|
Impact Litigation
Strategic litigation, also known as impact litigation, is the practice of bringing lawsuits intended to effect societal change. Impact litigation cases may be class action lawsuits or individual claims with broader significance, and may rely on statutory law arguments or on constitutional claims. Such litigation has been widely and successfully used to influence public policy, especially by left-leaning groups, and often attracts significant media attention. One prominent instance of this practice is ''Brown v. Board of Education''. History In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the American Civil Liberties Union and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (at times through its Legal Defense Fund) both pursued legal action to advance and protect civil rights in the United States. The ACLU followed a primarily "defensive" strategy, fighting individual violations of rights when they were identified. The NAACP, in contrast, developed a more coordinat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gay Marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting some 1.35 billion people (17% of the world's population). In Andorra, a law allowing same-sex marriage will come into force on 17 February 2023. Adoption rights are not necessarily covered, though most states with same-sex marriage allow those couples to jointly adopt as other married couples can. In contrast, 34 countries (as of 2021) have definitions of marriage in their constitutions that prevent marriage between couples of the same sex, most enacted in recent decades as a preventative measure. Some other countries have constitutionally mandated Islamic law, which is generally interpreted as prohibiting marriage between same-sex couples. In six of the former and most of the latter, homosexuality itself is criminalized. There are recor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amicus Curiae
An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on whether to consider an ''amicus'' brief lies within the discretion of the court. The phrase is legal Latin and the origin of the term has been dated to 1605–1615. The scope of ''amici curiae'' is generally found in the cases where broad public interests are involved and concerns regarding civil rights are in question. In American law, an ''amicus curiae'' typically refers to what in some other jurisdictions is known as an intervenor: a person or organization who requests to provide legal submissions so as to offer a relevant alternative or additional perspective regarding the matters in dispute. In the American courts, the amicus may be referred to as an ''amicus'' brief. In other jurisdictions, such as Canada, an ''amicus curiae'' is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Environmental Lawsuits
On this page, ''environmental lawsuit'' means "a lawsuit where the well-being of an environmental asset or the well-being of a set of environmental assets is in dispute". Also on this page, ''lawsuit with environmental relevance'' means "a lawsuit where a non-environmental entity or a set of non-environmental entities is in dispute, but whose outcome has relevance for an environmental asset or for a set of environmental assets". Because the distinction between the two types of lawsuit is not clearly defined, it is beneficial to keep the two lists together on one page, but separated according to that distinction. Environmental lawsuits Lawsuits with environmental relevance See also Environment courts *Environment Court of New Zealand * Kunming § Environmental court (in People's Republic of China) *Land and Environment Court of New South Wales * Livability Court Other related topics * 2006 Côte d'Ivoire toxic waste dump § Lawsuit by victims * Agent Orange § U.S. veterans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European University Institute
The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute and an independent body of the European Union with juridical personality, established by the member states to contribute to cultural and scientific development in the social sciences, in a European perspective. EUI is designated as an international organisation. It is located in the hills above Florence in Fiesole, Italy. In 2021, EUI's School of Transnational Governance, with its flagship graduate and executive programmes, moved to the Casino Mediceo di San Marco, which is a late-Renaissance or Mannerist style palace in the historic centre of Florence. History and member states The European University Institute (EUI) was founded in 1972 by the member states of the European Community. The EUI finds its origins in the advocacy for a European institute at the 1948 Hague Conference and the European Cultural Conference the following year. At the 1955 Messin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of LGBT-related Cases Before International Courts And Quasi-judicial Bodies
This list contains cases of the European Commission of Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) and United Nations Human Rights Committee (UN HRC) related to LGBT people. According to one study of the European human rights system, recognition of a LGBT right by the ECtHR increased the likelihood that other countries in the Council of Europe would adopt the LGBT right as policy. Council of Europe European Commission of Human Rights This table is for cases heard only by the European Commission of Human Rights, a human rights body of the Council of Europe disbanded in 1998. Cases heard by the commission and subsequently the European Court of Human Rights are listed in the next table. Both the commission and the court interpret the European Convention on Human Rights. European Court of Human Right ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, Moorfield Storey and Ida B. Wells. Leaders of the organization included Thurgood Marshall and Roy Wilkins. Its mission in the 21st century is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination". National NAACP initiatives include political lobbying, publicity efforts and litigation strategies developed by its legal team. The group enlarged its mission in the late 20th century by considering issues such as police misconduct, the status of black foreign refugees and questions of economic development. Its name, retained in accordance with tradition, uses the once common term ''colored people,'' referring to those with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Interest Law
Public interest law refers to legal practices undertaken to help poor, marginalized, or under-represented people, or to effect change in social policies in the public interest, on 'not for profit' terms ( ''pro bono publico''), often in the fields of civil rights, civil liberties, religious liberty, human rights, women's rights, consumer rights, environmental protection, and so on. In a celebrated 1905 speech, Louis Brandeis decried the legal profession, complaining that "able lawyers have to a large extent allowed themselves to become adjuncts of great corporations and have neglected their obligation to use their powers for the protection of the people." In the tradition thus exemplified, a common ethic for public-interest lawyers in a growing number of countries remains "fighting for the little guy".Scott L. Cummings & Ingrid V. Eagly, After Public Interest Law, NWU L. Rev. 1251, 1251-1259, 2075-2077(2006) By jurisdiction Central and Eastern Europe At the end of the commu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legal Aid In The United States
Legal aid in the United States is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system in the United States. In the US, legal aid provisions are different for criminal law and civil law. Criminal legal aid with legal representation is guaranteed to defendants under criminal prosecution (related to the charges) who cannot afford to hire an attorney. Civil legal aid is not guaranteed under federal law, but is provided by a variety of public interest law firms and community legal clinics for free (pro bono) or at reduced cost. Other forms of civil legal aid are available through federally-funded legal services, pro bono lawyers, and private volunteers. Criminal legal aid In 1942, the Supreme Court ruled in '' Betts v Brady'' that courts were to assign legal aid on a case-by-case basis. In overturning this case, the court held in '' Gideon v Wainwright'' that the average citizen "lacks both the skill and knowledge adequa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judicial Activism
Judicial activism is a judicial philosophy holding that the courts can and should go beyond the applicable law to consider broader societal implications of its decisions. It is sometimes used as an antonym of judicial restraint. The term usually implies that judges make rulings based on their own views rather than on precedent. The definition of judicial activism and the specific decisions that are activist are controversial political issues. The question of judicial activism is closely related to judicial interpretation, statutory interpretation, and separation of powers. Etymology Arthur Schlesinger Jr. introduced the term "judicial activism" in a January 1947 ''Fortune'' magazine article titled "The Supreme Court: 1947". The phrase has been controversial since its beginning. An article by Craig Green, "An Intellectual History of Judicial Activism," is critical of Schlesinger's use of the term; "Schlesinger's original introduction of judicial activism was doubly blurred: not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Separation Of Powers
Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typical division is into three branches: a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary, which is sometimes called the model. It can be contrasted with the fusion of powers in parliamentary and semi-presidential systems where there can be overlap in membership and functions between different branches, especially the executive and legislative, although in most non-authoritarian jurisdictions, the judiciary almost never overlaps with the other branches, whether powers in the jurisdiction are separated or fused. The intention behind a system of separated powers is to prevent the concentration of power by providing for checks and balances. The separation of powers model is often imprecisely and metonymically used interchangeably with the ' principl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freedom Of The Press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be considered a right to be exercised freely. Such freedom implies the absence of interference from an overreaching State (polity), state; its preservation may be sought through constitution or other legal protection and security. Without respect to governmental information, any government may distinguish which materials are public or protected from disclosure to the public. State materials are protected due to either one of two reasons: the classified information, classification of information as sensitive, classified or secret, or the relevance of the information to protecting the national interest. Many governments are also subject to "sunshine laws" or freedom of information legislation that are used to define the ambit of national interest and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
