Public participation is a prerequisite for a prospering democracy. This is, at least, what the current crisis of representation around the western world indicates. It is essential for a large number of reasons; the most evident, making sure individuals‘ grievances actually reach those in power. However, the shade of intimacy between private interests and public...
Tag: <span>WEDNESDAY JUNE 27 2018 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM</span>
Settling Human Rights Violations
My paper explores the role of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights as a human rights arbitrator through the use of friendly settlements. I discuss whether friendly settlement mechanisms provide better avenues for implementation of international legal standards. By forcing States to internalize the agreement they reach with petitioners, this mechanism creates a different power...
See and Avoid: exploring the role of lawyers who advise government in difficult politics
Drawing on models of expertise, developed by policy scholars this paper examines how values, and politics enter highly contested policy debates and into legal decision-making by government agencies. I will explore the findings of a case study on the controversial Australian airspace reform “NAS2b“ to highlight how lawyers advising different actors within that debate, positioned...
Secession and the Prevalence of Militant Constitutionalism Worldwide
The prevalent approach suggests that constitutions are silent about secession and may even implicitly allow it. But an examination of world constitutions reveals that the overwhelming majority of countries vigorously protect territorial integrity. This article explains how democracies have been able to conceal their fight against secessionists, by creating a large gap between “the law...
Secret Service Access to Metadata in Portugal: The Making of a Constitutional Trilogy?
Last August, the Portuguese Legislative Assembly approved a law that regulates secret service access to telecommunications and internet data (i.e., the identification, localization, and traffic of users of electronic communications services in the following situations: national defense; prevention of sabotage; espionage; terrorism; proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; highly organized crime). Consequently, access is restricted...
Securing the European Space through Technocratic Borders: What Role for International Responsibility?
Border controls have been described as the last bastion of sovereignty. The emerging European integrated border management (IBM) challenges this assumption. The hallmark of the IBM is its technocratic and depoliticised logic. Various state and non-state actors cooperate in a complex dynamic of securization. In addition, technological advancements are contributing to change the traditional practices...
The Adaptation and Development of China Emission Trading System: Legal Transplants as a Bridge
China is constructing the biggest Emission Trading System, which is transplanted from the international climate change law. The paper traces the history on the construction of the ETS through the Kyoto protocol which set up the legal framework of international climate change law, analyzing the phenomenon of legal transplants during this history. Meanwhile, the paper...
Substate Identity-based constitutional claims: Negotiation, Rejection, and Confrontation
This paper discusses constitutional claims proposed by national identities. Constitutional debates over the roles of national identities are traditionally associated with the protection of minority rights, yet there is perhaps a larger group of constitutional demands that is fostered by identity groups (e.g. Scot or the Catalonian) . These identity-based constitutional claims are organized into...
Strengthening the Role of the Minister of Justice in the New Statutes Concerning Courts in Poland
In 2017, three laws concerning the status of the judiciary in Poland were passed: a new law on the Supreme Court and laws amending acts on the National Council of the Judiciary and on the organisation of common courts. However, a number of their provisions evidently violate the constitution and have been highly criticised by...
‘Studying Judicial Disagreement Quantitatively: The Case of Judges on the UK Supreme Court
This paper reports on an ongoing study of why, how, and with what consequences judges of the UK Supreme Court (the Court) disagree. It rejects the commonly accepted starting point that judicial disagreement is ‘political’ in that it can be adequately captured along a classical liberal–conservative. Instead it argues that judicial disagreement is ‘doctrinal’. We...