The Rule of Law: A Necessary Pillar of Free and Democratic Societies for Protecting Human Rights

This essay traces the history and development of the concept of the Rule of Law from ancient times through the present. It describes the elements of the Rule of Law and its importance to the protection of human rights in a variety of contexts, including under domestic and international law. From ancient Greece and Rome to the Enlightenment, and from the American and French Revolutions to modern times, the Rule of Law has played a key role in societies around the world. The essay discusses definitions of the Rule of Law, its origins, and its development over time, including in Europe, America’s founding period, and the post–World War II era. In particular, the essay discusses the intellectual contributions of historical figures such as the Italian criminal-law theorist Cesare Beccaria, the French jurist, Baron de Montesquieu, and American revolutionaries who played major roles in laying the now centuries-old foundation for the development of the modern-day Rule of Law concept (i.e., in drafting early American constitutions and laws, including the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights). The essay explores a wide range of topics, from the creation of the United Nations and the ratification of international conventions and human rights treaties, to the adoption of South Africa’s post–apartheid constitution, to Donald Trump’s continuous and systematic assault on the Rule of Law, human rights, and democratic institutions and norms. The essay also highlights the Rule of Law’s symbiotic relationship to the protection of fundamental human rights such as the rights to equality, to vote, and to be free from discrimination, cruelty and torture. Arguing that various Trump Administration acts and policies (e.g., separating children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border and the death penalty’s use) and the outrageous and brazen efforts of Donald Trump and his campaign and allies to discriminate against and disenfranchise voters violate core Rule of Law principles, the essay concludes by emphasizing the Rule of Law’s continuing and critical importance to the protection of civil liberties and fundamental human rights in the twenty-first century

The survey on cross-border collection of digital evidence by representatives from Polish prosecutors’ offices and judicial authorities

Dynamic development of IT technology poses new challenges related to the cross-border collection of electronic evidence from the cloud. Many times investigators need to secure data stored on foreign servers directly and then look for solutions on how to turn the data into a legitimate source of evidence. To study the situation and propose solutions, I conducted a survey among Polish representatives of public prosecutors\u27 offices and courts. This paper presents information from digital evidence collection practices across multiple jurisdictions. I stated that representatives from the prosecution and the judiciary in Poland are aware of the issues associated with cross-border acquisition and preservation of cloud-based evidence. In their view, many of the problems are time-consuming and ineffective international cooperation, the voluntary nature of cooperation between foreign cloud service providers, lack of harmonized procedures and guidelines, the diversity of legal systems, and the lack of knowledge held by law enforcement officials and the judiciary. This work should be the beginning of an open discussion with practitioners about existing challenges and an invitation for further research with a larger sample of prosecutors and judges. There are no such studies in literature. The paper shows that it is possible to improve current procedures for the cross-border collection of cloud-based digital evidence

New Studies and Research in Social Sciences

This study focuses on the “The Bureaucratic Personality” view through the three prominent woman authors’, who lived in a republican period of Turkey, bureaucratic types are indicated in their literary works. The focused questions are following: 1) How bureaucrats characteristics can be explained in Bureaucratic Personality view? 2) How can be clarified bureaucratic types within the three woman authors’, who lived in republican period, literary works? I have selected the following literary works in considering the research question: Şukufe Nihal "Yalnız Dönüyorum" Halide Edip Adıvar "Zeyno'nun Oğlu" and Halide Nusret "Gül'ün Babası Kim". In questioned literary works are noted as the data set. Bureaucrats’ characteristic and their manner for cases are noticed as indicators, in methodology, this paper is a theoric, exploration study. The study designed into three sections. In the first part Merton, Hummel, and Argrys studies are referenced as Bureaucratic Personality” theories, likewise, bureaucrats’ characteristics are explained. In the next section, bureaucratic types are noted within the Şukufe Nihal "Yalnız Dönüyorum", Halide Edip Adıvar "Zeyno'nun Oğlu", and Halide Nusret Zorlutuna "Gül'ün Babası Kim" literary works. In a similar vein, bureaucrats characteristic and their manner for cases are remarked. In the last part, bureaucratic types are analyzed through “The Bureaucratic Personality” view

State of the Art and Future Perspectives in Smart and Sustainable Urban Development

This book contributes to the conceptual and practical knowledge pools in order to improve the research and practice on smart and sustainable urban development by presenting an informed understanding of the subject to scholars, policymakers, and practitioners. This book presents contributions—in the form of research articles, literature reviews, case reports, and short communications—offering insights into the smart and sustainable urban development by conducting in-depth conceptual debates, detailed case study descriptions, thorough empirical investigations, systematic literature reviews, or forecasting analyses. This way, the book forms a repository of relevant information, material, and knowledge to support research, policymaking, practice, and the transferability of experiences to address urbanization and other planetary challenges

Advancing Freedom of Religion or Belief for All

Issues relating to freedom of religion or belief affect all people in all societies, and require coordinated political, legal, and theological responses. In September 2015 at the shuttered Theological School of Halki—human rights experts, scholars, policymakers, and theologians came together to advance this important dialogue and share best practices. Together the contributions from this conference gathered here give a contemporary and interdisciplinary perspective on this critical human rights issue. This collection of essays is indispensable reading for all those interested in the future of faith in an increasingly multicultural and multireligious Europe

Pandemocracy in Europe

This open access book explains why a democratic reckoning will start when European societies win the fight against COVID-19. Have democracies successfully mastered the challenges of the pandemic? How has the coronavirus impacted democratic principles, processes and values? At the heels of the worst public health crisis in living memory, this book shines an unforgiving light on the side-lining of parliaments, the ruling by governmental decrees and the disenfranchisement of the people in the name of fighting COVID-19. Pandemocracy in Europe situates the dramatic impact of COVID-19, and the fight against the virus, on Europe's democracies. Throughout its 17 contributions the book sets the theoretical stage and answers the democratic questions engaged by health emergencies. Seven national case studies – UK, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Hungary, Switzerland, and France – show, each time with a pronounced focus on a particular element of democracy, how different states reacted to the pandemic. The book also shifts the analytical gaze beyond the nation state towards international settings, looking at the effects on the European Union and considering the impact on populist movements. Bridging disciplines and uniting a stellar cast of scholars on democracy, rule of law and constitutionalism, the book provides contours and nuances to a year of debates in political science, international relations and law on the impact of the virus on democracies. In times of uncertainty, Pandemocracy in Europe provides analysis and answers to the democratic challenges of the coronavirus. The open access edition of this book is available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on www.bloomsburycollections.com

Realising Linguistic, Cultural and Educational Rights Through Non-Territorial Autonomy

This volume assesses Non-Territorial Autonomy (NTA) in terms of its practical capacity to support the linguistic, cultural, and educational rights of national minority groups across Europe. The fact that 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of the coming into force of the Council of Europe Framework Convention on National Minorities (FCNM) and European Charter for Regional and Minority languages (ECRML) makes this book especially timely and relevant. Its numerous detailed empirical studies, one of which uses FCNM reporting as a benchmark, give a picture of the extent (or otherwise) to which international minority rights standards are actually being realized through various NTA arrangements. In keeping with the principles laid out in these foundational documents, the contributions to this volume acknowledge that when it comes to the effective delivery of linguistic, cultural and educational rights, NTA is best regarded not as an alternative but as a complement to territorially based arrangements. This is an open access book