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OxHRH

Vaccines and the Notwithstanding Clause: an Unnecessary Creation of a Dangerous Precedent

Caitlin Salvino - 6th December 2019

Socio-Economic Rights

On November 22, 2019, the provincial government of New Brunswick (Canada) announced it would be employing the notwithstanding clause for the first time. This follows the most recent and public threatened and actual uses of the notwithstanding clause by Ontario and Quebec in 2018. The notwithstanding clause is a ‘uniquely Canadian invention’ under section 33 […]

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OxHRH

Domestic Workers in South Africa Lead the Way in Advancing Social Protection for Precarious Workers

Fairuz Mullagee - 5th November 2019

Gig Economy and Human Rights| Labour Rights| Socio-Economic Rights and Labour Rights

In a recent South African High Court judgement, the court held the failure to cover domestic workers under Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) to be unconstitutional. This finding could be a springboard for extending protection for occupational injuries to all precarious workers, including platform workers.  Section 23 of the South African Constitution […]

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OxHRH

Civilian Life at Risk in Iran: The Hard-Hitting Effects of the US Economic Sanctions

Saeed Bagheri and Amin Bagheri - 5th August 2019

Socio-Economic Rights

Following the US-imposed oil embargo and a web of hard-hitting economic sanctions, Iran’s economy and the lives of Iranian civilians have been hit hard a year after the US withdrawal from the 2015 Nuclear Deal (JCPOA). In May 2018, Donald Trump formally pulled the US out of the Nuclear Deal in order to reimpose the sanction against Iran as a […]

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OxHRH

Innovative remedies under a flexible Constitution: A view from South Africa

Jasper Gold - 26th July 2019

Access to Justice| Socio-Economic Rights

As an undergraduate, the focal point of interest in a case was what happened in court. The judgment, and specifically the ratio; the facts, maybe the arguments from time to time. Rarely was much thought given to what happened after judgment was handed down, except the occasional tidbit, such as a lecturer telling us that […]

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OxHRH

California is Poised to Expand Labour Protections for Workers

Catherine Fisk - 8th July 2019

Business & Human Rights| Gig Economy and Human Rights| Socio-Economic Rights

California, many other states, and the United States government, have laws imposing minimum standards of employment (such as wages and hours), limited financial benefits for workers who become unemployed or are injured in the course of employment, and benefits for employees after retirement age or who become unable to work because of disability. Most of […]

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OxHRH

Brown v. Board of Education at 65: A Job Still Undone

Michael Rebell - 30th May 2019

Socio-Economic Rights

This month marks the 65th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision that declared racial segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional. When he exited the Supreme Court building on May 17, 1954, after the decision had been announced, Thurgood Marshall, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, was asked […]

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OxHRH

Legal Gaps in Securing Customary Land Rights in Zambia

Mwai Daka - 4th April 2019

Socio-Economic Rights

The Asa Lato & 30 others case provides an opportunity for Zambia’s High Court to review legal gaps related to the conversion of customary land to registered leasehold tenure, especially those which make communities vulnerable to dispossession and landlessness. It also shines a light on the need for good governance and an end to corruption […]

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