This report was prepared to assist the Centre for Law and Policy Research in drafting a petition to the Supreme Court of India, challenging the constitutional validity of the Unique Identification Number (UID) scheme, otherwise known as the ‘Aadhaar’ scheme. The UID scheme aims to issue all 1.2 billion Indian residents with a universal identification number, linked with biometric and demographic data that will be stored on a centralised database. Three types of biometric data will be collected: facial photographs, finger prints and iris scans.  If completed, this will be world’s largest biometric database. However, India currently lacks comprehensive data privacy protection laws and the draft National Identification Authority of India Bill 2010 contains limited safeguards.  OPBP was requested to prepare research on two questions: a) have biometric identification schemes in other countries been challenged on privacy grounds? And b) in jurisdictions that collect biometric data, what measures are in place to protect citizens’ right to privacy?

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On the invitation of the Justice Verma Committee investigating the reform of India's sexual violence laws, Professor Sandra Fredman, with the assistance of members of Oxford Pro Bono Publico, has made submissions urging law reform on five central issues:
a) the framing of the issue in human rights terms;
b) the removal of the exception for marital rape;
c) the definition of rape;
d) discrimination under Article 15 of the Indian Constitution;
e) services to support victims of rape.

The Justice Verma Committee was established on 21 December 2012 following the brutal gang rape of an Indian woman the previous week. The gang rape has resulted in widespread public protests. Consequently, the Central Government has constituted the 3-member Committee consisting of a retired Chief Justice, Chief Justice J.S. Verma; a retired Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh, Mrs Leila Seth; and Mr Gopal Subramanium, former Solicitor General and presently a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court. The Committee is engaging in wide-ranging discussions with experts in the field of law enforcement, sociology, psychology and psychiatry, as well as other inter-disciplinary specialists, to develop recommendations for the reform of India's sexual violence laws. The submissions were gratefully received by the Committee, which reported on 24 January 2013.
The submissions were acknowledged in the final report and Professor Fredman was expressly thanked in the official press conference announcing the report. Nine or ten paragraphs of the submissions were used verbatim in the submissions.
Further information

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A comparative analysis of class action law in Europe and the United States. The report answers four questions posed by the Legal Resources Centre for use in their intervention. These are: (1) What should be the rules for instituting class actions?; (2) Is there a requirement of certification, and if so, what evidence is necessary to discharge it?; (3) What is the position of class actions with multiple defendants?; and (4) What is the methodology used to quantify damages and to divide them among members of a class?    

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Memorandum and Annexure prepared for the Legal Resources Centre, South Africa (LRC) to assist in the preparation of submissions in two hate speech cases to be heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal: Herselman v Geleba and Afriforum v Malema.     

Annexure

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On the 22nd of September 2011, the Attorney-General’s Department of Australia launched a public discussion paper inviting community views on the proposed consolidation of Australian anti-discrimination legislation. This OPBP project responds to two of the questions posed in the AG’s discussion paper: (i) Should public sector organizations have a positive duty to eliminate discrimination and harassment and (ii) Should the consolidated Bill protect against intersectional discrimination? If so, how should this be covered? These OPBP submissions include comparative insights drawn from an examination of anti-discrimination legislation in Canada, South Africa, the European Union, the Republic of Ireland, the United States and India.

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In March 2011, the UK Government set up the Commission on a Bill of Rights, mandated to investigate the creation of a UK Bill of Rights and to examine the implementation of the country's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This report by Oxford Pro Bono Publico seeks to assist the Commission in the fulfillment of its mandate by providing a comparative analysis of how States Parties to the ECHR have implemented their obligations under the Convention. Specifically, it examines the role of the ECHR within these domestic legal orders and considers how the domestic courts engage with the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

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This OPBP report has been prepared as a contribution to the work of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, particularly to complement his report on the aspect of ‘nutrition’ and his specific concern about the ‘overconsumption of energy-rich, nutrient poor foods, which advertising and marketing towards children in particular might have encouraged.’ This report concentrates on the advertising and marketing practices of the food industry and their regulation across the European Union (EU).

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Secret evidence, or evidence that is relied upon by the court without disclosure to one of the parties, has been used with increasing frequency in the United Kingdom over the past decade. The use of such closed material presents significant challenges in terms of the UK’s long-standing human rights obligations. On 19 October 2011 the Government published a Green Paper on Justice and Security that proposes reforms to the use of secret evidence. This Research Paper by Oxford Pro Bono Publico (OPBP) is intended to assist the Joint Committee of Human Rights (JCHR) in its scrutiny of the Government’s proposals in the Green Paper. In particular, the Research Paper aims to provide a more detailed comparative perspective on how secret evidence is treated across various jurisdictions. This will enable the JCHR to survey the different ways in which such evidence can be used, and the human rights implications of these uses.

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This report surveys pre-legislative and legislative processes in South Africa, Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the United States of America and the European Union in order to set out recommendations that will facilitate a fair, transparent and effective manner of enabling public participation in similar processes in India. In addition to information on international law provisions recognising the right of public participation, the report discusses participatory mechanisms in domestic jurisdictions under the following categories: (a) source of obligations to ensure public participation (b) types of instruments for which public participation is encouraged (c) manner of facilitating public participation (d) groups/entities involved in consultation and (e) practical problems hindering effective participation and the drawbacks of participatory procedures.

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In this report, OPBP conducted a comprehensive survey of the law relating to sexual harassment in Australia, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Based on these provisions, it set out recommendations to the Committee on Human Resource Development, Rajya Sabha, Parliament of India on the Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill 2010. The main aims of the project were to suggest changes to the definition of sexual harassment and to the mechanism for remedies provided in the bill as well as to recommend the insertion of an anti-retaliation provision.

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OPBP prepared a submission for the Iraq Inquiry on the legality of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.  This is the kind of project – an independent submission to an agency or public inquiry in our own name – envisaged by the amendments to OPBP’s guidelines.  The call for submissions may be found on the Inquiry’s website: http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/background/100602-submissions-from-international-lawyers.aspx

In this project we prepared a research memorandum for the Legal Resources Centre in South Africa analysing the right to education in European and Indian case law and setting out the various remedies that have been awarded in the decisions in those jurisdictions.  The objective of our research was to assist the LRC in litigation regarding the funding of schools in the Transkei, South Africa.

OPBP prepared a draft general recommendation for the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the particular impacts of statelessness and displacement on women. Our project partner in this matter was the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford.  The draft general recommendation proposes measures that states may take at each stage of the displacement cycle to ensure that women can exercise and enjoy their right to substantive equality.

OPBP prepared a submission for petitioners' counsel in the United States Supreme Court case of Kiyemba v. Obama. The case concerns the power of federal courts to order the release of prisoners whose habeas writs have been granted. OPBP researched English habeas cases from 1489 up to 1789 and compiled a database containing the full text and short summaries of each case.

This brief is prepared by Oxford Pro Bono Publico (‘OPBP’) to inform the mandate of Professor John Ruggie, the Special Representative of the United Nations’ Secretary- General on business and human rights (‘SRSG’).

The SRSG has been asked at various stages of his mandate to explore the regulations of corporations in relation to corporate human rights abuses. This has come in many forms, with a report being penned by OPBP in 2008 surveying obstacles faced by victims of corporate human rights abuses in obtaining redress (see below). In a similar vein, this brief seeks to inform the SRSG about soft law developments in the European Community (‘EC’) in relation to corporate social responsibility (‘CSR’).

OPBP prepared this report for Australia’s National Human Rights Consultation Committee in its community consultation for protecting and promoting human rights and corresponding responsibilities in Australia. This report addresses the third question in the Committee’s Terms of Reference: how Australia could better protect and promote human rights. OPBP grounded its submission in the experience of the United Kingdom in its adoption of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA).

The report’s view is that the United Kingdom experience offers some valuable lessons in relation to the incorporation and implementation of a domestic human rights instrument. This extensively researched report sets out the lessons Australia can derive from that experience. It covers both the benefits that might be derived from a human rights instrument similar to the HRA, and the areas where Australia might improve on the United Kingdom model. In making its recommendations, the report also draws on experiences from New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa.

The National Human Rights Consultation Committee handed its report to the Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP, on 30 September 2009.

The report is available here: http://www.humanrightsconsultation.gov.au/www/nhrcc/nhrcc.nsf/Page/Report. It cites the OPBP submission several times. This is a particularly satisfying result for OPBP as the Committee received over 35,000 submissions.

The National Council for Civil Liberties (Liberty) is a not-for-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom. It campaigns to protect human rights and civil liberties in Parliament and the wider community. Liberty informs members of the public about their legal rights through its YourRights website. OPBP assisted Liberty by updating the Equal Treatment Chapter of the YourRights website to reflect recent and extensive changes in United Kingdom equality law. The website can be accessed here: http://www.yourrights.org.uk

OPBP prepared this submission to inform the mandate of Professor John Ruggie, the Special Representative of the United Nations' Secretary-General on business and human rights. It explores the obstacles victims of corporate human rights abuse face in accessing justice and obtaining remediation through domestic legal systems either in their own countries where the business operations and human rights abuse takes place or in the countries in which the alleged offending transnational corporation is registered or incorporated. It considers these obstacles in relation to 13 specific jurisdictions: Australia, Canada, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Malaysia, the People's Republic of China, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.

This report was prepared by Oxford Pro Bono Publico for the Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG). It contributed towards the PILPG's work in providing legal advice to the National Council for the Union of Burma (NCUB) to assist the NCUB in its efforts to support the pro-democracy movement among the Burmese populations inside and outside the country.

In particular, this report considers what the law can offer the people of Burma in light of their ongoing political repression. It seeks to answer this question by examining international law violations perpetrated by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the potential consequences of such violations and the international mechanisms available to provide justice and redress in response. In light of current negotiations for democratic transition, the report also considers potential options for transitional justice to deal with past human rights abuse.

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Oxford Pro Bono Publico provided assistance to Major Michael D. Mori, the military lawyer representing David Hicks who was the first Guantanamo Bay Detainee to be charged before the Military Commissions created by the US Military Commissions Act 2006. OPBP prepared three memos dealing with (i) the indispensable judicial guarantees referred to in Common Art 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949; (ii) the extent to which the European Convention on Human Rights may be relied on challenging the revocation of Hicks' UK Nationality and (iii) a US Court of Appeals decision holding that the Military Commissions Act stripped federal courts of jurisdiction over habeas corpus and other claims brought by Guantanamo detainees.

Summary of and Analysis of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeal’s Opinion in Boumediene v. Bush

The report evaluates the adequacy of the UK position on intercept communication through a comparative analysis of the use of intercept evidence in four jurisdictions namely New York (USA), Canada, South Africa, and Israel. The opinion examines the different legislative arrangements concerning intercept communication. In particular, the research focuses on the following questions: the circumstances in which interception of communication is allowed; the admissibility of such evidence in court proceedings; whether the admissibility of evidence depends on the legality of the interception of communication; means available to allow the defendant access to intercepted evidence at trial; and means available to protect the informants, police and secret methods.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has decided to conduct an inquiry into the human rights of people trafficked into the United Kingdom. OPBP submitted an opinion to the Committee in January, evaluating the adequacy of UK laws on human trafficking. The opinion analyses the legislation in three relevant areas: prohibition of human trafficking, prevention, investigation and prosecution and victim protection. To determine its adequacy, the legislation in force in each of these areas is compared to binding and non-binding international instruments. The analysis points to a lack of coherent policy and law on trafficking in the UK legislation. Especially problematic is the non-existent legislation for protection of victims of trafficking. The recommendation of this opinion is that the UK should either sign and ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings or adopt similar domestic legislation, which would resolve many of the problems that now arise in the UK.

This legal research was provided to Judge Malik Hadziomeragic, Judge of the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and member of Work Group for making a Draft on Amendments to the Law on Criminal Procedure of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This Work Group is currently writing a Draft on Amendments to the Law on Criminal Procedure. Judge Malik Hadziomeragic asked for assistance with several specific research questions about English criminal procedure, as the Work Group is trying to incorporate as much as possible elements from the English criminal procedure into its Draft on Amendments.

Opinion involving research into various international human rights law issues that arise in relation to a suit that has been filed in the Himmatnagar District Court by a victim of the riots perpetrated in Gujarat on 28 February 2002, claiming general and punitive damages against various government officials.

This project involved the preparation of an opinion for barristers at Doughty Street Chambers acting on behalf of the Geneva based Centre for Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE). OPBP was asked to consider whether the actions of Zimbabwean government during slum clearance programme named Operation Murambatsvina constituted crimes against humanity within the meaning of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The project considered the following questions: 1) whether Operation Murambatsvina constituted a 'deportation or forcible transfer of population' carried out through 'explusion or other coercive acts', as defined in Article 7 of the Rome Statute; 2) whether the persons subject to any 'deportation or forcible transfer' were 'legally present' in the area from which they were removed; 3) whether the acts involved in Operation Murambatsvina constituted a 'widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population' within the meaning of the Rome Statute; and 4) assuming that questions 1 through 3 were answered in the affirmative, whether there were any grounds under international law which might nevertheless render Operation Murambatsvina lawful.

Expert opinion to be submitted (together with the Max Planck Institute for International and Comparative Criminal Law) to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on comparative principles of criminal participation. The opinion is based on a case-scenario and addresses the specific question of how national legal systems deal with and classify persons acting together in different kinds of groups to commit crimes.

Research and briefs submitted in a case brought by Yale Law School in a US federal court against sex discrimination in the US military.

This project related to a writ petition (constitutional petition) which was filed in the Bangladesh Supreme Court's high court division under Art. 102(1) of the Constitution by ASK (ain o salish kendra, the law and mediation centre), a well known Bangladeshi human rights organisation, seeking appropriate orders and direction from the court for the enforcement of fundamental rights with respect to allegations of widespread attacks, including assault, rape, and looting, on members of the Hindu community by private individuals across the country in the aftermath of the recent elections of October 2001. ASK requested advice regarding the nature of orders and directions that may be obtained from the courts with regard to failure by the police to accept complaints, or to carry out effective investigations and the general failure of the law enforcing agencies to take action to prevent the recurrence of such acts of violence. The Oxford Working Group undertook research on a number of relevant questions of domestic and international law.

(This document became Appendix 15 to the Minutes of Evidence (Nos. 1 to 69) printed in the Twenty-second Report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Session 2001-02, The Case for a Human Rights Commission: Interim Report, HL Paper 160/HC 1142)