Critically assess whether the reforms proposed by the draft Constitutional Convention on the Future of Europe will satisfy the objectives of the Laeken Declaration.
ROBERT GORDON UNIVERSITY ABERDEEN BUSINESS SCHOOL EUROPEAN UNION LAW Critically assess whether the reforms proposed by the draft Constitutional Convention on the Future of Europe will satisfy the objectives of the Laeken Declaration BY CHRISTINE BYRES WC. 2492 EUROPEAN UNION COURSEWORK INTRODUCTION The E.U Leaders adopted the Declaration at their meeting in Laeken. This meeting was necessary in hopes to identify some of the key questions that must be considered during the next stage of treaty reform and institutional reform. It was in December 2001 that the Laeken Declaration was issued at the end of the Belgian Presidency of the European Union. It set out ambitious tasks for a Convention. The Laeken Declaration helped to establish proposals for the convention "for the reform of the E.U." There are three concerns that the declaration deals with: "1. Europe at a Crossroads; 2. Challenges and Reforms in a Renewed Union; 3. Convention on the future of Europe."1 . EUROPE AT A CROSSROADS For many centuries, the people and the states have engaged in arms and waged war to succeed for command of the European continent. The devastating effect of having two wars and the fact that the Europe's position was weakening in the world brought an increasing awareness that the only way to make Europe strong and united was to have peace. In order to drive out every bad
Country Report on Rwanda
Country Report RWANDA Ubumwe, Umurimo, Gukunda Igihugu "Unity, Work, Patriotism" M. Swai 25234138 AMR 410 Assignment 3 Contents . Summary.............................................................................................. 3 2. Introduction.......................................................................................... 3 3. Gacaca Courts.......................................................................................4 4. Denial of Fair Public Trial........................................................................ 5 5. Abolition of Death Penalty.......................................................................7 6. Women in Governance............................................................................7 7. Freedom of Expression...........................................................................7 8. Conclusion..........................................................................................10 Bibliography........................................................................................12 . Summary In 2007, significant human rights abuses occurred, although there were important improvements in some areas. Citizens' right to change their government was restricted, and extra judicial killings by security forces increased. There were reports of torture and abuse of suspects, although significantly
Nigerian Judiciary and the defence of the common man
THE NIGERIAN JUDICIARY AND THE DEFENCE OF THE COMMON MAN In line with the doctrine of separation of powers, which is a cardinal feature of a democratic system, the Nigerian Constitution guarantees the independence of the Judiciary. The doctrine of seperation of power was introduced by French political philosopher, Baron de Montesquieu in order to protect the people from dictatorship or authoritarianism. Under this arrangement, three branches of goverment were formed: the executive, legislature and judiciary. The legislature is responsible for making laws, the executive implements while the judiciary interpretes the laws. It was Madison's system of "Checks and Balances" that would keep the three in check. No one branch would be able to exploit it's power without the scrutiny of one of the other branches. Montesquieu did specify that "the independence of the judiciary has to be real, and not apparent merely". "The judiciary was generally seen as the most important of powers, independent and unchecked", and also considered the least dangerous. That the judiciary all over the world is regarded as the last hope of the common man needs not be over-emphasised. This is why stakeholders in the justice sector often refer to it as a strong fortress, standing sure and strong, providing succour and shelter for the defenceless and vulnerable of the society; a safe haven where the
The common law of defamation is structured around Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which provides protection for freedom of expression.
Defamation can be defined as a publication of an untrue statement of fact by words that expose them to hatred, contempt, or ridicule; which is likely to make a reasonable and respectable person think less of the claimant.1 Alternatively, tend to make the claimant, "be shunned and avoided and that without any moral discredit on the claimants part."2 There are two types of defamation under English law, libel being a defamatory statement made in writing and films which is in some sort of permanent form. Slander is a defamatory statement made by words of mouth or gesture.3 The common law of defamation is structured around Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which provides protection for freedom of expression. Article 10 ECHR however is restricted to several derogations in Article 10 (2) ECHR, one of which is the protection reputation.4 This Article requires law in relation to defamation, to draw a balance between freedom of expression and protection of reputation. Whether English law does this is questionable and has been subject to many criticm which will discussed further on. The Defamation Act 1996 exists to protect the reputation and good standing of an individual. The claimant must be able to prove that they have a reputation to which damage can be done and also to show that their reputation has been damaged in order to pursue a successful claim. On
Human Rights - Articles 6 and 8 applied to fictitious cases.
Question 1: Mike Russell is a (fictitious) former international cricket player, having played regularly for England between 2005 and 2011. In 2012 he published his autobiography in which he wrote controversially about a tour by England to South Africa. He claimed that some of his team mates were more interested “in scoring with the local girls than in scoring runs against the South Africans”. He continued that if the fast bowlers had spent less time wine tasting and more time practising in the nets, England might well have beaten South Africa in the test series. A few months ago the following article appeared in ‘Wicket World’, a leading cricket magazine. Mike’s Misdeeds When Mike Russell played cricket for England, he cultivated a squeaky clean image. Well, the truth about Mike is now out! When Mike dropped out of the final test against South Africa on the epic tour so graphically described in his book, the England management announced that he had got food poisoning. Wicket World can now disclose the truth. Mike was actually suffering the after-effects of a sordid, vodka-filled night of passion with a local prostitute. Happily Mike has now seen the error of his ways, and he checked in last week at The Cloisters, a private clinic which helps people suffering from addictions. Well done, Mike, for fighting your addiction to vodka! Mike began proceedings
How is that balance promoted in the Convention itself, and how satisfactory, in your view, has the European Commission on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights pursued that aim?"
RESTRICTIONS ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION HOW TO KEEP BALANCE BETWEEN RIGHTS OF THE INDIVIDUALS AND THE INTRESTS AND RIGHTS OF THE WHOLE SOCIETY? Martijn Brinkhuis 2a Marley Court Parkwood University of Kent Canterbury [email protected] Human rights and English law Michaelmas term, December 17th 1998 "The European Convention on Human Rights seeks to balance the rights of the individual with various other rights and interests in society. How is that balance promoted in the Convention itself, and how satisfactory, in your view, has the European Commission on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights pursued that aim?" INDEX Page 4 - Introduction - The Convention in short Page 5 - The problem to balance Page 6 - Limitations on the rights Page 7 - The doctrine of margin appreciation - Article 64 Page 8 - How does it work? - Enforcing the Convention Page 9 - Conclusion Page 10 - Bibliography INTRODUCTION After the Second World War, an international (European) organisation, called the Council of Europe, was formed. The Council drafted the European Convention on Human Rights1. It was signed in 1950 and entered into force in 1953. Intentionally as a means of preventing the kind of violation of human rights seen in Europe during and before the war. Another reason was the wish to protect Western Europe against communism,
Critically assess the extent to which the individual complaint mechanism allows for the effective protection of human rights under the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
Staffordshire University LAW OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS Assignment 1 Critically assess the extent to which the individual complaint mechanism allows for the effective protection of human rights under the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. LLM Student number: 99-354223 Academic year 2001-2002 Semester 1 After World War II, the reconstruction of Europe was based on the establishment of institutions promoting and restoring those liberal and democratic values and ideals which had been seriously damaged by the dramatic events of the first part of the twentieth century. It is in this context that the Council of Europe was set up in 1949, within which the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was documented 1. The radical innovations that the ECHR introduced are set to protect mostly civil and political rights, as well as some social and economic rights 2 which have been subsequently introduced in the Convention Regime by means of Protocols 3. What makes the Convention a milestone in the development of human rights and of international law, is the creation of a supranational mechanism of control and enforcement of these rights and the fact that individuals are afforded a machinery for the implementation of their human rights whenever there is a failure on the national level to protect them. This
Critically consider the extent that 'right to silence' and the privilege against self-incrimination continue to be a part of the English criminal justice system
Critically consider the extent that 'right to silence' and the privilege against self-incrimination continue to be a part of the English criminal justice system. This essay will first explain the meaning of the right to silence and the privilege against self-incrimination and their origins in the United Kingdom. It will then discuss the extent that they continue to be part of the English criminal justice system by focusing on the impact of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The Right to Remain Silent and the Privilege against Self-incrimination The right to silence and the privilege against self-incrimination are often linked together when discussed by legal scholars. However, there is indeed a distinction between them. The right to silence refers to the 'immunity of an accused person from having adverse inferences drawn from failure to answer questions'.1 There are three stages in the criminal process when considering the right to silence. They are to remain silent prior to arrest, for instance, not to speak when stopped by a constable on the street; to remain silent when under arrest, which is not to answer police officers' questions while in custody; and to remain silent at trial, not to give evidence or answer questions.2 The privilege against self-incrimination is the freedom of an individual 'not to divulge information which might be incriminating' and
Human rigths
Human Rights Assessment One The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was drafted with a sizeable input from English lawyers and was ratified by the United Kingdom in 1951. The right of individual petition was recognised in 1966. This meant that before the ECHR was incorporated into domestic law litigants in Britain who had their civil liberties infringed by the state could seek redress in international law where no adequate remedy could be provided by domestic courts. However the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) have found on numerous occasions that the positive guarantees of fundamental rights have been violated by the United Kingdom. This has been partly due to the difficulty of considering and developing domestic law with the ECHR. As the ECHR was an international treaty which had not been incorporated by an Act of Parliament it did not have legal effect because of the dualist principles of English law. In Britain Parliamentary sovereignty remained the cornerstone of accountability, as it still does today despite the inception of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA). This is in stark contrast to other European countries and America where the rule of law is key. So prior to the HRA there was no indication that Parliament intended to legislate to conform with the rights protected by the ECHR. The use of the ECHR was limited to cases where the law was ambiguous.
Human Rights Essay - Freedom to Protest and Extradition case studies.
Human Rights Essay No. 2 Student No. 0900091 The freedom to protest belongs to the family o so-called qualified rights. It means that in case of these rights the court has to balance the infringement of the private right by the state with the public interests such as national security. To reach the compromise in case of qualified right the principle of proportionality has to be used. The principle of proportionality is a political maxim which states that no layer of government should take any action that exceeds what is reasonably expected to achieve the desired objective. The freedom of expression constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society. It is certainly one of the basic conditions for its progress and development. The judges of British courts even before the enactment of the Human Rights Act recognised the right to freedom of expression. In one of the cases1 in High Court Mr Justice Laws (as he then was) said: 'There is a general principle in our law that the expression of opinion and the conveyance of information will not be restrained by the courts, save on pressing grounds. Freedom of expression is as much a sinew of a common law as it was of the European Convention.' Freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are the rights protected by the Human Rights Act. The act forbids governments and other public authorities (including