Suchergebnisse

Studies on international human rights had amorphous beginnings before 1945, which gradually evolved into an intricate but "untrodden area of systematic research." This is largely attributed to the adoption of the United Nations Charter which sets forth the international protection of human rights as a basic purpose. The proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly in December 10, 1948, provided the impetus for the development of new rules of international law defining in specific terms, individual rights and freedoms. The result is not only a substantial and rapidly developing body of law, both substantive and procedural, that has called for a systematic scholarly analysis but a bibliographic output on the subject which has reached alarming proportions to what is now being referred to as "the human rights documentation explosion."

Legal research traditionally has been concerned with the development or elaboration of legal doctrines, and the raw materials of such research have been statutes, administrative regulations and rulings, and court decisions. This type of research is termed as doctrinal research. Characteristically, a legal scholar undertaking doctrinal research takes one or more legal propositions as a starting point and focus of his study. Research then takes place in the law library, where the scholar tries to locate all relevant statutes, cases and all discussions of his proposition found in encyclopedias, textbooks, treatises, and legal periodicals. If the legal concept is taken from a statute, his sources would necessarily include the statute, its legislative history and, if possible, comparable statutes in other jurisdictions. He then analyzes his readings, formulates his conclusions and writes up his study in the form of a memorandum, a brief, a periodical article or a treatise.

The Philippines, an archipelago of 7,107 islands, (about 2,000 of which are inhabited) with a land area of 115,600 square miles, has a population of 42 million. Some 87 major dialects are spoken all over the islands. English and Filipino are the official languages with English as the medium of instruction in higher education. According to the latest census, the literacy rate is 83.4 per cent. Agriculture constitutes the largest single sector of the economy. The Philippines has a total labor force of 14.2 million.Filipino culture is a blend of East and West, although foundationally and originally Malay. Its Eastern heritage – the result of centuries of interaction with neighboring countries of Asia – is a synthesis of three mainstreams: the Malay, Chinese and Hindu. Its Western cultural traits are the result of her colonization by two Western powers: Spain and the United States.