Globalization of Constitutional Identity

This Article extends Gary J. Jacobsohn’s theory of constitutional identity to better understand the dynamics of constitutional identity in the era of globalization. The extended theoretical framework features the relation of constitutional globalization to the change of national constitutional identity. Within that framework, this Article offers an original, empirical examination of the case of Vietnam and compares it with other socialist regimes (China, Laos, North Korea, and Cuba). It argues that globalization induces adaption to the socialist constitutional identity. The socialist constitutional identity is adapted by the pragmatic incorporation of fundamental ideas and principles of global constitutionalism. Consequently, the essence of the socialist constitutional identity remains but is modified and extended in the globalizing context. Although there is convergence in the adaption to socialist constitutional identity among the five socialist countries due to the impact of constitutional globalization, there are four divergent models which these countries adopt to react to the global impact on their constitutional identity, namely constitutional globalism (Vietnam and Laos); constitutional exceptionalism (China); constitutional isolationism (North Korea); and constitutional reservationism (Cuba). This Article contributes to the scholarship on constitutional globalization, comparative theory on constitutional identity, and empirical knowledge on constitutional dynamics in the contemporary socialist world

A Theory of Justice of John Rawls as Basis for European Fiscal Union

Fiscal policies coordination, macro-stability purposes and provision of European public goods are undoubtedly economic goals of paramount importance when considering the implementation of Fiscal Union at European level. However, there is also a complementary component of moral nature embedded in the constitution of any fiscal system, that is reallocation of resources. The core idea of the paper is that A Theory of Justice of John Rawls can provide a new and compelling basis accounting for the institution of European Fiscal Union in the redistributive perspective since the European Union holds a) a scheme of mutually advantageous cooperation and b) a thick network of institutions which constitute a basic structure. The main outcome of this analysis is a European difference principle. This conclusion is then followed by a corollary: if the European institutions are to be shaped to reflect an arrangement of Rawlsian nature, they should also include Fiscal Union at European level

The War Against Ourselves: \u3ci\u3eHeien v. North Carolina\u3c/i\u3e, the War on Drugs, and Police Militarization

Approximately fifty years ago, America declared a war against itself—the “War on Drugs.” Since then, our local and state police, armed with military weapons and federal funding, have fought tirelessly against “public enemy number one”—drugs. Not surprisingly, this war has created an atmosphere where it is now common to see police officers equipped with a mentality and armor that had previously only been seen in the dark-trenches of an international war zone. Worse yet, this battlefield mentality has leaked into almost every area of police-civilian encounters. As a “loyal foot solider” in the Executive’s War on Drugs, however, the Supreme Court has played an important role in the current state of affairs between police officers and citizens, most recently in its decision in Heien v. North Carolina, which held that an officer’s mistake of law can provide reasonable suspicion necessary to justify police intrusion into countless more citizens’ lives. Consequently, this Note takes a closer look at the consequences of allowing police mistakes of law to give rise to reasonable suspicion in the background of the War on Drugs and police militarization. In particular, this Note explores how recent Supreme Court decisions, the War on Drugs, and police militarization have shaped Fourth Amendment jurisprudence and impacted civilian-police relationships throughout the nation. It will explain how the Supreme Court’s decision in Heien will only amplify these problems and their effects. Finally, this Note will conclude by explaining how the Supreme Court must begin to take responsibility for their role in exasperating these issues to the detriment of the Fourth Amendment if it is to retain its meaning

First Amendment Equal Protection: On Discretion, Inequality, and Participation

The tension between equality and discretion lies at the heart of some of the most vexing questions of constitutional law. The considerable discretion that many official decisionmakers wield raises the spectre that violations of equality norms will sometimes escape detection. This is true in a variety of settings, whether discretion lies over speakers\u27 access to public fora, implementation of the death penalty, or the recounting of votes. Is the First Amendment violated, for example, when a city ordinance gives local officials broad discretion to determine the conditions under which political demonstrations may take place? Is equal protection denied where the absence of uniform standards for vote recounts gives low-level bureaucrats wide latitude in determining which votes to count?6 The subject of this Article is the role of the courts in policing the distorting effects of discretion upon constitutional equality, particularly where rights of political participation are at stake. It uses the term First Amendment Equal Protection to refer to those cases applying an especially searching mode of analysis where the government threatens to undermine equality in the realm of expression. At the core of First Amendment Equal Protection, I argue, is the democratic ideal that all citizens should have an equal opportunity to participate in public discourse. The cases that I include under this rubric exhibit a heightened sensitivity to the threat to equality posed by excessive official discretion. This sensitivity has led to stringent tests designed to smoke out illicit motivations. Among the doctrines developed to cabin discretion in the realm of speech are rules requiring exceptionally clear standards where government requires permission to speak in public places, and liberal rules regarding facial challenges, justiciability, and appellate factfinding. These safeguards against inequality in the realm of speech have for the most part endured, despite the changing makeup of the Court and judicial philosophies of its members

Relevant data and information for a comprehensive conservation planning in small islands

The present report analyses the problematic of conservation planning and management in small central Atlantic islands, developing Conservation planning and management approaches that can bring to this particular context. Particular attention is given to the ways of development of feasible governance systems, particularly trough the development of comprehensible environmental characterization and evaluation tolls, able to compare and display alternative development scenarios and model their relative advantages and disadvantages, and base processes of contratualization and trade-offs involving all stakeholders in an active participatory way. An application to the island of Pico (Azores) is presented

THE INTEGRATION AFTER EASTERN ENLARGEMENT: CONVERGENCE OR DIVERGENCE OF THE EU ECONOMIES? L'INTEGRAZIONE DOPO L'ALLARGAMENTO AD EST: CONVERGENZA O DIVERGENZA DELLE ECONOMIE EUROPEE?

2002/2003XVI Ciclo1948Versione digitalizzata della tesi di dottorato cartacea

'Climate truancy'? Media representation of Belgian youth protests

Green criminology studies the activities contributing to animal and non-animal environmental harms. Beyond the study of harms, another area of interest concerns those activities which have the potential to actually make a positive impact to the environment but which are threatened by criminalization or other forms of repression –such as for instance resulting from underreporting, downplaying or other negative presentation by the media. Our analysis seeks to explore this phenomenon, focusing on the 20-week protest cycle mobilized by young people in Belgium and how this protest was represented in the (Dutch-)written press. A dataset of 382 news articles was included in this analysis. We found that the news reporting acknowledged the development of the protests in Belgium, and that the protesters were an important voice included in that reporting. Substantive climate-related issues were rarely featured, and although there were some attempts to understand the contribution or impact of the protests, the media representation was primarily centred on the protesters’ age and on their capacity or right to protest during school hours

Understanding mountain soils : a contribution from mountain areas to the International Year of Soils 2015

In Mexico, 45 percent of the country suffers from land degradation, 12 percent of which, or some 23 million ha, are degraded due to water erosion. In Michoacán, a state in west-central Mexico, the figure rises to 27 percent. A study of the soil in Michoacán determined that overgrazing was a cause of degradation and a strategy was drawn up to promote cropping of agave, which is used in production of a high-value alcoholic drink as well as in medicines and cosmetics. The agave’s high value would mean farmers would need fewer cattle. While waiting for the agave to mature, the farmers intercrop trees, plants and grasses that produce marketable products and women earn income in greenhouses by selling small agaves from the seeds they have collected. This project, which started in 2011, is still ongoing