Wars, Pandemics and Emergencies: What Can History Tell Us about Executive Power and Surveillance in Times of Crisis?

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yee-Fui Ng ◽  
Stephen Gray
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Executive Power ◽  
Individual Rights ◽  
Australian Government ◽  
Spanish Flu ◽  
Second World ◽  
Historical Uses

In the fight against coronavirus, the Australian government has enacted a series of measures that represent an expansion of executive powers. These include the use of smartphone contact-tracing technology, mandatory isolation arrangements, and the closure of businesses. Critics have expressed concerns about the long-term implications of these measures upon individual rights.?This article will analyse the validity of such concerns in the context of other historical uses of executive power in Australia in times of crisis: during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, the First and Second World Wars, and the ‘War on Terror’ post-September 2001. Drawing its conclusions from these historical precedents, the article argues that clear legislative safeguards are a minimum necessary step both to prevent police and governmental abuse of privacy, and to foster and maintain trust in the government’s ability to manage their ‘emergency’ powers in a manner consistent with human rights.

scholarly journals Limiting the executive power after the Second World War: the invention of administrative science

2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232098559
Author(s):  
Céline Mavrot
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
World Order ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Executive Power ◽  
World War ◽  
Administrative Power ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World ◽  
Administrative Science

This article analyses the emergence of administrative science in France in the wake of the Second World War. The birth of this discipline is examined through the history of its founders, a group of comparatist aiming at developing universal administrative principles. The post-war context prompted the creation of checks and balances against administrative power (through oversight of the legality of administrative action) and against the powers of nation states (through human rights and international organizations). Administrative science and comparative law were meant to rebuild international relations. The history of this discipline highlights a legal project to redefine the role and limits of executive power at the dawn of the construction of a new world order. Points for practitioners Looking at long-term developments in the science of administration helps to inform administrative practice by providing a historical and reflective perspective. This article shows how a new understanding of the administrative reality emerged after the fall of the totalitarian regimes of the first half of the 20th century. It highlights the different ways in which administrative power was controlled after the Second World War through greater oversight over administrative legality, the establishment of universal administrative principles and the proclamation of human rights. Questions of administrative legitimacy and the limitation of administrative power are still very much part of the daily practice of executive power, and represent a central aspect of administrative thinking.

Wie Europa Zeus bändigte

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berit Ebert
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political Context ◽  
European Court Of Justice ◽  
Individual Rights ◽  
European Law ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
European Court

The involvement of plaintiffs contributed significantly to the development of the European Union's equality law. On the basis of 70 judgments of the European Court of Justice, the use of European law since the famous Defrenne cases in the 1970s, and up to more recent judgements such as the Coman case, is analyzed, taking into account the respective political context. The prohibition of discrimination in Article 157 TFEU, which was initially based on competition and women's policy, is now increasingly being traced back to fundamental and human rights and includes LGBTQIA+ rights. In the long term, effective individual rights protection with this additional entitlement is dependent on an expansion of the EU's competences.

scholarly journals Australia's guestworkers? A discussion of the rights of New Zealand citizens to enter, reside and work in Australia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Yvonne Oldfield
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Differential Treatment ◽  
Direct Influence ◽  
Australian Government ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Temporary Migrant ◽  
Legal Position ◽  
New Zealanders

<p>New Zealanders and Australians have enjoyed free movement across the Tasman since early European settlement of both countries. They have been able to live and work in either country for indeterminate periods, and up until recently, enjoyed many of the same benefits as permanents residents of their respective countries. However from 2001 the Australian government has cut back the entitlements of New Zealanders in Australia to welfare and other benefits. This paper explores the legal position of New Zealanders in Australia and the reasons behind the Australian government’s moves. It will argue that New Zealanders who do not meet the usual permanent residence criteria are effectively being used as temporary migrant labour in Australia. Even where they make Australia their long-term home they have no access to an alternative path to residence and citizenship. Excluded from the franchise, they are in a position of “civic marginalization” in which they have no direct influence over policies such as the 2001 changes to social welfare. The paper will conclude by considering briefly whether a human rights approach could provide a mechanism for these “Ozkiwis” to address differential treatment that has arisen as a result of their civic marginalisation.</p>

scholarly journals Australia's guestworkers? A discussion of the rights of New Zealand citizens to enter, reside and work in Australia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Yvonne Oldfield
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Differential Treatment ◽  
Direct Influence ◽  
Australian Government ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Temporary Migrant ◽  
Legal Position ◽  
New Zealanders

<p>New Zealanders and Australians have enjoyed free movement across the Tasman since early European settlement of both countries. They have been able to live and work in either country for indeterminate periods, and up until recently, enjoyed many of the same benefits as permanents residents of their respective countries. However from 2001 the Australian government has cut back the entitlements of New Zealanders in Australia to welfare and other benefits. This paper explores the legal position of New Zealanders in Australia and the reasons behind the Australian government’s moves. It will argue that New Zealanders who do not meet the usual permanent residence criteria are effectively being used as temporary migrant labour in Australia. Even where they make Australia their long-term home they have no access to an alternative path to residence and citizenship. Excluded from the franchise, they are in a position of “civic marginalization” in which they have no direct influence over policies such as the 2001 changes to social welfare. The paper will conclude by considering briefly whether a human rights approach could provide a mechanism for these “Ozkiwis” to address differential treatment that has arisen as a result of their civic marginalisation.</p>

scholarly journals A Demography and Taxonomy of Long-term Immigration Detention in Australia

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Bull ◽  
Emily Schindeler ◽  
David Berkeman ◽  
Janet Ransley
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Australian Government ◽  
Immigration Detention ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Demographic Profile

The practice of long-term immigration detention is a relatively recent aspect of Australian Government policy. There has been much debate about the wisdom of such policy, raising concerns regarding the health of detainees, the dereliction of human rights, and the legal robustness of such practice. Despite considerable interest, little detail is available describing who is being held and the reasons for their long-term detention. This paper addresses this noticeable gap through a systematic analysis of the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s Immigration Reports over the period 2005 through 2009. From such reporting it has been possible to produce a demographic profile of people held in Australian detention and to develop a taxonomy of the reasons contributing to the ongoing containment.

Producing Outside the Box: Creative Strategies in the Work of Betty E. Box, 1957–64

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-374
Author(s):  
John D. Ayres
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
Film Production ◽  
World War ◽  
E Box ◽  
Film Producer ◽  
British Cinema ◽  
Working Practices ◽  
Location Shooting ◽  
Second World

This article considers the working practices of British cinema's only major female film producer during the early-to-mid post-Second World War era, Betty E. Box (1915–99). Via reference to her extensive archive at the British Film Institute and the films Campbell's Kingdom (1957), The Wind Cannot Read (1958) and Hot Enough for June (1964), the article charts how Box initially envisaged multi-generational casting for roles that were eventually taken by long-term collaborator Dirk Bogarde. It considers the manner in which she approached the diplomatic complexities of location shooting, with particular focus on Ralph Thomas's military romance The Wind Cannot Read, the first British film to be shot in India for twenty years at the time of its production. The reasoning for Box's ongoing absence, as a female creative figure, from scholarship addressing British cinema, and film production more generally, will also be addressed.

Liberating Afghan Women

2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 70-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Organizations ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Afghan Women ◽  
The Media ◽  
Policy Priority

Public opinion in the United States and elsewhere celebrated the liberation of Afghan women following the defeat of the Taliban government. The United States promised to stay in Afghanistan and foster security, economic development, and human rights for all, especially women. After years of funding various anti- Soviet Mujahidin warlords, the United States had agreed to help reconstruct the country once before in 1992, when the Soviet-backed government fell, but had lost interest when the warlords began to fight among themselves. This time, however, it was going to be different. To date, however, conditions have not improved for most Afghan women and reconstruction has barely begun. How did this happen? This article explores media presentations of Afghan women and then compares them with recent reports from human rights organizations and other eyewitness accounts. It argues that the media depictions were built on earlier conceptions of Muslim societies and allowed us to adopt a romantic view that disguised or covered up the more complex historical context of Afghan history and American involvement in it. We allowed ourselves to believe that Afghans were exotic characters who were modernizing or progressing toward a western way of life, despite the temporary setback imposed by the Taliban government. In Afghanistan, however, there was a new trope: the feminist Afghan woman activist. Images of prominent Afghan women sans burqa were much favored by the mass media and American policymakers. The result, however, was not a new focus on funding feminist political organizations or making women’s rights a foreign policy priority; rather, it was an unwillingness to fulfill obligations incurred during decades of American-funded mujahidin warfare, to face the existence of deteriorating conditions for women, resumed opium cultivation, and a resurgent Taliban, or to commit to a multilateral approach that would bring in the funds and expertise needed to sustain a long-term process of reconstruction.

The Imperial Army Project

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas E. Delaney
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
British Empire ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Archival Research ◽  
Military Cooperation ◽  
High Point ◽  
The Military ◽  
Second World

How did British authorities manage to secure the commitment of large dominion and Indian armies that could plan, fight, shoot, communicate, and sustain themselves, in concert with the British Army and with each other, during the era of the two world wars? This is the primary line of inquiry for this study, which begs a couple of supporting questions. What did the British want from the dominion and Indian armies and how did they go about trying to get it? How successful were they in the end? Answering these questions requires a long-term perspective—one that begins with efforts to fix the armies of the British Empire in the aftermath of their desultory performance in South Africa (1899–1903) and follows through to the high point of imperial military cooperation during the Second World War. Based on multi-archival research conducted in six different countries on four continents, Douglas E. Delaney argues that the military compatibility of the British Empire armies was the product of a deliberate and enduring imperial army project, one that aimed at ‘Lego-piecing’ the armies of the empire, while, at the same time, accommodating the burgeoning autonomy of the dominions and even India. At its core, this book is really about how a military coalition worked.

The Stakes of Decolonization, 1945–1960

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Talbot C. Imlay
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Majority Rule ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
The Political ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Individual Rights ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Common Position ◽  
Human Individual ◽  
Post War

In examining the efforts of European socialists to forge a common position towards the issue of post-war empires, this chapter highlights some of the political stakes involved in decolonization. As debates between European and Asian socialists suggest, the process of decolonization witnessed a struggle between competing rights: national rights, minority rights, and human (individual) rights. Each set of rights possessed far-reaching political implications, none more so than minority rights, as they were often associated with limits on national sovereignty. These limits could be internal, such as constitutional restraints on the working of majority rule; but they could also take the form of external constraints on sovereignty, including alternatives to the nation state itself. The victory of the nation state, in other words, was inextricably tied to the defeat of minority rights as well as the growing predominance of human rights.

Diplomatic Assurances Against Torture – An Effective Strategy? A Review of Jurisprudence and Examination of the Arguments

2008 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Skoglund
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
The State ◽  
Security Threats ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Actual Risk ◽  
Substantial Risk ◽  
International Human ◽  
Controversial Area

AbstractHuman rights organisations have warned repeatedly that basic human rights are being challenged in the so-called 'War on Terror'. One particularly controversial area is the use of diplomatic assurances against torture. According to international human rights instruments, the state shall not return anyone to countries in which they face a substantial risk of being subjected to torture. In the 'War on Terror', an increasing number of non-citizens are being deemed 'security threats', rendering them exempt from protection in many Western states. To be able to deport such 'threats' without compromising their duties under international law, states are increasingly willing to accept a diplomatic assurance against torture – that is, a promise from the state of return that it will not subject the returnee to torture. There is wide disagreement as to whether and/or when diplomatic assurances can render sufficient protection to satisfy the obligations of non-refoulement to risk of torture. Whereas the human rights society label such assurances as 'empty promises', others view them as effective, allowing states to retain their right to remove non-citizens without violating international law. This article reviews international and selected national jurisprudence on the topic of diplomatic assurances against torture and examines if and/or when such assurances might render sufficient protection against torture to enable removals in accordance with international law. The courts and committees that have reviewed the use of diplomatic assurances against torture have identified essential problems of using them, thus rejecting reliance on simple promises not to torture. However, they have often implied that sufficient protection might be rendered by developing the assurances. I argue that this approach risks leading the governments into trying to perfect a system that is inherently flawed – whilst, incidentally, deportations to actual risk of torture continue. Even carefully modelled assurances render only unreliable protection against torture. For this, and reasons connected to undesirable side-effects of their use, I argue that the practice should be rejected.

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