On 3 March 2024, Swiss voters decided in favour of a 13th Old-Age and Survivors’ Insurance (OASI) payment per year, but against gradually raising the statutory retirement age. For the first time in the system of the Swiss direct democracy, a popular initiative to expand the welfare state was adopted. In the Swiss system of direct democracy, the Swiss Federal Constitution can be changed, among others, through popular initiatives. In Swiss terminology, this is distinguished from referenda, which concern decisions by the Swiss Federal Assembly, i.e. the Federal Parliament. In order to be put to v ..read more

Am 3. März 2024 hat sich die Schweizer Stimmbevölkerung für eine dreizehnte jährliche Zahlung der Alters- und Hinterbliebenenversicherung (AHV), aber gegen eine schrittweise Erhöhung des gesetzlichen Rentenalters ausgesprochen. Zum ersten Mal im System der direkten Demokratie der Schweiz wurde eine Volksinitiative zur Ausweitung des Wohlfahrtsstaates angenommen. Im Schweizer System der direkten Demokratie kann die Schweizer Bundesverfassung unter anderem durch Volksinitiativen geändert werden. In der Schweizer Terminologie müssen solche Initiativen von Referenden unterschieden werden; die Letz ..read more

Le 3 mars 2024, les électeurs suisses se sont prononcés en faveur d’un treizième versement annuel de l’assurance vieillesse et survivants (AVS), mais contre le relèvement progressif de l’âge légal de la retraite. Pour la première fois dans le système de démocratie directe suisse, une initiative populaire visant à étendre l’État-providence a été adoptée. Dans le système suisse de démocratie directe, la Constitution fédérale suisse peut être modifiée, entre autres, par des initiatives populaires. Dans la terminologie suisse, cela se distingue des référendums, qui concernent les décisions de l’As ..read more

All major challenges facing Europe today have a human-rights dimension, which sooner or later the ECtHR will be invited to examine. The Court, of course, provides legal answers to legal questions. Nevertheless, its decisions are also grounded on legal pragmatism, as evidenced by Burmych (not for the ECtHR but the CM to examine 12000 repetitive cases), Köksal (Turkey had remedies for post-attempted-coup alleged violations) and Georgia v. Russia (II) (hands-off approach during active-hostilities phase). Against this background, many thought that all the climate-change cases that had started arri ..read more

Call for Papers : The Age of Human Rights Journal The Age of Human Rights Journal is a scientific journal of international relevance, published in English, peer-reviewed and open-access, containing papers concerning Human Rights from different approaches. The Journal is included in SCOPUS and in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (Web of Science). It is also in: Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), LATINDEX (catalogue), ISOC (CSIC), DIALNET, CIRC, ERIH PLUS, CARHUS PLUS, MIAR, ULRICH´S, OCLC, WORLDCAT, REDIB, EUROPUB, and Philosopher´s Index. Submission instructions: https://r ..read more

June 20, 2024 | 8:30 – 4:00 PM EDT | In Person and Virtual Location: Fordham University School of Law, New York, New York Co-Hosts Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy at Northeastern Law Center on Race, Law, and Justice at Fordham Law Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law Keynote Speakers Margaret Burnham University Distinguished Professor of Law; Director of Reparations and Restorative Justice Initiatives; Director, Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project; Faculty Co-Director, Center for Law, Equity and Race (CLEAR), Northeastern University School of ..read more

Indian law is notorious for censuring sexuality outside of marriage, especially for women. A pertinent example is the criminalisation of a ‘false promise to marry’ (FPM) as rape, which recent law reforms will now treat as a separate sexual offence. While this invokes a bigger debate on criminalisation of deceptive sex, such treatment of marriage-related deception raises particular problems.  This offence was initially created judicially, reasoning that consent to sexual intercourse given under a misconception of fact (a false promise of marriage in future) is invalid, and therefore amount ..read more

Amnesty laws can, in principle, be an acceptable transitional justice mechanism. It is sometimes the case that, due to lack of resources or political instability, criminal prosecutions are not a viable option against perpetrators of past crimes. The passing of a general amnesty can then provide a clean sheet so that formerly rival groups may coexist peacefully. Moreover, amnesties can be a quick and effective way to release political dissenters who were wrongly imprisoned for exercising their right to protest. However, amnesty laws also have a dark side. When sanctioned by a government to shie ..read more

Las leyes de amnistía son, en principio, herramientas de justicia transicional perfectamente aceptables. En ocasiones, debido a factores tales como escasez de recursos o inestabilidad política, no es posible juzgar penalmente a los responsables de cometer violaciones contra los derechos humanos. Bajo ciertas circunstancias, el dictado de una amnistía puede funcionar como borrón y cuenta nueva para que facciones otrora enemistadas comiencen a convivir pacíficamente. Además, las amnistías pueden utilizarse como un medio rápido y efectivo para liberar a personas que han sido indebidamente encarce ..read more

The Republic of Iraq ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1986 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in 1971. However, like many other countries which have ratified them, enforcement of these treaties’ provisions has been minimal due to reasons ranging from social norms to lack of political will. Further, current beliefs and practices relating to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are a function of one’s ethnic group, religion, sect, and tribe within the country. For example ..read more