Property and Sovereignty.

PROPERTY 1 LENT TERM 2004 Property and Sovereignty A. THE EMERGENCE OF NATIVE TITLE Themes and Questions These lectures, and the accompanying seminars, focus on the question of indigenous title. In the common law world, claims to indigenous title have become especially prominent in North America and Australia, where Aboriginal peoples, or the `First Nations', have sought ownership of their ancestral lands. Substantively, these claims might be construed as demands for some measure of sovereignty or self-determination, but they take the form of claims to the ownership of land. As a result, the private law structure of rights in land has been exposed to a number of political questions about the justification of sovereign acquisition, and a set of theoretical questions about the nature of property. From our perspective, claims to indigenous title are to the point precisely because they expose a number of the hidden assumptions which structure commonsense ideas about ownership as much as developed doctrines of property law. We approach the question of indigenous title by reflecting on the form of 'native title' which was recognised by the High Court of Australia in Queensland v Mabo (No2) (1992). We set this contemporary discussion in relation to the conception of property that was developed by John Locke some three hundred years ago, and which is still the most influential

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Libertarian Welfare Rights. An Inquiry into the Coherence of Some Common Libertarian Commitments

Libertarian Welfare Rights?i An Inquiry into the Coherence of Some Common Libertarian Commitments I. Introduction This paper argues that libertarians should endorse some welfare rights understood as rights that all states must guarantee to their subjects as a condition of legitimacy. For, it argues that libertarians, because they should be actual consent theorists, must agree to the following condition for state legitimacy: States must do what they can to ensure that their rights-respecting subjects secure the basic reasoning and planning capacities they need to consent to their rules. To secure these capacities, most people need some minimal amount of food, water, shelter, education, health care, social and emotional goods. So states have to ensure that these people secure these things (as long as they do not violate others' rights). This should be a striking conclusion as most libertarians notoriously reject welfarism and positive social and economic rights. They do not think legitimate states must ensure that any of their subjects secure food, water, shelter, education, health care, social or emotional goods. It is, of course, easy to imagine ways that welfare rights can conflict with other libertarian commitments. So, although it is framed as an argument for the conclusion that libertarians should endorse some welfare rights, this paper's import is really that denying

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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INDUSTRIAL CITIZENSHIP IN BRITAIN: ITS NEGLECT AND DECLINE

INDUSTRIAL CITIZENSHIP IN BRITAIN: ITS NEGLECT AND DECLINE Introduction In recent debates about struggles around globalisation the issue of workers rights has been central, however, the conceptualisation of workers' rights has been neglected.i The discussion of rights raises the idea of citizenship, and for workers, the question of industrial citizenship. The concept of industrial citizenship was introduced by T. H. Marshall in his famous account of the relationship between citizenship and social class, originally developed around 1950.ii Citizenship in general refers to the equal membership of a national societal community, where those individual citizens are theoretically guaranteed equal rights of speech, association, etc., and equal rights of political participation. Industrial citizenship is where employees have the right to form and join unions and to engage in actions such as strikes in pursuit of higher wages and better conditions of employment.iii Industrial citizenship, then, is not to be equated with ideas of industrial democracy, although some national systems of industrial citizenship might approximate some models of industrial democracy. However, industrial citizenship in Marshall's account is largely seen as secondary to the rights of civil citizenship, and with a few exceptionsiv has received little attention from subsequent commentators who have attempted to

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  • Subject: Law
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Universal conceptions of human rights should supersede culturally relative conceptions. Discuss. Assess the effectiveness of the international community with reference to the cultural practice of female genital mutilation.

Topic: Universal conceptions of human rights should supersede culturally relative conceptions. Discuss. Assess the effectiveness of the international community with reference to the cultural practice of female genital mutilation. ABSTRACT The atrocities committed against individuals in events such as slavery, the two World Wars, the Holocaust, and apartheid in South Africa caused the issue of human rights to become a major concern to all nations across the globe, particularly the western nations. The issue of human rights, however, has its roots in natural law theories of the 17th and 18th centuries and was more firmly established contemporarily in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other covenants, conventions and declarations that were derived from it. At the core of this issue, is the controversy as to whether human rights are universal or culturally relative. Another area of disputation is the efficiency of the international community in the face of cultural practices that serve to discriminate against individuals, such as female genital mutilation, for example. The use of secondary data was applied in carrying out this research to address the above-mentioned issues. INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE FOR STUDY The issue of human rights has been an issue worthy of discussion from as early as the 17th and 18th centuries where philosophers such as Thomas

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  • Subject: Law
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An Introduction to the Law of Intellectual Property

THE INSTITUTE OF ACCOUNTANCY ARUSHA DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT STUDIES BUSINESS LAW G.MALI "An Introduction to the Law of Intellectual Property" INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Introduction The purpose of business law is to regulate the conduct of business in a given society. In so doing it protects both social and economic interests of the people at the same time promote competition among businessmen. Free competition if not regulated can abrogate the general nature and purpose of law in the society. In this context some interests such as intellectual property rights need to be protected for the benefits of the inventor. Intellectual Property or IP What is intellectual property? It is the property springing from human intellect, intellect being an ability to think in a logical way and understand things. Intellectual property therefore can be an idea, design, formula resulting from human intellect and the law prevents others from using it without his authority. The law of Intellectual property allows people to own their creativity and innovation in the same way that they can own physical property. The owner of IP can control and be rewarded for its use, and this encourages further innovation and creativity to the benefit of us all. In some cases IP gives rise to protection for ideas but in other areas there will have to be more elabouration of an idea before

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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A critical evaluation of the regulation of legal prostitution in Victoria.

A critical evaluation of the regulation of legal prostitution in Victoria in the light of regulatory theories such as those covered in this course, including an analysis of the aims and choice of regulatory methods of the current scheme, the effectiveness of the current scheme, and the nature and effectiveness of its consumer protections. Introduction For some the prostitution industry is just another service industry, where consumers buy and workers sell. For others it is an industry that represents immorality and depravity. Historically, the need to 'protect' society from the evils of prostitution has seen governments attempt to eradicate the industry with harsh criminal sanctions. The regulatory methods employed emanated from a belief that the problem required strict social control, control that only the government was able to administer. The evolution of knowledge with respect to the industry itself has seen societal attitudes change towards the 'dangers' of prostitution. Rather than attempt to eliminate the existence of prostitution, it has been recognised that the peripheral harms of the industry must be tackled. Whilst regulators have changed their approach with respect to 'whether' and 'how' prostitution should be regulated, the methods used have drawn criticism. This paper will explore the current regulatory regime employed in Victoria to regulate prostitution,

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Non Violence and Black Power: How differing conceptions of power led to the transition in goals and

Non Violence and Black Power: How differing conceptions of power led to the transition in goals and Contents Preface.Page iii Glossary.................................Page 1 Section One: Conceptions of Power and Strategies of Action.....................Page 2 Section Two: Historical Background.......Page 13 Section Three: From Non-Violence to Black Power....................................Page 26 Section Four: Conclusion.................Page 54 Bibliography.............................Page 60 Preface This analysis illustrates how different conceptions of the nature of power relations in American society led, in the mid-1960's to the transition of the civil rights movement from one founded upon 'non-violence', to one characterised in terms of 'black power'. The analysis is presented in terms of two 'models' of power, 'pluralist' and 'elitist', which are applied to the two philosophies above, respectively. The King led movement is depicted as reformist, seeking integration into American society, following certain alterations and adjustments. It is shown to perceive racial inequality in terms of the Jim Crow system of segregation, and as a consequence sought its destruction, using NVDA to bring about legal reform. The 'black power' movement conversely is classified in terms of a more radical analysis of the power structure. One that rejects reform and

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Reform Acts

Reform Acts Glenn Everett, Associate Professor of English, University of Tennessee at Martin No period of British History has been as tense, as politically and socially disturbed, as the 1830s and early 1840s, when both the working class and the middle class, separately or in conjunction, demanded what they regarded as fundamental changes. From 1829 to 1832 their discontents fused in the demand for Parliamentary Reform, behind which the masses threw their riots and demonstrations, the businessmen the power of economic boycott. After the 1832, when several of the demands of the middle-class radicals were met, the worker's movement fought and failed alone. (Eric Hobsbawm, Industry and Empire) The three Reform Acts, of 1832, 1867, and 1884, all extended voting rights to previously disfranchised citizens. The first act, which was the most controversial, reapportioned representation in Parliament in a way fairer to the cities of the industrial north, which had experienced tremendous growth, and did away with "rotten" and "pocket" boroughs like Old Sarum, which with only seven voters (all controlled by the local squire) was still sending two members to Parliament. This act not only re-apportioned representation in Parliament, thus making that body more accurately represent the citizens of the country, but also gave the power of voting to those lower in the social and economic

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Perhaps the most pertinent issue regarding the justification of torture is the ongoing and vibrant debate surrounding the 'tic

For as long as the memory of recorded history reaches, there has been evidence various methods of torture as a means to control populations, extract information or enforce policy. From cutting off hands to thumbscrews or the rack, methods of torture were widely practised and accepted as a norm by states across the globe. It was only with the advent of the enlightenment and eventually culminating in the immediate post-war era following the Second World War that this view of accepting torture changed and many advocated its ban. Through the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), methods of torture were near universally publicly condemned, yet its subversive practise continued in many countries, including the United States in battling communism.1 However, this changed dramatically with the events of September 11th, 2001 and the subsequent War on Terror waged by the Bush Administration. Torture was suddenly advocated as a lesser of two evils, and the only way to extract relevant information from those willing to die for their cause. Yet the definition of torture as set out in the CAT is specifically worded to protect people from being subjected to abuse in order to relinquish information otherwise not willing to give up.2 Thus it becomes a pertinent question

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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2nd Amendment Pro Gun Ownership.

2nd Amendment Pro Gun Ownership Specific Goal: I want to encourage gun ownership. Introduction. I. What is the foundation of modern technology? It's the history of the gun. Thesis Statement: I will persuade you in that, (1) federal gun control laws are unconstitutional, and (2) I will prove the 2nd Amendment is both a "state" (collective-right) and "Individual Right." Body. I. The foundation of our country is based in English Bill of Rights and the American Revolution. A. What is the difference between the Declaration of Independence, the U. S. Constitution and the "Bill of Rights?" 1. The Declaration of Independence gives the reasons, as to why America wanted separation. 2. The Constitution gives the federal government certain powers. 3. The "Bill of Rights" limited the power of the federal government. B. The views of gun control advocates. 1. Gun control saves lives. 2. When America was founded guns only shot one bullet at a time. 3. Gun control will keep guns out of the hands of criminals. 4. Children should not have guns. 5. Gun control will reduce the hazards to law enforcement. 6. If citizens carry guns, there will be daily shoot-outs in the streets. 7. We don't want to ban deer rifles, just assault rifles. 8. Why do you need an assault rifle? 9. The entertainment industry is not at fault, it's the gun's fault! 10. The 2nd is a collective right

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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