Nation Building and the Rule of Law: Lessons from the Civil Rights Movement

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcia Ledlow
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
The Rule Of Law

scholarly journals Defying the Law of the Land: The Lawyer's Role in Civil Disobedience in Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Bolger
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal History ◽  
Civil Disobedience ◽  
Test Case ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Public ◽  
Complex Dimension ◽  
History Of

A lawyer’s role in relation to the issue of civil disobedience is far from settled. Lawyers advocate for values such as “truth” and “justice;” however, they are also instructed to respect the rule of law and the legislature’s role in creating laws and policy. Due to the tension between values and law, lawyers must choose which clients to represent as well as determine what constitutes effective counsel. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms adds another complex dimension to this dilemma because of the fine line between “civil disobedience” and the assertion of Charter rights through test case litigation. It is easy to look back at historical moments, such as the civil rights movement, and recognize when civil disobedience is justified. However, we do not always have the luxury of hindsight, and we must not deny that there are legitimate reasons to practice civil disobedience today. The legal history of Dr. Henry Morgentaler is an example of the juxtaposition between advocacy and policy. Throughout his legal battles, Dr. Morgentaler was labelled a criminal who performed civil disobedience, but who is now highly regarded as someone who fought for Charter rights. Therefore, with competing obligations to one’s client, fellow lawyers, and the public in general, lawyers must chart their own ethical course in these matters.

Lawyers as Activists

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Dorf ◽  
Michael S. Chu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Court Action ◽  
The Government ◽  
Trump Administration

Lawyers played a key role in challenging the Trump administration’s Travel Ban on entry into the United States of nationals from various majority-Muslim nations. Responding to calls from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which were amplified by social media, lawyers responded to the Travel Ban’s chaotic rollout by providing assistance to foreign travelers at airports. Their efforts led to initial court victories, which in turn led the government to soften the Ban somewhat in two superseding executive actions. The lawyers’ work also contributed to the broader resistance to the Trump administration by dramatizing its bigotry, callousness, cruelty, and lawlessness. The efficacy of the lawyers’ resistance to the Travel Ban shows that, contrary to strong claims about the limits of court action, litigation can promote social change. General lessons about lawyer activism in ordinary times are difficult to draw, however, because of the extraordinary threat Trump poses to civil rights and the rule of law.

PURPOSE, PRINCIPLES AND SPECIFIC FEATURES OF PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE LEGAL CREATION ACTIVITY

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 53-62
Author(s):  
Shoxrukhkhon Saidov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Space ◽  
The Law ◽  
Law Making

This article describes the specifics of the law-making process conducted by the prosecutor's office. The purpose and principles of the prosecutor's office's participation in this process have been studied scientifically and theoretically. Taking into account the high relevance of ensuring legality in the law-making process, opinions were expressed about the need for adequate regulation and organization of solving this task by the prosecutor's office at the level of law and legality. The participation of the prosecutor's office in law-making activities contradicts the needs of the population, the protection of human and civil rights and freedoms, ensuring the rule of law, promoting the formation of a unified legal space and improving legislation, ensuring consistency legal instructions, systematization of legislation, scientifically based analysis are aimed at reducing the influence of bureaucratic interests and preventing the inclusion of factors that generate corruption in normative acts and their projects

VLADAVINA PRAVA I USLUGE

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dragan Vujisic ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Health Department ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Positive Law ◽  
Service Activities ◽  
The Republic

In the first part of the paper are analyzed different views of the rule of law: liberaldemocratic, then positivistic view and, finally, defining of the rule of law as the rule of positive-law order of particular properities. In addition to these the three theoretic orientations, one more classification was pointed out - formal and materaialistic aspect of the rule of law. Besides, the principles and institutions of the rule of law were analyzed: legitimacy of power, division of power, independent judiciary, legitimacy expressed in terms of the ideas of constitution and lawfulness, constitutional guarantees of human and civil rights, existence of free economy and economic activities. The subject of the second part of this paper are services. Nowadays, services are the motor of economic growth and include, especially in developed countries of EU, more then 70% of EDP, employees, new economic subjects, and service activities also make up over 70% of all the activities. The service sector includes different, heterogenic services the number of which is getting higher and higher. The service activities are numerous and performed in various sectors such as trading, communications, financing, government administration, health department, social welfare, media, education, tourism, catering, sport and others. We are all witness to the constant growth of service sector in view of continuous broadening of the range of services and the influence upon the economic development of the state. Law regulations of the services in the Republic of Serbia were analized as well as its harmonization with the law regulations at the level of EU and the need for its further upgrading and improvement.

Part I General Questions, 4 The EU and the Fight against Organised Crime

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hecker Bernd
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Criminal Policy ◽  
Organised Crime ◽  
Acquis Communautaire ◽  
Effective Prevention ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
European Criminal Law ◽  
The Eu

The effective prevention of and the fight against all types of transnational organised crime (TOC) has been one of the biggest challenges to the criminal policy of the EU for decades. In this connection, the EU and its member states are facing the task of striking an equitable balance between the interest in ensuring an effective criminal justice system on one hand, and the protection of civil rights that the rule of law offers on the other. On the basis of the EU strategies and programmes to create an area of freedom, security, and justice, this chapter retraces the development of European criminal law in relation to TOC. It shows that the acquis communautaire now attained comprises a multiplicity of legal instruments aiming at the protection of European society and its economies from organised crime.

From Constitutionalism to Legalism: Trial by Jury, Responsible Government, and the Rule of Law in the Canadian Political Culture

1989 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Romney
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Common Law ◽  
The State ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Responsible Government ◽  
Constitutional Thought ◽  
Canadian Political Culture

The influence on the Canadian political culture of two conflicting tendencies in common-law constitutional thought,constitutionalismandlegalism, merits attention. By constitutionalism, I mean a particular response to the apprehended infringement of civil rights and liberties by the state: an appeal to standards of state conduct that are supposedly sanctified by long usage, implied contract, or both. By legalism, I mean the justification of alleged infringements by invoking the lawfulness of the authority by which such actions are taken. These definitions deviate from common usage, but they serve to represent a dichotomy within common-law constitutional thought that has been crucial to the development of the English political culture and of cultures derived from the English.

The Effect of Alcohol on the Canadian Constitution ... Seriously

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-209
Author(s):  
Morris J. Fish
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Temperance Movement ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Division Of Powers ◽  
Straight Line ◽  
Form Part ◽  
Good Government

Alcohol has exerted a staggering influence on the Canadian constitution. It was a prominent feature of daily life in the young Dominion, much to both the delight and chagrin of many. The temperance movement exerted its own influence on both the federal and provincial legislatures. Without “alcohol” as a head of power, the legislatures claimed control over this seeming, social evil sometimes under “Peace, Order and Good Government”, “criminal law”, or “Trade and Commerce”; at other times under “Property and Civil Rights”, “Local Matters”, and so forth. Court challenges abounded; the result was, in part, the judiciary’s failure to walk a straight line toward a clear division of powers between the federal and provincial governments. But the result was also many of the doctrines of division of powers that still form part of Canadian constitutional law. Beyond its impact on the division of powers, alcohol was also at the root of Canada’s most important decision on the rule of law: Roncarelli—a decision argued and won by the late F. R. Scott.

scholarly journals The Constitution of Ukraine of 1710 and its place in the centuries-old history of nation-building

2020 ◽  
pp. 16-25
Author(s):  
Igor Boiko
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
French And English ◽  
History Of ◽  
Further Development

The article reveals the socio-political preconditions of the Constitution of Ukraine of 1710, analyzes its content and determinesits place in the centuries-old history of nation-building. It is noted that the Ukrainian Constitution of 1710 had an exceptional politicaland legal significance, as it was a regularity of the existence of the Ukrainian Cossack state and testified to the statehood of the Ukrai -nian nation. The Constitution of 1710 was a kind of social contract, the primary purpose of which is to ensure the rights and free deve -lopment of members of society. It enshrined the principle of separation of state power, established democratic and contractual principlesfor the formation of public authorities, the manner of their organization and interaction, determined their competence and functions.The Constitution of Ukraine of 1710 enshrined other important principles, including equality (Article 6 «equality of the Cossacks inpublic affairs»), the rule of law and the inviolability of natural human rights, which were the basis for preventing usurpation of power,violation of the integrity and sovereignty of the state. The competence of state authorities and officials was delimited and their constitutionalstatus was established. The Ukrainian Constitution of 1710 was focused on the establishment and development of the nationalidea, spiritual and moral values of peace, tolerance, goodness, and justice. During the period of the Ukrainian Cossack state, especiallyat the time of the adoption of its constitution in 1710, the formation of the national idea took place. The Constitution of Ukraine of 1710is important in the history of nation-building. Adopted during the Middle Ages, when predominantly absolutist monarchies ruled, itbecame the most advanced state act in European society at the time, defining Ukraine as a democratic Christian republic with an electedhetmanate. The Constitution of 1710 became the foundation for the further development of Ukrainian statehood. The first Ukrainianconstitution of 1710 was ahead of its time, it was adopted when the French and English educators had just begun to develop those cons -titutional ideas that were already laid down in it. As is typical of constitutions, it defined the state system, the order and principles offunctioning of representative, executive and judicial authorities, the electoral system, the rights and responsibilities of the state, societyand citizens. Given the above-analyzed basic provisions of the Constitution of 1710, it can rightly be considered the first written democraticconstitution in the world. Key words: constitution, state formation, republic, state, nation, Ukraine.

scholarly journals Korupcja naruszeniem konstytucyjnych wartości i praw obywateli

2020 ◽  
pp. 109-150
Author(s):  
Waldemar Walczak
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Research Perspective ◽  
Constitutional Principle ◽  
Important Argument ◽  
The Government

The article presents multifaceted considerations and results of analyses concerning the necessity to perceive the phenomenon of corruption through the prism of a gross violation of constitutional values, the principles of the rule of law and social justice. The main focus is on discussing civic rights that are effectively eradicated by corruption, at the same time emphasizing a holistic and systemic approach to understanding and interpreting specific processes and decisions confirmed in practice. At the beginning, it is explained why a broad research perspective should be adopted to understand the essence of corruption. An important argument supporting the correctness of the adopted approach are statements contained in the Government Program for Counteracting Corruption 2018–2020. Next, the most important constitutional values and civil rights are indicated, which are not respected and remain only in the declarative sphere as a result of corrupt practices. In order to prove the illusory nature and facade of certain provisions of the Polish Constitution, important statements contained in the judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal are quoted, and then these interpretations are analyzed in relation to real situations occurring in everyday reality. These problem issues are presented from the perspective of the constitutional principle of equality before the law, social justice and non discrimination. It is also noted in this regard that corruption activities are precisely the main factor leading to the division of citizens into two separate categories according to the way they are treated. Finally, it is mentioned that in the European Union ever greater emphasis is currently being placed on compliance with the rule of law. This problem is closely related to the need to understand the negative consequences of corruption as an element that undermines trust in the state, constitutional order and the rule of law.

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