The Unique and Comparative Features of the Criminal Justice Systems, International Law, and the United Nations Criminal Courts: A Synthesis

2013 ◽  
pp. 297-308
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
Criminal Justice Systems ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Justice Systems

Part IV Access to Protection and International Responsibility-Sharing, Ch.29 Smuggling of Migrants and Refugees

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Schloenhardt Andreas
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
The Subject ◽  
International Responsibility ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
International Refugee Law

This chapter focuses on the smuggling of migrants in the context of refugee movements, and examines the scope and application of international law pertaining to these phenomena. The principal binding global instrument on this topic is the United Nations Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air which, on the surface, coexists alongside international refugee law in situations where smuggled migrants are seeking asylum. Although the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol expressly recognizes the protection afforded to refugees under international law, its interpretation, operation, and implementation often run into conflict with the Refugee Convention. All too frequently, measures to prevent and combat the smuggling of migrants focus exclusively on law enforcement, criminal justice, and restrictive border measures without recognizing the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and smuggled migrants, which are the subject of this chapter.

Juvenile Delinquency in an International Context

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Neissl ◽  
Simon S. Singer
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Juvenile Delinquency ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
The World ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law ◽  
Justice Systems

Juvenile delinquency is a global phenomenon, and interest in comparative studies of juvenile offending and society’s reaction to it has been steadily growing, despite the inherent difficulties of comparing juvenile justice processes across different regions. Both adolescence and the concept of juvenile delinquency are social constructs that vary by time and place. To know what constitutes a juvenile, or a delinquent act, requires detailed knowledge of a jurisdiction’s social, political, cultural, and legal history. International data in the form of officially recorded contact of juveniles with formal institutions are scarce, and they are often limited in their use for direct comparisons, due to divergent definitions and recording practices, or coverage of geographical regions. The United Nations Surveys on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (UN-CTS) have the widest geographical reach, but lack transparency of definitions or verification. The World Prison Brief by the Institute for Policy Research at Birkbeck University of London provides prison trends around the globe, but only offers one indicator of juvenile imprisonment. The Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics (SPACE) and the European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics collect data on a range of custodial and non-custodial measures, and include detailed notes on national definitions, but are limited to Europe. The largest self-report study of youth is the International Self-Report Delinquency (ISRD) study, which is currently in its third wave that includes 40 countries across the globe. Since 1990 the United Nations has developed international conventions, rules, and guidelines that govern the rights of children, particularly as they relate to juvenile justice, and these guidelines have shaped, and continue to shape, juvenile justice processes across the globe. Almost all regions in the world have provisions to treat juveniles violating the law differently from adults, but they do so in a multitude of ways. Not all countries have separate systems for juveniles and adults, and in some regions of the world informal reactions to juvenile law-breaking dominate, or coexist with formal juvenile justice institutions. Juvenile justice systems are often categorized according to their founding philosophies, between the poles of a welfare and protection approach on one extreme, and a crime control and justice approach on the other. However, such classifications mask important differences between countries, and can only be seen as broad generalizations. In order to capture the intricacies of existing systems, and compare them between jurisdictions, a localized approach to juvenile justice is needed. It is not sufficient to describe which legal orientations or traditions inform a system, but rather it is necessary to examine how these traditions (as well as global trends and pressures) are interpreted by local juvenile justice administrators. Comparative juvenile justice research that can contribute to public debates and to achieving better outcomes for juveniles across the globe needs to be localized, pay special attention to the specific cultural, legal, and historical context of the jurisdiction studied, and differentiate between the law in theory and the law in practice.

The Influence of International Human Rights Law upon Criminal Justice Systems

2002 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 510-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javaid Rehman
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
International Law ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Criminal Justice Systems ◽  
International Human ◽  
Justice Systems

Is international law, law in the real sense? This is a question that has been frequently posed not only by inquisitive undergraduate students, but also by national law practitioners. The sceptics of international law point to the absence of firmly established legislative, executive and judicial mechanisms—mechanisms that represent the essence of an effective legal system. The influence of human rights law upon national laws may appear particularly limited and tenuous. Furthermore, in the light of significant violations of individual and collective rights, there is scepticism about the effectiveness or influence of international human rights law upon national legal systems. This article, in challenging those sceptics who question the effectiveness of international human rights law, argues in favour of a strong and influential relationship between national criminal justice systems and international human rights law.

The United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Auke Willems
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
United Nations ◽  
The United States ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legal Aid ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
Criminal Justice Systems ◽  
Justice Systems

This article reviews the background and content of the Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems, adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in December 2012, to consider its objectives and potential. As with similar international agreements, the Principles and Guidelines is not legally binding and requires further legislative action to be implemented. This article demonstrates how urgent the need for legal aid reform is and raises realistic expectations about what the international instrument can achieve in this regard. In stressing the urgent need for reforms of legal aid systems, the discussion uses the European Union as an example because of the extensive comparative analysis available and because of the recent European Union Roadmap for Criminal Procedural Rights that aims, inter alia, to improve access to legal aid. To strengthen further the argument, attention also will be paid to the problems surrounding legal aid in the United States, which will indicate some of the Principles and Guidelines’ limitations. Furthermore, the path of implementation of an earlier United Nations General Assembly Resolution will be outlined to articulate what reasonable expectations can be placed on the Principles and Guidelines’ approach to ensuring access to legal aid.

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