Arabs, Muslims, Human Rights, Access to Justice and Institutional Trustworthiness: Insights from Thirteen Legal Narratives
![handle is hein.journals/canbarev96 and id is 72 raw text is:
ARABS, MUSLIMS, HUMAN RIGHTS, ACCESS TO
JUSTICE AND INSTITUTIONAL TRUSTWORTHINESS:
INSIGHTS FROM THIRTEEN LEGAL NARRATIVES
Reem Bahdi*
Canadas human rights regime may befailing Arab and Muslim communities
just when they need it the most. This paper analyzes the barriers tojusticefaced
by 13 Arab or Muslim individuals who turned to human rights law for remedy
following a perceived discriminatory event after 9/11. As critical theorists have
long argued, human rights law on the books differs from law in action.
The majority of the 13 claimants spent between two and 15 years pursuing
a human rights claim, most did not secure the remedies they requested and
many found their experiences minimized or misunderstood by adjudicators.
Le r~gime canadien des droits de la personne pourrait bien ne pas r~pondre
aux attentes des communaut&s arabe et musulmane alors quelles en ont
justement le plus besoin. Cet article analyse les obstacles a laccs a la justice
auxquels ont t6 confront~es treize personnes appartenant a la communaut6
arabe ou musulmane qui ont tent6 d'invoquer la protection des droits de la
personne pour remdier a une situation perue comme discriminatoire apr&s
les &vnements du 11 septembre. Comme le soutiennent les thoriciens critiques
depuis longtemps, la o thorie >> et la o pratique >> en mati~re de droits de la
personne sont deux choses bien diff rentes. La majorit6 des treize demandeurs
ont consacr6 entre deux et quinze ans a r~gler leurs r~clamations au titre des
droits de la personne. La plupart d'entre eux nbnt pas obtenu la r~paration
demand& et plusieurs ont constat6 que les d&ideurs minimisaient leur v&u
ou le comprenaient mal.
Faculty of Law, University of Windsor. I would like to thank Claire Mumm6, Sujith
Xavier and Michael Lynk for numerous helpful conversations. I am indebted to Suzanne
McMurphy for pointing me to literature about trust and trustworthiness. Finally, I owe an
expression of thanks to Samantha Hale and Terra Duchene for invaluable research assistance.
I appeared as an expert on American national security and racial profiling practices in
Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse) v Bombardier Inc
(Bombardier Aerospace Training Center), 2010 QCTDP 16, [2011 ] RJQ 225, and my report
was referenced by the Quebec Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada in their
review of the case. This paper constitutes part of a larger project about Arab and Muslim
access to justice and human rights claims. I use the term complainants throughout to refer
to the individuals who filed a human rights complaint in response to a perceived injurious
event; different terms are used in different jurisdictions.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/canbarev96&div=6&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Arabs, Muslims, Human Rights, Access to Justice and Institutional Trustworthiness: Insights from Thirteen Legal Narratives
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most