Achieving Access to Justice in a Business and Human Rights Context

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) can contribute to economic prosperity and social development in the countries where they operate. At the same time, their activities may directly or indirectly cause harm to humans and to the environment. However, MNEs are rarely held accountable for their involvement in human rights abuses and environmental damage. In recent years, activists have challenged corporate impunity by introducing innovative claims seeking to hold parent companies directly liable for the harm caused by their group’s activities. They have also strategically used this type of litigation to trigger corporate accountability reforms at international, regional, and national levels. Using national litigation experiences as a starting point and focusing on European civil-law countries, the book evaluates the extent to which litigation against MNEs has been effective in achieving access to justice and corporate accountability. It also considers whether ongoing regulatory developments, such as the adoption of mandatory human rights due diligence norms and the negotiations for a business and human rights treaty, can contribute to the realisation of access to justice and corporate accountability in the future.

Access To Justice of Citizenship Rights for Stateless Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Children In Sarawak, Malaysia

As one of the countries that ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990 which was subsequently promulgated into the Child Protection Act, Indonesia is still unsuccessful in protecting children. This mainly occurs in the context of protection illegal migrant workers’ children who were born in the country where their parents work. In Sarawak, Malaysia, for instance, there are 43,445 stateless children. This study aims to portray the stateless children in Sarawak, Malaysia, and the efforts of the Indonesian government to protect their right to access justice. This research is normative-qualitative with observations and in-depth interviews with consultant general staff and Indonesian volunteers In Sarawak as one of the main research methods. The results of this study indicate that stateless condition makes it possible for the children to get other rights, such as education. Meanwhile, the Indonesian government has already made regulations and efforts to provide access to basic human rights for children of stateless migrant workers, including itsbat nikah abroad to legalize unregistered marriage among workers. However, it has not been fully successful because the problems are so complex that it needs to involve several parties, especially the Malaysian government, and plantation owners as employers of the migrant workers. Likewise, harder and more coordinated efforts are also needed to fulfill their citizenship right. (Sebagai salah satu negara yang meratifikasi Konvensi PBB tentang Hak Anak pada 1990 dan kemudian dikristalkan menjadi Undang-undang Perlidungan Anak, Indonesia ternyata belum sepenuhnya berhasil melindungi hak-hak anak. Ini utamanya berlaku dalam konteks perlindungan terhadap anak para buruh migran yang lahir dan tinggal di negara tempat orang tuanya bekerja. Di Sarawak, Malaysia, ada 43.445 anak-anak tanpa kewarganegaraan. Penelitian ini bertujuan memotret kondisi anak buruh migran ilegal tanpa kewarganegaraan di Serawak, Malaysia, serta menjelaskan upaya pemerintah Indonesia untuk melindungi hak-hak mereka. Penelitian ini bersifat normatif-kualitatif dengan observasi dan wawancara mendalam kepada pegawai Konsulat Jenderal dan relawan Indonesia sebagai salah satu metode penggalian data utamanya. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa status tanpa kewarganegaraan menghalangi anak-anak tersebut mengakses hak-haknya yang lain, semisal pendidikan. Sementara itu, pemerintah Indonesia sudah memiliki beberapa aturan tertulis dan berupaya memberikan akses keadilan bagi anak para buruh migran tersebut, termasuk melalui program itsbat nikah di luar negeri. Namun demikian, situasi belum sepenuhnya terkendali karena permasalahan yang begitu kompleks dan mengharuskan keterlibatan banyak pihak, utamanya pemerintah Malaysia dan para pemilik perkebunan. Perlu juga dilakukan upaya yang lebih keras dan terkordinasi agar hak-hak tersebut dapat terpenuhi.)

Negotiating Status: Pro Bono Partners and Counsels in Large Law Firms

Law firm pro bono work provides access to justice to low-income people and other vulnerable populations. The professionals that manage pro bono programs are at the forefront of that process. The limited available research on these professionals do not often distinguish lawyers from other managers or theorize about their status vis-à-vis other law firm lawyers. Yet the status of lawyers who are also managers of pro bono programs influences both their identities and the management and provision of legal services and advocacy. Drawing on original demographic and interview data, this article shows how law firm pro bono partners and counsels navigate their ambiguous roles and negotiate their status as lawyers and managers. I find that pro bono partners and counsels navigate their ambiguous roles by striving to be perceived as “real” lawyers, reframe their roles as business generators, conform to the billing culture, and establish a common identity. They also negotiate their titles and office spaces to raise their profiles. Gender inequality influences the negotiation of office spaces and the approval of pro bono matters. These findings have implications for lawyers who manage pro bono programs and the legitimacy of pro bono work.

Post-pandemic Recommendations: COVID-19 Continuity of Court Operations During a Public Health Emergency Workgroup

In this report, the COVID-19 Continuity of Court Operations During a Public Health Emergency Workgroup (Plan B Workgroup) makes recommendations about best practices and technologies that should be retained or adapted post-pandemic. The recommendations in this final Plan B Workgroup whitepaper are based on experience and feedback from Arizona’s courts addressing pandemic and post-pandemic practices. Although the original report, issued on June 2, 2021, included a May 2021 Survey of Arizona’s Courts, this updated report also includes information from a July 2021 State Bar of Arizona Survey and a September 2021 State of Arizona Public Opinion Survey addressing those practices. The workgroup’s findings and recommendations, which remain unchanged, can be summarized in five major categories: (1) Increasing Access to Justice, (2) Expanding Use of Technology, (3) Jury and Trial Management, (4) Communication Strategies and Disaster Preparedness, and (5) Health, Safety, and Security Protocols.

THE ROLE OF THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE OF UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF ENSURING GUARANTEES OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF JUDGES AND THE AUTHORITY OF THE JUDICIARY

The article reveals the role of the prosecutor's office of Ukraine in the process and in order to ensure guarantees of the independence of judges and the authority of the judiciary. A study of the legislative framework of Ukraine proves that the role of the prosecutor's office in the process of ensuring guarantees of the independence of judges and the authority of justice is regulated by the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine «On the Prosecutor's Office», the Law of Ukraine «On the Judicial System and the Status of Judges», the Code of Professional Ethics and Conduct of Prosecutors, the Criminal Procedure Code Of Ukraine, the Criminal Code of Ukraine, as well as other regulatory documents. It was found that the judge, performing professional activities in the direction of the administration of justice, is independent of the various influences, pressure or interference, which are illegal. The legislation of Ukraine determines that the principle of the independence of the judge indicates that the judge is not obliged to provide explanations regarding the nature and content of the cases being pending, with the exception of cases established by law. State authorities, local self- government bodies, officials and officials of these bodies, individuals and legal entities and associations of such persons should respect the independence of judges and in no case should encroach on it. It was determined that one of the principles on the basis of which the professional activities of the prosecution authorities are based is the principle of respect for the independence of judges. It has been proved that the High Council of Justice always adheres to the position of unconditionally ensuring the independence of judges and establishing this direction as a priority type of activity for law enforcement agencies, in particular, for the prosecutor's office. Fast and quality investigation of crimes related to the professional activities of judges will, first of all, contribute to the observance of constitutional law regarding the principle of access to justice.. It is noted that the prospects for further research in this direction are the study of the legal basis for the observance of the principle of the rule of law and legality by the judiciary in the context of performing professional activities.

Implementation of Human Rights and the Mandatory Precedents in Foreign Trade, Legal Effectiveness: Mexico Case

We make an analysis of the implementation of human rights and the mandatory precedent in matters of Mexican foreign trade, in an administrative and judicial context in the search for legal effectiveness with constitutional control, highlighting the implementation of human rights contained in treaties commercial, such as access to justice and prompt and expeditious; We point out a recent case of human rights and foreign trade, with the implementation in the Mexican legal system, of the Free Trade Agreement Mexico United States Canada, before the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, as well as a possible proposal before the provisions of its Article 14.D.5, regarding the right of access to prompt and expeditious justice in investment matters, and avoiding the resolution of controversies before international arbitration panels that have been questioned.

Unloading the Judicial System in Kazakhstan? Alternative Ways of Resolving Individual Labour Disputes

The purpose of the study is to develop proposals for the modernization of the judicial form of protection of social and labour rights and interests of the individual. We are testing the hypothesis about the priority and universality of the judicial form of protection of rights in relation to other ways of applying for the restoration of violated labour interests; we assess access to justice as a criterion for the effectiveness of the judicial form of protection. The main method is a desk study of law enforcement practice, reports related to the functioning in Kazakhstan of a judicial form of protection of the social and labour rights of an individual, also the method of analysis of documents and statistical data of courts, a survey of examples of the best foreign practice in the work of specialized courts, and an analysis of international universal standards of access to justice in social and labour disputes.

Dejudicialization and Proceduralism Based on the Nature of Conflicts and According to the Brazilian Constitution

The objective of this paper is to show that Access to Justice is a broader concept than Access to the Judiciary. Apart from the movements for access to justice, it is the intention to prove that the Alternative Means of Dispute Resolution and the studies of Conflict Perspective are equally relevant, having in mind that they both defend a plurality of conflict processing institutions (state or not), based on the hypothesis that dejudicialization is an important way to strengthen institutions and promote economic and social development. Therefore, the deductive approach method was used in conjunction with the propositional-juridical method to demonstrate that the exhaustion of the state-owned model in solving conflicts shows that it is possible (and necessary) to develop the Proceduralism beyond the scope of the Judiciary, in order to institutionally expand forms of conflict resolution in civil society. From this, the concept of Proceduralism arises, interconnected with the due process and which is also suitable for the out-of-court ways of dispute resolution, in order to achieve adequate, effective and due process protection, so that pacification is carried out along the lines of constitutional guarantees, with constitutional procedurality also acting on the unjudicialized means of resolving conflicts.