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Comments on Preliminary Draft 7 [black letter and comments]
Get PDFPD7 is often confusing, largely as a result of failure to provide important explanations or definitions, or to tell the reader where that information can be found. Key terms, such as “edicts of law” and “formalities” remain undefined. Formalities are a principal topic of PD7; they deserve a more thorough description than the draft contains, addressing what formalities are, whether every declaratory obligation (or option) is a “formality,” or only those that go to the existence or enforcement of copyright (this is the Berne Convention meaning of “formality”)
Religion, Conscience, and the Law: Reasons, Bases, and Limits for Exemptions
Get PDFKent Greenawalt discusses the permissibility, scope, and rationale for law to provide exemptions to protect religious and nonreligious conscience in the United States. It may be difficult for the law to determine which sentiments amount to conscience given differences in individuals’ perception and the strength of their convictions. Even the notion of a religious conscience is complex. Religious citizens’ conclusions about matters of interest to religion may proceed from both religion and reason, or only from reason. It is not clear what should count as religious, given differences between denominations and their ideas over time. There are a host of factors bearing on the permissibility and wisdom of granting exemptions, determining their scope, and deciding whether to extend protections to nonreligious conscience. A first principle is the importance of respect for others and for tolerance in a democracy. These questions about exemptions can be considered by looking closely at contested issues, like objection to the military draft, laws governing the manner of killing animals, ingestion of banned substances, abortion, and objection to insurance mandates concerning contraceptives
In Fulton Decision, SCOTUS Solidifies Expansion of Religious Exercise Rights
Get PDFOn June 17, 2021, the Supreme Court solidified a dramatic shift in its reading of the constitutional protections for religious liberty. The Court ruled that religious organizations that contract with local governments to provide foster care services should be exempted from compliance with city non-discrimination requirements if the city permits any discretionary exemptions from those laws
Columbia Law School ERA Project Statement on \u3cem\u3eVirginia v. Ferriero\u3c/em\u3e
Get PDFNew York, New York – Columbia Law School’s Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Project issued the following comment on the decision issued by federal judge Rudolph Contreras in Virginia v. Ferriero, a lawsuit brought to force the Archivist of the United States to finally publish the Equal Rights Amendment
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No full textPhoto of Peter Lehner \u2784.https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/defending_the_planet_podcast/1015/thumbnail.jp
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No full textLine art image of Talia Gillis.https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/beyond_unprecedented_podcast/1030/thumbnail.jp
Transparency of Land-based Investments: Cameroon Country Snapshot
Get PDFDespite a recent transparency law and participation in transparency initiatives, Cameroon’s investment environment remains plagued by poor transparency.
In a new report focusing on agribusiness projects in Cameroon, CCSI and the Centre pour l’Environnement et le Développement (CED) find that: Communities continue to be excluded from decision-making around investments. The government pursues a top-down approach to concession allocation and remains reluctant to recognize all legitimate tenure rights. The government faces threats to its legitimacy as the grievances of citizens and investors alike lead to the barring of roads by communities and investor withdrawals.
CCSI and CED therefore call for: A new law concerning the governance of land and land-based investment in Cameroon, to be developed in close consultation and collaboration with communities, Indigenous groups, and other actors. The law should respond to the transparency needs of affected communities, enable increased funding for technical support to communities, and facilitate the recognition of all legitimate customary land rights, with specific attention to Indigenous communities and women and girls. A national moratorium on any new approvals for large-scale agribusiness and other land-based investment projects until Cameroon’s legal and policy landscape has been reformed.
This research forms part of a broader portfolio of research conducted by CCSI on a demand-driven approach to land investment transparency, focusing on the transparency needs of project-affected communities and host governments. This project was funded with UK aid from the UK government; however, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies
Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Bill: A Missed Opportunity to Prepare for the Zero-Carbon Future
Get PDFWith Nigeria’s National Assembly debating the proposed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in the first quarter of 2021 – after nearly two decades of attempted reform of the country’s petroleum sector – Nigeria has a unique opportunity to rethink the role of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria’s economy and build out the country’s energy sector and economic capacity for the long term. CCSI’s report Equipping the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the Low-Carbon Transition, released before the PIB was publicized, advances suggestions on how to do so. The PIB takes notable steps toward much-needed reform of NNPC’s governance structure and addresses particular environmental and social concerns. However, it ultimately fails to account for climate change, the energy transition, and the necessary overhaul of Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
Complementing CCSI’s recent NNPC report, this blog provides a brief analysis of Nigeria’s PIB. It highlights the PIB’s laudable steps while identifying gaps and outlining recommendations for Nigeria to prepare for and seize the opportunity of the energy transition
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No full textPhoto of Michael W. Doyle, University Professor at Columbia Law School.https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/defending_the_planet_podcast/1017/thumbnail.jp
Regardless of Frontiers: Global Freedom of Expression in a Troubled World
No full textThe United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 proclaimed a vision of freedom of expression exercised regardless of frontiers. Nonetheless, laws and norms regarding the freedom or limits of expression are typically established and understood at the national level. In today’s interconnected world, newfound threats to free expression have suddenly arisen. How can this fundamental right be secured at a global level?
This volume brings together leading experts from a variety of fields to critically evaluate the extent to which global norms on freedom of expression and information have been established and which actors and institutions have contributed to their diffusion. The authors also consider ongoing and new challenges to these norms, from conflicts over hate speech and the rise of populism to authoritarian governments, as well as the profound disruption introduced by the internet. Together, the essays lay the groundwork for an international legal doctrine on global freedom of expression that considers issues such as access to government-held information, media diversity, and political speech. As the world risks renouncing previous commitments to the freedom of expression, Regardless of Frontiers serves as a timely reminder of just how much is at stake and what needs protecting.https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/books/1360/thumbnail.jp