Liberae Cogitationes

Liberae Cogitationes
Author: André Alen
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Constitutional law
ISBN: 9789400003538

On January 9, 2014, Marc Bossuyt, President of the Belgian Constitutional Court, was awarded emeritus status. As a tribute for his remarkably prolific career, this Liber amicorum, to which more than 50 colleagues and friends have contributed, expresses the appreciation inspired by Bossuyt's magnificently fine career. The editorial committee did not have to look far to choose the subject of the book. Indeed, "Human Rights" is the common theme in the multifaceted career of Marc Bossuyt, and a theme that is very close to his heart. He has always considered freedom of speech and the exchange of ideas with others as very important. With his strong power of persuasion, Bossuyt conveyed his solidly underpinned points-of-view to his numerous interlocutors and challenged them to interesting debates on fundamental issues in a state governed by the rule of law and, in particular, on the protection of human rights.

Advanced Introduction to International Human Rights Law

Advanced Introduction to International Human Rights Law
Author: Dinah L. Shelton
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2020-10-30
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1839103191

Now in its second edition, Dinah Shelton’s pioneering book provides a uniquely accessible introduction to the history and the latest developments in international human rights law. Exploring the origins, customs and institutions that have emerged globally and regionally in the last two centuries, this incisive book guides readers through the major treaties and declarations that form the foundations of the discipline today.

Central European Judges Under the European Influence

Central European Judges Under the European Influence
Author: Michal Bobek
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 462
Release: 2015-11-19
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1782259902

The onset of the 2004 EU enlargement witnessed a number of predictions being made about the approaches, capacity and ability of Central European judges who were soon to join the Union. Optimistic voices, foreshadowing the deep transformative power that Europe was bound to exercise with respect to the judicial mentality and practice in the new Member States, were intertwined with gloomy pictures of post-Communist limited formalism and mechanical jurisprudence that could not be reformed, which were likely to undermine the very foundations of mutual trust and recognition the judicial system of the Union is built upon. Ten years later, this volume revisits these predictions and critically assesses the evolution of Central European judicial mentality, institutions and constitutionality under the influence of the EU membership. Comparatively evaluating the situation in a number of Central European Member States in their socio-legal contexts, notably Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania, the volume offers unique insights into the process of (non) Europeanisation of national legal systems and cultures.

Weak States, Strong Societies

Weak States, Strong Societies
Author: Amin Saikal
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2015-11-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0857728849

Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the previously well-established organisation of world politics has been thrown into disarray. While during the Cold War, the bipolarity of the world gave other powers a defined structure within which to vie for power, influence and material wealth, the current global political landscape has been transformed by a diffusion of power. As a result, the world has seen the rise of sub-national or quasi-/non-state actors, such as Hezbollah, al-Qaeda and the movement that calls itself Islamic State, or ISIS. These dramatic geopolitical shifts have heavily impacted state-society relationships, power and authority in the international system. Weak States, Strong Societies analyses the effect of these developments on the new world order, arguing that the framework of 'weak state, strong society' appears even more applicable to the contemporary global landscape than it did during the Cold War. Focusing on a range of regional contexts, the book explores what constitutes a weak or strong state. It will be essential reading for specialists in politics and international relations, whether students or academic researchers.

The Performance of International Courts and Tribunals

The Performance of International Courts and Tribunals
Author: Theresa Squatrito
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 472
Release: 2018-04-05
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1108626130

International courts and tribunals now operate globally and in several world regions, playing significant roles in international law and global governance. However, these courts vary significantly in terms of their practices, procedures, and the outcomes they produce. Why do some international courts perform better than others? Which factors affect the outcome of these courts and tribunals? The Performance of International Courts and Tribunals is an interdisciplinary study featuring approaches, methods and authorship from law and political science, which proposes the concept of performance to describe the processes and outcomes of international courts. It develops a framework for evaluating and explaining performance by offering a broad comparative analysis of international courts, covering several world regions and the areas of trade, investment, the environment, human rights and criminal law, and offers interdisciplinary accounts to explain how and why international court performance varies.

Handbook on Legal Cultures

Handbook on Legal Cultures
Author: Sören Koch
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 1171
Release: 2023-05-30
Genre: Law
ISBN: 3031277457

Cooperation across borders requires both knowledge of and understanding of different cultures. This is especially true when it comes to the law. This handbook is the first to comprehensively present selected legal cultures based on a very specific set of structural elements which can be found in all such cultures. Legal cultures are a product of and impacted by certain fundamental and commonly shared ideas on and expectations of the law. In all modern societies these ideas are to a certain degree institutionalized or at least embedded in institutionalized practices. These practices determine the way lawyers are educated and apply the law, how they engage with the ongoing internationalization of law and what kind of values they adhere to. Looking at these elements separately enables the reader to identify similarities and differences and to explain them contextually. Understanding these general features of legal cultures can help avoid misunderstandings or misinterpretations of foreign law and its application. Accordingly, this handbook is a necessary starting point for all kinds of legal comparative studies conducted by academics, students, judges and other legal practitioners.

Protecting the Religious Freedom of New Minorities in International Law

Protecting the Religious Freedom of New Minorities in International Law
Author: Fabienne Bretscher
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2019-09-19
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0429559178

This book examines the interpretation and application of the right to freedom of religion and belief of new minorities formed by recent migration by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC). New minorities are increasingly confronted with restrictions of their religious practices and have addressed their rights claims both to the ECtHR and the HRC through their individual complaint procedures, which resulted in several contradicting decisions. Based on a quantitative and qualitative empirical analysis of the relevant case law, focusing in particular on the reasoning adopted by the two bodies, this book finds that the HRC in its practice offers a significantly higher level of protection to new minorities than the ECtHR. Such divergence may be explained by various institutional and conceptual differences, of which the concept of the margin of appreciation is the most influential. It is contended that the extensive use of the concept of the margin of appreciation by the ECtHR in the case law regarding new minorities’ right to freedom of religion and belief, and the absence of such concept in the HRC’s case law, could be explained by different understandings of the role of an international human rights body in conflicts between the majority and minorities. This book argues that such divergence could be mitigated with various tools, such as the inclusion of cross-references to the case law of other relevant bodies as well as to instruments specifically established for the protection of minorities. The book will be of interest to academics, researchers and practitioners in the area of international human rights law, international public law in general and law and religion.

National Constitutions in European and Global Governance: Democracy, Rights, the Rule of Law

National Constitutions in European and Global Governance: Democracy, Rights, the Rule of Law
Author: Anneli Albi
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 1522
Release: 2019-05-29
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9462652732

This two-volume book, published open access, brings together leading scholars of constitutional law from twenty-nine European countries to revisit the role of national constitutions at a time when decision-making has increasingly shifted to the European and transnational level. It offers important insights into three areas. First, it explores how constitutions reflect the transfer of powers from domestic to European and global institutions. Secondly, it revisits substantive constitutional values, such as the protection of constitutional rights, the rule of law, democratic participation and constitutional review, along with constitutional court judgments that tackle the protection of these rights and values in the transnational context, e.g. with regard to the Data Retention Directive, the European Arrest Warrant, the ESM Treaty, and EU and IMF austerity measures. The responsiveness of the ECJ regarding the above rights and values, along with the standard of protection, is also assessed. Thirdly, challenges in the context of global governance in relation to judicial review, democratic control and accountability are examined. On a broader level, the contributors were also invited to reflect on what has increasingly been described as the erosion or ‘twilight’ of constitutionalism, or a shift to a thin version of the rule of law, democracy and judicial review in the context of Europeanisation and globalisation processes. The national reports are complemented by a separately published comparative study, which identifies a number of broader trends and challenges that are shared across several Member States and warrant wider discussion. The research for this publication and the comparative study were carried out within the framework of the ERC-funded project ‘The Role and Future of National Constitutions in European and Global Governance’. The book is aimed at scholars, researchers, judges and legal advisors working on the interface between national constitutional law and EU and transnational law. The extradition cases are also of interest to scholars and practitioners in the field of criminal law. Anneli Albi is Professor of European Law at the University of Kent, United Kingdom. Samo Bardutzky is Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

What Happened to Equality?

What Happened to Equality?
Author: Bjarney Friðriksdóttir
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2017-07-03
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9004345280

In What Happened to Equality? The Construction of the Right to Equal Treatment of Third-Country Nationals in European Union Law on Labour Migration, Friðriksdóttir examines five European Union Directives on labour migration that were adopted based on a sectoral approach to labour migration management. An account of the negotiations between the Commission, the Council and the Parliament on the five Directives reveals how access to territory and the labour market, the right to equal treatment and the right to family reunification were constructed for the different groups of labour migrants and how differentiation between groups of migrants, and discrimination against migrants compared with nationals which contravenes international and European human rights frameworks and international labour law, is institutionalized.

Rights of Third-Country Nationals under EU Association Agreements

Rights of Third-Country Nationals under EU Association Agreements
Author: Daniel Thym, LL.M.
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2015-07-28
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9004300066

Rights of Third-Country Nationals under EU Association Agreements highlights the significance of the rules on the free movement of persons in the association agreements between the European Union and neighbouring states, in particular Turkey. It identifies overarching themes and demonstrates the pertinence of the law and the roles of judges in enforcing and developing further the rights of individuals in association agreements across borders. The various chapters in this volume extrapolate horizontal questions of legal interpretation, constitutional formation and substantive approximation, which underlie the diverse rules in different association agreements with neighbouring countries; they support the overall conclusion that there are degrees of free movement and citizens’ rights defining the status of associated countries between membership and partnership.