Abstract
Banda Fareda, African migration, human rights and literature (Hart Publishing 2020)
This innovative book looks at the topic of migration through the prism of law and literature. The author uses a rich mix of novels, short stories, literary realism, human rights and comparative literature to explore the experiences of African migrants and asylum seekers. The book is divided into two. Part one is conceptual and focuses on art activism and the myriad ways in which people have sought to ‘write justice.’ Using Mamdani's diasporas of slavery and colonialism, it then considers histories of migration across the centuries before honing in on the recent anti-migration policies of western states. Achiume is used to show how these histories of imposition and exploitation create a bond which bestows on Africans a “status as co-sovereigns of the First World through citizenship.” The many fictional examples of the schemes used to gain entry are set against the formal legal processes. Attention is paid to life post arrival which for asylum seekers may include periods in detention. The impact of the increased hostility of receiving states is examined in light of their human rights obligations. Consideration is paid to how Africans navigate their post-migration lives which includes reconciling themselves to status fracture-taking on jobs for which they are over-qualified, while simultaneously dealing with the resentment borne of status threat on the part of the citizenry. Part two moves from the general to consider the intersections of gender and status focusing on women, LGBTI individuals and children. Focusing on their human rights and the fictional literature, chapter four looks at women who have been trafficked as well as domestic workers and hotel maids while chapter five is on LGBTI people whose legal and literary stories are only now being told. The final substantive chapter considers the experiences of children who may arrive as unaccompanied minors. Using a mixture of poetry and first person accounts, the chapter examines the post-arrival lives of children, some of whom may be citizens but who are continually made to feel like outsiders. The conclusion follows, starting with two stories about walls by Hadero and Lanchester which are used to illustrate the themes discussed in the book. Few African lawyers write about literature and few books and articles in Western law and literature look at books by or about Africans, so a book that engages with both is long overdue. Fascinating reading for academics, law, literature, gender and migration students, policy-makers and indeed the general public
Bilchitz David, Fundamental rights and the legal obligations of business (Cambridge University Press 2022)
Business can be conducted in a variety of ways. Its origins, arguably, lie in the simple desire of individuals to trade with one another and, through doing so, to enhance their well-being. These humble origins, however, quickly led to the development of co-operative networks through which people trade. The partnership is perhaps the simplest business form that expresses the desire of individuals to work together for common goals but it has a number of drawbacks. As a result, over time, the limited liability corporation has emerged as the dominant structure for conducting business
Binder Christina, Elgar encyclopedia of human rights (Edward Elgar Publishing 2021)
The Elgar Encyclopedia of Human Rights is the most comprehensive reference work in the field of international human rights protection. Comprising over 340 entries, presented alphabetically, and available online and in print, the Encyclopedia addresses the full range of themes associated with the study and practice of human rights in the modern world. Topics range from substantive human rights to the relevant institutions, legal documents, conceptual and procedural issues of international law and a wide variety of thematic entries. The Encyclopedia has a distinct focus on international human rights law but at the same time is enriched by approaches from the broader social sciences, making it a truly unique and multi-disciplinary resource.
De Búrca, G., Legal mobilization for human rights (Oxford University Press 2022)
The essays in this book reveal key themes of mobilization in human rights law through case studies, and discuss topics such as which groups claim rights, what they are mobilizing to protect, the goals they pursue, the forums they use, the obstacles they encounter, and the extent of their success.
Dienelt Anne, Armed conflicts and the environment: complementing the laws of armed conflict with human rights law and international environmental law (Springer 2022)
The book rethinks the means of harmonization of prima facie norm conflicts in light of the multitude of international agreements across regimes. The methodology deployed in this book, which is referred to as complementation or complementary application, represents a novel approach by focusing on commonly shared objectives and a unifying ordre public transnational across fields of public international law that allow for a harmonization beyond traditional treaty interpretation. Fields of public international law, mainly the laws of armed conflict, international environmental law, and human rights law, apply simultaneously to questions regarding the environment and war. Such a coexistence challenges the unity of the international legal order, and it also challenges the means of harmonization across fields of public international law. However, eventually, the co-existence of several fields of public international law can result in a refinement of international law and enhanced legal protection. Diversification can also contribute to clarification or normative intensification in areas of parallel application of various fields and multilayered legal protection, demonstrating a counter-option to fragmentation.
Goodale Mark, Reinventing Human Rights (Stanford University Press 2022).
A radical vision for the future of human
Gordon Ruth Elizabeth, Development disrupted: the global south in the twenty-first century (Cambridge University Press 2022).
Although the impact of rapid technological change is often discussed in relation to the Global North, this book explores its effects on the development of the Global South. By tracing the discourse and practice of international development in the twentieth century, Ruth E. Gordon offers necessary context to current changes in the global hierarchy. The book explores the situation of the Global South within the international legal, political, and economic order, how current development discourse and practice engages modernization efforts, and how technology can bring about significant economic and societal change for middle and low-income nations. It offers a balanced account of the positive and negative impacts of technological change on the Global South, from mobile phones allowing access to knowledge to robotics reducing employment opportunities. This book demonstrates that, for the Global South, technology is making more things both conceivable and achievable.
Roberts Christopher, Alternative approaches to human rights: the disparate historical paths of the European, inter-American and African regional human rights systems (Cambridge University Press 2023).
This book explores the evolution of the European, Inter-American and African regional human rights systems. It will be of interest to anyone interested in the nature of any or all of these systems, contemporary human rights generally, comparative approaches to human rights, or the evolution of complex international institutions
Stronks Martijn, Grasping legal time: temporality and European migration law (Cambridge University Press 2022).
In this study, Martijn Stronks shines a light on the ways in which European migration law operates by examining relevant legal processes through the prism of ‘time’. Even as he notes that ‘[t]ime is allegedly the most widely used noun in the English language,’ Stronks demands that we critically interrogate this commonplace notion – and specifically that we should differentiate between ‘human time’ and ‘clock time.’ His contention is that human time is largely overlooked in migration processes, and that this failure to take account of time as lived experience does a real injustice to migrants. Much of the book is devoted to explicating what the author refers to as ‘the slithering character of legal time’ – which he argues fails to recognize that human time cannot be stopped, that time traveling in actual human time is not possible, and that there is a dissonance between eternal and mortal time. Stronks then makes the case for decentering the place of legal time and giving more attention to human time, noting the countervailing tendency in European law to insist that durable presence in a state's territory gives rise to a claim for inclusion. This, then, is the legal toehold that should allow us to take human time more seriously in the migration realm.
Vavoula Niovi, Immigration and privacy in the law of the European Union: the case of information systems (Brill/Nijhoff 2022).
This book examines the privacy challenges raised by the establishment, operation and reconfiguration of EU-wide information systems that store personal data, including biometrics, of different categories of third-country nationals that may be used for various immigration related and law enforcement purposes.
Villiger Mark Eugen., Handbook on the European Convention on Human Rights (Brill 2022).
In clear and concise words, this Handbook offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the European Convention and the European Court of Human Rights and its case-law. Numerous cross-references guide the reader through the various topics. Various summaries condense the different principles of the Court’s case-law. The Handbook has been written largely for practitioners such as lawyers, judges and persons in administrative functions, but will also be invaluable to university teachers and academic researchers. Meticulously compiled, authoritative and practical, it is a must-have resource for anyone concerned with the protection of human rights in Europe.