1 of 20

PERIOD 2 – LAW �(INTERNATIONAL LEVEL)��THEORY LECTURE�

2 of 20

TODAY

  • Lecture on law: the theoretical highlights.

​

* REMINDER: use the general theory and case-sources on the GP-website!

​

​

Making notes is highly recommended 🡪 use of theory is important part of assessment!

3 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

  • Overview of lecture:
    • What is a constitutional state?
      • A short history of the constitutional state.

​

    • Dictatorship versus democracy.

​

    • Central principles of a constitutional state.

​

    • International outlook:
      • How do the United Nations (UN) and Amnesty International try to improve the situation in North Korea?

​

      • What are human rights and how are they enforced on an international scale?

​

      • How are human rights related to global issues?

4 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

  • What is a constitutional state?
    • A state in which the exercise of governmental power is constrained by the law.
      • The most important of all laws is the constitution (translation: ‘grondwet’).

​

  • The Netherlands is both a �democratic and social �constitutional state!

5 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

  • In a democratic constitutional state…
    • …citizens have influence on political decision-making 🡪 elections.

​

    • …citizens are protected by fundamental rights from power abuse by their elected rulers.

​

  • In a social constitutional state…
    • …there are several laws and services to increase the general welfare and wellbeing of its citizens.

​

6 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

  • Historical background of constitutional state:
    • USA and France are the oldest constitutional states in the world.
      • USA: Declaration of Independence in 1776.

​

      • France: French �Revolution �in 1789.

​

7 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

  • Historical background of constitutional state:
    • These events replaced despotic rulers who had absolute power, with a government by the people, for the people.

​

    • That is why USA�Declaration of �Independence �(1776) starts�with…

​

8 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

  • Dictatorship versus democracy:
    • Our country is a democratic constitutional state.
      • Can you explain why it is democratic?

​

      • Through free elections the people can decide on� political issues.

​

      • Can you explain why it is a constitutional state?

​

      • Fundamental rights protect the people from the� power and arbitrariness of the state.

​

​

​

9 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

  • Dictatorship versus democracy:
    • In a dictatorship…
      • The people do not have any real political influence (e.g. having free elections).

​

      • And fundamental rights protecting the people from the state are largely absent.

​

      • Therefore a small group �has absolute (= all) power!

​

​

10 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

  • The three central principles of the constitutional state:
    1. Principle of legality:
      • Someone’s freedom can only be restricted if this restriction is approved by representatives of the people (parliament: Eerste and Tweede Kamer) 🡪 official laws.

​

      • It ensures that the people would no longer be ruled by the whims of a king or government, but by the laws they agreed on themselves. This is called the rule of law.

​

11 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

  • The three central principles of the constitutional state:
    1. Fundamental rights in the constitution.
      • The constitution is the most important law, because it restricts the power of the state and thus guarantees the various liberties of the people.

​

      • It describes classic and social �fundamental rights of the people.
        • Classic: freedom rights, equality, etc.

​

        • Social: education, housing, safety, etc.

12 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

  • The three central principles of the constitutional state:
    1. Trias politica.
      • Invented by French philosopher Charles Montesquieu �(1689-1755).

​

      • No one has absolute power. Instead, �state power is separated in three �parts: legislative, executive and �judiciary power.

​

      • Each power is exerted by a �different party.

13 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

  • International outlook:
    • Globally, democratic constitutional states are under attack…

​

    • There are multiple international organisations enforcing constitutional principles. The most important being:
      • The United Nations (founded in 1945, �it has 193 member states).

​

      • One of the most influential NGO’s is �Amnesty International.

​

​

14 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

​

​

15 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

​

​

16 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

​

​

17 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

  • 1948: UN agreed on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 🡪 enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings.
      • However, it is not legally binding!

​

  • 1950: The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This treaty is legally binding!

​

  • These official documents provide a double guarantee for the protection of citizen’s fundamental rights 🡪 citizens can refer to both their country’s constitution as well as the ECHR/UDHR!

​

​

18 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

  • Relation between the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and human rights…

​

​

​

19 of 20

LAW – THEORY LECTURE

  • Assignment: match recent news headlines to specific human rights articles of the UDHR.

​

​

​

20 of 20

WHERE TO FIND THE THEORY?