Reading Assignment /Quiz on August 15
Read: Constructing a Global Law Violence Against Women and the Human Rights System," Sally Engle Merry, 2003. Be prepared for a quiz on Wednesday.

Politics as Culture
Topic: Assignment for August 4

In a recent column, Quezon noted: 

"So when someone of a certain age, and most of our leaders and those active in political circles are of a certain age or above, talks about "freedom," or "democracy," refers to "liberty," and tries to refer to "people power" or "checks and balances" as good or bad things, wants to appeal to "nationalism," or uphold "human rights," refers to "martial law," it goes straight over the heads of younger Filipinos. They are familiar with the words, but no longer give those words the meaning, and thus, the power, Filipinos from older generations not only assume, but genuinely feel.

Culture, if it's to survive, has to be consciously transmitted. Once the transmission of culture fails to take place, culture dies. Politics has a culture all its own. The 1960s saw an old political culture fail to renew itself, but refusing to die, either; and what was new, then, is old and just as sterile, today. It's as if you erased an old computer program and replaced with a new one full of viruses. The result is the dysfunctional, and sterile, political culture we see today." Manuel L. Quezon III, PDI 07/30/07

1. Consider the assigned readings (MacKinnon & Rawls) and reflect on how the authors characterize/contextualize state/law in the duiscussion of human rights.

2.  Does Human Rights have an  ideological/philosophical basis? (According to the authors)

Read:

Crimes of War, Crimes of Peace, Catherine A. MacKinnon

The Law of Peoples, John Rawls

On Human Rights, The Oxford Amnesty Lectures, 1993 Shute, S.; Hurley, S. Eds. 

Women's Human Rights

Violence Against Women Not Included in Peace Index

The first-ever study ranking countries according to their level of peacefulness, the Global Peace Index (GPI), was recently published by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Grounded in the notion that there is more to the concept of peace than merely an absence of war, the index uses 24 indicators to measure, instead, peace as an "absence of violence." Among the indicators are numbers of internal and external wars, political instability, access to weapons and military expenditure.

Yet, despite such broad ranging considerations, the Index has a fatal flaw. As noted in the Christian Science Monitor and Women's E-News, it fails to include the most prevalent form of global violence: violence against women and children, which often occurs under cover of impunity and within their own families...read more

Human Rights in the News
ASEAN OKs rights body in charter
By Volt Contreras, Cynthia Balana
Inquirer
Last updated 02:05am (Mla time) 07/31/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Apparently overcoming resistance from almost half of its members, including military-ruled Burma (Myanmar), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations moved a step closer toward creating a body that would promote human rights in the politically diverse region.

Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo Monday said a “consensus” was reached in the 40th ASEAN Ministers Meeting (AMM) for the draft ASEAN charter to include a provision calling for the creation of a human rights commission.

Romulo hailed the breakthrough as “an apparent victory for the Philippines,” which is on its final days holding the rotating chairmanship of the 10-nation bloc and which also heads the high-level task force that had drafted the landmark charter.Read More...

ASEAN body to protect migrant workers’ rights formed

1.5M OFWs among beneficiaries, says DFA

By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 05:46pm (Mla time) 07/30/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Just six months after leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed the Declaration for the Protection and Promotion of Migrant Workers’ Rights, the regional bloc moved forward on Monday and created a committee to implement the provisions of the declaration.

The creation of the committee is contained in one of the four documents adopted by the 10 ASEAN foreign ministers Monday afternoon. An accompanying document lays down the guidelines for ASEAN missions to provide emergency assistance to citizens of ASEAN member-countries in conflict situations in third countries.Read More...

 

 

 

For June 20, 2007
Mood:  quizzical

Reading Assignment for Class on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 What Dad didn't tell you about the birds and bees. By William Saletan

The class will be conducted as a workshop and we will have a group activity. You can refer to the discussion questions but there is no need to prepare your answers in written form.

Discussion Questions: 1. What are your reactions to the article, specifically about "parthenogenesis?"

2. Reflect on how what kind of SEX/GENDER notions inform law (in our context), i.e. in the RPC, Civil Code, Family Code etc.

3. What is the role of law in shaping our assumptions (notions) of sex/gender?

Law 131-B Final Exam (March 23, 2007)

Use a bluebook. Indicate your name and student number. The Exam is take home and should be submitted to the Office of the College Secretary no later than 5 PM on Monday, March 26, 2007.The COLSEC will receive the blue books/papers and stamp the time when it is received. The deadline for those not exempt from doing the paper is the same time/day.

 

(1) A lesbian couple approaches you for legal advice regarding adoption of the child of one of the women. Can you make use of Gualberto vs CA in staking a claim for adoption by the couple? Why or why not? (40)

 

(2) Given the Supreme Court's non-application of the battered women's syndrome in the Genosa case as well as having laid down particular guidelines of how "BWS" should be proven (the SC mentioned at least 3 which in some way runs parallel to the elements of a valid self-defense), how would you critique the decision? (Consider limitations if any of applying the standards of self defense as they are, to BWS) (60)

 

(3) BONUS Question (20 pts)

Name at least three changes in human rights discourse brought about by the influence of feminist legal theory on women's human rights.

Assignments for February 16, 2007

Case Assignments

Disenchanted Rights:The Persistence of Secularism and Geopolitical Inequalities in Articulations of Women's Human Rights, Isabelle V. Barker

Estrada vs Escritor, 2003

Estrada vs Escritor, 2006

FORUM
Mood:  chatty

Puso, Puson, at Pananampalataya

 

A forum on religion, reproductive health, sexuality and spirituality entitled, “Puso, Puson, at Pananampalataya" will be held on February 19, 2007, (a Monday), from 1:30 to 5 p.m. at Balay Kalinaw (Seminar Room B), UP Diliman, Quezon City.

Sr. Helen Graham, Dr. Margarita Holmes and Mr. Danton Remoto will be present at the forum to discuss and share with us their insights on the topic.

This forum is a collaborative project of the Leadership Development Program for Mobilizing Reproductive Health (LDM), Health Action Information Network (HAIN), PLCPD, WomenLead and HASIK with funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

Should you be interested to attend, please confirm your attendance with Ms. Bicbic Chua (LDM) at 3764432 or 09217772927 or Ms. Tere Godito (HAIN) at 952-6312, 9526409.

Reading Assignment
Sally Engle Merry,Constructing a Global Law : Violence Against Women and the Human Rights SystemDownload Here

Mood:  caffeinated
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