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International human rights law has witnessed considerable developments in the last decades both in normative terms and standard setting as well as in monitoring of state observance and compliance. The ECtHR and the former Commission have taken a leading role in the development of human rights due to the extensive case law the Strasbourg institutions have produced. Human rights of the accused in the criminal proceedings had its share of such a development. The court in its assessment of various national systems in their adherence to the rights enshrined in the convention has interpreted the rights progressively and the result is a vast case law regarding the right of the accused to fair trial, to liberty and the right to private life. The central theme of this work is to examine the Libyan criminal justice system in its attempt to protect the rights of those accused of a criminal offence in the light of the developments pioneered by inter-state organs especially the ECtHR. The thesis focuses on the most pressing issues where the Libyan system does appear to be at odd with the international standards of fair trial. Therefore the scope of this work has been limited to examine the protection of the right to liberty and the right to fair hearing. In doing so, it starts with a chapter introducing the reader to the Libyan system and outlining the main features and principles governing the criminal justice system. The thesis also examines the human rights situation in general and how the political and constitutional arrangements have affected the human rights situation in the country. The protection of the right to liberty and pre-trial detention is examined in chronological order starting from the initial arrest by the police till the accused is referred to the court for trial. To evaluate the extent to which the Libyan system does protect the right to liberty, the study first, examines the procedural guarantees available in the criminal process and second to ascertain whether these domestic procedures as compared to the standards developed by the ECtHR and the Human Rights Committee are of acceptable international standards. The principle of equality of arms and the principle of adversarial proceedings as developed by the European court are an integral part of the right to fair trial and these principles are the focus of this thesis. The special position the public prosecution authority occupies, the wide power it has under the Libyan system, the heavy reliance on the pretrial evidence “the dossier evidence” and the marginal role of the defence lawyer have been diagnosed to be the major problems of the system which pose serious challenges to whether the system can uphold fairness and adhere to the requirement of adversarial proceedings. The study suggests that in the light of the examination of the Libyan system, it is apparent that it suffers from major weaknesses and shortcomings and is in need of reform. In order to ensure a better protection of the rights of accused persons, certain measures need to be introduced. However, the study also acknowledges the Libyan system has a number of strong points and these should be taken into account in any future reform. Instead of arguing for a radical change, the study suggests that any proposed reform should build upon the system’s traditions and experience. Reform should on one hand, lay the ground for a more participatory role for the defence lawyer from the early stages of the proceedings, backed by more judicial supervision of the conduct of police and prosecution in the pre-trial stage. On the other hand, the study argues the system’s belief in the positive role of the trial judge is a valuable guarantee of justice which should be retained. The study’s focus on the implications of the Strasbourg case law for the Libya system has not deterred it from seeking lessons and insights from the development of international justice and Islamic law jurisprudence.

This thesis represents an analysis of the concept of environmental justice with the aim of identifying possible legal remedies.  The thesis does so through an analysis of the history of environmental justice as well as an analysis of the theories behind environmental justice.  The thesis analyses the concordance between environmental justice and existing principles of environmental law and policy, while also analysing environmental justice in a UK as well as a European and international context. From the outset, environmental justice deals with the negative effects that environmental decisions have on certain minority populations.  In the US, the concept emerged as a response to what was perceived as discriminate targeting of African-American communities through the siting of environmental harms.  In the UK, where environmental justice is emerging on policy and grassroots level, environmental justice has been given an entirely different connotation relying on social justice arguments and concerns for low-income groups.  The thesis sets out to establish and uncover the specific meaning of environmental justice and its implications in a UK context. The thesis argues that environmental justice is as much a problem in the UK as elsewhere.  Despite empirical shortfalls of some of the work that environmental justice advocates rely upon, environmental justice is a real issue.  In light of this, the thesis argues in favour of the specific utilisation and application of human rights norms as well as an improved framework of corporate social responsibility in the attempt to address environmental injustices.  Such legal approaches can be utilised alongside established tools of public participation and access to environmental information in order to secure an aim of environmental justice.

This thesis identifies existing legislation that can provide an adequate system of regional and domestic rights based on a critique of existing protections applicable to Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland. A definition of Gypsies/Travellers is established and analysis of ethnicity undertaken focusing on race relations legislative definition and anthropological/sociological ethnicity definition, identifying obstacles to recognition, however concluding that all Gypsies/Travellers could satisfy these definitions. It is however identified that, to achieve equality, additional measures are necessary in the interpretation and application of existing human rights law with a need for positive action to achieve equality not only in law but in fact. International law is examined regarding minority protection and racial discrimination examining their relevance domestically in the United Kingdom. Regional legislation is similarly examined, in particular developing ECHR jurisprudence, the European Social Charter, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and potential remedies in EU legislation. The Human Rights Act 1998 is also examined as potentially offering a compliance mechanism regarding obligations contained in the ECHR. Domestic race relations legislation is examined, particularly regarding positive duties and mechanisms for ensuring compliance with these duties, identifying shortcomings. Lastly future domestic equality legislation is examined and shortcomings identified in the current proposals of the United Kingdom. Legislation and case law referred to is correct at 1 November, 2008.

Since 1957, Malaysia has faced external and internal security threats. Over time, Malaysia has succeeded in solving the external threats but internal threats remained. The internal threats have come in many forms, including ethnic conflict, religious extremism and deviationism, and terrorism. Since the safety of the public lies in the hands of the government, measures have been taken to ensure the nation's stability and security, including restriction on civil and political liberties. This thesis examines human rights in Malaysia with a special focus on civil and political rights, particularly during the government of Prime Minister Mahathir. This thesis also examines the different rationalities used by the government in order to legitimize the restriction of human rights. The rationales that have been used by the government were: the anti-communist, racial harmony, the "Asian values" and developmentalism, and terrorism. This thesis analyzes the reasons behind changes in the rationales and the consequences for internal security. In addition, this thesis addresses the question of the potential impact on internal security if human rights were to be improved. In the final chapter, the thesis summarizes the findings and gives an outlook of the development of human rights in Malaysia.

LL.M. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

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