JORGE RODRIGUES SIMAO

Jeremy Bentham: Man and Myth

An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation

The Future of the Law

Internal Challenges

In addition to the problem of bureaucratic regulation and the often unbridled discretion it generates, there are a number of intractable questions that need to be confronted by legal systems everywhere. Among the most conspicuous is the so-called ‘war on terror’. It requires little perception to realize that in the space of less than a decade many legal systems are faced with a variety of problems that test the values that lie at their heart. How can free societies reconcile a commitment to liberty with the necessity to confront threats to undermine that very foundation? Absolute security is plainly unattainable, but even moderate protection against terror comes at a price. And no airline passenger can be unaware of the cost in respect of the delays and inconvenience that today’s security checks inevitably entail. But though crime can never be entirely prevented, modern technology does offer extraordinarily successful tools to deter and apprehend offenders. Closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras, for instance, are able to monitor unlawful activities, such recordings supplying prosecutors with powerful evidence in court against the filmed villain. To what extent should the law tolerate this kind of surveillance? Consider the following example, which may help to demonstrate the difficulty, and the unavoidable ‘balancing’ between competing rights that is a conspicuous characteristic of modern law.

Public Health Impact of Climate Change

Health Impacts of Climate Change

“If the temperatures rise as leading scientists have predicted, less freshwater will be available-and already one-third of the world’s population (about 2 billion people) suffer from a shortage of water. Lack of water will keep farmers from growing food. It will also permanently destroy sensitive fish and wildlife habitat. As the ocean levels rise, coastal lands and islands will be flooded and destroyed. Heat waves could kill tens of thousands of people.”

Changing Ecosystems: Effects of Global Warming

Julie Kerr,

O clima mundial está a mudar devido ao aquecimento do planeta, é situação aceite pela comunidade internacional, incluindo a científica e a sociedade civil. Esta mudança pode afectar à saúde humana de diversas formas, como por exemplo, alterando o âmbito geográfico e a variação sazonal de algumas doenças infecciosas, perturbando os ecossistemas de produção de alimentos e aumentando a frequência de fenómenos meteorológicos extremos, como são os ciclones.

 New Documantaries 2015 Super Max Prison Lock Down Prison Documentary

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Human rights foreign policy and the role of the United Nations

The story of the UN's human rights treaties may leave us dissatisfied. Where is the enforcement of these rights? We have a legal framework and reports from non-governmental organizations, but where is the pressure to ensure that these rights are realized in practice? What does it really mean when governments say that their foreign policy is concerned with promoting and protecting human rights? Only very rarely do governments actually use these treaties to bring international complaints against other states. Human rights in foreign policy deserve some exposition.

The idea that governments can legitimately concern themselves with the way in which another state treats its own nationals is a relatively recent innovation in international relations. The concept of non-interference in domestic affairs loomed large for much of the 20th century and was seen to foreclose meaningful human rights foreign policy.

llegal migration flows in the Mediterranean

EUROPEAN COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION - Preventing and fighting illegal migration

“Since 2013, the region has witnessed a sharp increase in the numbers of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean. In the first seven months of 2014, over 87,000 people arrived in Italy by sea, with the two largest groups coming from Eritrea and Syria. In an effort to reduce the risks of such journeys, in October 2013 the Italian Government launched the Mare Nostrum Operation, which has rescued over 100,000 people. Increases in arrivals have also been recorded in Greece and Spain.”

UNHCR: Global Appeal 2015 Update

O fracasso absoluto para proteger civis inocentes está demonstrado através dos piores dados de deslocações forçadas, dentro dos seus países, devido a conflitos ou violência, que atingiu trinta e oito milhões de pessoas, numa geração, correspondentes às populações de Londres, Nova Iorque e Pequim. O “Observatório de Deslocamento Interno (IDMC na sigla em língua inglesa) ”, que é parte do “Conselho Norueguês para os Refugiados (NRC na sigla em língua inglesa) ”, apresentou o seu “Relatório Global 2015: Deslocados internos por conflito ou violência”, a 6 de Maio de 2015, em Genebra.