Terms-of-service based actions against political and state actors as both key subjects and objects of political opinion formation have become a focal point of the ongoing debates over who should set and enforce the rules for speech on online platforms. |
Search result: 215 articles
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Journal | East European Yearbook on Human Rights, Issue 1 2021 |
Authors | Martin Fertmann and Matthias C. Kettemann |
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Article |
Legislative Effectiveness From a Legislative Drafter’s PerspectiveAnalysing the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 3 2021 |
Keywords | Effectiveness Test, legislative quality, drafting process, Transgender persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 |
Authors | Devika Gulati |
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This article discusses the effectiveness of Transgender persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 and tests the legislation against Dr. Maria Mousmouti’s Effectiveness Test. The author first attempts to trace the real purpose of the Act in terms of specific and broad purposes, and the micro, meso and macro goals. Secondly, the author examines the content of the Act in terms of the legislative techniques used, compliance and enforcement mechanism, and legislative communication. Thirdly, the author studies the context of the Act in terms of its coherence, accessibility and the choice of superstructure. |
Case Notes |
The Afterlife of the Relocation of Judicial Cases |
Journal | Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law, Issue 1 2021 |
Keywords | right to a lawful judge, National Judicial Council, relocation of judicial cases, reasonable time, length of proceedings |
Authors | Ágnes Czine |
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The requirement of an independent and impartial tribunal established by law is set out in Article 6(1) ECHR and Article XXVIII(1) of the Fundamental Law of Hungary. The elements of the definition of the right to a fair trial are closely tied to the requirement of judicial independence, impartiality and a court established by law. These guarantees’ purpose is to ensure that the applicant receive a judgment that is not prejudged by other branches of power, such as the influence of the executive, or the arbitrariness of the judiciary. This important human and fundamental rights requirement is monitored by bodies dedicated to the protection of democratic institutions. According to the laws of Hungary, lawsuits may be transferred to another court by the National Office for the Judiciary in order to reduce the workload. This solution has received strong international attention and scrutiny. Although these are actually not in force, they still have repercussions, which must be dealt with by the Constitutional Court. This article seeks to provide insight into the constitutional afterlife of this system of reallocation. |
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Journal | Erasmus Law Review, Issue 2 2021 |
Keywords | European Convention on Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights, techniques of interpretation, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties |
Authors | Eszter Polgári |
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The interpretive techniques applied by the European Court of Human Rights are instrumental in filling the vaguely formulated rights-provisions with progressive content, and their use provoked widespread criticism. The article argues that despite the scarcity of explicit references to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, all the ECtHR’s methods and doctrines of interpretation have basis in the VCLT, and the ECtHR has not developed a competing framework. The Vienna rules are flexible enough to accommodate the interpretive rules developed in the ECHR jurisprudence, although effectiveness and evolutive interpretation is favoured – due to the unique nature of Convention – over the more traditional means of interpretation, such as textualism. Applying the VCLT as a normative framework offers unique ways of reconceptualising some of the much-contested means of interpretation in order to increase the legitimacy of the ECtHR. |
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Cancelling proposed debatesAgenda Setting, Issue Ownership and Anti-elitist Parliamentary Style |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 3 2021 |
Keywords | agenda-setting, parliaments, anti-elitism, issue-ownership |
Authors | Simon Otjes and Roy Doedens |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The Dutch Tweede Kamer is unique among parliaments because here the agenda is actually determined in a public, plenary meeting of all MPs. In the Dutch Tweede Kamer 30 members of parliament (MPs) can request a plenary debate. Many opposition parties request these debates, but only 23% of these are actually held. We examine the question ‘under what conditions do political party groups cancel or maintain proposals for minority debates?’ as a way to gain insight into the black box of parliamentary agenda setting. We examine two complementary explanations: issue competition and parliamentary style. We trace all 687 minority debates that were proposed between 2012 and 2021 in the Netherlands. This allows us to see what proposals for debates MPs make and when they are retracted. We find strong evidence that anti-elitist parties maintain more debate proposals than do other parties |
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The Praise for a ‘Caretaker’ LeaderGendered Press Coverage of Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès in a COVID-19 Context |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 2 2021 |
Keywords | political leadership, crisis, care, Belgium, gendered media coverage |
Authors | Clémence Deswert |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Studies on media coverage of women politicians have underlined how the media contribute to the association of the figure of the political leader with masculinity. Yet, the social construction of leadership seems to evolve towards a more ‘femininity-inclusive’ definition. Research on the ‘glass cliff’ phenomenon suggests that stereotypical feminine attributes might be expected from political leaders in a time of crisis. We investigated the gendered construction of political leadership in the press in a COVID-19 context through the case of former Belgian Prime minister Sophie Wilmès. In line with the ‘think crisis-think female’ association, our discourse analysis shows an appreciation of traditionally feminine traits, and particularly care-related qualities, in the evaluation of what a ‘good’ leader should be in pandemic times, although some characteristics traditionally associated with masculinity are still considered valuable assets in the journalistic portrayal of Wilmès’ leadership. |
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Democratic Scrutiny of COVID-19 LawsAre Parliamentary Committees Up to the Job? |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 2 2021 |
Keywords | parliament, scrutiny, committees, COVID-19, rights, legislation, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom |
Authors | Sarah Moulds |
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In response to the complex and potentially devastating threat posed by COVID-19, parliaments around the world have transferred unprecedented powers to executive governments and their agencies (Edgar, ‘Law-making in a Crisis’, 2020), often with the full support of the communities they represent. These laws were passed within days, sometimes hours, with limited safeguards and a heavy reliance on sunsetting provisions, some of which are dependent on the pandemic being officially called to an end. While parliaments themselves have suspended or reduced sitting days (Twomey, ‘A Virtual Australian Parliament is Possible’, 2020), parliamentary committees have emerged as the forum of choice when it comes to providing some form of parliamentary oversight of executive action. |
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Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 2 2021 |
Keywords | emergency legislation, sunset clauses, post-legislative review, COVID-19 |
Authors | Sean Molloy |
AbstractAuthor's information |
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders across the globe scrambled to adopt emergency legislation. Amongst other things, these measures gave significant powers to governments in order to curb the spreading of a virus, which has shown itself to be both indiscriminate and deadly. Nevertheless, exceptional measures, however necessary in the short term, can have adverse consequences both on the enjoyment of human rights specifically and democracy more generally. Not only are liberties severely restricted and normal processes of democratic deliberation and accountability constrained but the duration of exceptional powers is also often unclear. One potentially ameliorating measure is the use of sunset clauses: dispositions that determine the expiry of a law or regulation within a predetermined period unless a review determines that there are reasons for extension. The article argues that without effective review processes, far from safeguarding rights and limiting state power, sunset clauses can be utilized to facilitate the transferring of emergency powers whilst failing to guarantee the very problems of normalized emergency they are included to prevent. Thus, sunset clauses and the review processes that attach to them should be approached with caution. |
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Interest Representation in BelgiumMapping the Size and Diversity of an Interest Group Population in a Multi-layered Neo-corporatist Polity |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 1 2021 |
Keywords | interest groups, advocacy, access, advisory councils, media attention |
Authors | Evelien Willems, Jan Beyers and Frederik Heylen |
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This article assesses the size and diversity of Belgium’s interest group population by triangulating four data sources. Combining various sources allows us to describe which societal interests get mobilised, which interest organisations become politically active and who gains access to the policy process and obtains news media attention. Unique about the project is the systematic data collection, enabling us to compare interest representation at the national, Flemish and Francophone-Walloon government levels. We find that: (1) the national government level remains an important venue for interest groups, despite the continuous transfer of competences to the subnational and European levels, (2) neo-corporatist mobilisation patterns are a persistent feature of interest representation, despite substantial interest group diversity and (3) interest mobilisation substantially varies across government levels and political-administrative arenas. |
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Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 1 2021 |
Keywords | Seychelles, legislative drafting, drug abuse, drug abuse legislation |
Authors | Amelie Nourrice |
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This article was written with the intention of figuring out why the Seychelles has been unable to douse the drug epidemic despite apparent vigorous efforts on the part of the government and of finding a new way of curtailing drug abuse without relying entirely on legislation, which although in some ways are necessary, has on its own, been incapable serving efficacy. |
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The Hallmarks of the Legislative Drafting Process in Common Law Systems:A Comparative Study of Eswatini and Ghana |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 1 2021 |
Keywords | legislation, comparing drafting process, Commonwealth Africa, comparative law |
Authors | Nomalanga Pearl Gule |
AbstractAuthor's information |
This research study is an attempt to test the comparative criteria developed by Stefanou in his work where he discusses the characteristics that defines the drafting process in the two most dominant legal systems, common and civil law. It examines the legislative drafting process in common law countries with the aim to establish if the comparative criteria identify with the process that defines the drafting of legislation in those jurisdictions. Two common law jurisdictions were selected and an in-depth comparative analysis of steps undertaken in their drafting process was done. The scope of the study is only confined to the drafting process in the common law system and the criteria that is tested are those which define the drafting process in the common law jurisdictions only. |
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Parliamentary Control of Delegated LegislationLessons from a Comparative Study of the UK Parliament and the Korean National Assembly |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 1 2021 |
Keywords | statutory instruments, delegated legislation, parliamentary control, parliamentary scrutiny, Korea |
Authors | Mikang Chae |
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As the scale of administrative agencies expands and their functions become more specialized in the complex and variable administrative reality, delegated legislation has increased explosively. This article examines the need for the introduction of appropriate parliamentary controls to prevent harm caused by the flood of delegated legislation. Through comparison with the UK Parliament, this article identifies the relative position of the Korean National Assembly and presents measures to strengthen parliamentary scrutiny on delegated legislation. |
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Unwrapping the Effectiveness Test as a Measure of Legislative QualityA Case Study of the Tuvalu Climate Change Resilience Act 2019 |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 1 2021 |
Keywords | effectiveness test, legislative quality, drafting process, Tuvalu Climate Change Resilience Act 2019 |
Authors | Laingane Italeli Talia |
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Journal | The International Journal of Restorative Justice, Issue 1 2021 |
Keywords | restorative justice, restorative practice, environmental justice, environmental regulation |
Authors | Miranda Forsyth, Deborah Cleland, Felicity Tepper e.a. |
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The challenges of developing meaningful environmental regulation to protect communities and the environment have never been greater. Environmental regulators are regularly criticised for failing to act hard and consistently, in turn leading to demands for harsher punishments and more rigorous enforcement. Whilst acknowledging the need for strong enforcement to address wantonly destructive practices threatening communities and ecosystems, we argue that restorative approaches have an important role. This article explores a future agenda for environmental restorative justice through (1) situating it within existing scholarly and practice-based environmental regulation traditions; (2) identifying key elements and (3) raising particular theoretical and practical challenges. Overall, our vision for environmental restorative justice is that its practices can permeate the entire regulatory spectrum, going far beyond restorative justice conferences within enforcement proceedings. We see it as a shared and inclusive vision that seeks to integrate, hybridise and build broader ownership for environmental restorative justice throughout existing regulatory practices and institutions, rather than creating parallel structures or paradigms. |
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Journal | Erasmus Law Review, Issue 4 2020 |
Keywords | wrongful convictions, right to claim innocence, reopening of criminal proceedings, miscarriage of justice, revision of final judgment |
Authors | Wojciech Jasiński Ph.D., habilitation and Karolina Kremens Ph.D. |
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Wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice, their reasons and effects, only rarely become the subject of academic debate in Poland. This article aims at filling this gap and providing a discussion on the current challenges of mechanisms available in Polish law focused on the verification of final judgments based on innocence claims. While there are two procedures designed to move such judgment: cassation and the reopening of criminal proceedings, only the latter aims at the verification of new facts and evidence, and this work remains focused exactly on that issue. The article begins with a case study of the famous Komenda case, which resulted in a successful innocence claim, serving as a good, though rare, example of reopening a case and acquitting the convict immediately and allows for discussing the reasons that commonly stand behind wrongful convictions in Poland. Furthermore, the article examines the innocence claim grounds as regulated in the Polish criminal procedure and their interpretation under the current case law. It also presents the procedure concerning the revision of the case. The work additionally provides the analysis of the use of innocence claim in practice, feeding on the statistical data and explaining tendencies in application for revision of a case. It also presents the efforts of the Polish Ombudsman and NGOs to raise public awareness in that field. The final conclusions address the main challenges that the Polish system faces concerning innocence claims and indicates the direction in which the system should go. |
Human Rights Practice Review |
Poland |
Journal | East European Yearbook on Human Rights, Issue 1 2020 |
Authors | Vita Czepek and Jakub Czepek |
Author's information |
Editorial |
Are Emergency Measures in Response to COVID-19 a Threat to Democracy? |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 4 2020 |
Authors | Franklin De Vrieze and Constantin Stefanou |
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Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 4 2020 |
Keywords | coronavirus, emergency law, emergency powers, autocratization, democratic deconsolidation, state of emergency, rule of law, transparency, accountability, legislative scrutiny |
Authors | Joelle Grogan |
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The measures taken in response to the coronavirus pandemic have been among the most restrictive in contemporary history, and have raised concerns from the perspective of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Building on a study of the legal measures taken in response to pandemic in 74 countries, this article considers the central question of the use of power during an emergency: is it better or worse for democracy and the rule of law to declare an emergency or, instead, to rely on ordinary powers and legislative frameworks? The article then considers whether the use of powers (ordinary or emergency) in response to the pandemic emergency has ultimately been a cause, or catalyst of, further democratic deconsolidation. It concludes on a note of optimism: an emerging best practice of governmental response reliant on public trust bolstered by rationalized and transparent decision-making and the capacity to adapt, change and reform measures and policies. |
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Emergency Measures in Response to the Coronavirus Crisis and Parliamentary Oversight in the EU Member States |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 4 2020 |
Keywords | states of emergency, parliamentary oversight, health crisis, Covid-19, European Union Member States |
Authors | Maria Diaz Crego and Silvia Kotanidis |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The Covid-19 pandemic has become a true stress test for the legal systems of the worst hit countries. Faced with a health crisis situation, many national governments have become the protagonists in the adoption of difficult measures severely restricting their citizens fundamental rights to the detriment of the powers usually entrusted to the national parliaments. This article examines the normative response of the 27 European Union Member States during the “first wave” of the Covid-19 pandemic, a period that runs from the declaration of a pandemic (March 2020) to mid-June 2020. The intention of the authors was to describe the legal and constitutional mechanisms activated in order to contain the pandemic, focusing on the role of national parliaments in the management of the crisis. This article explores also the degree to which national parliaments have been involved and could exercise parliamentary oversight over the normative measures used by the executive to contain the pandemic in the EU-27. |
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Governments as Covid-19 Lawmakers in France, Italy and SpainContinuity or Discontinuity |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 4 2020 |
Keywords | Covid-19, emergency legislation, executive lawmaking, parliaments, decree-laws and ordinances |
Authors | Elena Griglio |
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Executive dominance in Covid-19 lawmaking has been a major trend worldwide. Governments have leveraged emergency prerogatives to boost their legislative powers, often sidelining the role of parliaments. The impact of executive lawmaking on fundamental liberties has been unprecedented. However, government’s capacity to exercise full legislative powers is not absolutely new to many European countries. |