Children’s Rights and a Capabilities Approach: The Question of Special Priority

The latter part of the twentieth century saw the near-universal recognition of the idea of children’s rights as human rights. At the same time, the conceptual basis for such rights remains largely under-theorized. Part of the aim of this Article is to draw on the insights of the “capabilities approach” developed by Martha Nussbaum in philosophy, and Amartya Sen in economics, in order to provide a fuller theoretical justification of this kind. In addition, this Article investigates the degree to which it will be justifiable, under such an approach, for international human rights law or national constitutions, to give special priority to children’s rights. It begins this task by first considering, and rejecting, potential justifications for such special priority based on the need to ensure the future self-reliance of children as adults and ideas about the special “innocence” of children; and, then, by developing two affirmative justifications for such special priority, based on the special vulnerability of children, and the special cost-effectiveness of protecting children’s rights. This Article also explores the degree to which these principles may provide a starting point for thinking about more general trade-offs between different rights claims, or claimants, under a capabilities approach

Unreported Sexual Assault

I. Introduction II. Rewarding Potential Accusers: A Proposed Means of Reducing Sexual Assaults on Campus III. Implementing a Reward System IV. Dealing with Objections to the Plan V. False Claims and Protection for the Accused VI. Conclusion I. Introduction Unreported criminal behavior is troubling for a variety of reasons, including the likelihood that it reduces the law’s ability to deter wrongdoing. This is especially unfortunate in the case of sexual assault and other wrongs where the wrongdoers are often repeat offenders who will harm others until apprehended. In many cases, these assaults take place over many years so it is especially easy to see why early reporting could prevent many subsequent harms. One approach to the problem of wrongdoers who are difficult to apprehend, and thus apparently undeterred by tort and criminal law, is to alter the law’s approach, perhaps by focusing less on deterrence and more on education, or on separating populations from which offenders and victims are likely to be drawn. Another is to double down on deterrence by raising the penalty for those who are caught and convicted. The deterrence approach is difficult and often counterproductive where there is some doubt about culpability or where the factfinder and adjudicator have limited power, as in the case of wrongs committed on university campuses and in many workplaces. Our focus here is on sexual misdeeds on college campuses, but much of the analysis is easily applied to plagiarism and to various wrongs committed in the workplace. Some of the ideas offered here can be applied to crimes more generally, but it is useful to begin with wrongs that are judged by something less than a beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard

Frauen und Arbeit: der Fähigkeitenansatz

"Nussbaum entwickelt in diesem Artikel ihre Version des Fähigkeitenansatzes. Ausgehend von den Lebensgeschichten zweier indischer Frauen zeigt sie, wie verschiedene normative Konzepte die Veränderungen im Leben dieser Frauen bewerten. Sie benennt die Schwierigkeiten, die jeder interkulturelle Bewertungsrahmen meistern muss, kritisiert die dominierenden ökonomischen Ansätze, wie Pro-Kopf-Einkommen und Präferenzbefriedigung, und begründet, warum ein mit den grundlegenden Rechten und Freiheiten der Menschen verbundener Fähigkeitenansatz der fruchtbarste Ansatz für interkulturelle Zwecke ist." (Autorenreferat)"In this article Nussbaum lays out her version of the capabilities approach, an approach that focuses on what people are actually able to do and to be. Using the narrative method she starts by telling the stories of Vasanti and Jayamma, two Indian women, to illustrate how changes in their lives could be evaluated. Concepts like 'quality of life' and 'development' need a normative framework that crosses cultural boundaries. Nussbaum addresses the worries that arise when we attempt to use any cross-cultural framework in talking about improvements in women's lives. Then she criticises dominant economic accounts of norms and goals like GNP per capita and preference-satisfaction. Finally she argues that the capabilities approach is the most fruitful for cross-cultural purposes, showing that it has good answers to the problems that plague the other approaches." (author's abstract

Liberalismo perfeccionista y Liberalismo político (Parte I)

In the first part of this article, the author discusses two types ofliberalism from the thoughts of prominent philosophers. On the one hand, sheanalyzes the ideas of Isaiah Berlin and Joseph Raz as examples of perfectionistliberalism and, on the other, those of John Rawls and Charles Larmore asexamples of political liberalism. It also identifies differences between Berlin’spluralism and Raz’s and between Rawls’ liberalism and Larmore’s.En la primera parte del presente artículo, la autora discute dos tipos de liberalismo a partir del pensamiento de destacados filósofos. Por un lado, analiza las ideas de Isaiah Berlin y Joseph Raz como ejemplos del liberalismo perfeccionista y, por el otro, las de John Rawls y Charles Larmore como ejemplos del liberalismo político. Asimismo, identifica las diferencias entre el pluralismo de Berlin y el de Raz y entre el liberalismo de Rawls y Larmore