PANEL SESSIONS III TUESDAY JUNE 26 2018 11.00 AM – 12.30 PM

Room: CYTT 8.24

  • WOMEN RIGHTS AT RISK: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
    In spite of the conceptual difference between the words sex (indicating biological differences between men and women) and gender (which refers to social and cultural norms), for long time patriarchal stereotypes based on gender have justified discriminatory treatments against women. This made necessary a massive legal effort for erasing gender discrimination as well as the effects of apparently gender neutral provisions. Against this global effort, full emancipation of women is still hindered in some legal systems including religious law among their sources of law, as in the case of some Muslim countries. In order to provide a comparative analysis considering case-studies differing for geography, legal tradition and approach toward gender issues, the proposed panel, chaired by Prof. Bertil Emrah Oder, is structured in three presentations. Presenters will serve as each-other discussants.
  • The role of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in protecting women against endemic violence.
    In some Latin-American countries, violence and discrimination against women is an endemic issue. Starting from the 2009 Cotton Field case , the IACtHR has converted itself in a human rights court leader in judging under the gender perspective paradigm. Thus, this paper will deal with the IACtHR jurisprudence in feminicide cases and it will be divided into 4 parts. Firstly, I will analyze the reasons and the causes of this endemic problem in some Latin-America countries. Secondly, I will focus on theoretical and legal tools that should be used in order to deal with the problem. Thirdly, the IACtHR case law addressing this issue will be analyzed in order to underline the gender perspective paradigm developed therein. Finally, the paper will offer some insights on the use of the gender perspective paradigm in protecting women against violence and discrimination.
  • Protecting women from violence: a European comparative analysis from domestic norms to the Istanbul Convention
    In the European context, constitutional and legislative provisions as well as international conventions prohibits violence against women. Notably, in 2014 the Council of Europe (CoE) so-called Istanbul Convention entered into force, providing for a wide range of measures against specific crimes (such as female genital mutilation, forced marriage, stalking, forced abortion, and forced sterilization) and for a monitoring mechanism (the so-called GREVIO). The proposed paper therefore examines the innovations the Convention introduced, i.e. the definitive ban of any possible cultural defense, but also the possible elements weakening its effectiveness. The role of the Convention is also assessed with reference to its influence on EU institutions and on domestic legal systems of the countries having ratified it. A specific focus on the Italian experience highlights the evolution of the domestic legislation and the impact of the Convention.
  • The role of Sharia in women‘s rights in Iran: promotion and restriction
    The idea that a dual system exists in Muslim countries, one de jure legal system and one based on sharia, has generated a plethora of debates on the mutual relations between these two systems. This relationship is made more complex due to the fact that in some Muslim countries –as in Iran – sharia is a source of law. As far as women rights are concerned, an important role is played by the Faquihs – an institutional mechanism whose aim is to conciliate exceptional factual needs with sharia. The present paper focuses on Faquihs interpretations on women‘s rights and on its effects on society in general and on individuals. The paper will support the view that in Iranian legal system sharia has long been manipulated by political institutions to justify gender inequalities, although a non-political and intellectual sharia exists and is able to provide for an evolutionary interpretation on which grounding an intra legem gender equality.