Suchergebnisse

Die Diskussion über Reformen des Justizsystems konzentriert sich in den westlichen Staaten meist auf den Ursprung und die Gründe sowie die Konsequenzen der Reformen. Empirische Untersuchungen zur Meinung einzelner Gruppen oder der Gesamtbevölkerung zum Justizsystem oder zur Rolle von Recht und Justiz beim Umgang der Bürger mit Rechtsstreitigkeiten werden dagegen wenig oder gar nicht beachtet. Jedoch kann eine solche empirische Herangehensweise eine Fülle von Informationen erschliessen – nicht nur zur Realität des Soziallebens, sondern auch zur Haltung und den Erwartungen der Bürger gegenüber dem Recht, dem Rechtssystem und den juristischen Berufen. Der Beitrag geht einigen dieser Fragen nach und zieht dabei Untersuchungen zur öffentlichen Meinung in Belgien – in einem weiteren europäischen Kontext – sowie Analysen zum Recht und zur Rolle der Juristen in Japan heran. (Übersetzung durch die Red.)

Aanbevelingen en uitdagingen voor de toekomst van detentie in België.00Wie bewaakt de bewakers? Opsluiten van mensen is niet vrij van risico. Wie van zijn vrijheid wordt beroofd, bevindt zich immers in een afhankelijkheidspositie. In dergelijke situaties valt machtsmisbruik niet uit te sluiten. Om die reden is onafhankelijk toezicht op detentie van groot belang. Het Europese antifoltercomité (CPT) oefent reeds een kwarteeuw toezicht uit op Belgische politiecellen, gevangenissen, jeugdinstellingen, vreemdelingencentra en psychiatrische ziekenhuizen. Wat zijn de bevindingen en aanbevelingen van het CPT met betrekking tot detentie in België? In welke mate worden de aanbevelingen opgevolgd? Dit boek maakt een balans op van de bevindingen en aanbevelingen van het CPT en belicht de uitdagingen voor de toekomst van detentie in België

Over the past decades, the Australian social scientist John Braithwaite (1951) has played a crucial role in the development of international criminology. He is universally considered one of the most renowned criminologists of our times and he has characteristically put his scientific engagement at the service of humanity and society by aiming at social justice, participative democracy, sustainable development and world peace. His relentless efforts to create links between the study of criminology and other scientific disciplines has led the K.U. Leuven (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium) t

Place-based approaches to transitional justice, which foreground victim participation, have become increasingly popular in the last decade. The assumption is that these approaches enhance legitimacy, increase the local relevance of interventions, and empower victims. However, the causal mechanisms by which this alleged empowerment takes place, are not usually studied in great detail. This article examines whether altering the opportunity structures of (germinal) civil society organizations is one of the ways by which this empowering effect might take hold. The authors argue that in Guatemala, the transitional justice process, and in particular the truth commission, did indeed significantly alter the opportunity structures of grassroots indigenous women's groups, most notably by providing these groups with support to develop their own agenda and with access to 'elite allies'. Yet the fieldwork performed hitherto would also advise against treating localized and participatory approaches to transitional justice as a panacea, for even if a genuine bottom-up approach is promising, the ongoing institutionalization of the field of transitional justice makes adequate implementation of such an approach difficult; and especially in cases where victims face intersectional discrimination positive effects may be slow to materialize.

Afghanistan constitutes a good example of how the absence of transitional justice measures leads human rights violators of past regimes to remain in positions of power with impunity and to continue to engage in other forms of crimes. In particular, this article focuses on land grabbing as a form of economic-state crime in the country. Relying on data gathered from fieldwork in Kabul in 2013 and 2014, we illustrate that economic crime, which is instigated, supported and carried out by the state apparatus, is a form of state crime, which criminology needs to address more seriously. Criminological literature on socio-economic rights violations as a form of economic and thus state crime is very limited, particularly in conflict and post-conflict situations. By focusing on economic-state crime in the (post-)conflict situation of Afghanistan, we aim at bridging the classical divide between transitional justice studies on one hand and criminology on the other hand.

This collection adds to the critical transitional justice scholarship that calls for transitional justice from below and that makes visible the complex and oftentimes troubled entanglements between justice endeavours, locality, and memory-making. Broadening this perspective, it explores informal memory practices across various contexts with a focus on their individual and collective dynamics and their intersections, reaching also beyond a conceptualisation of memory as mere symbolic reparation and politics of memory. It seeks to highlight the hidden, unwritten, and multifaceted in today's memory boom by focusing on the memorialisation practices of communities, activists, families, and survivors. Organising its analytical focal point around the localisation of memory, it offers valuable and new insights on how and under what conditions localised memory practices may contribute to recognition and social transformation, as well as how they may at best be inclusive, or exclusive, of dynamic and diverse memories. Drawing on inter- and multi-disciplinary approaches, this book brings an in-depth and nuanced understanding of local memory practices and the dynamics attached to these in transitional justice contexts. It will be of much interest to students and scholars of memory and genocide studies, peace and conflict studies, transitional justice, sociology, and anthropology.

The last decade has witnessed increased criticism of the classical human rights paradigm for its obsession with the 'culture of claims and rights'. According to its critics, this culture has led to an obsession with the rights of individuals at the expense of focusing on groups and communities worldwide, and moreover, neglecting responsibilities and duties. It is also argued that the Western emphasis on the rights of individuals should be overcome by paying more attention to the responsibilities of individuals and collectivities as represented in other cultures of the world, and several documents have been drafted to this effect. These discussions, and the ensuing documents, are far from only theoretical or abstract but are grounded in day-to-day realities, as the ongoing debates on globalisation, multiculturalism, terrorism, and the like clearly illustrate.This volume comprises ten original chapters that were presented for the first time at a colloquium held at the Faculty of Law of the University of Leuven (Belgium) back in 2006, and subsequently reworked and fine-tuned over the years. Part I sets the scene of the debate about fundamental rights and fundamental responsibilities, while in Part II the implications of an emphasis on responsibilities, duties and obligations are concretised in specific areas and through specific cases. This book cannot answer all the questions posed by the changing realities of rights and responsibilities in today's world, which is undergoing profound changes. However, it does aim to shed new light on important problems related to some of the major transformations occurring in European and Western societies and the ensuing changes in philosophical, political, social and legal thinking. It is therefore directed to academics, as well as policy-makers at various levels, the media and any person interested in a deeper understanding of new challenges for the modern world

Het aantal Europese rechtsregels die op één of andere wijze ingrijpen in de situatie van de consument is groot. Zo kan de indruk ontstaan dat men reeds een flink eind op weg is naar een consumentenbescherming op Europees vlak. Toch blijft een echt consumentenbeleid ter hoogte van de EG grotendeels achterwege. Dit artikel wil deze ontwikkeling bespreken en, waar mogelijk, verklaren. Hierin valt de klemtoon op een rechtssociologisch element: de methode van regelgeving als belangrijke determinant voor de stagnatie of vooruitgang van het Europees consumentenbeleid. Aanvankelijk werkten de EG-instanties met methodes van regelgeving die in hun stroefheid de opbouw van een doeltreffend consumentenbeleid afremden. Sinds het midden van de jaren tachtig zijn twee alternatieven uitgewerkt: de dialoog tussen consumenten en producenten als basis voor regelgeving en, ten tweede, de produktie van Europese technische normen door de normalisatie-instituten CEN, CENELECen ETSI. Het artikel plaatst beide opties in een breder kader: de EG waagt zich met haar alternatieven in een grijze zone tussen de private en de publieke rechtsorde. Het artikel gaat tenslotte na of de keuze van de EG voorregelgeving in de grijze zone ook kan leiden tot een consumentvriendelijker Europa.