Journal of Human Rights Law and Practice

The Role of the Military in the Chittagong Hill Tracts: Legal and Human Rights Implications

2025-11-29T04:24:37+00:00

The role of the military in the hill region of Bangladesh has been a deeply controversial and multifaceted issue involving complex historical, legal and human rights dimensions. This study delves into the prolonged military presence in the CHT which despite the 1997 Peace Accord aimed at ending decades of armed conflict, continues to exacerbate tensions, human rights violations and political instability. By analyzing the legal frameworks, policies and on the ground realities, the study highlights how militarization in the region has hindered the fulfillment of the Accord’s promises of demilitarization, regional autonomy and land restitution for indigenous communities. Through a detailed exploration of the historical context, the study examines how military operations in the CHT have been justified under the guise of national security while often undermining the rights of the indigenous Jumma peoples. These operations have led to widespread human rights abuses including forced displacement, land dispossession and the suppression of political expression. Despite international human rights norms and domestic legal frameworks that are supposed to protect indigenous rights, their enforcement has been inconsistent and often inadequate in the CHT. The study
further critiques the failure of the Bangladeshi government to fully implement the Peace Accord, focusing on the continued military presence, unresolved land disputes and lack of genuine political autonomy for the indigenous people. It proposes a comprehensive legal and policy reform agenda to ensure the restoration of peace, justice and human rights in the region. This includes calls for demilitarization, better enforcement of land rights and the full recognition of indigenous selfdetermination.

Reassessing the Principle of Distinction in the Context of Gaza: A Critical Study

2026-03-02T09:13:06+00:00

This study examines whether and how the principle of distinction in international humanitarian law has operated in Gaza, finding that recent hostilities have markedly weakened its protective effect. Drawing on documentary records and UN reporting, the paper documents repeated strikes on civilian facilities—schools, hospitals, shelters—and restrictive blockades that obstruct access to essential commodities, producing widespread destruction of education and health infrastructure, acute malnutrition and starvation, and pervasive lack of basic resources for a dignified survival. It examines the legal framework governing distinction, with particular attention to the classification between “military objectives” and “civilian objectives”, and when aggression on the latter is justified, the special legal protections afforded to medical and educational sites, and the prohibition of starvation and collective punishment. The analysis contends that the military actions in Gaza have led to a widening of the military-objective concept and an erosion of the presumption of civilian character, enabling both direct attacks and indirect measures that inflict civilian harm contrary to treaty and customary norms. To remedy these deficiencies, the study advances a set of reforms: a reaffirmation of the principle of distinction, elevated evidentiary standards for claims of hostile use, codifying and strengthening no-strike presumptions for hospitals and schools, and strengthening provisional relief powers for international organs tasked with securing humanitarian access. By combining normative legal analysis with the Gaza factual record, the research aims to understand the legal framework and its application in Gaza and to outline reparative pathways for victims of disproportionate or indiscriminate conduct.

Analysis of Alleged War Crimes in the Ukraine-Russia War

2025-10-22T09:52:43+00:00

The Ukraine-Russia conflict, ongoing since 2014 and intensifying from 2022 onward, has raised grave concerns over widespread alleged war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law. This research examines the historical, political, and legal dimensions of these allegations with a particular focus on specific incidents and their implications under the Geneva Conventions and international criminal law. Drawing from documented cases of attacks on civilian infrastructure, the use of prohibited weapons, and other violations, the study critically analyzes the principles of distinction and proportionality to determine the legality of such acts under wartime conduct. It explores the overlapping responsibilities of the International Criminal Court (ICC), national courts, and international organizations like the United Nations in ensuring accountability for war crimes. Moreover, this research investigates the role of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), in hybrid warfare, which adds complexity to compliance with and enforcement of war laws. The study addresses legal challenges in evidence collection, jurisdictional authority, and the political will required for prosecutions. Through an integrated framework combining international humanitarian and criminal law, the research emphasizes the need for enhanced legal mechanisms and international cooperation to prevent impunity. This paper contributes to the global discourse on war crimes by offering a comprehensive legal analysis and identifying systemic gaps in the current international legal order. It underscores the urgency of strengthening global accountability mechanisms to deter future violations and to support justice for victims of war crimes in Ukraine and beyond.

Drones and Human Rights

2026-01-24T11:23:11+00:00

The swift expansion of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) has revolutionized modern security protocols, surveillance systems, and military operations, presenting significant issues for the safeguarding and interpretation of human rights. This essay analyzes the impact of the increasing utilization of drones – by both state and non-state entities – on fundamental human rights principles, including the rights to life, privacy, due process, and accountability. It looks at the employment of drones in both armed conflict and law enforcement, pointing out the legal grey areas that exist around targeted murders, extraterritorial use of force, and mass surveillance. The paper contends that current international human rights and humanitarian law frameworks, however flexible, are becoming more challenged by the technological advancements and operational obscurity of drone systems. The essay suggests a
human-rights-centered approach to drone governance that focuses on openness, proportionality, and effective oversight. It does this by looking at current case law, state practice, and new regulatory attempts. Ultimately, it argues that the normalization of drone technology could undermine basic human rights and the rule of law in the digital era if there aren't strong legal and moral limits.

Rarest of the Rare: Analyzing the Death Penalty in India

2025-12-08T06:58:51+00:00

This paper examines the history of development of the rule of rare theory within the legal context, changing trends, and how it is being interpreted by the courts in India today. Although the concept is to restrict death sentences to the gravest offences, according to recent statistics, there has been an outbreak in death sentences and the number of people on death row. The trial and appeal courts are not in unison, either. The study emphasises how disproportionality and arbitrariness, which disproportionately impact marginalised groups, have been caused by the subjectivity of judicial reasoning and the absence of clear legal standards. By contrasting India with world practices, I follow the emergence of new reform proposals such as community service, as in the 2023 Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which show the conflict between punishment and rehabilitation. Most significantly, it highlights a research gap without a comprehensive analysis of how to reconcile the death penalty with contemporary reformative values. It also argues for prompt policy and jurisprudential changes to address this contradiction.

Artificial Intelligence Regulation and Ethical Frameworks: A Comparative Study of India and the European Union

2026-03-02T15:52:16+00:00

This exploration paper offers a detailed relative analysis of the nonsupervisory and ethical fabrics girding artificial intelligence in India and the European Union. As AI technologies continue to advance and impact all angles of contemporary life, the necessity for strong nonsupervisory fabrics has come decreasingly critical. This study explores the different strategies employed by these two significant regions, assessing their legislative sweats, ethical guidelines, governance models, and approaches to perpetration. The European Union has taken the lead in establishing comprehensive AI regulations through its AI Act, which creates a threat- grounded frame grading AI systems and applying colourful situations of nonsupervisory scores. Again, India has embraced a further principle- driven, sector-specific methodology. This study examines responsible artificial intelligence( AI) development and invention by relating crucial parallels and differences in nonsupervisory gospel, compass, enforcement, and anticipated issues through analysis of policy papers, laws, and stakeholder perspectives. The findings indicate that both countries prioritize mortal rights, responsibility, and translucency, yet differ in the rigidity and punctuality of their regulations as well as in their approaches to balancing invention with palladium. This relative analysis contributes to the global converse on AI governance and provides guidance for experimenters, technologists, and policymakers navigating complex nonsupervisory surroundings.

Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards: A Comparative Analysis of Nepal and India's Compliance with International Standards

2025-11-19T10:05:55+00:00

This paper presents a comparative analysis of Nepal and India's compliance to principles and standards concerning the recognition and enforcement regime of foreign awards. This paper delineates the legal framework governing recognition and enforcement, and analyzes the application of essential legal principles such as public policy, reciprocity, finality, and due process in both jurisdictions. India's progressive legislative changes, pro-enforcement judicial stance, and alignment with global standards stand in stark contrast to Nepal's broad judicial discretion, procedural inflexibility, and insufficient integration of international principles. Case law analysis highlights the narrowing of the public policy exception and the reduction of judicial interference in India, in contrast with Nepal’s inconsistent standards and broader grounds for refusal. This paper highlights substantial gaps in Nepal's legal framework and judicial practices, recommending specific improvements based on India's experience to bolster Nepal's reputation as a venue for international arbitration. The analysis contributes to the discourse on harmonizing arbitration practices in South Asia and underscores the importance of consistent enforcement regimes for promoting investor confidence and cross-border commerce.

Harmonizing Data Protection with Cutting-Edge Technologies: A Cross-Examination of AI and Cybersecurity Regulations

2026-02-24T02:07:58+00:00

The blistering development of the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), has fundamentally changed the manner in which personal data is gathered, processed, analysed, and used, bringing forth tensions never seen before with traditional data protection regimes. There must be a fine balance between promoting innovation, providing a strong cybersecurity, and preserving basic privacy rights to harmonise data protection with these frontier technologies. The main areas of cross-examination of AI and cybersecurity regulations are presented and compared with other major jurisdictions such as the
European Union (EU) and its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the United States and its sectoral and state strategies and India under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act). These frameworks are examples of divergent philosophies that include rights-based and prescriptive in the EU, innovation driven and disjointed in the US, and consent-based with developmental goals in India. The inherent nature of AI as a massive data processing model trainer, opaque algorithmic decision-maker, inferred automated decisions, and increased cybersecurity risks in the form of data poisoning attacks, model inversion attacks, or adversarial inputs that infer weaknesses in privacy is the fundamental dilemma of privacy principles such as consent, transparency, data minimisation, purpose limitation, and accountability to be reconciled with the nature of AI.

An Overview and Effect of the Caste System in Ancient and Modern Times of India

2026-01-05T05:41:29+00:00

The term ‘caste’ in Indian society is somehow seen as very vital for people who face discrimination but at the same time it is not treated as important or we can say, not even relevant for some of those who do not face any kind of oppression, discrimination or any type of loss in terms of opportunity. Many individuals believe that the caste system does not exist in today's world, but is it true? The answer is NO, and more often than not it is the individuals from non-backward castes who live under the illusion. While even thinking about writing about the caste system in this time and age would be considered as not so exciting, but is important. So while observing, reading and finding various reports I can firmly say that the ‘system’ still exists and has a huge impact in our society . In this paper my main focus is to explain how the caste system and discrimination occurs and plays a vital role in Schedule caste and Scheduled tribe people’s life. This is doctrinal research study and for this I refer to various articles,
expert opinion, government reports and various books.