Democracy and the Criminal Justice System

Abstract

This paper explores the difficulties faced by European secularism in dealing with a Muslim diaspora of unprecedented size in the continent's history. It shows how this presence has highlighted contradictions in European conceptions of the religious and of the public-private divide. The paper does this by comparing Europe to Latin America where a quite different process of secularization seems to have taken place.     

The Use of the Bible by the Christian Human Rights Organizations Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and International Justice Mission (IJM)

Abstract

This paper explores the use made of the Bible by two Christian human rights organizations: Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and International Justice Mission (IJM), identifying the particular parts of Scripture appealed to, the hermeneutic adopted, and asks whether there are other resources in the Bible which they could use to inspire and inform their work. CSW with its focus on the persecuted Church most naturally draws its inspiration from the New Testament, especially the Epistles; whilst IJM whose work principally addresses other forms of injustice, makes greater appeal to the Old Testament. The biblical framework for IJM's work could be strengthened by a more sustained attention to Jesus' ministry as a model of human rights intervention and advocacy, by reflection on the significance of the Exodus as indicative of God's purposes for those who are oppressed, and by consideration of the book of James. CSW needs to integrate its commendable emphasis on Jesus' mission as exemplary for Christian human rights action with a holistic reading of the Bible and a greater exploration of the importance of the Church as the Body of Christ.     

Toward a Dynamic Theory of Crime and the Police: A Criminal Justice System Perspective

Abstract

The author looks at the fertility, mortality, and marriage experience of racial, ethnic, and nativity groups in the United States from the nineteenth to the late twentieth centuries. The first part of the essay describes and critiques the racial and ethnic categories used in the federal census and in the published vital statistics; the second part examines the three dimensions of demographic behavior. Both absolute and relative convergence of fertility across groups has been of relatively recent origin and in large part has been due to stable, or even slightly increasing, birthrates for the majority white population combined with declining birthrates for blacks and the Asian-origin, Hispanic-origin, and Amerindian populations. This has not been true for mortality. The black population has experienced absolute convergence but relative deterioration in mortality (neonatal and infant mortality, maternal mortality, expectation of life at birth, and age-adjusted death rates), in contrast with the Amerindian and Asian-origin populations. The Asian-origin population now has age-adjusted death rates significantly lower than those for the white population. The disadvantaged condition of the black population and the deteriorating social safety net are the likely origins of this outcome. Finally, a trend toward earlier and more extensive marriage existed from about 1900 until the 1960s. At this point, coincident with the end of the baby boom, there has been a movement to later marriage for both males and females among whites, blacks, and the Hispanic-origin populations, a trend that has been more extreme in the black population, especially among females. There has also been a significant rise in percentages never-married at ages 45-54 among blacks and, to a lesser extent, among Hispanics. So here, too, there has been some divergence.     

Rethinking Bureaucrats in the Policy Process: Criminal Justice Agents and the National Crime Agenda

Policy scholars have noted that bureaucrats can play an important role in defining policy alternatives. Few studies, however, examine the extent of their involvement in this process. This study contributes to public policy scholarship by offering a framework for understanding the strength of bureaucratic involvement in the process of defining problems and policy alternatives. Using witness data from congressional hearings on crime between 1947 and 1998, I find that federal, state, and local criminal justice bureaucrats have come to occupy a central role in the process of defining policy alternatives. In addition, I find that the centrality of criminal justice actors comes at the expense of interest groups, community organizations, and citizens/victims. Implications for criminal justice policy and understanding bureaucratic involvement in the policy process are discussed.     

Bringing Daesh to Justice: What the International Community Can Do

This paper explores the response of the international community to the atrocities perpetrated by Daesh in Syria and Iraq. The paper focuses on the crime of genocide and the recognition of the crime by several international institutions and states. Within this discourse, we argue that the Christian minorities should be included as victims of the Daesh genocide. The paper finds that the international community failed to respond to the Daesh atrocities adequately and explores the legal options to ensure that the Daesh fighters are brought to justice. The paper considers the legacy of previous responses to mass atrocities and explores their plausibility. The paper further scrutinizes the progress made to date to bring Daesh to justice and considers other options how the criminal justice can be achieved.     

Right-Sizing International Criminal Justice: The Hybrid Experiment at the Special Court for Sierra Leone

In the decade since their establishment, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) have made great advancements in the development of international criminal justice. Nonetheless, the ad hoc tribunals have been roundly criticized for their expense, inefficiency and slowness. When the Security Council decided to set up a court for Sierra Leone, it wanted to find a new model. The hybrid Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) is an effort to right-size international criminal justice: it has a pared-down budget, tightly focused mandate, limited time of operation, and a lack of institutional links to the Security Council. The negotiations over these issues led to repeated clashes between the UN Secretary General and the Security Council, with the Security Council consistently favouring a more modestly sized court. The SCSL has much to recommend it but its promise is shadowed by the paltry resources available to it. In its efforts to avoid creating another over-sized tribunal, the Security Council swung too far in the other direction. The lofty goals of ending impunity and providing justice demand more than a court on the cheap.