This thesis offers a comparative analysis of the Constitutional law mechanism for human rights protection in Canada and Russia. Russia is experiencing a transition from the former soviet regime towards democracy and civil society. Since the beginning of the transition in 1991 Russia has made three major steps in that direction: the adoption of the Declaration of Rights and Freedoms of the Individual and Citizen of 1991, the Constitution of 1993 and the ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights in 1998. However, the existent constitutional law mechanism for human rights protection is not fully effective due to its novelty for Russian society. A number of lessons can be learned from the Canadian and European experiences of human rights protection. Among them is the necessity to build the mechanism for human rights protection that will be based on the rule of law, direct application of the Constitution, and the creation of a human rights culture, supported by the people's trust in independent judicial institutions.

Thesis--Faculté de droit de l'Université de Genève, 1990. / "Thèse no 674 de la Faculté de droit de l'Université de Gèneve"--T.p. verso. Includes bibliographical references (p. 319-341).

Thesis (doctoral)--Humboldt-Universität, Berlin, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 607-620) and index.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2007. / Thesis directed by Donald Kommers for the Department of Political Science. "July 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 274-277).

No description available.

Research into the background of the Second Amendment is hampered by its relationship to the current highly emotional debate over gun control. Many otherwise useful secondary sources either ignore the issue completely or give accounts which reflect the controversies of the twentieth century rather than those of the eighteenth. Fortunately, however, the Americans of the revolutionary era wrote extensively about the subject. With independence, the Americans were faced with the problem of organizing and controlling a defense establishment. The new nation was virtually defenseless: the Continental Army was disbanded and the militia, after years of neglect, emasculated. During the decade following the War for Independence, many unsuccessful attempts were made to revitalize the militia and thus prevent the establishment of a professional army. With the adoption of the Constitution in 1787, military affairs reached a turning point. The central government was granted almost unlimited power to rise a standing army without any firm mandate to reform the militia. In an attempt to prevent this and assure that the people would continue to control the military power of the nation, the Second Amendment was adopted as a part of the Bill of Rights.

Since 25 January 1994, when the interim Constitution came into operation, South Africa's criminal justice system became subject to constitutional provisions, especially the Bill of Rights. All forms of punishment and treatment are subject to the provisions of the Constitution. The first casualties were the death penalty and corporal punishment, which were found to be unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court. Since our criminal justice jurisprudence is still in the developing stage, a comparative analysis with the Canadian and American penal systems forms part of this thesis. Provisions of the Constitution, which will have an indirect influence on punishment include, access to information, just administrative action and state institutions supporting democracy. The following provisions of the Bill of Rights are expected to have a significant impact on punishment in all its facets, equality; human dignity; life; freedom and security of the person; freedom from slavery, servitude and forced labour; and the rights of children. Judgments of the Constitutional Court, which abolished the death penalty and corporal punishment are examined since they were the first indication the Court gave on aspects of punishment. The Constitution also deals specifically with the rights of arrested, detained and accused persons. It is within this provision that 2 the rights of prisoners are spelt out. Imprisonment as a form of punishment, has to conform to the provisions of the Constitution, and the Correctional Services Act is an attempt to render imprisonment compliant. With the abolition of the death penalty and corporal punishment, the effect of constitutional provisions on conventional forms of punishment and the overpopulation of prisons, the establishment of alternative forms of punishment, which would pass constitutional muster, is imperative. The Child Justice Bill is an attempt to establish a unique system for juveniles who commit offences / Penology / D. Lit. et Phil. (Penology)

Thesis (D. Lit. et Phil.)--University of South Africa, 2001.

published_or_final_version / Law / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Constitutional change is relentless. Today, states jockey with regional associations, international organizations, transnational networks and sub-state authorities to define the scope of legitimate political conduct and establish rival bases for political affiliation. Constitutional theorists must be resolute but they should not be rigid. Especially in such uncertain conditions, theories are best understood not as plans to be implemented but as hypotheses to be tested. Charles Sabel and David Dyzenhaus write separately but share this pragmatic orientation, in which doubt is indispensable and truth is the end of public inquiry. They also share a distinctive belief that constitutionalism serves a moral end: it is the project of cultivating citizens who conceive their political community in terms of the commitments revealed by its practices. Their position, which is well suited for contemporary challenges, warrants elaboration and examination. British Columbia offers an ideal constitutional laboratory for that test. During the 1970s and 1980s, doubts mounted about the legitimacy of the constitutional settlement imposed by the Crown in the westernmost province of Canada. Legal, political and constitutional decisions raised the possibility that aboriginal rights and title survived colonization and Confederation. Since 1990, their existence has been confirmed in a cascade of constitutional experiments. Those initiatives can be distilled into four procedures: litigation, negotiation, consultation and collaboration. Although they have delivered practical benefits to some indigenous peoples, these procedures have not transformed provincial politics into a moral endeavour. The constraints on constitutionalism in British Columbia are both conceptual and institutional. Despite marginal improvements, those constraints endure and constitutionalism remains for now the sporadic pursuit of a small elite. To conceive constitutionalism as a project is to set a sound but exacting standard. Although British Columbia falls short, its failure is informative: the theory is useful.