Sorbonne Doctoral Law Review - Revue Doctorale de droit de la Sorbonne

Women's rights and regional systems for the international protection of human rights

farah El Barnachawy — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

This article seeks to compare women’s rights in the three regional systems for the protection of human rights based on the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights (Pact of San José) and the European Convention on Human Rights. Particularly, this article delves into a comparison of the substantive notions of vulnerability, discrimination, and gender-based violence and the legal obligations by which States must protect human rights in light of women’s reproductive and sexual rights. The article also analyzes the extent to which regional mechanisms and human rights Courts place intersectional approaches at the crux of their reasoning.

Honor killings" before the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Chloé Kreuder — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

On March 2^nd, 2023, the CEDAW reminded Georgia of its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, recommending, inter alia, to act against gender-based violence, including violence related to honour. These recommendations echo with the ruling of the Committee on October 25^th, 2021, still against Georgia, and in which it ruled on a communication seeking to establish violations of the Convention by the State party, as a result of the alleged commission of an “honour crime” against Ms Jeiranova. In the present case, the Committee concluded that several violations of the Convention had been committed by Georgia, mainly due to the inadequacy of the measures taken by its authorities although they were aware of the risk of honour killing, but also because of the discriminatory behaviour of these authorities. The views of 2021 combined with the recommendations of 2023 have constituted a rare opportunity grasp by the CEDAW to take a position on the issue of “honour crime”. These have highlighted, on the one hand, the seriousness of the acts committed and the importance of combating violence “in the name of honour”, and, on the other, the lack of a specific legal regime for such acts. However, the absence of a specific legal regime does not mean that the issue has not been accordingly to the law, as the Committee fully and appropriately incorporates “honour” violence into the legal regime of discrimination against women.

The Fight Against Impunity under the Draft Articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity

Ellie Tassel — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

In 2019, the U.N. International Law Commission published a new version — the latest one — of the Draft Articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity. Surprisingly, they include no provision requiring States to punish perpetrators or, at least, to hold them personally accountable. Yet such a duty is a staple of post-World War II multilateral treaties addressing international crimes. The prosecution and punishment of core crimes perpetrators have become a routine matter under international law. Human rights courts have also become more demanding when dealing with serious human rights abuses. Although they have long given governments substantial discretion in determining the most appropriate means to ensure rights are secured, they now interfere in States’ national legal order to ensure that the authorities comply with their requirements. In short, States are required to investigate, prosecute, and punish those found responsible. By contrast, the Draft Articles are less ambitious. This paper aims to discuss from a comparative perspective the four provisions dealing more or less directly with the punishment requirement and highlights the consequences of their wording.

Editorial

Marina Lovichi — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Vol 6 Numéro 2.

The distance between the preliminary objections phase and the merits phase: the two cij judgments in the certain iranian assets case of 2019 and 2023

Giulio Cortesi — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

In principle, the ICJ remains a legal body and is therefore supposed to express a unified and coherent vision. Nevertheless, it is composed of men, and its decisions are sometimes conditioned by changes in the majorities within it. This article aims to shed light on the relationship between the two ICJ judgments in the Certain Iranian Assets case of 2019 and 2023. The analysis carried out suggests that a change in the composition of the Court between the preliminary objections phase and the merits was probably behind a different approach to the test that was applied in order to analyze the nature of a state-controlled enterprise. This evolution between the two phases of the case opens up interesting questions concerning the principle of res judicata.

Citizens' distance from electoral and political considerations: what aspects?

Mohamed Khadi — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

This article deals with various disciplinary fields, in line with the theme of the present study. In other words, the alienation of citizens from electoral and political considerations raises a number of important issues. Political science plays a significant role in this respect, particularly with regard to political thought and its impact on citizen participation in decision-making since the electoral process. In this context, there are constraints posed by the citizen himself as a voter, such as individual preferences and the dynamics of the choice situation. There are other constraints to which the candidate contributes, such as cognitive constraints and the cost of disseminating information, as detailed below. In any case, the principle of distinction arising from society's behaviors, whether those of elected representatives or voters, pushes the latter away from the public and political affairs of the state. On the other hand, we are exposed to another disciplinary field, namely constitutional law. Indeed, the influence of society on citizen participation is reflected more in the constitutional text, because of its supremacy and primacy at the expense of other legal rules. For this reason, we take the example of constitutional jurisdictions, more specifically the French Constitutional Council (CC), given its important role in the functioning of the State and the protection of rights and freedoms. At the same time, it is worth noting that citizens are excluded from the appointment and referral of cases to the Constitutional Council, which distances them from the decision-making process concerning the organization of state institutions and the protection of their fundamental rights. Understanding the various details of the sociological and legal aspects gives us the perspectives, in conclusion, to find solutions likely to bring citizens closer to electoral and political considerations through far-reaching reforms.