Women's rights and the Constitution

The revitalization of the Feminist Movement in the late 20th century led to the abandonment of most overt male bias in constitutional law. The Supreme Court replaced its old doctrines that accepted gender discrimination virtually without scrutiny with a rule that gender-based classification must bear a substantial relationship to an important purpose. The limited right to abortion recognized in Roe v. Wade [Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 413 (1973)] has survived 30 years of persistent efforts to negate it. Nevertheless, male bias remains entrenched in American law. Although law is no longer an exclusively male activity, legal rules originated in men's viewpoints and experiences. Examples of this kind of male bias include a concept of self-defense that does not fit the experience of domestic violence victims and child custody rulings that ignore the mother's role as primary caregiver. Unfortunately, constitutional doctrine remains impervious to this type of bias.     

Asylum, children's rights and social work

Although it is only a minority of displaced and persecuted people globally who seek refuge in ‘Western’ countries, they meet an increasingly hostile reception. This paper focuses on the situation facing children seeking asylum with or without their families in Britain and Australia, and the implications for children's rights and for social work. The policy background and its racist foundations in both countries are outlined. Despite geopolitical differences, there are unnerving parallels. Legislative changes and policy complexity signal increasingly punitive attitudes towards asylum seekers. The situation of children and families in the community is discussed in terms of the exclusion of asylum seekers from basic rights, and specific issues for separated children. Even more damaging is the incarceration of children and families in detention centres, and the emerging research is explored. In both countries there is widespread flouting of children's rights, and children also feature as pawns in ideological contests. However, they also act autonomously and illustrate an inclusive model of citizenship. The role of social workers in the statutory and voluntary sectors is considered, and the paper concludes with a discussion of the challenges for social work of avoiding collusion with repressive policies and actively promoting human rights.     

荣誉权之否定

荣誉上升为权利 ,是立法者有意识的安排 ,而不是对现实固有权利的确认。立法上的原因 ,一方面是翻译前苏联民法及其理论的讹误 ,将其名誉权译成荣誉权 ,进而被我们“借鉴” ;另一方面则是在那个特定的历史时期 ,授予荣誉具有某种程度上的经常性和广泛性 ,因而被误认为是一种普遍的社会现象。取消荣誉权是今后民事立法的正确选择     

Indigenous water rights in Australia

Indigenous rights in Australia have undergone enormous transition since the groundbreaking decision in Mabo vs. Queensland in the Australian High Court. This paper explores these changes with a particular emphasis on Aboriginal water rights—an important, and more complicated, corollary to land rights. Mabo opened many possibilities that Aboriginals could claim water rights for everything from irrigation to fishing and spiritual uses. Since 2000 claims of this nature have been made in the federal court system and have challenged the total scope of water law on this the driest inhabited continent on earth. Water law in Australia is primarily a function of state government and these policies have had differential impact on Aboriginal rights which will be explored in this paper.     

论人权的两面性

人权的两面指的是作为道德权利的一面和作为道德义务的一面。人们在理解人权之概念时,往往只看到其道德权利一面,而极少看到其道德义务一面。其实,作为道德权利的人权表达的是人之为人应该具备的资格和人之尊严的价值,它强调了人权之目的与理想;而作为道德义务的人权则表达了人权实现的手段与工具价值,注重了人权之现实。作为道德权利的人权与作为道德义务的人权,应当是我们在完整理解人权时皆须认真对待的,二者不可偏废。     

Biometric technology and beneficiary rights in social protection programmes

Over the past decade, the use of biometric technology in the identification and authentication of beneficiaries of social protection programmes has increased. However, there has been little debate among governments, donors and civil society organizations on the potential implications of this technology in relation to the inclusion of the most vulnerable sectors of the population, as well as for the protection of privacy and personal data. This article aims to fill that gap. First, the article reviews how biometric technology is used in various social protection programmes around the world. Then, it examines the potential risks and challenges of deploying biometric technology in social protection programmes. Finally, it assesses the requirements necessary to ensure that biometric technology is implemented in compliance with international law standards. The focus is on developing countries, where the use of biometric technology in identification systems has increased considerably in recent years. Among the key conclusions of the article is that the adoption of biometric technology, often encouraged by donors, needs to be preceded by democratic debate where all alternatives are discussed. The adoption of this technology should be accompanied by a context‐specific assessment of risks, and the adoption of an appropriate legal and institutional framework to protect rights and ensure that the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the population are not excluded.     

More law and more rights: will children benefit?

This paper questions the view that children are just another disadvantaged group and that they need substantially more, or more varied, rights than they enjoy at present in the UK. It suggests there is a lack of appreciation of the consequences of current 'rights' advocacy, especially that which draws on the United Nations Convention on The Rights of The Child, and doubts whether a simple piling up of more rights will prove wise, workable or effective; rather it could become counter-productive and even generate a backlash from individuals and wider society. More fundamentally, It argues that the pursuit of greater benefits for children, as children , is ultimately divisive and segregating at a time when our society needs an integrating philosophy that emphasises the mutual and reciprocal nature of relationships between citizens. It proposes, instead, an approach to rights which emphasises shared interests and participation as key factors in improving the welfare of children as developing citizens.     

Globalization and income inequality: Implications for intellectual property rights

This paper examines the impact of globalization on income inequality for a cross-section of 62 developing countries over a period of 17 years (1985–2001). The results of the study indicate that globalization explains only 15% of the variance in income inequality. More specifically, the results show that (1) strengthening intellectual property rights and openness are positively correlated with income inequality; (2) foreign direct investment is negative and significantly correlated with income inequality but this is not robust to different model specifications; (3) the institutional infrastructure is negatively correlated with income inequality. The study's findings and the review of the literature suggest that globalization has both costs and benefits and that the opportunity for economic gains can be best realized within an environment that supports and promotes sound and credible government institutions, education and technological development.     

Navigating human rights across the life course

Issues related to human rights have increasingly moved to the forefront of professional concern in recent years. Despite this, there has been minimal attention paid to exploring how changing human needs across the lifespan impact upon human rights. This paper takes a broad look at human rights issues that occur across the life course, and uses examples of life course transitions to illuminate issues related to moral rights and human rights. The examples include family formation, raising children, adolescent maturation in the context of youth offending and grandparents parenting their grandchildren. Each example explores the contestable rights and responsibilities of children, young people and adults and the ways in which these are negotiated within the context of the family.     

The rights of the child and ethnic minority families in Sweden

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was launched in 1989 and is ratified in most countries. The UNCRC is considered by child welfare authorities worldwide to be an essential document that aims to improve the rights of children. However, contemporary research indicates that the UNCRC is an obstacle to social work because it emphasizes the legal equality between children and adults. This finding prompts the question of how Western child protection agencies conduct child protection encounters with families with a non-Western ethnic background. The present article aims to examine if specific articles in the UNCRC can serve as a medium for improving social work with ethnic minority families within the child protection sector in Sweden. This article is based on a research project concerning youths with an ethnic minority background in out-of-home care. Relevant articles in the UNCRC are revealed to be potentially helpful to child protection programmes involving ethnic minority families because these articles emphasize considering the perspective of the child and strengthening parenting skills. However, child protection agencies must consider how the UNCRC can be used to teach parents or guardians to understand and acknowledge the perspective of the child without violating the values of the family.     

Appropriation and water rights issues in the high plains Ogallala region

This research assesses the effectiveness of groundwater doctrine in eastern Colorado and western Kansas within the context of 330 irrigators' preferences for perceived changes in groundwater appropriations and variances in existing rules to best achieve the public interest. A survey of irrigators in six groundwater management districts reveals that attitudes conflict with several aspects of current appropriation doctrine. There is significant support for broad-based, uniform reductions in appropriations when groundwater becomes scarce rather than the “first in time, first in right” requirement in the prior appropriation doctrine. Many irrigators believe that past water-use efficiency should be a criteria factored into appropriation reduction polices. Most oppose the “use it or lose it” concept that requires specified levels of beneficial use to protect a water right, and irrigators oppose special exemptions to permit new wells to benefit the public interest in fully appropriated areas. Importantly, if irrigators' preferences were codified in the groundwater appropriations doctrines, more groundwater could be conserved.     

Problems and possibilities of ethnic minority traditional rights within liberal democracies

Problems and possibilities relating to claims to group rights within a liberal individualist democratic framework is explored here in two liberal democracies, viz., America and Canada. The tension inherent in individual rights and claims of ethnic minorities to traditional group rights are explored in selected Court cases. In our exploration we shall find that while liberal democracies are committed to individual rights and freedom, they had to, in few cases, interpret rights and freedom, so as to accommodate certain group rights.     

现代企业制度的个人权利基础

企业从主体性上看,要么是个人,要么是政府.现代企业制度是私人企业社会化的产物,仍然是企业.独立的个人经济权利是企业权利结构的基础,也是企业独立的经济职能得以实现的基础.现代企业制度的核心是法人财产权,法人财产权的基础是出资人个人权利.现代企业效率的主导因素是企业家个人经济权利.没有个人经济权利就没有现代企业制度.我国在国有企业基础上建立现代企业制度,是要在缺乏个人经济权利基础的土壤上走出一条现代企业制度逆向演进的道路,是"前无古人"的.国有企业的主体本来就是政府部门.政府在客观上不可能、在主观上也不能放弃对国有企业的控制.国有企业改革的成功一定在于政府行政制度的现代化和行政能力的提高.     

Promoting children's rights through the use of relationship

This paper reports on a research study exploring the views of 27 children and young people on their involvement in a child protection investigation. Their perspectives on the personal and professional qualities of the professionals involved and on the choice, influence and representation they experienced and prefer are discussed. One of the most striking findings is that most of the children and young people had experienced a positive relationship with a social worker. Overall, many reported improvements at home, at school and in their health and behaviour. Their responses to different aspects of the intervention are discussed within the context of their rights to participation, choice and representation. It is acknowledged that children lack agency in promoting these rights in child protection work and concluded that these are best promoted through the development and maintenance of a relationship of trust, offered by a key professional in their network. Drawing upon Heard & Lake's (1997) work on attachment theory, it is suggested, further, that relationships and processes which embody supportive and companionable interactions are more likely to offer opportunities for representation and participation than those which are dominant and submissive. Finally, it is argued that children's services should be based on a human rights perspective, the discourse of which has more in common with the values of respect and honesty than with cost effectiveness and business management.     

Social rights and social resistance: opportunism, anarchism and the welfare state

This conceptually oriented paper adopts a critical perspective on the question of social rights and asks whether, in contemporary circumstances, claims to social welfare based on rights can provide a meaningful basis for social resistance to poverty or oppression. Past approaches to the question of rights as a means of resistance are characterised as either opportunistic or anarchistic. Opportunistic approaches give rise to ameliorative compromise, anarchistic approaches to nihilistic or inherently hopeless struggle. Nonetheless, it is argued, it is possible to conceptualise rights to social welfare in ways that do not obscure the basis of social exploitation and that do project human need as the basis for social resistance.     

Rule utilitarianism,rights, obligations and the theory of rational behavior

The paper first summarizes the author's decision-theoretical model of moral behavior, in order to compare the moral implications of the act-utilitarian and of the rule-utilitarian versions of utilitarian theory. This model is then applied to three voting examples. It is argued that the moral behavior of act-utilitarian individuals will have the nature of a noncooperative game, played in the extensive mode, and involving action-by-action maximization of social utility by each player. In contrast, the moral behavior of rule-utilitarian individuals will have the nature of a cooperative game, played in the normal mode, and involving a firm commitment by each player to a specific moral strategy (viz. to the strategy selected by the rule-utilitarian choice criterion) — even if some individual actions prescribed by this strategy, when considered in isolation, should fail to maximize social utility.The most important advantage that rule utilitarianism as an ethical theory has over act utilitarianism lies in its ability to give full recognition to the moral and social importance of individual rights and personal obligations. It is easy to verify that action-by-action maximization of social utility, as required by act utilitarianism, would destroy these rights and obligations. In contrast, rule utilitarianism can fully recognize the moral validity of these rights and obligations precisely because of its commitment to an overall moral strategy, independent of action-by-action social-utility maximization.The paper ends with a discussion of the voter's paradox problem. The conventional theory of rational behavior cannot avoid the paradoxical conclusion that, in any large electorate, voting is always an irrational activity because one's own individual vote is extremely unlikely to make any difference to the outcome of any election. But it can be shown that, by using the principles of rule-utilitarian theory, this paradox can easily be resolved and that, in actual fact, voting, even in large electorates, may be perfectly rational action. More generally, the example of rule utilitarianism shows what an important role the concept of a rational commitment can play in the analysis of rational behavior.