The Relation between International Rights and Natural Rights a Comparison between Hobbes, Grotius and Kant’s Ideas in law

International law is a science attributed to Hugo Grotius, based on both natural rights and intergovernmental treaties, although over time it has expanded its sphere of influence to other subjects. In the present study, an attempt is made to address the origins and defined framework of this science by addressing the theories of this Dutch philosopher and to look at the ancestors and successors of Grotius in order to determine the extent of influence by each of the following philosophers: Aristotle and Cicero in ancient times and Hobbes and Kant in the modern era. Examining the nature of natural rights on the one hand and international law on the other and, the relationship between the two from the point of view of Grotius, as well as comparing his point of view with Hobbes' in particular and, referring to Kant are among the topics covered in this article. Because the study of the theoretical foundations and methods of each of the above thinkers as well as their intellectual system and their proponents and opponents can to some extent shed light on the hidden aspects of the issue.

Cybersecurity, Human Rights, and Empiricism

This chapter examines recent research on the impact of surveillance, both mass and targeted forms, and considers these insights and their implications for cybersecurity. State surveillance has been central to the ‘securitization’ in cybersecurity, particularly the increasing sophistication and expansion of digital surveillance. The chapter looks at different theoretical and empirical approaches to understanding the impact of such surveillance activities, particularly surveillance studies and chilling effects theory. It also considers how new research shows that surveillance has an impact on a range of fundamental human rights and freedoms, with important implications for civil society and deliberative democracy. Awareness of surveillance, or the threat of it, can have a substantial chilling effect on people’s exercise of these rights, leading them to self-censor or avoid seeking or imparting certain sensitive information. Surveillance can also be said to violate international rights against discrimination and protections for minorities, in that it has unequal or disproportionate impact on certain groups, including vulnerable minorities. The chapter then argues for new frameworks for cybersecurity centred on civil society or human rights.

Is the Mzungu phenomenon a help or hinderance?

The deprivation, adversity, and lack of protection for children on the streets of urban Uganda are well known; as is the reality that most of their support is facilitated by Western Missionary operated, non-government organisations (NGOs). However, their approach is problematised as ineffective, oppressive, and colonial. Yet there is a dearth of research from the children’s perspectives, capturing the meaning of such actors’ interventions within their lifeworld’s, and no such literature within the Ugandan context. Therefore, this case study focuses on the ‘Mzungu Phenomenon’, a theme unearthed from critical hermeneutic analyses of the life stories of 30 former street children within an orphanage in Kampala, Uganda. The Mzungu phenomenon refers to the meaning and influence of the Western Missionaries and volunteers that feature within the children’s experiences, captured within their narratives. Underpinned by Ricœur’s narrative philosophy, this study illuminates and problematises the way in which Western NGO actors feature within the children’s lifeworld’s, and the wider ramifications from postcolonial, and postcolonial feminist theoretical perspectives. This includes the perpetuation of colonial legacies, ideologies, and praxis, that contribute to disempowerment for children, their families, and their communities, and the dual oppression of women. Therefore, this piece argues that despite a need to enhance child protection measures in Uganda, the current approaches that do not align with national and international rights-based policies must be further critically examined, challenged, and reformed, to ensure the wellbeing of the children.

Цагаач ажилчдын эрхийг хамгаалах олон улсын үндсэн баримт бичгүүд

English title: Fundamental Documents of International Rights of Immigrated Workers

Justice among institutions : the IRB as a component of Canadian refugee status determination

This paper takes an institutional approach to examine justice in Canadian refugee status determination, focusing on the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) as an administrative tribunal. The IRB is viewed in the historic context of post-Second World War international rights expansion and the rise of New Public Management as an administrative paradigm. Policies implemented by the recent Harper governments are reviewed in light of the IRB’s high permeability to executive influence and low judicial intervention; issues undermining the IRB’s substantive independence are discussed; the interaction of the IRB with other institutions in Canadian refugee status determination, such as the IRCC and CBSA, are examined in terms of venue shopping for implementing desired policy. The possibility of integrating adversarial-style hearings into the IRB while maintaining its currently centralized research and jurisprudence is proposed. Keywords: separation of powers, refugee status determination, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, administrative tribunal, rights expansion, managerialization, New Public Management, endogeneity of law, executive permeability, judicial intervention, venue shopping, inquisitorial hearing, adversarial hearing.

Justice among institutions : the IRB as a component of Canadian refugee status determination

This paper takes an institutional approach to examine justice in Canadian refugee status determination, focusing on the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) as an administrative tribunal. The IRB is viewed in the historic context of post-Second World War international rights expansion and the rise of New Public Management as an administrative paradigm. Policies implemented by the recent Harper governments are reviewed in light of the IRB’s high permeability to executive influence and low judicial intervention; issues undermining the IRB’s substantive independence are discussed; the interaction of the IRB with other institutions in Canadian refugee status determination, such as the IRCC and CBSA, are examined in terms of venue shopping for implementing desired policy. The possibility of integrating adversarial-style hearings into the IRB while maintaining its currently centralized research and jurisprudence is proposed. Keywords: separation of powers, refugee status determination, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, administrative tribunal, rights expansion, managerialization, New Public Management, endogeneity of law, executive permeability, judicial intervention, venue shopping, inquisitorial hearing, adversarial hearing.

The Machinery of International Law and Democratic Backsliding

This chapter focuses on the abuse of international rights to political participation so as to facilitate a leader's remaining in office beyond the constitutionally mandated term. This involves not only the abuse of the interpretation of rights, but also the abuse of the doctrine of unconstitutional constitutional amendments, which has spread around the world in recent years. How does this happen and what, if anything, can international law do about it? After introducing a motivating case — the famous decision of the Colombian Constitutional Court in the second re-election decision, in which courts stood for the protection of democracy — the chapter examines recent 'bad' cases in which rights and constitutional amendments are abused to extend leaders' terms. It surveys recent developments in the law of term limits, and briefly proposes a normative interpretation of the right to political participation which ought to be consistent with the emerging doctrine. The chapter suggests that there is an emerging consensus, at least in some regions of the world, that there are limits in states' ability to modify term limits unconditionally.

Questions of the legal nature of the Minsk agreements (international legal analysis)

The importance of the Minsk agreements in resolving the conflict and the fact that they are the only agreed basis for achieving peace in eastern Ukraine has been repeatedly stated by world leaders and leaders of international intergovernmental organizations (primarily the UN, OSCE, EU, NATO, etc.). This fact determines the high importance of the processes taking place in the field of peaceful resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The relevance of the chosen research topic is due to the fact that the process of resolving the military conflict in Ukraine in the context of establishing stable peace and security in the east, as well as returning the occupied territories of Donbass to Ukrainian control is given much attention by political leadership scientific environment and the average population. In addition, the implementation of the Minsk Agreements was discussed at various international official meetings at the highest political level with the participation of the Ukrainian side. For Ukraine, which in the framework of the «hybrid war» faced such factors as the temporary occupation of the territory of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, issues of peace and security in the east of the state have become extremely important. As a result, legal scholars are increasingly questioning the legal nature of the Minsk agreements themselves, as well as the nature of the parties’ international rights and obligations. The article examines the international legal aspects of clarifying the legal nature of the Minsk agreements. The parties’ different understanding of the Minsk agreements on their legal nature is analyzed, the possible legal consequences in case of non-compliance with these international legal documents are determined, and the role and place of the Minsk agreements in the process of peaceful settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine are clarified. Scientifically substantiated conclusions on the correct understanding and interpretation of the Minsk Agreements as a specific type of international legal documents are provided.