The Age of Human Rights Journal

Poverty as a Matter of Justice

Silvina Ribotta — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Poverty is the outcome of the unequal distribution of resources reinforced by a legal, political, economic, and cultural model and is the central expression of social injustice. The impact of economic inequality on humanity’s quality of life can be better explained from the perspective of basic needs and their ties with rights, the unequal opportunities and their connection with the degree of autonomy that situated individuals effectively enjoy, and the effectiveness of public policy and the responsibilities and duties of the governments. This article discusses the close (and not visible) ties between justice, law, and poverty, emphasizing that the current legal framework -even the human rights system- legitimizes an unequal status quo that prevents real access to and enjoyment of rights and freedoms for people living in poverty conditions. Moreover, it also endangers democratic stability.

Online Courts and Private and Public Aspects of Open Justice: Enhancing Access to Court or Violating the Right to Privacy?

Sabreen Ahmed — Wed, 03 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

As the technological revolution takes over the world, the justice system is also susceptible to change. The Online Court of England and Wales (‘OC’) is an example of such a step taken in that direction. However, some argue that this has vast implications on access to justice for the ‘digitally excluded’ or the Litigant-in-Persons (LIP). While this argument is warranted, it fails to address the two essential implications of Online Courts: First, the potential of online courts to enhance access to justice by legally empowering LIPs along with enhancing access to court for them (Private Aspect of open justice). Further, such access to court is enhanced for the general public and the media (Public Aspect of open justice) alike. Secondly, the threat of uncontrolled access to online proceedings facilitated by modern avenues like ‘live-streaming’ and ‘live-tweeting’, turning justice into a disruptive one. This article argues that OC is better placed at improving access to justice issues than physical courts, by enhancing both the private and public aspects of open justice. However, enhancing the public aspect also poses major threats to the Right to Privacy of individuals. Further, this article argues that a more nuanced approach towards a future technology-focused justice system needs to balance the public aspect of the open justice principle with the Right to privacy. Hence, this article suggests that regulative and accountability measures like ‘penalty point systems’ should be placed right from the outset to prevent any leakage of sensitive data prompted by uncontrolled access to online courts.

The Right to Private Property under Martial Law in Ukraine

Kateryna Nekit — Wed, 03 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In Ukraine, the inviolability of the right to private property is guaranteed by the Constitution. However, under martial law, introduced in Ukraine as a result of aggression by the Russian Federation, restrictions on private property rights and even forced alienation of property for the needs of the state are allowed. This paper aims to determine the peculiarities of the legal regulation of private property relations under the legislation of Ukraine and to study the reasons for limiting property rights under martial law in Ukraine. Furthermore, it looks into the mechanisms for restoring property rights and issues in the field of implementation and protection of property rights under martial law. Such cases of restriction of private property rights as forced alienation of property and impossibility of disposal of property under martial law are being highlighted. The article also analyzes the problems of compensation for damage caused to property in terms of the war.

Sexual Orientation Discrimination and Autonomy of Religious Groups in the Inter-American Case Law

Fernando Arlettaz — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Religious freedom encompasses the right of religious groups to define the tenets of their faith and
to organise themselves according to these tenets, without arbitrary State interference. However, the limits
of religious groups’ autonomy are controversial, especially in those cases where the exercise of religious
autonomy seems to be at odds with non-discrimination standards. The Inter-American Court of Human
Rights has adopted many decisions on sexual orientation discrimination, but its case law on religious
freedom is much scarcer. The two issues converged in the recent decision Pavez Pavez v Chile, in which the
Court set the limits of the autonomy of religious groups when confronted with non-discrimination standards.

Protection of Rights and Freedoms of Minors in Employment: International Law and Experience of Ukraine

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The issue of protecting the rights of minors is undoubtedly relevant. There is a tendency in society when the employment of minors in the labor market is growing. The purpose of the article is to analyze the theory and practice of legal regulation of labor of minors under Ukrainian and international law and to find the optimal solution to the problematic issues that exist in this area. The article deals with the legal features of the work of minors at the national and international levels. Universal international legal acts enshrine the fundamentals of protection of the rights of minors from forced labor and oblige states to set a minimum age for employment and prohibit minors from holding certain positions. National legislation extends the norms on the work of minors in accordance with their labor market, clarifies and expands the rights of minors and the employment procedure. Despite the fact that the rights of child workers are clearly regulated, the state should eliminate certain shortcomings to ensure the rights and freedoms of this group of workers. The authors conclude that the term "light work" needs to be clarified, and a detailed classification of child workers depending on their age and state benefits is necessary. It is necessary to take educational measures to inform minors about their rights in the field of employment, and to develop a simplified mechanism for the protection of their rights. Scientific work can contribute to consolidate Ukraine's international relations with that of other countries in terms of developing bilateral relations to protect the rights of underage workers.

Right to a Fair Trial in Extraordinary Conditions

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The relevance of the study is determined by the necessity to generalize the problems of implementation of the right to a fair trial faced by various states in connection with quarantine restrictions, as well as the experience of the administration of justice under martial law. This made it possible to establish a common understanding of the right to a fair trial within the borders of the Council of Europe member states, as well as the means of solving the issue of justice by the Ukrainian authorities in the conditions of the occupation and the military actions of the Russian army.

A Study on the Human Rights Situation in Kirkuk

Sanh Shareef — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Human rights are the principles that seek to protect all human beings around the world from serious political, legal, and social abuses. As a result of the atrocities committed in First and Second World Wars, the United Nations ensures the protection of human rights through several international conventions and instruments, such as the UN Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Iraq is a signatory to most of the international conventions concerning the protection of human rights. This paper aims to examine the protection of human rights in Kirkuk under the Iraqi Federal Government. The paper’s approach is focused entirely on desk research, with secondary sources being the main sources of information. The study concludes that the Iraqi Federal Government has failed to protect human rights in Kirkuk due to the fragmented security ability of the Federal Government and the dominance of militant groups in the region.

Disability and the Elderly in their Freedom of Interaction with the Spanish Administration

Vanesa Sánchez Ballesteros — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Disability and elderly people are considered special groups due to their high degree of vulnerability, and their welfare must be supported by public measures that reinforce the guarantees of their rights and freedoms. Although new technologies open up a world of possibilities in all areas of life, their use can hinder, in some cases, the development of the rights of these groups because their practice is a complex novelty, especially in the area of communication between citizens and the Public Administration. Therefore, this study focuses on the analysis of the impact of ICTs on the right to freedom of access of persons with disabilities and the elderly.

Protecting Citizens against Bureaucratic Abuse and Maladministration

Solomon I. Ifejika — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In 1975, with Decree No. 31, the Federal Military Government of Nigeria established the Public Complaints Commission as the country’s ombudsman institution. Charging it with the responsibility for protecting the citizen’s rights in the administration, Decree No. 31 was an enabling law to the 1974 report of the Public Service Review Panel instituted by the Military Government in 1974 to appraise and revamp the country’s public service. Following Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, the Commission’s establishment law became known as the Public Complaints Commission Act, CAP P37 of Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, which sustains its existence and operation in the present Fourth Republic. Notwithstanding, the Commission’s performance has largely remained unsatisfactory for being unable to effectively deliver on its statutory mandate. This conceptual study, therefore, investigates the main factors accounting for the ineffectiveness of the Nigerian ombudsman institution. The study relies on qualitative data generated from secondary sources, which was analyzed using the thematic analysis technique of qualitative data analysis. The work finds that, among other issues, the lack of independence and legal capacity to punish offenders, are the key impediments to the effectiveness of the Commission. The study thus recommends, among other things, the amendment of the Commission’s establishment Act to grant the institution independence from the executive and legislative arms of the Nigerian Federal Government and confer on it punitive powers, as workable measures for repositioning the nation’s ombudsman institution for improved performance.

From Structural Discrimination to Intersectionality in the Inter-American System of Human Rights: Unravelling Categorical Framings

Cecilia Gebruers — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The paper focuses on the way human rights law has been incorporating notions of intersectionality through legal instruments as well as through human rights courts’ decisions. The overall goal is to expose the shortcomings of the current conception of intersectionality as it has been applied by the Inter-American Court, which, I argue, derive from a categorical understanding of group and identity-based rights transplanted from the notion of structural discrimination. The paper argues that approaching human rights violations by means of categorical reasoning is detrimental to intersectional interests, since it perpetuates the problem that intersectionality seeks to overcome in the first place, and suggests that cutting across categories is a potentially more fruitful pathway for the future of intersectionality in the legal field.

Role of Human Rights Indicators in National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights: Comparative analysis of Finland and Spain

Silvia Avellaneda San Antonio — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This article examines the articulation and role of measurements and indicators in the National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights (NAPs). First, from a theoretical perspective, based on the analysis of a wide range of literature and reference documents. Second, we analyse how this has been implemented in practice in Spain and Finland. The results demonstrate an enhancement of the human rights indicators for business and provide keys to making indicators a tool for improving the effectiveness of the NAPs.

Ensuring the Cultural Rights of Kurdish Minority in Türkiye: Necessity, Challenges, Solutions

Mostafa Fazaeli, Mousa Karami — Wed, 03 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Being in non-dominant position and forming one of the largest ethnic groups numerically in Türkiye (previously Turkey), Kurds constitute an ethnic minority. The main argument of this article is that neglecting and disrespecting the cultural rights (CRs) of this group has led to transformation of a social challenge to a political one which ultimately resulted in a security challenge through an armed movement by P.K.K. in the 1980s. Employing a descriptive-analytical method to analyse the content, the present article aims at investigating the necessity of, challenges to and solutions for ensuring CRs of Kurdish minority. It appears that ensuring the cultural rights of Kurdish minority in Türkiye is a pressing necessity particularly for preserving cultural diversity as the common heritage of humanity and maintaining national, regional and international peace and security. Furthermore, the main challenges with which ensuring CRs of Kurds in Türkiye is facing are weak international belief in cultural rights, lack of sufficient national and international monitoring bodies and effective enforcing mechanisms, and dominance of Kemalism as the founding ideology of Republic of Türkiye. Accordingly, the solutions for eliminating these challenges can be strengthening the foundations and developing the sources of cultural rights of ethnic minorities, activating the national and international monitoring bodies and criminalising certain examples of violations of cultural rights and predicting effective sanctions. No article has been written on the necessity of, challenges to and solutions for ensuring the CRs of Kurdish minority in Türkiye in a single piece. Addressing these factors from the perspective of CRs as human rights, this article contributes in filling the existing gap in literature in this regard.

Termination of Employment Based on Employee’s HIV Status: The Response of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria

Mary-Ann Onoshioke Ajayi, David Tarh-Akong Eyongndi — Fri, 05 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This article adopts desk-based methodology in interrogating the issue of HIV related employment termination in Nigeria, focusing on the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) decision in Akinola v. Ocean Marine Solutions Ltd. It examined international and domestic legal frameworks on the subject, the human rights affected by such termination, the impact of the decision taken on the protection of the human cum employment rights of employees living with HIV/AIDS and the response of the NICN to the quagmire. It observed that the quantum of damages awarded by the NICN cannot achieve deterrence. It recommends how to eradicate HIV related employment termination in Nigeria.

Assessing the Effectiveness of the National Human Rights Commission, India, vis-à-vis the Paris Principles Relating to the Status of National Human Rights Institutions

Ruchita Kaundal, Sanjeevi Shanthakumar — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) play an important role in monitoring and promoting international human rights norms in a country. However, in order to function as an effective NHRI, they must adhere to the “Paris Principles” of 1993. In 2023 the Indian NHRI prepares to renew its ’A’ grade accreditation. This offers an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of the institution in light of the aforementioned Principles. In doing so the authors address both the limitations that hinder the NHRI’s performance and the remedies. Notably, the role of “District Human Rights Courts”, in supporting the NHRI in enhancing its effectiveness.

Protection of Rights of Internally Displaced Persons amid Military Aggression in Ukraine

Iryna Izarova, Yurii Prytyka, Oksana Uhrynovska, Nazar Shestopalov — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This article is devoted to the study of the legal status of internally displaced persons in Ukraine in the context of the full-scale war launched by the russian federation on 24 February 2022. During the study, an analysis of the doctrinal definition of “internally displaced persons” and the rights guaranteed by it in accordance with the current legislation, developed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, has been carried out. The article highlights the guiding principles of the international law that should be applied by the states when solving the problem of internal displacement, as well as specific examples of the measures taken by various European countries to solve this problem. Rights of internally displaced persons on right to employment and to receive special housing allowance were analysed as main guaranties. Right to free legal aid was considered as the key point guarantee for ensuring access to justice and protection of rights. Experience of states with similar experience of war (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia) were studied.

The conclusions focus on the problems of effective implementation of the right of internally displaced persons to free legal aid and summarize the need to improve the effective mechanism of protection of rights of internally displaced persons, which may also be of interest for the European states that sheltered more than 8 million Ukrainians during the war.