TOWARDS THE RULE OF LAW OR THE RULE OF THE BOOTS？ A LIBERAL PERSPECTIVE ON DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Since the beginning of the ＂war＂ on terror, governments have implemented counter-terrorism laws and policies, in breach of their obligations under international human rights law, on account of the necessity to protect democracy against its enemies. Reliance on the human rights discourse in order to justify the violations committed renders it difficult to criticise these drawbacks without rethinking the concepts of rights and democracy and reformulating them. The present article attempts to answer this challenge along the lines of the reconstruction of the notions of liberal democracy as the rule of law and liberty, and human rights as spheres of individual sovereignty.     

Pre-constitutional state of customary law in South Africa

Customary law is often criticized for being in conflict with human rights norms, mainly on the grounds that it tends not to emphasize gender equality and discriminate against women. Although customary law has not in the past emphasized equality between men and women, it cannot be regarded as completely in conflict with human rights1. As already stated, one of the principles of human rights is equality between the sexes. Customary law has the same aim as human rights, which is the protection of human dignity2. The conflict may be largely caused by the fact that, ideologically, African customary law is communal or socialist in approach, whereas human rights are based on the premise that a person has rights by virtue of his or her being an individual human being. Now that we in South Africa have a bill of rights and yet we will still have customary law, the question has been and is still being posed whether customary law is not in conflict with universal human rights. The reason for this is that one of the values that underpin our Constitution is equality.3 Customary law on the other hand does not insist on complete equality in every respect. In particular section 9 of the 1996 Constitution provides for equality before the law and for equal protection and benefit of the law, which entails the full and equal enjoyment of all the rights and freedoms. It further proscribes unfair discrimination based on the listed grounds although it allows steps to promote or advance people or categories of persons who have been disadvantaged by unfair discrimination.     

The environmental rights entered in the constitutions： A critique

Although environmental law is a relatively a new field of scholarship in South Africa, it is growing rapidly. The right to access to social security including environmental rights is found in the South African Bill of Rights, is being amplified by legislative and constitutional reforms, and developing case law in the courts. There is therefore a clear need to increase the understanding of the discipline through systematic research and teaching at various levels.1 The notion of including an “environmental right” in a domestic constitution is not novel in Africa. Most African countries have incorporated a constitutional provision that ensures the right to a healthy environment. Most of the problems that exist with environmental rights under the international and regional systems are absent under the domestic South African system. The way in which environmental rights have been formulated in international instruments, section 24 of the South African Constitution has been framed as an individual right and not as a collective one. Environmental degradation often affects groups of people and it could consequently argue that the right should protect groups and not just individuals.2     

CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT IN BURUNDI： A CASE STUDY OF PROTECTION OF REFUGEES AND IDPS IN POST-CONFLICT RECONCILIATION AND TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE

Violations of human rights and genocide in Burundi are among the most contentious issues which continue to attract the attention of academic discourse. This paper is concerned with the question of human rights violations in Burundi from a historical and comparative perspective. It seeks to trace the root causes of Burundi＇s sullied human rights record over 52 years since independence from Belgium in 1962, the role of the military in human rights violations, including mass killings of civilians and extra-judicial executions of political opponents and the fact that the post- conflict constitutional architecture has not succeeded in establishing accountability and responsibility for these violations; in providing truth, justice and reparations to the victims and in putting an end to the culture of impunity which seems to be entrenched in Burundian society. Moreover, by analyzing critically the results from interviewing 113 Burundians and 16 non-Burundians, this paper argues that there will be no political stability enduring peace without addressing these issues in a comprehensive manner.     

AN EVALUATION OF THE CHINESE LEGAL SYSTEM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The philosophy of binary purpose in conjunction with a holistic approach reflects sustainable development.These ideas are in accordance with Chinese traditional philosophy and culture,as well as the contemporary economic and social development.It calls for the central government's support to achieve sustainable development at the initial stage.However,in the long run,this approach has drawbacks which are concealed Thus,prompt adjustment is needed.In the relationship between the systems of sustainable development and democracy,human rights,sovereign equality of states,and sustainable development are approbated by the Chinese law system.The bottleneck of sustainable development is linked to its ideological system.Integration is related to the bottleneck of binary purposes,good governance,public participation,and human rights.The government-oriented mechanism has a time element that is related to the bottleneck of utilitarianism and basic economic law.For China's sustainable development,breaking the bottleneck to improve the system and seizing the opportunity to make innovations are of great significance.     

THE OMBUDSMAN AND THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN EUROPE： CASE STUDY OF ITALIAN ＂CIVIC DEFENDER＂

The paper is centered on the Ombudsman＇s role in the defense of individual human rights. The institution of the Ombudsman is based on the idea that citizens should be entitled to complain against specific acts and behaviors of their rulers and that their complaints should be investigated by an independent body. In Europe, the establishment of a specific office to investigate citizen complaints against public bureaucracy is relatively recent,     

EGYPT＇S PUBLIC PROTEST LAW 2013： A BOOST TO FREEDOM OR A FURTHER RESTRICTION？

On November 24, 2013, Egypt＇s signed into law - the Public Protest interim President Adly Mansour Law after it was proposed by the interim government, and soon it became the main concern in Egypt due to claim that after the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi and of the Muslim Brotherhood, the country is currently ruled by a military-backed government that seeks to restrict freedom and rights in order to introduce a new authoritarian-military rule. The government promoted the law by arguing that it aims to maintain stability and security in Egypt＇s streets and that it only targets factional protest movements and saboteurs. Nevertheless, the law has been widely criticized by human rights groups as well as rights and political activists who say it restricts freedom of speech and that it is an attempt to completely ban the right to protest, not to regulate it as the government claims.     

REDEFINITION OF CURRENT LEGAL MEASURES＇ ROLE AS ＂PANACEAS＂ IN DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT PLAY

In this article, the author tries to discuss what the appropriate legal protection of digital rights management （DRM） technologies is. The objective of the paper is to highlight the deficiencies of the present legal practices in U.S. and the E.U.. Compared with private remedy, such as making license and using technological protection measures, anti- circumvention rules will bring more widespread influence and probably rebuild the new benefit rules in copyright system. The theory of anti- circumvention legislation has been far away from the principle of traditional copyright since its emergence, which means there is no much experience that merits attention by current copyright system, even anti- circumvention rules in various countries no doubt provides legal support and so-called ＂lawful basis＂ for creators＇ rights expanding. The methodology research.     

BREACH OF HUMAN RIGHTS BY NIGERIAN POLICE IN THE PERFORMANCE OF ITS FUNCTIONS＂ NEED FOR A REFORM

Nigerian Police is charged with the responsibility of upholding the law and ensuring order is kept within the polity. It is however observed that the police in carrying out its functions constantly abuses the rights of the citizens which are considered as natural rights and very fundamental to every human existence. This study aims at examining the roles of the police in Nigeria and the various ways and the rights of citizens are being encroached upon by the said police. The legal standards prescribed for the operations of Nigerian police are measured against the international standards as a parameter in order to determine the weak points of the Nigerian standards. Suggestions are therefore made on how Nigerian police can be more humane in carrying out its functions.     

The Niqab in Canada： Is it a charter right？

Although religious beliefs and practices came under Constitutional protection in 1982 by section 2（a） of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the struggle to define what constitutes freedom of religion continues. Currently freedom of religion from the court＇s perspective is a right to be protected as long as its expression does not bring harm or discrimination to others. This definition is one that the courts have already applied to several other different rights. It is a position that while ostensibly static is capable of fluid change as society changes over time. To set in stone how far a freedom may extend is to deny the fact that society does and will continue to change. Views on what constitutes religious beliefs are fluid and a requirement on the extension of protection to those beliefs and actions is argued could hamper the development of multiculturalism.     

In defense of human rights of indigenous people

The nations of the world are generally shaped by a cultural diversity, which must be preserved. This leads to a fundamental and essential defense of indigenous groups and their human rights. The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of defending human rights of indigenous cucapa, natives settled in the northeast of the state of Baja California in the Delta of the Colorado River, especially with regards to their fishing rights, which is their main source of food and survival. The environmental laws that have been issued in the country have greatly affected them, banning commercial fishing in some areas and totally in many other areas, adding to that a not to subtle performance by the appropriate regulation authorities, preventing them from fishing sea bass, hence their consumption and marketing, which is reflected in their socioeconomic status. For this reason and in response to this violation of their human rights, women have decided to enter a cucapa womb strike, which threatens the existence of the tribe by not reproducing.     

IS FREEDOM OF SPEECH POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE？

What is the nature of freedom of speech？ The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is often taken as an important example of free speech protection. However, the premise underlying the First Amendment is that freedom of speech is positive rather than negative. Yet such a conclusion is far from being proved. The original academic model of freedom of speech is usually understood as the model of ＂minimal government. ＂According to this paradigm, harmful speech should not be constrained but rather contested in the ＂free marketplace. ＂Allowing ＂more and better speech＂ to challenge the harmful speech seems to be the best reconciliation. But ＂more and better speech＂ could fail in some occasions as well as the marketplace theory. Does the enforcement of legal protection in such area or the interference of the government always end up in over expanding and abuse of power？ As a matter of fact, China is now facing the same challenge as the Western society. How should we reconcile the legal protection of sinking voices, the limitation of against harmful speech and the governmental power of censorship？ Through discussing the several cases in China, we try to examine the consequence of both the old and new media techniques and internet that challenge not only the authority of the traditional power but also endanger the rights of individuals.     

THE POLICE INVESTIGATOR＇S AUTHORITY TO ISSUE PROVISION LETTER OF INVESTIGATION CANCELLATION： ITS URGENCY IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF INDONESIAN CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

According to integrated criminal justice system, Police is the gatekeeper of the Indonesian criminal justice system or the pioneer State＇s institution and agency in criminal law enforcement. Consequently, when public are disappointed with law enforcement, attention will firstly be directed to the police. Hence, according to the Direction of the Chief State＇s Police No. KEP/3 7/X/2008 concerning the Accelerated Program of the Indonesian Police Transformation towards independent, professional and accountable police, all levels of police structure are ordered to be able to change the paradigm of the police services as soon as possible. In addition to that, police investigators have published some letters of Investigation Cancellation Order （SP3） as it is a part of police＇ authority stipulated in the Code of Criminal Procedure （KUHAP） and the Law No. 2 Year 2002. However, there are still abundant of cases to solve. Consequently, there should be policy regulating the authority of investigators to issue Provision Letter of Investigation Cancellation （SKP2）. This modest article attempts to describe philosophical foundation of the urgency of police authority to issue SKP2 and the juridical implication covers the law enforcement effort, strenghthening the realization of duties and responsibility of the police investigators in settling cases and facilitating the effort to attain the goals of the law namely justice, usefulness, and legal certainty, as well as assisting to search and find the substantially truth by paying attention to the protection of human rights.     

LAW OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ON INDIRECT SEX DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN WORKING LIFE： FROMA PERSPECTIVE OF IMPROVING THE LAW OF CHINA ON NON-SEX DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN WORKING LIFE

Equal rights to work between men and women are recognized as fundamental human rights by many international conventions including the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Also, constitutions of many countries recognize equal rights to work as basic constitutional rights. But women all over the world still face numerous kinds of sex discrimination, including direct sex discrimination and indirect sex discrimination, especially in working life. Indirect sex discrimination against women in working life undermines women＇s equal rights to work in a covert way, which is just as harmful as direct sex discrimination and should be prohibited by law.     

Constitutional enforcement of socio-economic rights： South African case study

The entrenchment of socio-economic rights in the South African Constitution is a critique. It is submitted that a constitution that pretends to guarantee rights which cannot be judicially enforced should not be considered a serious legal document. In this paper, particular attention is paid to the far-reaching judgment by the Constitutional Court in Mazibuko and others v The City of Johannesburg. The questions posed and answered relate to issues such as the enforceability of socio-economic rights entrenched in the constitutions.     

A review of developments and changes in the world＇s constitutions

The constitution is a living document, which being the case, there is a need to increase the understanding of the constitution through systematic research and teaching at various levels. This paper aims to be a catalyst that inspires creative action to claim and advance certain new constitutional rights encapsulated in various world＇s constitutions. It seeks to raise awareness of new constitutional rights. World＇s most constitutions have incorporated constitutional provisions that ensure the entrenched new fundamental human rights. The latest constitutions, including South African constitution of 1996 are advanced and have included significant number of rights which were left out in the old constitutions. The courts are given the widest possible powers to develop and forge new remedies for protection of constitutional rights and the enforcement of constitutional duties.