Addressing Japan’s disposal of nuclear-contaminated water from the perspective of international human rights law

The discharge of nuclear-contaminated water containing radionuclides into the ocean by Japan will lead to its integration into the entire ecosystem through processes of circulation and biomagnification,eventually entering the human body via the food chain.This poses a substantial risk of irreversible damage to both the ecosystem and human health,a situation that will worsen with the ongoing discharge of such water.The respect and protection of human rights represent an international consensus,and safeguarding fundamental human rights is a substantial obligation that states must undertake in accordance with both international and domestic law.Since the Fukushima nuclear disaster,Japan has continuously violated its international legal obligations to protect human rights in several areas,including the resettlement of disaster victims,the reduction of nuclear radiation levels,and the handling of contaminated water.Such actions have compromised and will continue to compromise the basic human rights of not only its citizens but also those of people worldwide,including environmental rights,the right to life,development rights,and food rights.In the aftermath of the Fukushima meltdown,the public and workers involved in handling nuclear contaminants have been continually exposed to high radiation levels,endangering their rights to life,development,and health.Japan’s inadequate efforts in victim resettlement and environmental restoration have jeopardized the environmental and food rights of its citizens to live healthily and access food in an environment unaffected by nuclear radiation.The release of nuclear-contaminated water poses a risk of Japan’s nuclear pollution to the people of neighboring countries and the global population at large.The principle of human rights underpins the theory of a community with a shared future for humanity,and human rights are a crucial area of China’s active participation in United Nations affairs and global governance.By voicing concerns over Japan’s potential human rights violations globally,China demonstrates its role as a responsible major country.In response to Japan’s breach of legal obligations and human rights violations,China can adopt a reasoned and beneficial approach,including calling on the international community to hold Japan criminally accountable for crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute and advancing scholarly discussions on ecocide and crimes against the marine environment.Furthermore,China should persist in seeking advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice and strive for substantive accountability,utilizing the mechanisms of international human rights organizations to make its voice heard.

The Theoretical Logic of the Right to Security

The growing significance of security issues has expanded the necessity and possibility of recognizing and achieving the goal of security from the perspective of human rights.Combined with socio-cultural and historical dynamics,human rights can be construed as the needs of people to which social authorities should and can respond,and their mechanism depends on“the alignment between people’s intrinsic needs and the social resources available.”Security,as a significant part of people’s intrinsic needs,should be supported by social resources;social authorities at all levels have the duty and potential to support people’s security needs.Thus,security has the socio-cultural basis to be considered as a branch of human rights.Once the human rights attribution of security has been established,further consideration is required for its place in the human rights spectrum.When analyzing the existing set of human rights,we can classify them based on the subject,the object,or the goal.The right to security is more appropriately classified within the dimension of goals,thereby being placed alongside the right to subsistence and the right to development.Integrating security into human rights can resolve the relationship between the right to security and other human rights using the theoretical framework of rights conflict,rights hierarchy,and rights system ranking,thereby avoiding the tendency to curb the security needs of countries and individuals by ideologizing human rights.

The Function and Realization of Labor Rights in the Labor Code System

Abstract:The fundamental right-based and human right-based nature of labor rights forms the subjective and objective theory of labor rights.The derived objective protection function and subjective realization function constitute the theoretical basis of the labor code system.The objective function of labor rights requires the labor code to provide corresponding institutional guarantees,while the subjective function demands that the code ensure the full realization of labor rights.The dual functions of labor rights are reflected in the structural framework and content logic of the labor code separately:on the one hand,labor rights can serve as the structural thread for narrating and systematically organizing the labor code,with the specific types of labor rights protection and functional systems jointly forming the framework of the code;on the other hand,the content arrangement of the labor code is guided by the value of realizing labor rights,explor-ing the pathways for the code’s realization of labor rights in different situations.

Pragmatist View of Human Rights:Theoretical Explanations of China’s Human Rights Practice

The pragmatist view of human rights represents a the-oretical condensation of the Chinese practice in human rights devel-opment.In view of the problem of circular idling between rights and claims caused by the traditional view of human rights of focusing on contents and not valuing implementation,social segmentation caused by empty talks on interests and claims while ignoring social develop-ment,and the phenomenon of the issue of human rights completely becoming empty and useless political rhetoric,the pragmatic view of human rights,based on the fact that there is a gap between the claims and realization of human rights,emphasizes that instead of blindly ex-panding the types of rights in term of text,it is better to base on prac-tice and promote the maximum realization of existing rights through development.The pragmatist view of human rights attaches impor-tance to relevant economic,social and cultural basis to promote the realization of human rights,rather than only focusing on the claims themselves;it pays greater attention to enhancing the realization of rights,rather than the distribution of rights under the total limit;it ad-vocates more for cooperativism in the realization of rights,rather than confrontation.The pragmatic concept of human rights takes Marxism as its theoretical basis and the gene of practice and the dimension of development as its theoretical characteristics,and promotes the devel-opment of human rights through the realization of rights.

Twenty Years of the Implementation of the Human Rights Clause in the Constitution:Achievements,Implications,and Research Topics

On March 14,2004,the Second Session of the 10th National People’s Congress of China adopted the fourth amendment to the Chinese Constitution,the most noticeable highlight of which is the addition of the paragraph“the state respects and protects human rights”as the third clause in Article 33 of Chapter II“Basic Rights and Obligations of Citizens”in the Constitution.The inclusion of the clause of human rights in the Constitution is considered an important milestone in the history of human rights development in the People’s Republic of China.The implementation of the human rights clause not only showcases the values of the Party and the state in respecting and protecting human rights,but also promotes the development of human rights,shapes the culture of human rights,and endows the rule of law with a rich humanistic spirit.Over the past 20 years,the publicity,research and practice of the human rights clause have made the Chi-nese people realize that human rights are not only a“great term”,but also a common value shared by mankind.Amid the once-in-a-century changes of the world,although the development of human rights is facing various challenges,the humanistic spirit contained in the hu-man rights clause has become the internal driving force for building consensus in the whole of society.Reinterpreting the significance and value of the human rights clause can help us conscientiously draw on the experience in the implementation of the clause over the past 20 years and contribute Chinese wisdom and experience to global human rights governance with a more open mind and inclusive attitude.

From the Subjectivity of Human Rights to the Universality of Human Rights——A Preliminary Interpretation of the Theory on the Subjectivity of Human Rights

Universality is one of the essential characteristics of human rights, but there is a substantive difference between idealism and realism in understanding the concept of universality of human rights. The concepts of radical universality and strong universality based on the concept of natural human rights are too idealistic and thus have a high risk of being alienated into a tool of international re-pression in practice. On the contrary, the theory on the subjectivity of human rights can effectively defuse this risk brought about by radical universality and strong universality. Advocating a transition from the universality of human rights to the subjectivity of human rights not only keeps in line with the actual construction process of international human rights, but can also effectively interpret the practical difficul-ties in the realization process of international human rights. Therefore, it can be used as another alternative theory on human rights beyond the theory of natural human rights.

On the Cooperation Between China and the Non-Aligned Movement in the Field of the Right to Development and its Prospects

China and the Non-Aligned Movement share the same goals,a common code of conduct,and similar ideas in protecting the right to development,and the two have a solid foundation for cooper-ation.Both emphasize that the right to development is a basic human right,strive to elevate the right to development to a mainstream hu-man right,and jointly advocate placing the right to development at the center of the agenda.They work together to enhance the strategic sta-tus of the right to development.Both of them have participated in the formulation of the Declaration on the Right to Development,and col-laborated to improve the Declaration.They have also jointly proposed the resolution on the right to development,and supported the drafting of the Convention on the Right to Development to advance the codifi-cation of the right to development.Both of them uphold South-South cooperation and promote North-South dialogue and cooperation.They have established a support mechanism to promote international cooperation on the right to development in a coordinated manner.The cooperation between China and the Non-Aligned Movement in pro-tecting the right to development has broken the past Western-centered paradigm of human rights development,broadened the international perspective of the human rights cause,and played a crucial role in the formation of international human rights norms.In the future,oppor-tunities and challenges coexist for cooperation between the two sides,with promising prospects.China’s cooperation with the Non-Aligned Movement in the protection of the right to development has accumulat-ed valuable and inspirational experiences for the human rights cause of developing countries and the building of the international human rights system.。

The Historical Position and Value Dimensions of Human Rights Civilization

Human beings are the mainstay and the ultimate goal of civilization.The history of human civilization is a continuous struggle to realize the respect,liberation,protection,and development of humanity.Human rights are an achievement of humanity and a symbol of progress,and the human rights civilization is an important component of human civilization.Understanding and interpreting human rights from the perspective of human rights civilization means that human rights are not only a concept or an idea but also a grand historical and long-term social practice.Up to now,the development of human rights civilization has roughly experienced four awakening eras:initialization,revolution,popularization,and globalization.In terms of its value dimensions,it has the characteristics of progressiveness,diversity,commonality,inclusiveness,indivisibility,openness,and so on.The historical position of human rights civilization and the development of its value dimensions have shown to the world that human rights are the common wealth of humanity,and human rights belong to all mankind;human rights are historical,concrete,and developmental;the concept of human rights is constantly evolving,and its connotations and categories are constantly expanding;achieving the free and well-rounded development of every person is the highest value realm of human rights civilization.The Chinese modernization endows Chinese civilization with modern strength and opens up new horizons for human rights civilization.The new pattern of human rights civilization to be created by Chinese modernization not only possesses the common characteristics of human rights civilization but also enjoys Chinese characteristics based on its own national conditions,enriching and developing the diversity of human rights civilization for all mankind.

The Way to Optimize the Right to Personal Data Portability in Chinese Practice——Based on Empirical Analysis of the Privacy Policies of 66 Mobile Apps

Although the existing legal norms and judicial practic-es can provide basic guidance for the right to personal data portabili-ty, it can be concluded that there are obstacles to the realization of this right through empirical research of the privacy policies of 66 mobile apps, such as whether they have stipulations on the right to personal data portability, whether they are able to derive copies of personal in-formation automatically, whether there are textual examples, whether ID verification is required, whether the copied documents are encrypt-ed, and whether the scope of personal information involved is consis-tent. This gap in practice, on the one hand, reflects the misunderstand-ing of the right to personal data portability, and on the other hand, is a result of the negative externalities, practical costs and technical lim-itations of the right to personal data portability. Based on rethinking the right to data portability, we can somehow solve practical problems concerning the right to personal data portability through multiple measures such as promoting the fulfillment of this right by legislation, optimizing technology-oriented operations, refining response process mechanisms, and enhancing system interoperability.

Challenges to Online Criminal Litigation in the Context of Smart Justice and Responses——Focusing on the Protection of the Right to Defense

Online criminal litigation transcends the constraints of physical time and space and changes the logic and path of trial hearings for some criminal cases with the help of technology.However,the leapfrog shift from the“physical field”to the“virtual field”has brought great challenges to the effective exercise of the defendant's right to defense.Online criminal justice further highlights the imbalance in the relationship between prosecution and defense in the context of smart justice,and proposes a new topic for protecting the human rights of the prosecuted.The introduction of online criminal litigation in judicial practice is intended to achieve justice in a faster and more convenient way.However,the dissipation of the ritualized remote hearings tends to undermine the effectiveness of the defense and impair the defense's ability to cross-examine evidence,while the technically advantageous public authorities can aggravate the barrier to the defense's meeting and reading the case file.The root cause is that technological power instrumentalism overemphasizes pragmatism and the pursuit of truth under the position of authority,thus diluting humanistic care for the subject of litigation.In order to resolve the problem with the quality and effectiveness of the right to defense in remote hearings,it is necessary to transform online criminal litigation from a“practical technical tool”to a“convenient auxiliary method,”and appropriately weigh the limits of pursuing truth against human rights protection in special scenarios.Meanwhile,it is also feasible to provide technical care for the defense and strengthen its ability to cross-examine evidence.Moreover,a covert communication platform should be furnished for the defender's online meeting to actively strengthen the protection of the defendant's right to defense.

On the Concept of“Basic Rights and Interests”in Recordation Review

Abstract:The concept of“basic rights and interests”in the re-cordation review system serves as a key to understanding the mixed use of review standards by the review authorities.The essence of the“basic rights and interests”concept is the value foundation estab-lished by the community for individuals,playing a legitimizing role in the actual operation of the state power system.Through the method of“triple abstraction,”the substantive construction of“basic rights and interests”can be achieved.Ensuring the“basic rights and interests”of citizens can effectively fulfill the functional purpose of the recorda-tion review system.The diverse human rights norms in China’s legal system are the formal carriers of basic rights and interests,which can be categorized into four types:human rights norms in policies,human rights norms in the Constitution,human rights norms in departmental laws,and human rights norms in social and cultural consensus.By examining the interactive connections of these diverse human rights norms,citizens’“basic rights and interests”can be organized into such five categories as survival care,democratic participation,cul-tural education,well-being development,and ecological harmony.The protection of“basic rights and interests”depends on the review authorities’application of the“basic rights and interests”concept to conduct mixed reviews of relevant normative documents.The applica-tion method should be based on the principles of integration,effective-ness,entirety,and harmony.

On the Theoretical System Development of Contemporary Chinese Outlook on Human Rights

Centering on the systematic construction of human rights theories,Xi Jinping’s discourses on respecting and protecting human rights creatively put forward a series of original theoretical viewpoints and academic propositions,profoundly revealing the basic connotation of a contemporary Chinese outlook on human rights and realizing all-around and deep-level innovation in the construction of a contemporary human rights theoretical system.In ontology,the four-in-one view of human rights of the political party,the govern-ment,society,and the people goes beyond the dichotomy between the political state and civil society.In element theory,the substantive view of human rights surpasses the formalist view of human rights.In category theory,the view of human rights focusing on the right to sub-sistence and the right to development transcends the view of human rights based on the individual’s right to freedom.In operation theory,the“development-based human rights path”goes beyond the“hu-man rights-based development path.”In practice,the positive view of human rights based on the rule of law surpasses the negative view of human rights based on the rule of law.

Consular Notification Practice from the Perspective of International Human Rights Protection

The development of the humanization of international law has driven innovations in consular law.Consular treaties tra-ditionally governing consular relations among states have begun to incorporate provisions for the protection of individual rights.Article 36(1)of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is seen as a“rights-empowering”clause,endowing consular notification with dual rights attributes and obligations and triggering consular assistance and protection mechanisms.Bilateral consular practices of states have also led to the customary implementation of mandatory notification duties,with consular notification evolving into a widespread state practice.Human rights documents,represented by the core United Nations human rights treaties,have gradually incorporated consular notification provisions,further reinforcing its procedural value in the human rights law implementation mechanism.In death penalty cases,international human rights bodies have promoted the human rights enhancement of“consular access”through consular notification,with specific recommendations and information-sharing mechanisms that will significantly advance the human rights enhancement process of consular notification.

Research on the Constitutional,Historical and Practical Logic of the Chinese Path of Human Rights Development——From the Perspective of the Inclusion of Human Rights Clause in the Constitution

The inclusion of the human rights clause in the Chi-nese Constitution is a concern and expression of the spirit of the Con-stitution,which has laid the institutional regulations of the fundamen-tal law for the development of human rights in China,provided the principles and value norms of the highest level of effectiveness for the legal protection of human rights,and built a profound constitutional basis for the formation and improvement of the Chinese path of human rights development.The human rights clause is not only a summariza-tion and affirmation of the historical practice of Chinese human rights development under the leadership of the Communist Party of China,but also a new starting point for the development of human rights in China under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.It marks that the development of human rights in China has entered a new era.The Party and the state have finally embarked on a path of human rights development with Chinese characteristics by formulating and implementing the Human Rights Action Plan of China,eliminating ab-solute poverty through the national poverty alleviation campaign,and promoting human rights protection through the rule of law.

Understanding the Human Rights of Modern Individuals—Revisiting Habermas’s Dual Critique and the Reconstruction of Intersubjectivity

Human rights are not only pivotal in depicting the relationship between individuals and communities but also a focal point of political philosophical concerns oriented towards reality. The inseparability of human rights from individual self-identity reveals a contradiction between practicality and historicity in understanding individuals, as highlighted in the debate between liberalism and communitarianism. In order to reconcile this contradiction, Habermas,drawing from German classical philosophy, examines practicality and historicity separately: while Fichte intertwines objectivity in self-identity, revealing the practicality of individuals but neglecting their real elements, Hegel interprets self-identity under the concept of unity,examining individuals from a historical dimension but letting rational rules dominate reality. Ultimately, Habermas reconstructs the process of modern individual self-identity from the theory of communicative action by critiquing the shackles of subjective philosophy. He not only reconciles the divergence between practicality and historicity in self-identity, but also elucidates the intersubjective core inherent in human rights.

Side Event"Human Rights Protection for the Next Generation:the Rights of Children and Youth"Held in Geneva

On January 23,as the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review Working Group conducted its fourth review of China's human rights record,the side event"Human Rights Protection for the Next Generation:the Rights of Children and Youth",co-sponsored by the New Sunshine Charity Foundation and China NGO Network for International Exchanges,was held in Geneva.Experts and scholars representing dozens of civil society organisations from different countries exchanged their views around the topic.

Reaffirming the Significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Upholding the Highest Values of Human Rights in the New Era

It is of particular significance to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the special occasion of the 10th National Constitution Day.In reviewing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,I’ll share my insights and reflections in three aspects.

The Connotations of the Constitutional Clause on Human Rights Protection From the Perspective of Foreign-related Rule of Law

The inclusion of the human rights clause in the Chi-nese Constitution is the core normative manifestation of the constitu-tionalization of human rights,and points to the relationship between international law and the Constitution in the sense of positive law.The inclusion of the human rights clauses in the Chinese Constitution itself is an inherent part of the development of China’s socialist constitution,and socialism has already contributed valuable concepts and practices of human rights protection to the modern world in its early stage.The constitutionalization of human rights protection does not necessarily lead to the superiority of international law over the constitutional order of a country,but rather to the convergence of international law and domestic law through the constitutional order.The relevant rules of international law will be effective only when they are transformed into domestic law through the Constitution and the human rights clause in the Constitution.Correspondingly,the domestic legal order is brought into line with the international legal order through the Con-stitution and its human rights clause.Behind the system of fundamen-tal rights in the constitutional order is the value foundation of the en-tire legal system.The advancement of foreign-related rule of law has brought new opportunities for China’s judicial practice to further pro-mote the protection of human rights.In the future,we should further integrate the human rights values embedded in socialism into China’s constitutional practice,enhance human rights protection around the country,and take a more active part in global human rights gover-nance.

Comparative Analysis and Legal Reflection on the Boundaries of Human Rights Due Diligence in the Supply Chain

As global supply chains become increasingly lengthy and complex, human rights due diligence in the supply chain is becoming a controversial focal point in the accountability of multinational corporations. In recent years, legislative practices in the field of human rights due diligence have shown a trend from voluntary soft law toward mandatory hard law, and from corporate due diligence for their own operations towards extended due diligence for the entire supply chain. However, there is a divergence in national practices regarding the extent to which human rights due diligence should extend along the supply chain and the manner in which it should be incorporated into domestic legal policies. International soft law interpretations surrounding the boundaries of human rights due diligence in the supply chain are decentralized, posing risks of interpretation diversification, boundary blurring, and procedural formalization, as well as risks of misinterpretation and misuse. Meanwhile, some countries and regions are vigorously promoting mandatory legislation on human rights due diligence in the supply chain, which has profound implications for the stability of global supply chains and the international economic and trade order. Against this backdrop, it is crucial to explore the reasonable boundaries of human rights due diligence in the supply chain. Instead of applying a one-size-fits-all approach,the rationality of legal factors and the complexity of practical factors should be considered, applying context-specific measures based on the varying degrees of linkage between companies and negative human rights impacts in the supply chain. China should be particularly wary of the “chilling effect” of mandatory legislation on human rights due diligence in the supply chain, attaching great importance to national supply chain security and international supply chain competitiveness.Additionally,China should actively promote the implementation of voluntary human rights due diligence under the United Nations framework, and accelerate the enhancement of China's discourse power in the international rule-making process in the fields of industry and commerce as well as human rights.

Revisiting the Spirit of the UDHR and Discussing Human Rights Development——Summary of Views from the Seminar Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

On December 4,2023,the China Society for Human Rights Studies hosted a seminar in Beijing commemorating the 75^(th) Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.Participants discussed topics such as the significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,China’s theories and practices in respecting and safeguarding human rights,the three global initiatives and global human rights governance,human rights protection in the digital age,and telling Chinese stories of human rights in the new era.The discussions led to a broad consensus and achieved positive results.