Most studies about victim-offender meetings have been performed within prison populations, with little reference to offenders diagnosed with mental disorders. In establishing the effects of such meetings, these studies often use quantitative measures. Little is known about meetings between victims and offenders with mental disorders and about the more qualitative subjective experiences of the participants regarding these meetings. In this interview study, we inquired into the subjective experiences of sixteen participants in victim-offender meetings, six of whom are victims and ten offenders of severe crimes, currently residing in forensic mental health facilities. Topics of the interviews included benefits of the meeting and perceptions of each other prior to and after the meeting. Important benefits that participants experienced from meeting each other were reconnecting with family, processing the offence and contributing to each other’s well-being. Such benefits are comparable to those mentioned in studies on meetings with offenders without a mental disorder, challenging the practice that mentally disordered offenders are often excluded from such meetings. Most victims experienced a positive change in perception of the offender owing to the meeting. They perceived the offender as a human being and associated him less exclusively with his offence. Implications for clinical practice are addressed. |
Search result: 71 articles
Article |
Meetings between victims and offenders suffering from a mental disorder in forensic mental health facilities: a qualitative exploration of their subjective experiences |
Journal | The International Journal of Restorative Justice, Issue Online First 2022 |
Keywords | Victim-offender meetings, restorative justice, forensic mental health, victimology, perception |
Authors | Mariëtte van Denderen and Michiel van der Wolf |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Article |
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Journal | East European Yearbook on Human Rights, Issue 1 2021 |
Authors | Matthias C. Kettemann and Martin Fertmann |
AbstractAuthor's information |
This study explores the spread of disinformation relating to the Covid-19 pandemic on the internet, dubbed by some as the pandemic’s accompanying “infodemic”, and the societal reactions to this development across different countries and platforms. The study’s focus is on the role of states and platforms in combatting online disinformation. |
Article |
Legal Tradition and Human RightsA Quantitative Comparative Analysis of Developing Countries |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 3 2021 |
Keywords | comparative law, comparative constitutional analysis, human rights, legal traditions, quantitative constitutional analysis, economic rights, social and family rights, civil and political rights |
Authors | Dhanraj R. Singh |
AbstractAuthor's information |
This analysis examines the relationship between legal tradition and constitutional human rights. It experiments with a quantitative comparative methodology to compare economic rights, social and family rights, and civil and political rights between countries with common law, civil law and mixed law legal traditions. The results show that developing countries with a civil law legal tradition provide more constitutional human rights than their counterparts with a common law legal tradition. Although preliminary and imperfect, the results challenge the notion of superiority of the common law legal tradition and human rights. The quantitative comparative framework used offers a new methodological frontier for comparative constitutional law researchers to examine relationships between legal traditions. |
Public Health Emergency: National, European and International Law Responses |
Defining the Common European Way of LifeExploring the Concept of Europeanness |
Journal | Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law, Issue 1 2021 |
Keywords | European identity, Common European Way of Life, coronavirus, European citizenship, Hungary, enlargement policy, Europeanness |
Authors | Lilla Nóra Kiss and Orsolya Johanna Sziebig |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The article focuses on the interpretation of the European Way of Life and the concept of Europeanness. Ursula von der Leyen determined the Promotion of the European Way of Life as a priority of the 2019-2024 Commission. The purpose behind this was to strengthen European democracy and place the citizens into the center of decision-making. The article examines the role of European identity, European citizenship and those historical-traditional conditions that make our way of life ‘common’. The Common European Way of Life may be defined as a value system based on the established legal basis of EU citizenship that can be grasped in the pursuit of common principles and the exercise of rights guaranteed to all EU citizens, limited only under exceptional circumstances and ensuring socio-economic convergence. The article covers general conceptual issues but also focuses on the extraordinary impact of the COVID-19. Lastly, the relevant aspects of enlargement policy are also explored. |
Developments in European Law |
The Possibility of Using Article 72 TFEU as a Conflict-of-Law RuleHungary Seeking Derogation from EU Asylum Law |
Journal | Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law, Issue 1 2021 |
Keywords | Article 72 TFEU, internal security, conflict of law, Common European Asylum System, relocation decisions |
Authors | Ágnes Töttős |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The purpose of this article is to examine how the CJEU circumscribed the room for maneuver of Member States for safeguarding their internal security and whether the use of and reference to Article 72 TFEU changed over the past years. The starting point of the analysis is the Hungarian asylum infringement case: the article looks back at earlier case-law and identifies how the reference to Article 72 TFEU shifted from considering it an implementation clause to the attempts at using it as a conflict-of-law rule. Although the article finds that the CJEU reduced the scope of possibly using Article 72 TFEU as a conflict-of-law rule and practically excludes its application by the setting high standards for this unique form of application, the article examines some extreme situations from 2020 where it could be validly referred to. |
Editorial |
Editorial Comments: COVID-19 – EU Citizenship and the Right to Free Movement in a Public Health CrisisForeword to Vol. 9 (2021) of the Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law |
Journal | Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law, Issue 1 2021 |
Authors | Laura Gyeney |
Author's information |
Review of Hungarian Scholarly Literature |
Tamás Molnár, The Interplay Between the EU’s Return Acquis and International Law (Book Review)Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2021, 272 p, ISBN 978-1-83910-522-7 |
Journal | Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law, Issue 1 2021 |
Authors | Izabella Majcher |
Author's information |
Article |
Performing the COVID-19 Crisis in Flemish Populist Radical-Right DiscourseA Case Study of Vlaams Belang’s Coronablunderboek |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 2 2021 |
Keywords | populism, COVID-19, crisis, discourse |
Authors | Jens Meijen |
AbstractAuthor's information |
In June 2020, the Flemish populist radical right party Vlaams Belang (VB) published the Corona Blunder Book (CBB; Coronablunderboek in Dutch), detailing the government’s mistakes in handling the COVID-19 crisis. Populist parties can ‘perform’ crisis by emphasising the mistakes made by opponents (Moffitt, 2015) and may use a specifically populist discursive style, consisting largely of aggressive and sarcastic language (Brubaker, 2017). This paper takes the CBB as a case study in the populist performance of crisis and the populist style, finding that the book is, first, a clear example of populist ‘everyman’ stylistics and the performance of crisis, and, second, that VB uses the book to shift the COVID-19 crisis from a public health crisis to a crisis of governance, seeking to blame Belgium’s federal structure for the government’s alleged mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic and hence arguing for Flemish independence, one of the party’s main agenda points. |
Human Rights Literature Review |
Belarus |
Journal | East European Yearbook on Human Rights, Issue 1 2020 |
Authors | E. Konnova and P. Marshyn |
Author's information |
Article |
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Journal | Erasmus Law Review, Issue 2 2020 |
Keywords | Migration, EU migration law, time |
Authors | Gerrie Lodder |
AbstractAuthor's information |
States apply different material conditions to attract or restrict residence of certain types of migrants. But states can also make use of time as an instrument to design more welcoming or more restrictive policies. States can apply faster application procedures for desired migrants. Furthermore, time can be used in a more favourable way to attract desired migrants in regard to duration of residence, access to a form of permanent residence and protection against loss of residence. This contribution makes an analysis of how time is used as an instrument in shaping migration policy by the European Union (EU) legislator in the context of making migration more or less attractive. This analysis shows that two groups are treated more favourably in regard to the use of time in several aspects: EU citizens and economic- and knowledge-related third-country nationals. However, when it comes to the acquisition of permanent residence after a certain period of time, the welcoming policy towards economic- and knowledge-related migrants is no longer obvious. |
Article |
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Journal | Erasmus Law Review, Issue 3 2020 |
Keywords | Dehumanisation, International Human Rights Law, Positive State obligations, Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination |
Authors | Stephanie Eleanor Berry |
AbstractAuthor's information |
International human rights law (IHRL) was established in the aftermath of the Second World War to prevent a reoccurrence of the atrocities committed in the name of fascism. Central to this aim was the recognition that out-groups are particularly vulnerable to rights violations committed by the in-group. Yet, it is increasingly apparent that out-groups are still subject to a wide range of rights violations, including those associated with mass atrocities. These rights violations are facilitated by the dehumanisation of the out-group by the in-group. Consequently, this article argues that the creation of IHRL treaties and corresponding monitoring mechanisms should be viewed as the first step towards protecting out-groups from human rights violations. By adopting the lens of dehumanisation, this article demonstrates that if IHRL is to achieve its purpose, IHRL monitoring mechanisms must recognise the connection between dehumanisation and rights violations and develop a positive State obligation to counter dehumanisation. The four treaties explored in this article, the European Convention on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination, all establish positive State obligations to prevent hate speech and to foster tolerant societies. These obligations should, in theory, allow IHRL monitoring mechanisms to address dehumanisation. However, their interpretation of the positive State obligation to foster tolerant societies does not go far enough to counter unconscious dehumanisation and requires more detailed elaboration. |
Article |
The Windrush ScandalA Review of Citizenship, Belonging and Justice in the United Kingdom |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 3 2020 |
Keywords | Windrush generation, statelessness, right to nationality, genocide, apologetic UK Human Rights Act Preamble |
Authors | Namitasha Goring, Beverley Beckford and Simone Bowman |
AbstractAuthor's information |
This article points out that the UK Human Rights Act, 1998 does not have a clear provision guaranteeing a person’s right to a nationality. Instead, this right is buried in the European Court of Human Rights decisions of Smirnova v Russia, 2003 and Alpeyeva and Dzhalagoniya v. Russia, 2018. In these cases, the Court stretched the scope of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, 1953 on non-interference with private life by public authorities to extend to nationality. The humanitarian crisis arising from the Windrush Scandal was caused by the UK Government’s decision to destroy the Windrush Generation’s landing cards in the full knowledge that for many these slips of paper were the only evidence of their legitimate arrival in Britain between 1948 and 1971. |
Article |
The Development of Human Rights Diplomacy Since the Establishment of the UNMore Actors, More Efficiency? |
Journal | Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law, Issue 1 2020 |
Keywords | human rights, diplomacy, international organizations, NGOs, corporate social responsibility |
Authors | István Lakatos |
AbstractAuthor's information |
This study gives a comprehensive picture of the development of human rights diplomacy since the establishment of the UN, focusing on the dilemmas governments are facing regarding their human-rights-related decisions and demonstrating the changes that occurred during the post-Cold War period, both in respect of the tools and participants in this field. Special attention is given to the role of international organizations, and in particular to the UN in this process, and the new human rights challenges the international community must address in order to maintain the relevance of human rights diplomacy. |
Article |
National Courts and the Enforcement of EU LawHungarian Experiences |
Journal | Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law, Issue 1 2020 |
Keywords | Constitutional Court of Hungary, supremacy, mutual trust, constitutional identity, preliminary ruling |
Authors | András Osztovits and András Zs. Varga |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The present study was originally meant for the FIDE XXIX Congress, which provided an excellent opportunity to review how the acquis communautaire has been implemented by ordinary courts as well as the Constitutional Court of Hungary since the country’s accession to the EU. As it is widely known, national courts play a key role in enforcing rights and obligations under EU law, so that the application of EU law remains uniform in all the Member States, in compliance with the jurisprudence of the CJEU. On the other hand, national constitutional courts must take a position more frequently and emphatically on issues related to national sovereignty: in defining what comes within the scope of the EU’s legislative competence and what remains under the control of national constitutional and legislative power. The relationship between national ordinary courts, constitutional courts and the CJEU, as well as the national implementation of Luxembourg case-law may be analyzed in a variety of ways and from different perspectives. The main principles governing EU law (such as direct effect, supremacy, mutual trust) have been developed in increasing detail over the years. Since their effect and practical consequences are outstanding, in what follows, we are shall explore these issues first in the light of Hungarian case-law. In the context of the principle of mutual trust, the discussion surrounding the independence of national courts is gaining impetus. Therefore, we will also touch upon this issue in our study. Finally, as far as the issue of effective enforcement of EU law is concerned, we shall present the Hungarian experience related to the preliminary ruling procedure, which is the most important element linking the CJEU and national courts. In this respect, we approach the issue from the domestic angle, focusing primarily on how exceptions to the obligation to submit a request for preliminary ruling have been clarified on the basis of the guidelines of the Curia of Hungary and the Constitutional Court of Hungary. |
Case Notes |
Practical Questions Concerning the Relationship Between a Member State’s Constitution, EU Law and the Case-Law of the CJEUDecision No. 2/2019. (III. 5.) AB of the Constitutional Court of Hungary |
Journal | Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law, Issue 1 2020 |
Keywords | Constitutional Court of Hungary, constitutional dialogue, non-refoulement, right to asylum, EU law and national law |
Authors | Marcel Szabó |
AbstractAuthor's information |
In 2018, the Hungarian Parliament amended the Fundamental Law, which, among others, contains the principle of non-refoulement, and stipulated at constitutional level that “a non-Hungarian national shall not be entitled to asylum if he or she arrived in the territory of Hungary through any country where he or she was not persecuted or directly threatened with persecution.” Partly due to this new provision of the Fundamental Law and partly based on other Hungarian laws, the European Commission initiated an infringement procedure against Hungary. According to the Hungarian Government, in this procedure the Commission misinterprets the Fundamental Law, therefore (inter alia) the authentic interpretation of this provision was requested from the Constitutional Court. In its Decision No. 2/2019. (III. 5.) AB, the Constitutional Court did not only interpret the provision in question, but it also elaborated on certain matters regarding its own competence in relation to EU law, as well as making relevant findings also in relation to Hungary’s constitution and the interpretation thereof in accordance with the EU law, based on the doctrine of ‘constitutional dialogue’. In this paper, I analyze this decision of the Constitutional Court in detail. |
Article |
The ECtHR’s Grand Chamber Judgment in Ilias and Ahmed Versus Hungary: A Practical and Realistic ApproachCan This Paradigm Shift Lead the Reform of the Common European Asylum System? |
Journal | Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law, Issue 1 2020 |
Keywords | ECHR, Hungarian transit zone, deprivation of liberty, concept of safe third country, Common European Asylum System |
Authors | Ágnes Töttős |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The judgment of the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR in Ilias and Ahmed v. Hungary reflected a big turn of the ECtHR towards a practical and realistic approach. Although the Grand Chamber found that Hungary by choosing to use inadmissibility grounds and expel the applicants to Serbia failed to carry out a thorough assessment of the Serbian asylum system, including the risk of summary removal, contrary to the Chamber it found that a confinement of 23 days in 2015 did not constitute a de facto deprivation of liberty. This paradigm shift is already visible in further decisions of the Court, and it could even serve as a basis for a new direction when reforming the Common European Asylum System. |
Article |
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Journal | Erasmus Law Review, Issue 1 2020 |
Keywords | age limits, dynamic legal position, children’s rights, maturity, evolving capacities |
Authors | Stephanie Rap, Eva Schmidt and Ton Liefaard |
AbstractAuthor's information |
In this article a critical reflection upon age limits applied in the law is provided, in light of the tension that exists in international children’s rights law between the protection of children and the recognition of their evolving autonomy. The main research question that will be addressed is to what extent the use of (certain) age limits is justified under international children’s rights law. The complexity of applying open norms and theoretically underdeveloped concepts as laid down in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, related to the development and evolving capacities of children as rights holders, will be demonstrated. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child struggles to provide comprehensive guidance to states regarding the manner in which the dynamic legal position of children should be applied in practice. The inconsistent application of age limits that govern the involvement of children in judicial procedures provides states leeway in granting children autonomy, potentially leading to the establishment of age limits based on inappropriate – practically, politically or ideologically motivated – grounds. |
Article |
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Journal | Family & Law, February 2020 |
Authors | Caranina Colpaert LLM |
AbstractAuthor's information |
De grote toestroom van migranten en asielzoekers in de EU houdt vandaag nog steeds verschillende regelgevers wakker. Niet alleen de nationale overheden, maar ook de EU-regelgevers zoeken naarstig naar oplossingen voor de problematiek. Daartoe trachten de EU-regelgevers het Gemeenschappelijk Europees Asielstelsel (GEAS) bij te werken. |
Article |
Reunification, Integration and Unification of LawGermany and Korea |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 4 2019 |
Keywords | reunification, Korean nation, integration, Constitution, human rights, social market economy |
Authors | Ulrich Karpen |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The meetings of US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, on 12 June 2018 in Singapore, as well as of South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un, on 18 and 19 September 2018 in Pyongyang, intensified hopes of a step-by-step process aimed at the reunification of Korea. This development may follow the patterns of (West) German Chancellor Willy Brandt’s ‘East Policy’ with the Soviet Union and the (East) German Democratic Republic in 1970-71, which led to the reunification of Germany under Chancellor Helmut Kohl, in 1990. This article deals with similarities and differences in regard to Germany’s and Korea’s recent histories. It analyses the political, economic and legal aspects of a possible way to achieve Korean unity. |