Transitions Online_People-Transitions Online-Around the Blo-20 April
Our news roundup: cyberattacks in Czechia; Chernobyl smog in Kyiv; Russian dual citizenship; pandemic in Belarus; and inheriting the presidency in Tajikistan.
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Our news roundup: cyberattacks in Czechia; Chernobyl smog in Kyiv; Russian dual citizenship; pandemic in Belarus; and inheriting the presidency in Tajikistan.
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The paper analyses Art. 12 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its implications for the position of persons with mental disabilities. The new concept of legal capacity contained in Art. 12 should ensure that fundamental human rights of these persons are no longer “a dead letter on paper”. However, once the Convention came into force, the implementation of this provision has proved to be problematic for States Parties. Diane Kingston, former Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, best expressed the scale of the problem in October 2015 when she emphasized that no country had until that point fully met the requirements contained in Art.12. Given that the Convention is a document that prescribes the fundamental human rights, the statement that no national legislation is consistent with its key provision is confusing and worrying. Therefore, a special attention should be paid to Art. 12 and its implementation in practice.
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This paper deals with the recent normative modifications introduced in the European Union by the Directive 2011/83/EU (aimed to realise a full harmonisation of member states’ rules in some aspects of consumer and contractual law), and consequently in Italy, through the Legislative Decree No. 21/2014 (which transposed the supranational source). As it is known, the principal legal instruments used in the last years by the EU to protect the weak parties are the ‘information duties’ and the ‘right of withdrawal’. The new rules try to strengthen them, but the implementation of the European Directive in Italy gives rise to many arguable points and perplexities.
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Conflict-related sexual violence refers to sexual violence against women, men, girls and boys which occurs in armed conflicts and includes: rape, forced pregnancy, forced sterilisation, forced abortion, forced prostitution, sexual slavery, forced nakedness and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity. This form of violence differs from sexual violence committed outside of the context of war, among other things, in regard to the context in which it occurs, number of persons involved and the degree of organisation of the crime, features of the perpetrator who, in armed conflicts, often acts as a representative of military and police structures which demands specific obligations from the state in the context of providing compensation for the damage caused.
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Ratno seksualno nasilje podrazumijeva seksualno nasilje nad ženama, muškarcima, djevojčicama i dječacima koje se javlja u oružanom sukobu, a obuhvata: silovanje, prisilnu trudnoću, prisilnu sterilizaciju, prisilni abortus, prisilnu prostituciju, seksualno ropstvo, prisilnu nagost te bilo koji drugi oblik seksualnog nasilja uporedive težine. Od mirnodopskog seksualnog nasilja se razlikuje, između ostalog, po kontekstu u kojem se dešava, masovnosti i stepenu organiziranosti zločina, svojstvu počinitelja, koji u oružanom sukobu često djeluju kao predstavnici određenih vojnih ili policijskih struktura, što povlači za sobom i specifične obaveze države u vidu naknade nastale štete.
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The article ”Strategies and tactics for the settlement of territorial conflicts in the Republic of Moldova and Georgia in the light of international law” analyses the way through conflicts resolution which is impossible not only without removing the objective bases of confrontation of the conflicting parties, but also without identifying the subjective divergences between the participants of the conflicts and the international community participating in their resolution.
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This paper compares the humanitarian intervention in Libya and interventions in Syria, and highlights their key determinants. The aim of this paper is to present the problems regarding the use of force by UN Security Council permanent members in order to prevent and put an end to humanitarian catastrophes in the aforementioned countries. The paper analyses UN Security Council resolutions, official positions of the Security Council permanent members, and other relevant documents concerning these issues, in order to explain two crucial things: first, the effect that the humanitarian intervention in Libya had on the undertaking of a similar intervention in Syria, and second: whether the interventions in Libya and Syria were legitimate according to international law.
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Despite the lack of specific provisions in the European Convention on Human Rights regarding gender-based violence, the European Court of Human Rights has developed a substantial body of case-law in this area. It has been done through the interpretation and application of a number of provisions in the European Convention on Human Rights that are relevant to gender-based violence. This paper provides a review of the approach of the European Court of Human Rights in cases concerning gender-based violence. Namely, it is evident that a remarkable spate of cases dealing with gender-based violence is considered by the European Court of Human Rights, which provides very solid protection in this field. However, it seems that certain aspects of the case-law on gender-based violence are somewhat inconsistent. In this sense, having in mind that the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights are the main guidelines for the States in fulfilling their obligations arising from the Convention, it is very important for the Court to fully clarify its approach in this regard.
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Regional headlines: Czech PM again mired in conflict-of-interest charges; Catholic Church under fire in Poland; Russia and chemical weapons.
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This article discusses the issue of special genocidal intent and, within it, the relevance of judicially established truths to the wider historical context. It suggests that genocide researchers should not rely only on verdicts—which either deny or confirm genocide—as historical truth but, rather, use the judicial process and trial evidence as signposts to direct their research. The author uses the case study of Serbian genocide against Bosnian Muslims from 1992 to 1995 to illustrate the failings of judicially established truths in determining wider historical truth. Wartime documentation, interviews with witnesses, and court transcripts are analyzed to illustrate how this wider truth is sometimes lost when focus on the importance of supporting documents is overshadowed by a final verdict. The case of Srebrenica is outlined to illustrate how documents used in trials, as well as witness testimonies, can contribute on their own to the understanding of historical truths. In this case, a selection of trial narratives and documents is used to examine not only if there was “special intent” among Serbian political leadership to exterminate Bosnian Muslims as early as 1992, but also to determine if international community representatives were aware of that intent and ignored it consciously.
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Undoubtedly, the advancement of technique and technology represents one of the most important paths of human progress. It is not the place to stress the great value technologies have meant throughout the history of civilization on Terra, especially in its 20th century growth, connected with the „Second Industrial Revolution‟ followed by the „digital revolution‟, on which the so-called „Fourth Industrial Revolution‟ is now building. Unfortunately, there are plenty of examples of human using of a good thing not for good purposes, but on the contrary causing major destruction and suffering on long-term. This kind of situations emphasizes a lack of responsibility and of minimal wisdom, care and respect for life in its integrality. Beyond all, at stake there is a serious problem of morality. We refer to the ignorance of ethical problems by some corporate organizations in our globalizing world, having a great negative impact for the planet and its various any life-forms. Part of nowadays multinational companies proves disdain as regards basic moral duties and social responsibilities, even though they display impressive codes of conduct, which remain just emptied formulas of applicability in real life. It is the case of the serious risks and dangers that the technique known as hydraulic fracturing or „fracking‟ produces for the medium to long-term evolution of life in its plenitude on Earth. In this paper we try to highlight the need of a veritable ethical culture to be appropriated and activated by all the social actors and, also, the significance of moral awakeness in making people to act for their own fundamental rights. We focus on the importance of working together on the side of „good and right‟, using the potential of moral philosophy towards an efficient, healthy and secure interference with economics, ecology, social culture, etc., to protecting and developing the wellness and sustainability of life, of natural environment and of human well-being finally.
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Three different international courts have determined that genocide took place in Bosnia-Hercegovina in 1992-1995: the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Yet paradoxically, there has been virtually no punishment of this genocide, while the punishment of lesser war crimes of the Bosnian war has been very limited. The ICTY has convicted only one individual, a lowly deputy corps commander, of a genocide-related offence. The ICJ acquitted Serbia, the state that planned and launched the assault upon Bosnia-Hercegovina in 1992, of genocide and related offences, finding it guilty only of failure to prevent and punish genocide. Although Serb forces were responsible for the overwhelming majority of war crimes, the ICTY prosecution has disproportionately targeted non-Serbs in its indictments and, among Serbs, has disproportionately targeted Bosnian Serbs, with no official of Serbia or Yugoslavia yet convicted of war crimes in Bosnia. This article argues that the meagre results of the international judicial processes vis-à-vis the crimes of the Bosnian war must be sought in the structural failings, poor decision making, and political influences that affected the international courts. It argues that the international courts have failed either to deliver justice to the victims of the war crimes or to promote reconciliation among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia and suggests measures that could be taken to rectify the situation.
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The review of: Charles Ingrao and Thomas A. Emmert, eds., Confronting the Yugoslav Controversies: A Scholars’ Initiative. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press.
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After a significant period of violent conflict in the Western Balkans, countries in the region, specifically Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia-Montenegro, and the United Nations (UN) protectorate of Kosovo, have embarked on a process of democratic reform. Part of the democratization effort involves reforming the police force. One important, yet not often studied, aspect of police reform is the appropriate use of force with firearms. This study explores the process of police reform in the Western Balkan region to assess the implementation of the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. Ultimately, this study offers a view of law enforcement activities in an attempt to assess how well these countries are incorporating international standards on the use of force with firearms into their national police practices. In so doing, this research enriches our understanding of weapons issues within the context of security sector, and specifically police reform.
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Genocid u Bosni i Hercegovini jedan je u nizu genocida u novijoj historiji svjetske civilizacije u krvavom ogledalu ideološkog pogroma i državno organizovanog zla, s kojim se politika, nauka i filozofija još uvijek nisu u stanju ili se ne žele radikalno obračunati na ljudski smislen i životno obećavajući način. Uobičajena fraza „da se više nikad ne ponovi“, ta kontekstualno-deklarativna mantra, neizbježna tokom sve rjeđih antifašističkih godišnjica i ceremonija, pojavljuje se tako kao izraz moralnog licemjerja, politikantske nedosljednostii neodgovornosti svjetskih moćnika. Zahvaljujući toj nedosljednosti i toj neodgovornosti, bauk Auschwitza je, ponovo, čak u istoj povijesnoj sekundi, sasvim neometano vaskrsnuo u (da paradoks bude veći) sigurnosnoj zoni UN-a Srebrenica, u julu 1995. Zdravorazumsko pitanje glasi: šta je tek sve činjenoi počinjeno u nezaštićenim - nesigurnim zonama širom Bosne i Hercegovine? Naravno, ništa što već nije pokazano i slikom i tonom širom svijeta. Rijetko su koji raniji izvršioci genocida najavljivali i izvršavali svoje zločine tako trijumfalno kao onaj u Srebrenici. Niko od ranijih izvršilaca u dugoj povijesti genocida se ne ponosi tom civilizacijskom sramotom kao što to rade počinioca genocida u Srebrenici. Uprkos očiglednosti i sudskim presudama, genocid se uporno, javno i nekažnjeno negira i afirmira.
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Ovaj rad se bavi pitanjima koja se tiču pravnog spora između Bosne i Hercegovine i Srbije vezanog za kršenje Konvencije o sprečavanju i kažnjavanju zločina genocida. Spor je privukao veliku medijsku pažnju, te se o njemu dosta govorilo i pisalo, ali samo od strane medija i političara. Pravnici u Bosnii Hercegovini ignorisali su ovu pravnu temu. Istina je da je spor dugo trajao i da je korišćena ogromna količina dokaznog materijala, da je prevladavala pravna praksa drugih pravnih tradicija, te da se spor nije vodio na našem maternjem jeziku, međutim, da li je sve to dovoljno opravdanje za ignorisanje jednog takvog historijsko-pravnog događaja? Autor u ovom tekstu nastoji ukratko opisati i objasniti osnovna pitanja koja su bila predmet spora, te opisati i objasniti kako je Bosna i Hercegovina nastojala dokazati vlastite tvrdnje, u čemu je uspjela a u čemu nije, uz zauzimanje vlastitih pravnih shvatanja o predmetnim pravnim pitanjima.
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The COVID-19 pandemic challenged countries around the world to preserve public health which entailed limitations of human rights. We have seen around the world that these limitations were adopted in way that was not in accordance with the proportionality principle, which led to misuse of the state of emergency in general and the interventionism of unseen proportions. The goal of this paper is to present how Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a country in transition, faced the COVID-19 pandemic and give an overview of the events that represent human rights and freedoms violations and abuses associated with the state of emergency.
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The war and the consequences of the war in former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and especially the war against the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina took a terrible toll both in terms of human casualties and in material losses. International and Bosnian judicial institutions have filed indictments against some of the organizers and perpetrators of war crimes on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the crimes committed on August 8, 1992, in the villages and hamlets of the marginal local community Vikoč in Foča, have remained uninvestigated and still unsanctioned. The most vulnerable categories of the civilian population (women, the elderly and children) were predominantly targeted (or disporoportionaly targeted) during the aforementioned attack. Therefore, this paper seeks to, using relevant and accessible sources, shed light on the crimes committed in just one day, which unequivocally confirm the widespread, almost everyday practice, especially in the first months of 1992. Based on the facts established by international and domestic judicial institutions, the focus of this research is on one day, the eighth day of August, in the area of one Foča border local community – Vikoč local community.
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Agresija izvršena na Republiku Bosnu i Hercegovinu za posljedicuje imala izvršenje zločina protiv čovječnosti i međunarodnog prava, kao i počinjenje najtežeg oblika zločina – genocida. Nad Bošnjacima su u sigurnoj zoni UN-a Srebrenica počinjeni zločini koji su po masovnosti, obimu i broju žrtava nezapamćenih razmjera u novijoj historiji. Stanovništvo Srebrenice bilo je izloženo izgladnjivanju, ranjavanju, sakaćenju, a potom deportaciji, prisilnom protjerivanju, prisilnom nestajanju, zarobljavanju, silovanju, te pojedinačnomi masovnom ubijanju. Poslije masovnih zarobljavanja izvršenih u sklopu operacije Krivaja ‘95 uslijedila su masovna ubistva nakon kojih su tijela ubijenih zatrpavana u masovnim grobnicama skrivenih lokaliteta. Porodice godinama tragaju za prisilno nestalim osobama, istrajavajući u nastojanjima da pronađu lokalitete primarnih ili sekundarnih grobnica koje su krile posmrtne ostatke članova njihovih porodica. Postojanje masovnih grobnica potvrda je nastojanja da se prikriju i unište tragovi i razmjere izvršenih zločina, a njihovo otkrivanje omogućuje prisilno nestalim osobama da dobiju svojoj identitet i dostojan ukop.
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Review of: Akademik dr. Mirko Pejanović - O ljudskim pravima i njihovom kršenju na području općine Srebrenica autora dr. Mirsada Cvrka, Sarajevo : Promocult, 2019.
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