an analysis of various working conditions. Topics covered include: prohibition on slavery and forced labour; equality rights in relation to cultural, religious, gendered, and linguistic diversity; special protections put in place for children; protection from unjustified dismissal; and the interface between family and work including maternity and paternity rights. Comprehensive coverage of available remedies, spanning from the right to a fair trial and using European law in the courts and tribunals, to making a preliminary reference to the European Court of Justice and applying to the ECHR, ensures that the book is of real, practical value.
The Future of Business and Human Rights: Theoretical and Practical Considerations for a UN Treaty / Jernej Letnar Černič and Nicolás Carrillo Santarelli (eds). 2018. ISBN: 1-78068-491-6
It is an undeniable fact that corporations participate in human rights abuses throughout the world. Yet there is disagreement among scholars, politicians and business actors about the best approaches to preventing and responding to those abuses and whether it would be feasible to adopt a treaty on the matter. This book explores the potential adoption of a treaty on business and human rights, first proposed by Ecuador and South Africa. Would such a treaty be practicable and what should its content be – should it regulate direct corporate obligations or extraterritorial obligations? How can experiences of other international legal regimes and developments in regional systems inform the global debate on business and human rights?
Human Dignity: Perspectives from a Critical Theory of Human Rights / Amós Nascimento and Matthias Lutz-Bachmann (eds). Routledge, 2018. ISBN: 1-138-20444-7
Critical Perspectives on Human Rights provides cutting-edge interventions into contemporary s on rights, ethics and global justice. The chapters, written by leading scholars in the field, make a significant and timely contribution to critical human rights scholarship by interrogating the significance of human rights for critical theory and practice. While the contributions engage sensitively yet thoroughly with the regulatory, disciplinary, and exclusionary effects of human rights, they do so without giving up on the transformative potential of human rights. By thinking productively through the exclusions, paradoxes and aporias of human rights, Critical Perspectives on Human Rights is a key reference text for students and scholars in this important area of inquiry.
The Human Right to Water in Latin America: Challenges to Implementation and Contribution to the Concept / Anna Berti Suman. Brill, 2018. ISBN: 2352-9350
In The Human Right to Water in Latin America, Anna Berti Suman investigates the development of the right to water and of water law in the Latin American context. By examining the significance of Latin American constitutional evolution, doctrine, and jurisprudence, the author illustrates the Latin American contribution in stimulating the social, political, and economic debate on the right to water, regionally and worldwide. Through an overview on the right to water in Latin American constitutions and of the main Latin American water management systems, Berti Suman argues that an analysis of the right to water has to take account of its application in specific contexts. The intrinsic connection between the right to water and the role of the private sector is examined through topical insights into the highly privatized Chilean water services. In the conclusion, the relevance of the lessons learnt from the Latin American experience for the global debate on the right to water is convincingly proved.
Human Rights and the Care of the Self / Alexandre Lefebvre. Duke University Press, 2018. ISBN: 0-8223-7122-7
When we think of human rights we assume that they are meant to protect people from serious social, legal, and political abuses and to advance global justice. In Human Rights and the Care of the Self Alexandre Lefebvre turns this assumption on its head, showing how the value of human rights also lies in enabling ethical practices of self-transformation. Drawing on Foucault’s notion of “care of the self,” Lefebvre turns to some of the most celebrated authors and activists in the history of human rights–such as Mary Wollstonecraft, Henri Bergson, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Charles Malik–to discover a vision of human rights as a tool for individuals to work on, improve, and transform themselves for their own sake. This new perspective allows us to appreciate a crucial dimension of human rights, one that can help us to care for ourselves in light of pressing social and psychological problems, such as loneliness, fear, hatred, patriarchy, meaninglessness, boredom, and indignity.
Human Rights Futures / Stephen Hopgood, Jack L. Snyder and Leslie Vinjamuri (eds). Cambridge University Press, 2017. ISBN: 1-107-19335-4
For the first time in one collected volume, mainstream and critical human rights scholars together examine the empirical and normative debates around the future of human rights. They ask what makes human rights effective, what strategies will enhance the chances of compliance, what blocks progress, and whether the hope for human rights is entirely misplaced in a rapidly transforming world. Human Rights Futures sees the world as at a crucial juncture. The project for globalizing rights will either continue to be embedded or will fall backward into a maelstrom of nationalist backlash, religious resurgence and faltering Western power. Each chapter talks directly to the others in an interactive dialogue, providing a theoretical and methodological framework for a clear research agenda for the next decade. Scholars, graduate students and practitioners of political science, history, sociology, law and development will find much to both challenge and provoke them in this innovative book
Migration and Religious Freedom: Essays on the Interaction between Religious Duty and Migration Law / Carolus Grütters and Dario Dzananovic (eds). Wolf Legal Publishers, 2018. ISBN: 94-6240-465-8
On 9 and 10 February 2017, experts from various backgrounds joined in a seminar organized by the Centre for Migration Law, Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at Radboud University, Nijmegen in the Netherlands. The seminar focused on issues culminating at the intersection of migration, law and religion. We aimed to identify the arguments that drive the discussion in situations presenting a conflict of state law and religious norms in the context of migration. Or, in biblical terms, is there an inherent conflict between Romans 13 (submission to governing authorities) and Matthew 25 (love the stranger), and if so, how is this conflict addressed? In this book, we have included the key contributions to the seminar, thematically organized around four topics: (1) Religious Social Thought; (2) Application of religious freedom; (3) Comparative analysis of religious freedom laws; and (4) Practitioners’ views.
Organizing Rebellion: Non-State Armed Groups under International Humanitarian Law, Human Rights Law, and International Criminal Law / Tilman Rodenhaüser. Oxford University Press, 2018. ISBN: 0-19-882194-8
The number of non-state actors, in the past not accountable for committing international crimes or violating human rights, is proliferating rapidly. Their ways of operating evolve, with some groups being increasingly fragmented and others organizing transnationally or in cyber space. As non-state armed groups are involved in the vast majority of todays armed conflicts and crisis situations, a new and increasingly important question has to be raised as to whether, and at what point, these groups are bound by international law and thereby accountable for their acts.
Protecting the Rights of Refugees Beyond European Borders: Establishing Extraterritorial Legal Responsibilities / Lisa Heschl. Intersentia, 2018. ISBN: 1-78068-614-5
The European migration and asylum policy has been shaped by efforts to establish an efficient migration management system in order to protect the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice from the new security threat of ‘irregular migration’. The extraterritorialisation of immigration control measures beyond territorial borders form part of this strategy and the EU-Turkey deal and the call for an increased cooperation with Northern Africa are but two examples. Pre-border control mechanisms composed of administrative, legislative and operational measures, are largely perceived as effective means to channel flows of migrants avoiding logistical and financial burdens for Member States. However, from a legal perspective, this shift to extraterritorial activities raises important questions related to the creation of zones in which responsibilities for legal norms related to the protection of refugees may be circumvented by States or any other actors involved in migration control activities. Protecting the Rights of Refugees Beyond European Borders tries to reconcile the motives behind extraterritorialisation strategies with actual legal consequences. It carefully examines the legal frameworks that govern situations in which a migrant meets an authority in the context of extraterritorial immigration control measures. The book approaches the topic from the hypothesis that international and European obligations do not only constrain extraterritorial acts of States or specialised agencies, but give rise to concrete legal responsibilities deriving from different legal regimes such as general international law, human rights law and EU law. In addition, it takes a more practical approach going beyond the normative establishment of legal responsibilities by investigating the actual possibilities to invoke eventual responsibilities for violations of fundamental guarantees occurring in the context of extraterritorial immigration control measures.
Rethinking Community: Discourse, Identity and Citizenship in the European Union / Giuditta Caliendo. Peter Lang, 2018. ISBN: 9783034315616
Despite the undeniably impressive achievements of the EU, forms of resistance to the European integration process remain strong in numerous quarters. Drawing upon a theoretical framework centred on the dimension of discourse as social practice, this book takes the literature on EU discourse a step further by integrating insights from discourse studies with key models derived from the domain of political science. The aim is to explore how recent socio-political transformations have affected the way in which the EU discursively represents itself as a legitimate political entity. The idea behind this cross-disciplinary approach is that discourse theory can contribute to a critical renewal of EU studies by drawing attention to the rhetorical aspects that are constitutive of social structures and identities. The analytical parts of this corpus-assisted study explore the evolution of discursive practices in various EU genres at two disruptive moments in the recent history of European integration: the rejection of the draft EU Constitutional Treaty in France and the Netherlands and the UK referendum on EU membership.