13203 research outputs found
Sort by
Who is a Refugee?: Twenty-Five Years of Domestic Implementation and Judicial Interpretation of the 1969 OAW and 1951 UN Refugee Conventions in Post-Apartheid South Africa
Get PDFAs a party to the UN Refugee Convention and the OAU Refugee Convention, South Africa is obligated to apply international refugee law when addressing the protection needs of asylum seekers in the country. The Refugees Act, 1998 encapsulates the cardinal principles of the two conventions. This essay discusses how government officials and judges have interpreted and applied these principles in asylum application cases. These cases demonstrate that officials are either not always fully conversant with the legal obligations, incumbent upon the government, arising from both international law and domestic law or purposefully ignore them. For the most part, officials tend to treat asylum seekers presumptively as economic migrants rather than bona fide refugees entitled to proper scrutiny under the criteria set out in the refugee conventions. This approach has resulted in gaps between legal protection and practical protection of refugees in South Africa and has on several occasions been criticized and rejected by courts, including the Constitutional Court of South Africa
When Freedom of Speech Comes at a Cost: A Case Study of E.S. v. Austria
Get PDFIn the fall of 2018, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a decision upholding the criminal conviction of an Austrian national (E.S.) in violation of Austria\u27s Criminal Code against the disparagement of religious doctrines. Her initial conviction in the Austrian court was based on statements she made about the Prophet Muhammad while teaching a series of seminars entitled Basic Information on Islam. In upholding her conviction, the ECtHR found that there had been no violation of the Austrian\u27s right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights (Convention), and therefore Austria\u27s conviction was valid and did not impermissibly infringe on her right to freedom of expression. This case adds yet another dimension to the polarizing debate regarding freedom of expression and the permissible limitations that may be placed upon this freedom. In this article, I argue that this case can be viewed as a turning point in the free expression debate, and perhaps indicates an awareness that such restrictions on speech may be necessary in order to maintain public safety and order
Promoting Private Enforcement of Environmental Law In China
No full textIn China, anyone, victims and witnesses, can report environmental violations to the government. However, the government often fails to act as required by law. Apart from the superior government and its agencies, there is no other functional supervision of the agencies’ malpractice and inaction, although the Constitution and laws have prescribed many. The petition system in China which dates back to the imperial era, is used by the government as a relief valve for social pressures rather than a dispute resolution method. Petitioning is also part of the system by which local governments and leaders are evaluated. Injured victims can file environmental tort lawsuits in court, but the plaintiffs are only limited to injured persons. Although the major burden of proof has been shifted to the defendants, the plaintiffs are still required to prove the relevance between the pollutants and the injuries. When there are enormous numbers of victims, or in a mass environmental tort case, the victims, in theory, may collectively file a representative suit. Legal professionals played a positive role in assisting such suits in China.
Private parties could also challenge the administrative activities of environmental agencies through administrative reconsideration and administrative litigation procedures. In addition, both the Administrative Reconsideration Law and the Administrative Litigation Law empowered the reconsideration authorities and the courts conducting judicial review of certain abstract administrative activities except for laws, regulations and rules, in addition to concrete administrative activities. Although both the Administrative Reconsideration Law and the Administrative Litigation Law grant standing to interested parties who are not the regulated parties and to the victims of agencies’ inactions or nonactions, especially since there are quite often a large number of interested parties and victims, it is still not clear in practice how interested parties are defined. Environmental agencies’ inactions or nonactions are not appealable or reviewable under the current environmental administrative reconsideration procedure, though they can be the object of lawsuits and are reviewable by courts.
Whenever there are no victims in a case, or the pure sufferer is the environment per se, qualified and registered social organizations may file public interest lawsuits (PILs) into the courts against the violators. Recent laws and judicial interpretations empowered public prosecutors to participate in filing PILs against both violators and agencies. Solely public prosecutors are empowered to bring PILs against agencies. Although policy makers intended to supplement the current public enforcement system by introducing PILs, as quasi-private or public/governmental enforcement, into Chinese law, it has now been shifted from the private enforcement side to the far side of public/governmental enforcement. When private citizens are not allowed to file PILs, when social organizations are only allowed to file PILs against violators, and when only prosecutors are allowed to file PILs against the government and the agencies, the intent of promoting the private enforcement of environmental laws has actually come to an end
Federal Public Lands Policy and the Climate Crisis and Proposed Policy: Sequential Mitigation and Net Conservation Benefit
Get PDFProfessor Fischman\u27s contributions to this colleciton include the sections, Federal Public Lands Policy and the Climate Crisis and Proposed Policy: Sequential Mitigation and Net Conservation Benefit.https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facbooks/1231/thumbnail.jp
Annual Report of the Indiana Universiy Maurer School of Law Digital Repository, 2019/20
Get PDFA brief annual report documenting the use and growth of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Jerome Hall Law Library, Digital Repository. Includes lists of the most downloaded documents and attached Excel spreadsheets of dat
Elinor Ostrom, Pioneer of the Commons
No full textProfessor Cole\u27s contribution is Chapter 7: Elinor Ostrom, Pioneer of the Commons (and Much More).https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facbooks/1228/thumbnail.jp
Judicial Conduct and Ethics, 6th edition
No full textJudges are expected not simply to decide the law but to exemplify it. In the face of increasing public scrutiny and a welter of new decisions, even the best-intentioned judges can find themselves at a loss. Here is the authoritative, practical guidance you need to ensure judicial activities are irreproachable.Now in its sixth edition, Judicial Conduct and Ethics has established its reputation as the nation\u27s most definitive guide to the conduct of federal, state, and local judges. The new edition, which keeps pace with recent developments in this fast-evolving field, builds on this tradition.Setting the stage with an illuminating discussion of the use of power, Judicial Conduct and Ethics addresses the complete spectrum of judicial conduct, including uses and abuses of judicial power, judicial demeanor, disqualification, ex parte communications, case management, financial activities and disclosure, civic and charitable activities, personal conduct, political activities, civil and criminal liability, methods of discipline and removal, and disability and retirement. The book analyzes conduct that will subject judges to discipline under applicable codes of judicial conduct, and offers insights and advice on best practices.Some of the substantial new material added to this edition include a new section on international judicial ethics and an updated appendix that enables readers to search the work with reference to rules from the 2007 ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct. Areas that have been substantially revised or expanded include:• The Appearance of Impropriety• Disqualification• Regulation of Political Activities in Judicial Elections in light of the U. S. Supreme Court’s decision in Florida Bar v. Williams-Yulee• Personal Conduct and Social Mediahttps://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facbooks/1235/thumbnail.jp