A Mediator on the World Stage?—How the EU's Commitment in Foreign Affairs is Portrayed by New Zealand and Australian Media

Abstract: ‘European identity’ is as much a contested concept as is the role of the European Union in foreign affairs. This article combines the two concepts and introduces a third variable, ‘the Other’, in order to address the following questions: How do non‐Europeans perceive the EU on the world stage? Is a tentative identity as a mediator in foreign affairs conveyed in the EU's conduct of foreign policy? Analysing 10 newspapers, 4 television bulletins, and 830 public surveys from Australia and New Zealand in the first half of 2004, this article argues that the EU's efforts to further democracy and peace are often marginalised in Australian and New Zealand perceptions. Nevertheless, subtle traces of perceptions of the EU as a potent global actor promoting human rights and environmental sustainability and challenging unilateral US policy courses were detected.     

The Impact of Cultural Diversity on International Criminal Proceedings

This article analyses the impact of cultural diversity on internationalcriminal proceedings, and what may be done to counter the unfortunateconditions — limited (or lack of) understanding, alienationand disagreement — resulting from this diversity. Eachof these conditions, if ignored, seriously undermines not merelythe efficacy of international criminal tribunals, but also theirworth from the standpoint of those who are supposed to benefitfrom them, i.e. actual participants (accused, witnesses andvictims) and affected populations. At present, internationalcriminal tribunals primarily understand the problem of culturaldiversity as one of how to cope with linguistic variations.However, a persistent focus on culture as language hides differencesin terms of other culture-specific components of equal relevanceto their work, notably socio-cultural norms and convictionsabout justice. These variations are especially difficult totackle. In this context, the article examines whether nationalcourts, which are assumed to conduct their proceedings in moreculturally homogenous settings, offer more appropriate foraof adjudication of grave crimes under international law.     

MEDIATION AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

This article summarizes policies and procedures used by various courts in the United States in responding to domestic violence. Over 200 courts and services were contacted under a grant from the State Justice Institute in developing this survey. The article covers the profile of mediation services, mediator training regarding domestic violence, screening for domestic violence and protocols used.     

Post‐Secularism and the European Court of Human Rights: Or How God Never Really Went Away

This article analyses the critical yet elusive notions of state neutrality, secularism and religious coercion under the European Convention in light of the European Court of Human Rights recent decision in Lautsi v Italy. We contend that the real concern in the Italian crucifix case was not the infringement of the school pupils’ religious freedom nor the proselytising or coercive effect of the ‘passive’ religious symbols. Rather, opponents of the longstanding symbols were animated by desire for strict religious equality, a notion that is, correctly in our view, not guaranteed under the Convention. Lautsi has significantly cleared the conceptual undergrowth surrounding state neutrality and the varieties of secularism, reined in the elastic notion of religious coercion and eschewed attempts to squeeze the constitutional diversity of European religion‐state frameworks into a strict American‐style separationist mould. The Convention jurisprudence on freedom of religion has finally come of age.