This book presents a comparative study on access to public information in the context of the main legal orders worldwide(inter alia China,France,Germany,Japan,Russia,Sweden,United States).The international team of authors analyzes the Transparency- and Freedom-to-Information legislation with regard to the scope of the right to access, limitations of this right inherent in the respective national laws, the procedure, the relationship with domestic legislation on administrative procedure, as well as judicial protection. It particularly focuses on the Brazilian law establishing the right of access to information, which is interpreted as a benchmark for regulations in other Latin-American states.

This book examines the everyday judicial experience in four multicultural jurisdictions as a means of exploring the relationship between legal systems and cultural identities. Increasing social heterogeneity has deeply affected legal systems as courts and parliaments must now deal with a growing rate of cases concerning cultural pluralism. Headline-grabbing disputes usually concern challenges to fundamental rights and principles which may be put at risk by some religious or cultural practices. These are difficult issues questioning the compatibility between some cultural and religious practices and constitutional values. However, much of the interaction between law and cultural pluralism also concerns daily life activities, which do not necessarily challenge fundamental rights. This book deals with food, clothing and days of rest: three expressions of both human needs and identity which are based on ethnic origin, tradition, culture, religion or, simply, taste. The volume looks at the intersection between these choices and constitutional rights such as religious liberty or freedom of expression. It aims to understand how the state legal system deals with them and when non-mainstreaming behaviours are accommodated. Four legal systems are taken into consideration – the United States of America, Canada, France and Italy – exploring similarities and differences in facing cultural diversity around these quotidian issues. The book pays particular attention to the places where diversity is most apparent and also considers the choices that are not based on religious precepts, but rather on “personal philosophy”. The book will be of interest to researchers, academics and policy-makers working in the areas of constitutional law, law and cultural diversity, human rights, minority rights and discrimination law.

This volume studies the implications of the right to inclusive education in human rights law for disability law, policy and practice.

ÔThis is an important collection of scholarly essays that will illuminate positive legal developments and normative constitutionalist concerns in the expanding arena of secret government decisions. This book is indispensable reading for those concerned with constitutionalism, the rule of law and democracy as they bear on the tensions between secrecy and disclosure in government responses to terrorism.Õ Ð Vicki C. Jackson, Harvard University Law School, US ÔThis book contains the broadest and deepest analysis of the legal and policy issues that relate to secrecy and national security on one hand, and the imperatives of a functioning democracy on the other. The broadest because it brings to bear materials from many countries, the deepest because it brilliantly explores a core problem of constitutional government.Õ Ð Norman Dorsen, New York University, US and President, American Civil Liberties Union, 1976Ð1991 Virtually every nation has had to confront tensions between the rule-of-law demands for transparency and accountability and the need for confidentiality with respect to terrorism and national security. This book provides a global and comparative overview of the implications of governmental secrecy in a variety of contexts. Expert contributors from around the world discuss the dilemmas posed by the necessity for Ð and evils of Ð secrecy, and assess constitutional mechanisms for checking the abuse of secrecy by national and international institutions in the field of counter-terrorism. In recent years, nations have relied on secret evidence to detain suspected terrorists and freeze their assets, have barred lawsuits alleging human rights violations by invoking Ôstate secretsÕ, and have implemented secret surveillance and targeted killing programs. The book begins by addressing the issue of secrecy at the institutional level, examining the role of courts and legislatures in regulating the use of secrecy claims by the executive branch of government. From there, the focus shifts to the three most vital areas of anti-terrorism law: preventive detention, criminal trials and administrative measures (notably, targeted economic sanctions). The contributors explore how assertions of secrecy and national security in each of these areas affect the functioning of the legal system and the application of procedural justice and fairness. Students, professors and researchers interested in constitutional law, international law, comparative law and issues of terrorism and security will find this an invaluable addition to the literature. Judges, lawyers and policymakers will also find much of use in this critical volume.

In this incisive and thought-provoking book, Francois Venter illuminates the issues arising from the fact that the current language of constitutional law is strongly premised on a particular worldview rooted in the history of the states around the North Atlantic Ocean. Highlighting how this terminological hegemony is being challenged from various directions, Venter explores the problem that all constitutional comparatists face: that they all must use the same words to express different meanings.

This book examines the extreme complexity and the evolution of taxing authority towards a progressive increase in the local governments’ taxing powers. - IBFD website

This book provides an essential and critical overview of the most significant issues concerning the domestication of international criminal law, in particular with regard to the implementation of the ICC Statute. It discusses the most recent proposals for reform of the German Code of Crimes under International Law, the "Völkerstrafgesetzbuch", 20 years after its entering into force and introduces the project for an Italian code of international crimes drafted by the Committee of experts established in 2022 by the Ministry of Justice. Following the adoption of the ICC Statute, many States, including Germany with the "Völkerstrafgesetzbuch", introduced specific legislation to incorporate international criminal law into their domestic legal systems and a considerable number of them have been investigating and prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and even aggression ever since. Twenty-five years later, however, the process is not completed as other countries, like Italy, are still working on adopting provisions on international crimes. This book opens with a broad overview of the different approaches of the domestication of international criminal law, with a specific focus on the German and the Italian systems. After an assessment of the prerequisites for the domestic implementation of international criminal law, also from a constitutional law perspective, each chapter offers an in-depth analysis of a specific issue, such as: the definition of international crimes (genocide and crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression); the applicability of and exceptions to the general principles of domestic criminal law; the regulation of individual criminal responsibility; sanctions and sentencing; as well as procedural aspects related to immunities, jurisdiction and prosecutorial discretion. The strong academic perspective of many authors is complemented by an equally strong practitioner perspective of the others, provided by legal scholars in the highest positions in international and national judicial institutions, resulting in a well-informed and critical appraisal of the most recent developments overall in the international criminal justice system. Domesticating International Criminal Law will be of great interest to legal scholars and students, as well as practitioners with an interest in comparative and international law, international criminal law and international relations.

New Space technologies, Earth observation and satellite navigation in particular, have proven to be invaluable drivers of sustainable development, thus contributing to the protection of several human rights (the “Good”). At the same time, however, New Space technologies raise concerns for the right to privacy (the “Bad”), and face a number of challenges posed by hostile cyber operations (the “Ugly”). Dr. Arianna Vettorel analyzes the relevant international, European and domestic legal frameworks and highlights the need for several innovative approaches and reforms, in a transnational and bottom-up perspective, in order to maximize the Good, and minimize the Bad and the Ugly, of New Space technologies.