Privacy and Dignity: Online Shaming in the Global E-Village

            This post is a summary of the article with the incomplete title above, published in 2014  at       www.mdpi.com/2075-471X/3/2/301/pdf

             Since the introduction of new Web-based technology in the 21st century. We have witnessed personal information of targeted individuals being disclosed and displayed for the purpose of humiliation and social condemnation by the anonymous internet crowd, followed by harassment and abusive behavior online and offline, resulting in serious disruption of personal life. Drawing on socio-legal literature on shaming and punishment, and jurisprudence from the English Courts on defamation, harassment and misuse of personal information and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on the relationship between the right to private life and dignity, the discussion will explain how the role of dignity has formed the development of the right to privacy where its value has played a distinctive role. It argues that the recognition and protection of the dignity and privacy of an individual is necessary in order to arrive at norms and values inherent in decent participation in the e-village. In this article, the term "dignity" refers to one's innate personhood, integrity and self-respect. This article analyzes emerging cases. Dignity should be recognized as part of a right to privacy, which should not be compromised easily regardless of whether one is at fault or not. One may question the value of fighting for privacy in the "digital age" when big data is readily available to identify individuals. However, it is exactly this development of the internet and technology at this time that warrant the urgent call for a re-examination of the concept of privacy and its core values of dignity. What we should also bear in mind is that this concept of dignity refers to an intrinsic value in each human being which must allow for freedom from humiliation and the development of physical and psychological integrity. The unrestrained disclosure of personal information in some cases severely threatens physical security and psychological health. What is needed, therefore, is the recognition and protection of the dignity and privacy of the individual in order to arrive at norms and values inherent in decent participation in the e-village. In what follows, there is a detailed discussion concerning the concept of "shame". Section 2, explains why civilized society should not use shame sanctions from a socio-legal perspective for protection of dignity, and against the dehumanizing effect in society as a whole. Followed in Section 3, this article will outline various international legal instruments related to the concept of dignity and its close connection with the right to privacy. In section 4, the rulings from the ECHR on the meanings of reputation, honor, dignity and privacy have given us new insight, despite the fact that the doctrine on dignity is not yet settled. The final part will

address the issue of why the right to privacy, including the aspect of dignity, should never be compronised in the face of so-called freedom of expression in online shaming. Convinced as we may be by arguments, any serious efforts to prohibit or regulate online shaming has to be anchored in legal principles. Massaro, Whitman and Foucaul may well have argued for a halt to public humiliation but the real challenge to be faced is to expalin why the law must recognize and legally protect the need for dignity and why such dignity should prevail. Dignity as a legal principle has been enshrined   in numerous international treaties. For instance, the UDHR mentions the principle of dignity twice. When the protection of dignity is based on the noble ideal of respect for each human being. I will concentrate on the role of dignity in informing the development of the right to privacy inj cases influenced by the ECHR jurisprudence in the court. Then, I will discuss the other facets of the right to privacy, as manifested in the alternative legal remedies under harassment and personal data legislation. Lord Hoffman, one of the judges , was the only one  to discuss the relationship between  respect for dignity and privacy. In his judment, Lord Hoffman often used the term autonomy and dignity together, he ruled that, "what human rights law has done is to identify private information as something worth protecting as an aspect of human autonomy and dignity." To him, this protection consists of "the right to control the dissemination of information about one's private life and the right to the esteem and respect of other people." It is of particular relevance to our discussion on dignity the acknowledged that privacy rights are there to protect one's personal dignity and autonomy, he also addressed directly the fact that while a particular activity may seem undignified, it should not compromise one's personal dignity, and to take away that dignity strikes at the core one's personality. He ruled accordingly that damages awarded should compensate one's distress, hurt feelings and loss of dignity. The courts should emphasized that the principal value behind privacy rights is the protection of individual autonomy in the pursuit of self-realization and innate dignity. The disclosure and wide dissemination of the information, especially in the form of images,  is particularly intrusive, it constitute a massive attacks in holding the claimants to ridicule, severe embarrassment or contempt. The intensity can reach such a level that their self-esteem, self-respect and innate dignity are severely damaged. The deleterious power of the internet in exposing an individual in a permanent form has been well documented. Since ECHR had ruled that there had been violation of the anti-discrimination principle. The court had elaborate on the meaning. First, it reiterated that the right to private life is assured that it includes one's right to live privately, away from unwanted attention, to pursue freely the development and fulfillment of one's personality, and to establish and develop relationships with others. Secondly, the court noted that the applicants

had been "marked in the eyes of society." The constant embarrassment and the continued burden that they have to face amounted to "possible impediment to their leading a normal personal life",  which are relevant factors to be taken into account in the consideration. It was Marshall McLuhan writing on the phenomenon of e-media, who had foretold that, we would live in a state of eletronic interdependence in a global village. The speed of this e-media would wire us up to act and react to global issues instantaneously, continuously and collectively. This global village has every potential  to become a place where totalitarianism and terror may rule due to the sacrifice of individualism and lack of in-depth reflection. He left us with a piece of advice, asking us to be vigilant towards the dynamic that tech would bring and to the impact of the media on our social interaction. Sadly, McLuhan's prophesy holds true for the 21st century cyber global village because we have  seen that the internet is replete with examples of online shaming. Individuals are being persecuted by the anonymous crowd on the internet for the purpose of public humiliation, followed by online and offline harassment, leading ultimately to the ostracism of the individuals concerned from their communities, causing real and psychological harm to them. In our attempt to search for legal guidance from the ECHR, we have noticed an emerging jurisprudence on the recognition of one's innate dignity and its relational claim on how one should be treated by others as part of human dignity, forming the fundamentals of the right to respect for private life. Another research would be necessary to do justice to the issues of accountability but it is hoped, at least, that this article has laid the ground work for the recognition of a legal right to privacy, based on the right to dignity. Dignity has been described as a guardian angel hovering over our laws, It is perhaps time now to call upon our legal guardians for protection in favor of a proper responsible participation in the e-village.

Political Inclusion is Vital to Sustainable Democracy

       This post is a summary of three articles. The first was published with the title above in 2017 at  https://www.idea.int/news-media/news/political-inclusion-vital-sustainable-democracy  The second was published at  https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4260&context=flr    The third was published at http://citiesofmigration.ca/building-inclusive-cities/political-inclusion/

                   No voice should be left unheard. No one should be left behind. No one should be subject to any form of exclusionary rhetoric. For democracy to be sustainableeach and every citizen to participate in political processes and represent their interest and concerns. Substantial evidence points to the exclusion from political decision-making as a key factor in both political and civil conflict and instability, which in turn affects democratic consolidation. Democracy is dependent on the participation and representation of all citizens in democratic institutions and processes. These institutions and processes include election management bodies, constitution-building processes, political parties and parliaments. Underpinning all this is political inclusion. This is the idea that every citizen, regardless of class, age, gender, sexual orientation, culture and ethnic or religious background, should have an equal right and opportunity to engage with and contribute to the functioning of these institutions and processes. Working to achieve political inclusion is fraught with challenges. Foremost amongst these is the increasing difficult by which the needs and aspirations of citizens can connect with accountable and representative political institutions. Democratic institutions and processes are often mistrusted. Some citizens, meanwhile, are not interested in voting or joining in a political party. This is because they see no difference with who is in power. They think their voices will not matter or have an influence on how political institutions will act. Secondly, inequality of opportunity persists worldwide. Notall citizens in society are represented in policy discussions and many feel marginalized. Finally, in some cases, access to political institutions is not available or even feasible because the frameworks or modalities for inclusion citizen involvement and engagement are not being implement or are simply not in place. While advocating for political inclusion for sustainable democracy is not easy, there are ways by which we as citizens can do our part. This can begin by just being aware of the challenges. This then allows you to give space for all voices to be heard and included in your day-to-day activities. Every action counts. Your action matters to all of us.

                     Over the last three decades, the notion of citizenship has become increasingly recurrent in the political vocabulary in Brazil. In Latin America, its emergence has been linked to the experiences of social movements during the late 1970s and 1980s, reinforced by efforts towards democratization. In Brazil, popular movements, excluded sectors, trade unions, and leftist parties increasingly adopted the notion of citizenship as a central element in their political strategies. This notion spread as a common reference among a variety of social movements. These movements organized around different demands, found in the concept of citizenship not only a useful tool for their specific dtruggles, but also a powerful articuling link among them. The process of democratic construction in Brazil today faces an important dilemma whose roots are to be found in the confluence of two different processes. On one hand, a process of enlarging democracy in the creation of public spaces and the increasing participation of civil society in the discussion and decision-making processes related to public issues and policies. The formal landmark of this process is the constitution of 1988. Such project emerged from the struggle against the military regime. On the other hand, with the election in 1989, there was the emergence of the project of a reduced state and through the shrinking of its social responsibilities and their transference to civil society. The building of citizenship has been seen at once as a general struggle for the expansion of democracy, which was able to incorporate a plurality of demands and set of particular struggle for rights (housing, education, health, etc.) whose success would expand democracy. Citizenship has become a prominent notion because it has been recognized as a crucial weapon not only in the struggle against social and economic exclusion but also in the broadening of conceptions of politics. The perception of the cultural social authoritarianism as a dimension of exclusion, in addition to economic inequality and political subordination, became a significant element in the struggle to redefine citizenship. This perception supports broadening the scope of citizenship, the meaning of which became far from restricted to the formal-legal acquisition of a set of rights, which would be limited to the political-judicial system. The struggle for citizenship was thus presented as a project for a new sociability.

                Political inclusion measures the extent to which all members of a society are able to access the institutions of democracy. Amore accurate measure od political inclusion is the ability of any individual, regardless of their socioeconomic background or ethnicity, to access the levers of political power. The difference between one and any defines the scope of work ahead of us for political inclusion. Democracy is stronger when everyone participates. Lower levels of participation and representation weaken our democratic institutions, preserving power in the hands of a few. These political elite then shape policy in their own interest, rather than in the interest of the majority.The challenge of integrating population into democracies might seem daunting. But at its core, political integration is rooted in three values: authenticity, inclusion and accountability. Specifically, policymakers can ensure that these values are embeedded into democratic institutions by doing the following: 1) Evaluating regularly - with changing demographics, policies that worked a decade ago may not be adequate today. Staying in touch with how a community looks, lives and works requires constant and consistent engagement. 2) Going beyond diversity and representation to inclusion and equity - Practically, this requires diligent attention to who holds decision-making authority and power. Populating advisory committees with minorities, for example, might check the box on diversity but unless the committee has influence and the members have voting power, we are not advancing political inclusion. 3) Mechanisms for accountability - how we hold our leaders and our institutions accountable determines how well they serve us. These mechanisms can include voting but also include community hearings, town halls, transparency around meetings. Along with these, we must ensure ways that residents are informed and included. When decision-making centers these practices above individual ambitions or short-term gains, the results can be far-reaching, creating the inclusive democracies that we all aspire to.

200th Birthday of Emily Bronte

           Almost two weeks ago, precisely on 30th of July, the British writer Emily Bronte would complete 200 years old, so this post is a tribute to her. She was a pionner in many ways and  her only novel is a story about injustice and hipocrisy . This post is a summary of four articles. The first was published at https://www.biography.com/people/emily 9227381  The second was published at  ttps://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/classics/celebrating-emily-bronte%E2%80%99s-200th-birthday. The third was published at https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/whats-important-about-wuthering-heights-novel-466425. The fourth was published at  https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/analysis/the-enduring-appeal-of-emily-bronte-and-wuthering-heights-1-9269960

           

              Born in Thornton, Yorkshire, England, on July 30, 1818, Emily Jane Bronte lived a quiet life with her clergyman father; brother Branwell; and two sisters, Charlotte and Anne. The sisters enjoyed writing poetry and novels, which they published under pseudonyms. As "Ellis Bell," Emily wrote Wuthering Heights (1847), her only novel, which garnered wide critical and comercial acclaim. Emily Bronte died in Haworth in 1848, the same year that her brother passed away. Emily was the fifth child of Reverend Patrick Bronte and his wive, Mary. The family moved to Haworth in 1821. Only a few months later, Bronte's mother died of cancer. Her mother's sister, Elizabeth, came to live with the family to help care for the children. At the age of 6, Emily was sent to the Clergy Daughters' School with Charlotte and her two old sisters, Elizabeth and Mary. Both Elizabeth and Mary became seriously ill at school and returned home, where they died of tuberculosis in 1825. Bronte's father removed both Emily and Charlotte from the school as well. At home, she read extensively and began to make up stories with her siblings. She became a teacher at the Law Hill School in September 1837, but she left her position the following year. Emily and Charlotte travelled to Brussels in 1842 to study, but the death of their aunt Elizabeth forced them to return home. Publishing as Ellis Bell, Emily published  her defining work, Wuthering Heights, in December 1847. The complex novel explores two families, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, across two generations and their stately homes. At first, reviewers did not know what to make. It was only after Emily's death that the book developed its reputation as a literary masterwork. Interest in Bronte's work and life remains strong today. The parsonage where Bronte spent much of her life is now a museum. The Bronte Society operates the museum and works to preserve and honor the work of the Bronte sisters.

                   The 30th of July marks Emily Bronte 200th birthday. Emily, along with her sisters Charlotte and Anne, were pioneers of literature in the 1800s, having initially published their works under male pseudonyms to get their stories heard. The literary landscape has changed dramatically over the last few centuries but Wuthering Heights, Emily's only novel, remains a classic, tempestuous tale of doomed love in the moody Yorshire moors. Britain is pulling out all the stops to celebrate this literary birthday, from a tribute postbox in Yorshire to a handcraft violin made from the wood of a tree near the Bronte parsonage. Emily's legacy is being honoured by a myriad of influential women, Lily Cole, Carol Ann Duffy and Jackie Kay to name a few, who are turning their creative talents to Bronte inspired projects. The Brontes' stories are being told all over the country, so we thought we would give you three facts you may not have heard. 1) Emily Bronte was born in the same year that Mary Shelley published her only novel Frankenstein, under a male pseudonym. 2) It's believed that Emily was never in love and preferred the company of her sisters, if that was the case how did she come up with her love story? Historians think her story was based on Emily's brother Branwell and his chaotic relationship with Lydia Robinson. 3) Emily was only 30 years old when she died of tuberculosis.

                Wutheeing Heights is a victorian, which traditionally contains characters who lead a hard and difficult life in nearly every way. In a victorian novel, usually the protagonist spend the bulk of their stories enduring their difficult circumstances, usually created by some injustice and then rewarded for their efforts, ensuring a happy ending to the novel. Wuthering Heights is significant because is not a typical Victorian novel. One thing it does have in common with most other Victorian novel is that it deals with the distinct economic differences between the rich and the poor. That is the crux of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, for example. One of the ways this novel does not fit the norm, however, is that it is the only Victorian novel which places its characters outside the society in which they live. Of course the setting of this novel naturally isolates these characters, but they are additionally disconnected from a society. That is not say that society does not matter, as Catherine changes the course of both her life and Heathcliff's life based on her adherence to society standards. Another way Wuthering Heights is unique is that it does not deal with social issues and problems like all the other Victorian novels. Instead, she concentrates on the inner workings of her characters' hearts and minds. Perhaps the most significant aspect of this Victorian novel is that it provides the first indication of the next thing to be written. It is a Gothic Romantic novel, containing many of the elements of the modern novel. The setting is haunting, dark, and mysterious, and the presence of ghosts and other supernatural elements certainly characterize the novel more as Gothic than as Victorian.

                It is 200 years since Emily Bronte was born andWuthering Heights has lost none of its popularity. Her book remains one of the most enduringly popular novels of the past two centuries, though its author didn't live to bask in the acclaim. It was Emily's only novel but one that has left an indelible mark on English literature and which remains hugely popular. Best-selling author Kate Mosse is appearing in Haworth for a compilation of short stories, each inspired by the anti-hero of Wuthering Heights. Mosse has been a fan of the Bronte sisters, since she was a teenager. "She was part of this extraordinary family of writers living in Haworth and then there is the influence the book has had on other writers.'' She says Emily wrote a novel the like of which had not been seen before. It was baout nature that was indifferent and just sat there at the heart of the novel. People move through the landscape and it is significant that if you look at the titles of Anne and Charlotte's novels they are named after people, whereas with Emily is a place, and right from the beginning of this the key character is the place rather than the people.

         

Day of Fighting Injustice - 2018

                  Next 23rd of August will be celebrated in Brazil, the day of fighting injustice. We all must defend justice, because when there is some injustice happening for so many years, a dangerous precedent can happen, destroying democracy, undermining rule of law and the fundamental feeling of justice of the people. So, the public trust in our institutions is severely harmed. Consequently, the people start asking if they are worth so many taxes and credibility. Besides, when there is not justice, the abuses tend to grow and spreading and affecting many more people. I have been fighting for justice, democracy and human rights for so many years and intend keep this work for more years ahead. I'll never give up to make Brazil a better country, more democratic, fairer, and where human rights are truly respected. This post is a summary of five articles. The first was published at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Injustice. The second was published at  https://www.law.hawaii.edu/article/day-dedicated-fighting-injustice-resonates-important-legacy-law-school. The third was published in 2014 by Amnesty International at  https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/8000/pol300022014en.pdf. The fourth was published at https://essayforum.com/writing/injustice-ruins-peaceful-life-38963/. The fifth was published at  http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_importance_of_standing_up_against_injustice. 

                 Injustice is a quality relating to unfairness or undeserved outcomes. The term may be applied in reference to a particular event or situation, or to a larger status quo. In Western philosophy and jurisprudence, injustice is not always defined as either the absence or the opposite of justice. The sense of injustice is a universal human feature, though the exact circumstance considered unjust can vary from culture to culture. While even acts of nature can sometimes arouse the sense of injustice, the sense is usually felt in relation to human action such as misuse, abuse, neglect, or malfeasance that is uncorrected or else sanctioned by a legal system or fellow human beings. The sense of injustice can be a powerful motivational condition, causing people to take action not just to defend themselves but also others who they perceive to be unfairly treated. And unlike the sense of justice which tends to be conceived in more abstract ways, and tends to inspire contemplation rather than action

                 Struggles and successes in fighting for justice, inspired by the World War II detention experience of Japanese Americans, have now been recognized in Hawai with a new statewide day of observance. Each year January 30 will be recognized as "Civil Liberties and the Constitution Day." This has particular significance for the William S. Richardson School of Law and it builds directly on the work of Professor Eric Yamamoto, an renowned legal scholar and advocate for reparation and justice. On June 7th, Governor Neil Abercrombie signed a law thereby making "Civil Liberties and the Constitution Day" official. Governor Abercrombie noted that this annual day of observance "will serve to recognize and remind us of the courage of those who remained committed to freedom, even when their own liberties and rights were being challenged." Building on work done by individuals and groups who have asserted and defended civil rights, "Civil Liberties and Constitution Day" will highlight the continuing need for access to justice, even as it celebrates victories in rights advocacy and legislation. Those achievements include the work of several members of the University of Hawai's School of Law, including the contributions of Professor Yamamoto. As a young attorney in the 1980s, Yamamoto was deeply involved in helping Kprematsu successfully challenge the constitutionality of his imprisonment for not complying with government-enforced internment during World War II. January 30th is Korematsu's birthday, and the date was chosen to honor his legacy. Yamamoto has a mandate "to train promising law students as collaborators on academic and community-based justice projects" and "to engage justice scholars and practitioners locally, and internationally." The professorship was supported by the Korematsu family and the San Francisco-based Korematsu Institute for Civil Liberties and Education, headed by Fred Korematsu's daughter, Karen, to support ground-breaking work in human rights and justice.

               Justice is based on respect for the human rights of every individual. As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights puts it, "recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world." State must provide complaints mechanisms to comply with the right to an effective remedy. Even without an express complaint by the victims, there must be an investigation where there are reasonable grounds to believe that an act of torture or other ill-treatment may have taken place. A failure by a state to investigate allegations of torture or other ill-treatment is a violation of the right to an effective remedy and the right not to be subjected to ill-treatment. Victims and their lawyers must have access to all relevant information and to any hearings relevant to the allegation. They are entitled to present evidence. Victims and witnesses must be protected. A person who has been subjected to torture or ill-treatment is entitled to reparation, regardless of whether those responsible have been identified and brought to justice. Reparation should include compensation, rehabilitation, and guarantees of non-repetition. The right to trial before a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal established by law requires that "justice must not only be done, it must also be seen to be done." Some International standards provide for the possibility of witnesses to testify by eletronic means, usually via video-links allowing them to be seen, heard and questioned in the courtroom. The wording of international standards, which use the phrase "to examine or have examined," takes into account different legal system. It also covers questions being asked by the trial judge or an independent person rather than the accused or their lawyer, for example, if a judge or a psychologist puts questions from the defence to a child victim.

                People around the globe have been suffering injustice, a disease that kills values, and injures dignity. Injustice affects individuals as well as societies. It is a disease created by human to dehumanize human. This essay is an attempt to shed light on a few injuries of this unneeded sickness. Feeling of injustice ruins the peaceful life of every person. Individuals sense the injustice in daily life, in things like freedom of speech, when someone is deprived of their right to say their point of view, they feel oppressed. This is much more offensive when the whole community is deprived from the right of saying what they believe in. Internationally speaking, some citizens of developing countries suffer from injustice, the root of all human mistake. They feel they are treated rudely and exploited badly. This is the mother of all crimes and results in a sense of instability everywhere. People are ready to sacrifice their life when they feel injustice. We are living in a world full of daily bloody events and almost all of them are caused by injustice. Therefore we are all affected by this unwanted sin, and we must all contribute to find ways to get out of it and live in a democratic world.

               What is the importance of stading up against injustice? If you do not stand up for injustice then you are in a sense agreeing with it because you have said nothing. Words are very important and have a lot of power. Sometimes by speaking up against injustice you can stop it from becoming tolerated or the norm in a society.