Showing papers on "Fundamental rights published in 1985"

The concept of human rights

Abstract: First published in 1985. In this study, Donnelly distinguishes between "having a right" and "being right" and elaborates the distinction with great subtlety to show that rights have to be understood as action and not as a possession. This is done with such clarity and good sense that he is able to cast light on all aspects of the often confusing discussions of the natures and usages of "right". He illuminates an astonishing range of issues, from the limitations of Thomist and utilitarian conceptions of right to the confusions of many present-day defenders of rights, both in the West and the Third World. As importantly, Donnelly is centrally concerned with the human aspect of "human rights". He is thus able to rest his discussion of rights on a plausible philosophical anthropology as well as an appreciation of an historical dimension to human rights, and, at the end of his book, is able to open the door towards potential new developments in the discussion of human rights. Down the path he points us lies a reconciliation of the notion of individual rights with that of political community. This title will be of great interest to students of politics and philosophy.

The Advisory Practice of the Inter-American Human Rights Court

Abstract: The American Convention on Human Rights entered into force in 1978. To date, 18 OAS member states, out of 31, have ratified it. Included among the states parties to the Convention are all the Central American Republics as well as Panama, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The five Andean Pact nations have ratified, as have Jamaica, Barbados and Grenada. Argentina is the latest state to become a party; it did so on September 5, 1984, and thus became the first and, to date, only Southern Cone country to do so. The others—Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay—have not ratified; nor have Brazil, the United States, Suriname and a number of English-speaking Caribbean states.

The Meaning and Reach of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

Abstract: The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination' (the Convention) is the most important of the general instruments (as distinguished from specialized instruments such as those pertaining to labor or education) that develop the fundamental norm of the United Nations Charter-by now accepted into the corpus of customary international law-requiring respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race.2 It has been eloquently described as "the international community's only tool for combating racial discrimination which is at one and the same time universal in reach, comprehensive in scope, legally binding in character, and equipped with built-in measures of implementation."3 The chain of events that ultimately led to the preparation and adoption of the Convention originated with swastika painting and additional "manifestations of anti-semitism and other forms of racial and national hatred and religious and racial prejudices of a similar nature" in 1959-1960.4 But an explicit reference to anti-Semitism was not included in the Convention as adopted.5 Nor does it mention other specific forms of racism, except for apartheid, which is addressed in Article 3, as well as in the

The Politics of Judicial Interpretation: The Federal Courts, Department of Justice, and Civil Rights, 1866-1876

Abstract: This landmark work of Constitutional and legal history is the leading account of the ways in which federal judges, attorneys, and other law officers defined a new era of civil and political rights in the South and implemented the revolutionary 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments during Reconstruction. Should be required reading ...for all historians, jurists, lawyers, political scientists, and government officials who in one way or another are responsible for understanding and interpreting our civil rights past.-Harold M. Hyman, Journal of Southern HistoryImportant, richly researched...the fullest account now available.-American Journal of Legal History

The Lawful Rights of Mankind: An Introduction to the International Legal Code of Human Rights

Abstract: When we talk about human rights today, we are on much finer ground than if we were discussing the "moral" and "natural" rights of man which philosophers have debated for so long. Since 1945 a veritable legal revolution has prompted the installation of a complete, universally agreed code of human rights in international law. This book explains for the general reader what lies behind the code, how it was made, how it works, and what it says.

Constitutional Inequality: The Political Fortunes of the Equal Rights Amendment

Abstract: Traces the history of the Equal Rights Amendment, explains why it failed to pass, and assesses its chances for future passage.

Slaves and Citizens

Abstract: R. M. Hare has argued1 that there are conceivable (though unlikely) circumstances in which it would be right not to abolish the institution of slavery: in the imaginary land of Juba established slave-plantations are managed by a benevolent elite for the good of all, no ‘cruel or unusual ’ punishments are in use, and citizens of the neighbouring island of Camaica, ‘free ’but impoverished, regularly seek to become slaves. Hare adds that it is unlikely, given human nature, that ‘masters ’would treat ‘slaves ’humanely, and avoid a gradual corruption of their moral consciousness which would cancel out any possible advantages of the system. Slavery is wrong, he argues, not because it violates ‘fundamental human rights’, but I because it would in practice generally increase misery.

How Does the Constitution Secure Rights

Abstract: Foreword / William J. Baroody, Jr. -- How the Constitution protects our rights / Robert A. Rutland -- The Constitution and the Bill of Rights / Herbert J. Storing -- Two models of adjudication / Owen M. Fiss -- The Constitution as Bill of Rights / WalterBerns -- Subsistence rights / Henry Shue -- American constitutionalism and individual rights / Nathan Tarcov.

A Defense of Employee Rights

Abstract: Recent trends in business ethics along with growing attacks upon unions, suggest that employee rights will be a major social concern for business managers during the next decade. However, in most of the discussions of employee rights to date, the very meaning and legitimacy of such rights are often uncritically taken for granted. In this paper, we develop an account of employee rights and defend this conception against what we take to be the strongest in-principle objections to it.

Dangers in Using the Idea of Property Rights: Modern Property Rights Theory and the Neo-Classical Trap

Abstract: (1985). Dangers in Using the Idea of Property Rights: Modern Property Rights Theory and the Neo-Classical Trap. Journal of Economic Issues: Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 959-966.

United Nations Conventions on Human Rights: The Practice of the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Dealing with Reporting Obligations of States Parties

Abstract: 1. These human rights instruments are: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, opened for signature 19 December 1966, entered into force 3 January 1976; G.A. Res. 2200 A (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. No. 16 at 49, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966); the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, opened for signature 19 December 1966, entered into force 23 March 1976; G.A. Res. 2200 A (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. No. 16 at 52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966); the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, opened for signature 21 December 1965, entered into force 4 January 1969; 660 U.N.T.S. 195 (1969); G.A. Res. 2106 A (XX), 20 U.N. GAOR Supp. No. 4 U.N. Doc. A/6014 (1965); the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, opened for signature 30 November 1973, entered into force 18 July 1976; 1015 U.N.T.S. 244 (1976); G.A. Res. 3068 (XXVIII), 28 U.N. GAOR Supp. No. 30 U.N. Doc. A/9030 (1973); the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, opened for signature 18 December 1979, entered into force 3 September 1981; G.A. Res. 34/180, 34 U.N. GAOR Supp. No. 46 at 193, U.N. Doc. A/Res./34/180 (1979); and the Convention Against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, opened for signature 10 December 1984; G.A. Res. 39/46, 39 U.N. GAOR Supp. No. 51 (1984) [hereinafter cited as Convention Against Torture]. All these conventions have entered into force with the exception of the Convention Against Torture which was adopted on 10 December 1984.

Basic humanitarian principles applicable to non-nationals.

Abstract: This article examines the general status in international law of certain fundamental human rights to determine the minimum "no derogation" standards and then surveys a number of formal agreements between stages governing migration matters while examining some of the standard-setting work undertaken by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and other institutions. Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims the right of everyone to leave any country including his or her own. The anti-discrimination provision is widely drawn and includes national or social origin birth or other status. Non-discrimination is frequently the core issue in migration matters; it offers the basis for a principles approach to questions involving non-nationals and their methodological analysis as well as a standard for the progressive elaboration of institutions and practices. As a general rule ILO conventions give particular importance to the principle of choice of methods by states for the implementation of standards as well as to the principle of progressive implementation. Non-discrimination implies equality of opportunity in the work field inremuneration job opportunity trade union rights and benefits social security taxation medical treatment and accommodation; basic legal guarantees are also matters of concern to migrant workers including termination of employment non-renewal of work permits and expulsion. The generality of human rights is due not because the individual is or is not a member of a partucular group and claims to such rights are not determinable according to membership but according to the character of the right in question. The individualized aspect of fundamental human rights requires a case-by-case consideration of claims and the recognition that to all persons now certain special duties are owed.

Life in the gulag: a property rights perspective

Abstract: One of the most interesting applications of modern economic theory has been to the analysis of slavery. This work began in the pathbreaking article by Conrad and Meyer (1958), and was extended and revised by Fogel and Engerman (1974). This analysis, including a growing body of further extensions and critiques, focuses on the case of slavery in the antebellum South. In this paper we show that the analysis of slavery based on the economic theory of property rights can be extended beyond the antebellum South to a more recent institutional phenomena—the large-scale use of political prisoners as forced labor inmodern socialist states. These cases are amenable to a straightforward application of modern property rights theory, which offers a rational explanation forkey differences between these examples of forced labor and slavery in the antebellum South.

The Struggle for Civil Rights

Abstract: The original Constitution of the United States was nearly mute on voting rights, ceding them to the states to determine. The 15th Amendment to the Constitution confers voting rights on African Americans, declaring that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

Fundamental Rights and Delegated Legislation

Abstract: (1985). Fundamental Rights and Delegated Legislation. South African Journal on Human Rights: Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 111-123.

Domestic Implementation of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Abstract: The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides for a modicum of international supervision of its States parties through the scrutiny of their periodic reports by the Human Rights Committee. This measure, which may be described as one of ‘international implementation’, operates in concert with the ‘domestic implementation’ requirement included in Article 2 of the Covenant. The ‘international implementation’ aspect entails some abridgement of the sovereignty of States parties and thus represents a noteworthy development in international politics. The companion aspect of ‘domestic implementation’ is, however, it is submitted, of far greater and more enduring significance for the promotion and protection of human rights. For, the availability and the exercise of the rights of the Covenant depend, as a matter of practical fact, upon their incorporation into the domestic system and the constraints — legal and social — that that system may place upon their exercise. The Covenant's rights are intended to be legal rights implemented by States parties and exercised by individuals within domestic legal systems. In addition: ‘Not only are the domestic remedies likely to be speedier and perhaps less expensive; in many cases they may be more effective, because a national court of appeal or Supreme Court can usually reverse the decision of a lower court, whereas the decision of an international organ does not have that effect, even though it will engage the international responsibility of the State concerned.’

Legal Responsibilities of Students: Study Shows School Officials Also Win Court Decisions.

Abstract: After reading much in the past several years about the increasing rights of students, school administrators will find this article about their own rights and the legal responsibilities of students very interesting. The editors have included an extensive list of references—a practice normally avoided—for readers wishing to study the issues in more detail.

Insurance, Human Rights, and Equality Rights in Canada: When is Discrimination “Reasonable?”

Abstract: Insurance classifications that rely on demographic information are often accused of being discriminatory. There is a strong movement, based on human rights legislation as well as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to abolish them. However, analysis shows that the common criticisms of these classifications are self-contradictory and also apply in large measure to the behavioural criteria most commonly proposed as substitutes. Whether current practices are “reasonable” in the sense of the Charter will be an important question for determining the scope of the “equality rights” of section 15 of the Charter.

Legal Rights of Minors

Abstract: Laws concerning pediatric and adolescent obstetrics and gynecology are rapidly changing. Almost every legislative and congressional session and every term of federal court result in debate and modification of the laws affecting adolescent obstetrics and gynecology.

European court of human rights

Abstract: This chapter discusses the general characteristics and other related aspects of the European Court of Human Rights. The European Court of Human Rights was established under the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which was signed in Rome on November 4, 1950 and entered into force on September 3, 1953. The Court has jurisdiction over States in the area of human rights, as regards not only their administrative and executive acts but also the acts of the judicial and legislative branches. The Court is composed of a number of judges equal to the number of members of the council of Europe. The jurisdiction of the court is limited by two fundamental provisions in the convention. The jurisdiction of the court extends to all matters concerning the interpretation and application of the convention that the contracting States or the commission may submit to it. The court is also competent to rule on the application of additional protocols to the convention.

Exercise of federal jurisdiction in reserved water rights litigation. United States v. Adair, 723 F. 2d 1394 (9th Cir. 1983), cert. denied sub. nom. Oregon v. United States, 104 S. Ct. 3536 (1984)

Abstract: Lawsuits over water rights on the Klamath Indian Reservation pitted the State of Oregon against claims of the federal government. The court limited the issues to the scope and priority of water rights arising from the treaty between the US and the Tribe and from later transfers of the reservation land. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that when a district court has proceeded to determine the nature and priority of water rights that are governed by federal law in a case involving Indian litigants, its decision should not be reversed. The court should have followed the strict requirements of the San Carlos decision and reversed. By affirming, the Ninth Circuit avoided delays and duplication but created a precedent for unfettered district court discretion in reserved rights cases.