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This article explores the critical issue of detainee protection in the complex landscape of contemporary non-international armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations. It examines the interplay between international humanitarian law and international human rights law, highlighting the challenges in their application and interpretation. The article delves into the contemporary challenges faced in protecting detainees, including the involvement of non-state armed groups, extraterritorial detention practices, administrative detention, and the impact of counterterrorism measures. It proposes a multifaceted approach to enhancing detainee protection, encompassing strategies for strengthening compliance with the legal framework, addressing the specific needs of vulnerable groups, and promoting best practices and capacity-building. The article argues that a comprehensive and contextualised approach, grounded in the principles of humanity and human dignity, is essential to effectively safeguard the rights and well-being of detainees in these challenging contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of human rights protection is particularly acute during armed conflicts, when the most widespread and serious human rights violations occur. International humanitarian law is a reliable tool for countering such violations, specifically through the implementation of its norms alongside the European Convention on Human Rights in the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. The purpose of this study was to make some generalisations about the approaches of the European Court of Human Rights to determining the relationship and correlation between the European Convention on Human Rights and inter- national human rights law, international humanitarian law, and the limits and conditions of application of international humanitarian law by the European Court of Human Rights. The study employed a combination of methods of cognition to collect, analyse, and interpret information, namely: documentary, statistical, legal, historical, and critical. The chosen methodology ensures the objectivity and reliability of the study. The study was based on the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, which examine, analyse, and apply international humanitarian law, as well as on academic publications, recommendations and explanations of international institutions, experts, and human rights organisations regarding the relationship between inter- national human rights law, the European Convention on Human Rights and international humanitarian law, and the possibility of their simultaneous application. The study summarised a range of legal positions of the European Court of Human Rights, which helped to identify the principal approaches and trends in the applica- tion of international humanitarian law in the consideration of complaints of human rights violations in armed conflicts, including the expansion of the practice of applying international humanitarian law, strengthening the protection of human rights in armed conflict, and attention to new challenges associated with armed conflicts. The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that it contributes to a better understanding of international humanitarian law and the legal positions of the Court, and to the development of additional mechanisms for ensuring respect for human rights and international humanitarian law

Climate litigation against states is increasingly based on international human rights law. As a result, more climate cases are filed at international human rights courts and treaty bodies. Strict standing requirements pose significant hurdles, however, for individuals and communities to access such courts and treaty bodies, especially for those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This article argues that an intersectional perspective aids in overcoming procedural hurdles and can help international and regional human rights courts and treaty bodies to provide access to justice in climate cases, thus enforcing international human rights standards. Intersectionality unveils how climate change exacerbates pre-existing injustices and how society's most vulnerable are structurally hit the hardest by climate change. It thus offers courts a more complete view of the impact of the climate crisis on human rights. Moreover, it illuminates how certain individuals are particularly affected by the climate crisis, aiding them in meeting standing requirements such as victim status and individual concern requirements. Examining recent cases brought on by generational groups, the article illustrates how intersectionality uncovers how the intersection of age and climate make certain generations particularly susceptible to climate change-induced human rights violations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of ASBU Law Journal is the property of Social Sciences University of Ankara and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The potential of the principle of solidarity as an interpretative guide for the realisation of ESCR has, to date, been largely overlooked. Solidarity mediates between the individual and the community, and it has a collective dimension in relation to both burden- and benefit-sharing. The recognition of ESCR creates not only positive legal obligations on the state but also civic responsibilities on individuals to contribute, within their means, to the progressive realisation of ESCR. While the state is ultimately accountable for making progress on ESCR, taking these rights seriously will have implications for individual rights and responsibilities. We argue in this article that the principle of solidarity within society underpins ESCR as a whole and is essential for achieving sustainable progress on ESCR. This is because their progressive realisation requires not only that states' legal obligations are fulfilled but also that individual and collective contributions are made for the common good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though inter-state forced displacement is heavily concentrated in the Third World and predominantly constituted of massive migration flows linked to objective and structural socio-economic factors, the protection provided by International Refugee Law remains based on a liberal Euro- and state-centric definition of refugees, culminating in a de facto exclusion of the great majority of the world's refugees. This article advocates the need to conceptually challenge the 1951 Convention refugee definition, proposing the Cartagena Declaration as a Third World human rights alternative to it. The delegitimization of the socio-economic refugee sustains and is sustained by the Western liberal and state-centric logic under which International Refugee Law functions. The recognition of socio-economic rights per se as a basis for refugee status under the Cartagena Declaration constitutes a rupture with that dysfunctional logic. Consequently, the Cartagena 'Spirit' provides, in theory, a comprehensive and up-to-date human rights refugee protection regime capable of encompassing all types of refugees. To materialise the discussion, the article critically analyses the Brazilian application of the Cartagena refugee definition to Venezuelan socio-economic refugees. It concludes that the Brazilian approach does not fully materialise the Cartagena 'Spirit' radical potential, putting into question the 'Spirit' practical feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In December 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration and the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency granted the first regulatory approval for genome therapy for sickle cell disease. This approval brings hope to those suffering from this debilitating genetic disease. However, several barriers may hinder global patient access, including high treatment costs, obtaining informed consent for minors, inadequate public health infrastructure, and insufficient regulatory oversight. These barriers reflect the structural inequalities inherent in global health governance, where patient access often depends on social and institutional arrangements. This article addresses concerns around informed consent, treatment costs, and patient access, and proposes corresponding policy reforms. We argue that these discussions should be framed within a broader global context that considers social and institutional structures, global research priorities, and a commitment to health equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The right to be present at trial is under threat following the decision of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals' Trial Chamber to continue proceedings against Félicien Kabuga after finding him mentally unfit to stand trial. The Trial Chamber opted instead to hold an "alternative finding procedure", resembling a trial as closely as possible, albeit without the possibility of concluding with a verdict. This article engages with that decision through the lens of whether this approach complies with the accused's right to be present at trial. It concludes that the proceedings would be little more than a de facto trial that does not adequately respect the accused's right to be present. It also finds that should other international criminal courts and tribunals follow a similar approach the right to be present would be deprived of any real meaning. This could also, in turn, threaten overall fairness of the proceedings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights' judgment in Manuela and Others v El Salvador represents a missed opportunity for advancing abortion access and sexual and reproductive health and rights in international human rights law (IHRL). Even though this case is representative of the multiple human right violations arising from El Salvador's complete criminalisation of abortion and active prosecution of those suspected of having had the procedure, the Court shied away from engaging in a critique of El Salvador's abortion legislation. Instead, it focused on issues relating to pre-trial detention, due process, and medical confidentiality. Despite growing consensus in IHRL that abortion must be decriminalised at a minimum in certain circumstances; indications that the inter-American human rights system subscribes to this position; and extensive evidence that El Salvador's abortion legislation is resulting in human rights violations, the Court failed to use this judgment to articulate a clear and assertive position on the need for abortion access to realise sexual and reproductive health and rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Jurídica (0103-3506) is the property of Revista Juridica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of International Journal of Legal & Comparative Jurisprudence Studies (LCJS) / Mağallaẗ al-Duwaliyyaẗ Li-&-Dirāsāt al-Qānūniyyaẗ Wa-al-Fiqhiyyaẗ al-Muqāranaẗ is the property of Refaad for Studies, Research & Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, I will examine the legal standards of gender persecution and the evolving descriptor gender apartheid as a way to describe the status of women in Afghanistan. The paper also examines other complementary forms of legal accountability procedures to vindicate Afghan women’s rights and hold perpetrators accountable under crimes against humanity. Although the current locus of the paper is focused on Afghan women, it has larger implications for all other crimes of gender persecution.

International criminal law (ICL) has traditionally overlooked sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and struggles to understand it. Prosecutions have been largely inefficient and not reflective of gender harms. The Rome Statute requires interpreting SGBV as a social construction (article 7(3)), in consistency with international human rights law (IHRL) and without discrimination (article 21(3)). There is, however, little guidance to implement these approaches. This article argues that intersectionality, an IHRL-based approach that reveals compounded discrimination, is an efficient tool to interpret SGBV and, therefore, should be integrated in ICL. The article traces the origins of intersectionality in feminism and its recognition by IHRL dealing with violence against women. It establishes the applicability of intersectionality in ICL that it demonstrates with a comparative analysis of the Lubanga and Ntaganda cases. The findings show that intersectionality suits ICL's specific needs which allows labelling and explaining some of those contributions throughout the judicial process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Notwithstanding universities' many laudable aims, incidents of serious bullying, academic harassment and sexual harassment in academic settings are reported with increasing regularity globally. However, the human rights violations involved in bullying and academic harassment have not received attention by the literature. In this article, we pierce the veil of silence surrounding university environments and provide a systematic account of the breaches of international and European human rights law involved in academic bullying and harassment. By adopting a socio-legal lens, we shed light onto such practices and tactics, the breaches of specific human rights and norms and the reluctance of states and regulators to intervene in what is perceived to be universities' 'sovereign' sphere of jurisdiction in order to prevent human rights' violations and to protect the victims of human rights abuse. We call for a multi-faceted and multi-agency approach to tackle academic bullying and harassment, and make a number of institutional and policy recommendations to ensure universities' compliance with human rights standards and the effective protection of academics under attack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper clarifies how human rights and refugee rights are protected by international human rights legislation. It explains the background of human rights principles and refugee legislation. Human rights breaches continue to be a threat to refugees' safe return, having historically played a significant factor in their departure. The essay demonstrates how human rights and refugee law are both protected by international human rights law. Publications on human rights and refugee law as well as relevant resources can be located on numerous academic websites using the secondary data collecting method. Between 2019 and 2024, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct have been used to conduct literature searches. Selected secondary data make clear that refugee protection must drastically change to focus more on problem solving. The study's findings clarify that, in contrast to international human law, which is only relevant in times of armed conflict, human rights law is always applicable, regardless of whether there is a state of peace or war. Based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that a human-rights based interpretation of refugee law implies that it is time to make a concerted effort to balance receiving states' legitimate interests with the ongoing need of refugees to be guaranteed access to safety and a dignified existence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I will examine the legal standards of gender persecution and the evolving descriptor gender apartheid as a way to describe the status of women in Afghanistan. The paper also examines other complementary forms of legal accountability procedures to vindicate Afghan women's rights and hold perpetrators accountable under crimes against humanity. Although the current locus of the paper is focused on Afghan women, it has larger implications for all other crimes of gender persecution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (fpic) is crucial for the exercise of indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination, a binding human rights norm, as it provides them with the opportunity to determine how their lands and resources are developed. While numerous companies have committed to respecting fpic in their corporate policies, there continues to be a huge disconnect between public rhetoric and actions on the ground, and indigenous peoples generally struggle to have a meaningful voice in decision-making processes that concern them. Even if the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (ungp, 2011) have compelled companies to gain ground with regards to their responsibility to respect human rights, the ‘do-no-harm’ principle does not require them to take positive actions towards fulfilling human rights. This approach is inconsistent with the moral foundation of human rights, which implies duties, and does not account for the substantial economic and political power that increases companies’ potential as guarantors of human rights. Based on the normative and moral legitimacy sustaining the narrative on corporate human rights obligations and the political, moral and legal imperative behind fpic, this article asserts that companies have a normative obligation to observe fpic, which they ought to operationalise in the context of heightened requirements regarding their human rights due diligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate crisis will continue to affect human and natural systems across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Undoubtedly, this jeopardizes entire communities' enjoyment of human rights. In that context, the Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS) is expected to respond, particularly since its organs have jurisdiction to order remedies over most LAC countries, provided they determine a rights violation. Despite the growing number of domestic human rights-based climate cases in the region, the organs of the IAHRS have yet to adjudicate and order remedies in a case concerning the climate crisis. Against this backdrop, this article inquires how to understand climate remedies from a political ecology perspective to capture the LAC climate litigation experience. Additionally, the article asks what the challenges of implementing such remedies may be. To answer these questions, first, it compares the remedial approaches of domestic courts in six finally decided climate-related cases with those of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) in 'anti-extractivist' cases. Second, it applies a political ecology lens to understand the elements that might hinder the implementation of the identified remedies. The article argues that the socioeconomic cost for States largely determines remedial compliance in domestic climate litigation and the IACtHR's anti-extractivist litigation. Ultimately, the aim is to anticipate the future of climate remedies and their effectiveness at the IACtHR based on present climate litigation in LAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After reducing their humanitarian presence at sea, States have begun to interfere with Search and Rescue (SAR) operations led by NGOs aimed to render assistance to migrants in distress. In Italy, the recent Law-Decree 1/2023 on NGOs' SAR activities constitutes an important development grounding States' efforts to interfere with activists' operations. In this article, I first describe the practices of delay and/or denial of disembarkation that Italy has implemented. Second, I consider whether these strategies stemming from national legislation are compliant with the State's international obligations under the law of the sea. I show how the law of the sea provides some regulation but also leaves crucial gaps which amplify the State's discretion in interpreting legal duties. Third, I assess how the new Law interferes with the rights of rescuers. I conclude that Italy's interference with the human rights of rescuers operating at sea is not fully compliant with international legal obligations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real estate prices in the 2020s reached record figures for purchases in the Republic of Croatia, Europe and beyond, and with the increase in real estate prices on the market, apartment rents also rose. The cost of living is extremely high, loans are more and more expensive and unattainable, interest rates are high, recession and inflation dominate, all of which affects real estate prices that are too high for an increasing number of citizens. The focus of the work is not the most vulnerable groups of the population who already live below the poverty line and are fully exposed to state and social assistance, but mid-income groups who are often unjustifiably ignored on the scale of those whose rights to housing are threatened. The paper contributes to the understanding of the problem of affordable housing, the terminological determination and definition of the term affordable housing, but also the clarification of the specific international legal obligations of states regarding the realization of the right to affordable housing, and the providing a basis for innovative legal solutions and models for realizing affordable housing in the Republic of Croatia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Süleyman Demirel Law Review / Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Suleyman Demirel Universitesi Hukuk Fakultesi Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The surge in international sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 marks a new development in international law in general and international investment law in particular. This article examines this recent development and the interplay between international sanctions and international investment law. Furthermore, the article discusses whether investment tribunals will rely on WTO jurisprudence when applying 'essential security' provisions in individual cases. By providing an examination of sanctions laws in the context of international investment law, the article highlights the complex dynamic between the right of states to limit investments on the basis of national security vis-á-vis the right of investors to enjoy investment protection as prescribed in numerous International Investment Agreements (IIAs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Introduction to this Special Issue gives an overview of the contributions that were gathered after the Conference 'International Human Rights and International Economic Law: Interfaces, Challenges, Visions' that took place in Vienna, in November 2022. The contributions explore the numerous interfaces between International Human Rights Law and International Economic Law which have become particularly evident in present times, among others, due to an increasingly interconnected economy, in light of the climate crisis, and as a consequence of the distortions caused by Russia's aggression against Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foreign shareholders can avail themselves of legal protection under three different legal regimes: diplomatic protection, international investment law and international human rights law. Adopting a historic and comparative approach, this article tracks the faded role of diplomatic protection for protecting shareholders. It identifies the legal instruments that protect shareholders under international investment law and international human rights law, and examines how each regime protects shareholders to assess whether there is a genuine conflict in terms of protection. It uses the nationalization of the British bank Northern Rock as a case study to demonstrate the differing levels of protection each regime provides. Investment law gives shareholders the greatest protection: it protects a wider range of shareholders and, critically, allows shareholders to claim for reflective loss. While there is no genuine conflict, investment law and human rights provide remarkably different levels of protection to shareholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of international human right treaties is particularly challenging, especially when they entail obligations that apply at the subnational level. In this article, we examine how international law intermediaries translate and use international treaties in subnational policymaking processes. We develop a dedicated analytical framework, and we derive a typology, characterizing different types of intermediaries and systematizing the ways political‐administrative actors use international law at the subnational level. On this basis, our empirical analysis shows how the implementation of a crucial treaty—the Istanbul Convention (IC) on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence—is shaped by subnational actors and eventually used in policy processes in Swiss cantons. International law is seen not only as a constraint but also as an opportunity and a resource that can be mobilized for different purposes by a variety of intermediaries, including local public officials, MPs, and members of civil society organizations, in collaboration and sometimes in competition with each other. Specifically, our findings indicate that international law intermediaries use these treaties through bottom‐up dynamics of engagement according to their agenda and interests and their anticipation of what they can do in their cantonal context, resulting in iterative chains of intermediation. Furthermore, we observe a blurring of the boundaries between rule‐makers, intermediaries, and targets, that is, the same actors may perform different roles in a given policy process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Telos is the property of Revista Telos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recently in June 2022, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict expressed that the ongoing use and recruitment of children in armed conflict globally warrants "international concern". Notwithstanding the existence of proscriptive norms in terms of international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL), international legal violations are nevertheless committed by states and non-state actors. A systematic analysis of the respective normative systems identifies a lacuna between specific provisions thereof. Consequently, violations are committed in armed conflicts for the purposes of IHRL but not IHL, it is contended that this inconsistency in the law perpetuates ongoing child soldiering. It is further contended that this inconsistency establishes a genus of children who are legally unprotected as they fall between the cracks of international law. Based on recent progressive jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, an approach which will bridge the lacuna between these norms is proposed. Contrary to the view of the International Committee of the Red Cross and with due consideration for the lex specialis principle, it is proposed that the IHL and IHRL instruments should apply in a complementary fashion, as opposed to the separate legal regimes under which they have developed.

This article explores whether international human rights standards can provide insights into the following questions: who can and should define what constitutes 'hate speech' for online moderation, and how can hate speech be detected and moderated on social media platforms? Regarding who should moderate hateful content, the article underscores the responsibility of social media companies, in reference to international human rights law and principles on business and human rights. This paper advocates for a multistakeholder approach where companies work in partnership with and under the monitoring of state actors, civil society and other relevant stakeholders. Given the complexity of what constitutes hate speech, the article proposes the localisation of terms of service and guidelines of social media companies. This approach, in line with human rights standards, enables the meaningful involvement of local experts and civil society groups in formulating, implementing and monitoring online community rules. Addressing the question of how social media companies can detect and moderate hate speech, the article argues that a globally standardised approach reliant on AI content moderation is limited in detecting contextual nuances of hate speech. Drawing from international human rights tools like the Rabat Plan of Action, the article suggests that social media companies should consider diverse local contexts for better interpretation and effective detection, with qualified human moderators with local knowledge and oversight boards with local expertise. By taking a human-centered, localised approach to content moderation and collaborating with relevant stakeholders, businesses can contribute to creating a digital space that upholds fundamental rights, prevents harm, and encourages inclusivity and diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dr Marja Lehto is Ambassador for International Legal Affairs at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, and Adjunct Professor of International Law at the University of Helsinki. She was a member of the United Nations (UN) International Law Commission (ILC) and served as the Special Rapporteur for the topic "Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflicts" from 2017 to 2022. Dr Lehto is also a member of the Council of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law since 2019. She has formerly served, inter alia , as Legal Adviser to the Finnish UN Mission in New York (1995–2000), as Head of the Unit for Public International Law (2000–09), and as Finland's Ambassador to Luxembourg (2009–14). For most of her career, she has worked on issues related to international peace and security, including international criminal justice and international humanitarian law (IHL), and she has published on a broad range of international legal questions related to the law of the sea, international environmental law (IEL), State succession, use of force, armed conflicts, terrorism and cyber security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing timely and adequate humanitarian access to those affected by natural disasters and conflicts remains a key subject of the United Nations (UN) Summits. This article examines the role of UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions in the formation and advancement of the international legal framework for humanitarian assistance. To examine this role, this article first examines the main international legal provisions developed within the framework of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law, and how they apply to situations requiring humanitarian assistance. The article then provides a comprehensive analysis of UNGA resolutions titled “Strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the UN.” This analysis coverage began with the first adopted resolution in 1991 and continued through the most recent resolution adopted in 2022. This article notes how the UNGA identifies the key principles of humanitarian assistance, which are impartiality, neutrality, independence, and humanity that are considered to have a key role in addressing the issues related to humanitarian assistance from the UNGA’s perspective. The analysis reveals the relevant international legal rules applicable to the delivery of humanitarian assistance and demonstrates the critical role of the UNGA in defining the legal grounds for humanitarian assistance. UNGA resolutions cover multiple responsibilities and obligations of states and the international community relevant to humanitarian assistance. The article concludes that UNGA resolutions have played a crucial and significant role in defining, clarifying, and expanding the international legal context for humanitarian assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presented paper discusses the convergence of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in armed conflicts. International human rights law and the human rights law converge and interact with each other because natural law is at the core of both these disciplines of public international law. Although international humanitarian law is a lex specialis , the general rules regarding the interpretation of treaties clearly indicate that international human rights law must be interpreted in the context of other rules of international law, and its possible derogations must be compatible with other international obligations of the state, including humanitarian law. In the event of a conflict between international humanitarian law and international human rights law, the mechanism for resolving conflicts between the standards was supplemented by an interpretation based on the principle of 'system integration' of the International Court of Justice which results in the 'humanization' of international humanitarian law. The evolution of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, which takes into account the international humanitarian law as the reference norm that should be referred to, demonstrates the close relationship between these areas of law. In the case of the application of universal and regional instruments of international human rights law, we are dealing with the 'humanitarianization' of these rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital platform economy has radically changed the modes in which work is organized, stretching the functionality of legal environment of work and its governance. This article builds on a strand of labor law scholarship that advances the need to rethink the legal construction of work and work relationship in order to adapt it to the dynamically evolving socio-economic context. By applying a business and human rights lens to this process, this article confutes the mainstream argument that labor rights guarantees remain contingent on an individual's enjoying the status of an employee under national jurisdiction. We survey a largely underexamined conception of affording protection to platform workers under International Human Rights Law (IHRL). In doing so, we argue that the instruments of IHRL may in some respects be even better placed than that of national law, both strengthening and complementing areas where state protection is weak or non-existent. Through the right to just and favorable conditions of work perspective, we outline the non-contested, albeit partly poorly implemented obligations of states, as well as largely contentious and contested responsibilities of private actors such as digital platforms towards the rights-holders. We conclude by arguing that the leverage offered by IHRL in the struggle to curb a quasi-sovereign power of the platform largely outweighs the democratically motivated objections this avenue may raise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review considers Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim's Decolonizing Human Rights and explores the book's key implications for human rights practitioners and their organizations. The review also includes An-Naim's reflections on the book as shared in an interview with Brian Phillips, Journal of Human Rights Practice Reviews Editor, in November 2022. The piece inaugurates a series of essays which will appear in the journal's Review Section in the year ahead marking the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a conversation between the authors on areas of complementarity between these two mechanisms, gaps, and potential avenues for enhanced mutual cooperation between the two. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article concerns the convergence of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in armed conflicts. International humanitarian law and human rights law converge and permeate each other because both these disciplines of public international law are founded on natural law. Although international humanitarian law constitutes a lex specialis, the general rules on the interpretation of treaties clearly indicate that international human rights law must be interpreted in the context of other rules of international law, and its derogations, if any, must be compatible with other international obligations of the state, including with humanitarian law. Where a conflict arises between international humanitarian law and international human rights law, the mechanism for resolving conflicts between norms has been supplemented by the International Court of Justice by applying an interpretation based on the principle of systemic integration, resulting in the “humanization” of international humanitarian law. As regards the application of universal and regional instruments of international human rights law, we face a “humanization” of them. That is why more and more attention is paid in practice to the complementarity of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and this is confirmed in United Nations discussions and resolutions on the situation in armed conflicts.

This paper discusses the practice of court interpreting in Rwanda. It examines the existing legal framework for court interpreters, their practical and professional challenges as well as the strategies towards improving court interpreting practice. Using qualitative methods, this study identified a number of challenges including the selection of court interpreters, the equipment used in court interpreting, the language proficiency of court interpreters, misconceptions of the general public towards court interpreters as well as lengthy court proceedings. The paper further shows the consequences of using unprofessional interpreters, which include miscarriage of justice due to inaccurate interpretation or delayed proceedings. The paper argues, therefore, that Rwanda needs professional court interpreters who are not only equipped with the required skills in judicial interpretation through high level training and qualification in relevant fields but who also demonstrate a high command of court working languages. It is also suggested that in order to comply with the legal standards of international human rights law, Rwandan Judiciary should equip its courts with adequate facilities and equipment for interpreters.

International lawyers ascribe to the lex specialis principle three distinctly different meanings. Thus, lex specialis is referred to, first, as a norm designed to resolve conflicts between entire categories of norms; secondly, as a norm designed to resolve conflicts on a case-by-case basis; and, thirdly, as a rule of interpretation designed to avoid the occurrence of normative conflicts, rather than to resolve them. Scholars have attempted to explain this divergent use of legal language. In so doing, they have consistently had their focus on the different mind-sets or inclinations of lawyers active in different branches of international law. Symptomatic is Marko Milanović, who pictured the divergent use of lex specialis as a reflection of a debate waged between "human rights enthusiasts" and "human rights sceptics". This article approaches the issue at a different level of abstraction. As it argues, the divergent use of lex specialis is the result of users' different conceptions of an international legal system. Thus, lawyers conceive differently of the lex specialis principle, depending on whether they take the position of a legal positivist, a legal idealist or a legal realist. In no case are lawyers equipped to conceive of this principle in all of its three senses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studia Iuridica Lublinensia is the property of Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The international law on the use of force has emerged as a distinct yet central pillar of international law. Although it may be intuitively understood to be connected to the promotion of human rights, it cannot be said to have emerged exclusively or even primarily as a result of human rights concerns. The rise of international human rights law has tended, coming late to that debate as it were, to neglect questions of war, deferring to specialised regimes on a largely functionalist basis. This article asks instead how one might reimagine the international law of the use of force if one takes the axiological primacy of human rights in international law seriously. This will involve a critique of the emphasis on the mere humanitarian regulation of war and a human-rights rereading of both the jus ad bellum and the jus in bello traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water is the lifeblood of human beings and society, but threats to water, such as the pollution of rivers, cyber crimes, and attacks against water infrastructure, are increasing. In green criminology, scholars have relied on domestic criminal law to develop the concept of crimes against water. This paper argues that international law could provide several frameworks for addressing these crimes. A number of international treaties and customary rules deal directly or indirectly with crimes against water, and the United Nations Security Council has also dealt with crimes against water committed by terrorist groups and parties to armed conflict. Crimes against water may represent violations not only of domestic criminal laws but also of international humanitarian law and human rights law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The OSCE Moscow Mechanism is one of the generally little-known mechanisms, established in 1991 to facilitate resolution of a particular question or problem relating to the human dimension of the OSCE. This article aims to highlight its role and significant potential to identify relevant patterns of behaviour supported by collected information and evidence on violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in situations that need urgent attention by the international community. Its flexibility and short reactionary time serves to promptly document developments and make them publicly available to inform further actions. At the same time, the mechanism in practice encounters a number of challenges, such as lack of cooperation from the States "under investigation", very short missions' deadlines for submission of their findings and rather limited (technical) support by the designated OSCE Institution, the ODIHR. This article discusses the mechanism as such and then looks into the two of its reports from 2022 concerning the situation following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and their impact within the OSCE and beyond. It provides some general conclusions and suggestions on possible improvements of the mechanism going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]