The Alien Child’s Best Interest Ignored: When Notions of Gendered Parenthood Meet Tightening Immigration Policies

ABSTRACT

This article investigates how arguments about the “child’s best interest” are constructed in court decisions on asylum and family reunification in Finland. The article brings together two strands of scholarship that have so far been rather separate from each other, namely that of the literature on family reunification and feminist family studies. Analysis shows that the best interest of the child is insufficiently addressed and other arguments sideline the evaluation of child’s best interest. Gender has an impact as the best interest of the child seems to play a more significant role in relation to motherhood than it does in relation to fatherhood. In general, the court did not deem motherhood or fatherhood central to the child’s development as such, but rather as something that became central if it could not be performed properly due to other reasons than separation. Considerations such as ties to either Finland or the country of origin, as well as the income requirement, can become factors that override the potential separation from a parent. Finally, the results are also compared to the child’s best interest evaluation in out-of-home placement cases from the same courts. Our analysis shows a stark contrast between these two types of cases. We show that whenever a child’s case falls under immigration law, even when simultaneously being handled within the framework of child protection, the main deciding factor is not the best interest of the child. Alien affairs are decided based on—almost solely—factors other than the child’s best interest, while the same Supreme Administrative Court rules on child welfare cases based on a very different interpretation of child’s best interest.     

论劳动者的休息权及其法律保障

休息权是劳动者所享有的宪法权利,具有自由权和社会权的双重属性.当劳动者享有休息权时,国家负有尊重和不干预的义务;在劳动者的休息权受用人单位侵害时,国家负有保护的义务;发展劳动者休息和休养的设施,国家负有给付义务.保障劳动者的休息权,立法机关需要完善相关立法,劳动行政部门需要切实履行法定监管职责,司法解释的举证责任分配规...     

社会保障权的宪法思考

社会保障权是公民在年老、疾病或者丧失劳动能力的情况下,国家和社会给予物质帮助的权利.社会保障权既是社会权利、经济权利,更是宪法权利、基本权利.确立社会保障权的宪法地位对于发挥其保障作用尤为关键.     

‘Not Simple,Not Pure’: Revisioning of Mythical Wicked Women in the Stories of Sara Maitland

The British novelist, feminist and religious thinker Sara Maitland (b.1950) is renowned for her short stories, many of which involve the rewriting of fairy tale and classical and biblical myth. This article situates Maitland's retellings within the contemporary feminist tradition of literary revisioning, but emphasises that her retelling of old tales is distinguished by a deep—and often discomforting—engagement with questions of morality. This is rooted in Maitland's political commitment and Christian faith, and is particularly evident in her treatment of mythical female evil. Her short stories take a morally ambiguous approach, paying attention to the moral and psychological complexities of the wicked stepmothers in fairy tale, gorgons and child-killers of classical myth, and temptresses of the Hebrew Bible. Maitland's feminist revisioning of mythical wicked women does not flinch from their darkness, or impose simple ethical lessons, but at the same time she is (sometimes horribly) aware of their moral significance. This article examines the portrayal of feminist theology's concept of the ‘female sin’ of passivity in Maitland's revisioning of Delilah (in Daughter of Jerusalem, 1978) and ‘Helen of Troy's Aerobics Class’ (in On Becoming A Fairy Godmother, 2003); how the crimes of mythical wicked women are retold as being motivated by revenge against men in ‘Deborah and Jael’ (Daughter of Jerusalem), ‘Siren Song’ and ‘The Swallow and the Nightingale’ (Far North and Other Dark Tales, 2008). The latter of these raises issues of women's conflicting loyalties, which is also considered in ‘The Swans’ (2008). The taboos of incest and child abuse are explored powerfully and sensitively in ‘Jocasta’ (2003) and ‘The Wicked Stepmother's Lament’ (A Book of Spells, 1987), and resistance to simplistic moralising is encapsulated in the story of a menopausal Eve, in ‘Choosing Paradise’ (2003).     

‘I do not have the means to speak:’ educating youth for citizenship in post-conflict Liberia

Although policymakers stress the importance of education in promoting peace, little research examines the ways that schools prepare students affected by conflict to participate in the restoration of peace in their political community. Post-conflict societies experience severe challenges in strengthening political processes and social cohesion. This paper discusses citizenship education at a school run by a non-governmental organization near Monrovia, Liberia, examining the implemented curriculum in an 8th grade civics classroom. The paper details the ways that young people expressed civic critiques within the classroom, and provides a counterstory to narratives of harsh and violent educational environments in the region. This classroom was a space where students and their teacher engaged in talk about contentious issues: students discussed corruption and injustice, and highlighted the relationship between economic and political power. I argue that if the goal of education is to produce engaged, effective citizens, teachers should have pedagogic support to confront the differences between the implemented curriculum and students’ lived experiences. Peace education in such contexts must include equipping students to seek justice. Furthermore, because possibilities for civic education are embedded in students’ local and national contexts, current global civic education initiatives must be adaptive to local realities.     

Peace education in Israel: an educational goal in the test of reality

Peace education is considered a necessary element in establishing the social conditions required for promoting peace-making between rival parties. As such, it constitutes one of Israel’s state education goals, and would therefore be expected to have a significant place in Israel’s educational policy in general and in response to peace moves that have occurred during the Arab–Israeli conflict since the 1970s in particular. This article reviews the educational policy actually applied by Israel’s state education over the years as reflected in formal educational programs and school textbooks, and suggests that although some significant changes have taken place over time, there has been and still is a significant gap between the stated goal and the practice of peace education in Israel. Reasons for this disparity and its implications are discussed and possible directions are proposed for coping with this educational challenge.     

不完全信息下大学生就业困境与就业知情权保障

信息的充分传递是市场资源高效配置的前提。就业市场上大学生就业信息的不完全,影响了大学生理性的进行学科选择和职业规划,导致高等教育人才供需双方不能有效衔接。知情权保障是解决主体信息不完全问题的唯一路径。我国应在立法上明确大学生就业知情权的内容,并通过政府的市场就业信息收集供给、高校就业信息服务、用人单位就业信息告知等,落实大学生就业的知情权。     

我国体育教师劳动权利与法律救济研究

长期以来,我国体育教师劳动权利立法与保障机制缺乏,加剧了体育教师劳动维权抗辩的难度。因此如何在我国体育教师劳动立法层次结构的基础上,保护体育教师劳动权利及目前立法缺陷,提出体育教师劳动权利的法律救济,对完善我国体育教师劳动立法和保障机制有着重要的现实意义。     

悖信援引时效抗辩权的法律规制

义务人实施一定言行导致权利人合理信赖诉讼时效不会成为其行使权利的障碍,其后义务人援引时效抗辩权的,构成悖信援引行为。我国现行法框架下对于悖信援引行为的法律规制,难以通过起算、中断等规则予以解决,而应当适用诚实信用原则或禁止权利滥用原则限制此类援引行为。司法实务中适用诚实信用原则或禁止权利滥用原则处理时效援引争议的典型案例包括:义务人恶意躲避权利人、双方存在长期合作关系使权利人产生合理信赖、时效期间届满后双方进行某种形式的磋商等。对于司法实务中某些误用此二原则的裁判意见,应当尽量予以纠正和避免。     

基层法院庭长权责匹配冲突及耦合

司法责任制改革取消了庭长审批权,实现了权力下沉至一线法官的目的,但同时庭长却面临着不愿管、不善管的困境。其直接原因在于庭长权责匹配冲突,即权力小、责任大。具体表现为多重角色赋予其所承担的政治责任、基于法院目标管理带来的行政责任以及法官身份回归而需承担的法律责任,但并未赋予相应的权力。造成权责匹配冲突的根源在于在去行政化过程中对权力关系的简单化处理,导致法院外部压力型任务注入与内部平权式治理之间的矛盾;法院功能的超载化,扩充了法院管理的范围。权责冲突带来了负面效应,包括权力的非正式运作,不善管;逆向激励,痕迹化监督与策略性监督,不愿管。要改变这种状态需要从制度保障、动力机制、信息基础、关键因素四个方面入手。