Human rights discourse has been likened to a global lingua franca, and in more ways than one, the analogy seems apt. Human rights discourse is a language that is used by all yet belongs uniquely to no particular place. It crosses not only the borders between nation-states, but also the divide between national law and international law: it appears in national constitutions and international treaties alike. But is it possible to conceive of human rights as a global language or lingua franca not just in a figurative or metaphorical sense, but in a literal or linguistic sense as a legal dialect defined by distinctive patterns of word choice and usage? Does there exist a global language of human rights that transcends not only national borders, but also the divide between domestic and international law?

Empirical analysis suggests that the answer is yes, but this global language comes in at least two variants or dialects. New techniques for performing automated content analysis enable us to analyze the bulk of all national constitutions over the last two centuries, together with the world’s leading regional and international human rights instruments, for patterns of linguistic similarity and to evaluate how much language, if any, they share in common. Specifically, we employ a technique known as topic modeling that disassembles texts into recurring verbal patterns. 

The results highlight the existence of two species or dialects of rights talk — the universalist dialect and the positive-rights dialect — both of which are global in reach and rising in popularity. The universalist dialect is generic in content and draws heavily on the type of language found in international and regional human rights instruments. It appears in particularly large doses in the constitutions of transitional states, developing states, and states that have been heavily exposed to the influence of the international community. 

The positive-rights dialect, by contrast, is characterized by its substantive emphasis on positive rights of a social or economic variety, and by its prevalence in lengthier constitutions and constitutions from outside the common law world, especially those of the Spanish-speaking world. Both dialects of rights talk are truly transnational, in the sense that they appear simultaneously in national, regional, and international legal instruments and transcend the distinction between domestic and international law. Their existence attests to the blurring of the boundary between constitutional law and international law.

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The Global Language of Human Rights: A Computational Linguistic Analysis

The Claims of Freedom: Habermas' Deliberative Multiculturalism and the Right to Free Speech

In the age of digital disruption, values, assets, business models, and processes are constantly challenged, new ones emerge, and others fade. Throughout this transition some markets and industries are experiencing a dramatic shift as their value propositions are inadequate to support the new business models. Life as we know it is changing, we are changing. In an hyperconnected world where everyone can potentially interact with anyone, it does make sense to talk about a digital information ecosystem. One of the emerging issues is the creation and spread of false information, involving various stakeholders and causing many discussions and research. In this context we are studying the role of social media in the information disorder ecosystem, the initiatives that have been developed and the taxonomies of false information types in order to suggest our own typology. Androniki Christopoulou

The Information disorder Ecosystem: A study on the role of Social Media, the Initiatives to tackle disinformation and a Systematic Literature Review of False Information Taxonomies

Der Begriff der Hasskriminalität hat in der türkischen Strafjustiz erst Anfang der 2000er Jahre im Zusammenhang mit den Aktivitäten von LGBTI-Organisationen Aufmerksamkeit erlangt. Bedeutsam war für die türkische Entwicklung dabei u. a. das auf europäischer Ebene im Rahmen der Organisation für Sicherheit und Zusammenarbeit (OSZE) im Jahr 2003 erarbeitete Konzept zu „Hassverbrechen“ (“Hate crimes“), das die Mitgliedstaaten verpflichtete, „gegebenenfalls Gesetze zu erlassen oder zu stärken, die Diskriminierung oder Anstiftung zu Hassverbrechen verbieten“. Europäische Initiativen in diesem Bereich waren für die türkische Regierung damals vor allem im Hinblick auf die Verhandlungen über einen Beitritt zur Europäischen Union von besonderer Bedeutung. Hinzu kam die Verwirklichung einer Reihe von Hassmorden ab dem Jahr 2006, wobei die Ermordung des armenischen Journalisten und Menschenrechtsaktivisten Hrant Dink im Jahr 2007

Juriah Abdul Jalil

Papers

Freedom of expression and freedom of religion