International Human Right To Conscientious Objection To Military Service And Individual Duties To Disobey Manifestly Illegal Orders

International human rights law grants individuals both rights and responsibilities. In this respect international criminal and international humanitarian law are no different. As members of the public international law family they are charged with the regulation, maintenance and protection of human dignity. The right and duty to disobey manifestly illegal orders traverses these three schools of public international law. This book is the first systematic study of the right to conscientious objection under international human rights law. Understanding that rights and duties are not mutually exclusive but complementary, this study analyses the right to conscientious objection and the duties of individuals under international law from various perspectives of public international law.

This book examines the right to conscientious objection in international human rights law. It begins with an exploration of the concept of conscience and its evolution. Ozgur Heval o inar analyzes human rights law at both the international and regional level, considering UN, European, and inter-American mechanisms.

This study examines Turkey's non-recognition of the right to conscientious objection to military service and locates this non-recognition within the context of international human rights law - specifically United Nations and European Union system.

The freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, from which stem the tenets of pluralism, tolerance, and open-mindedness, are some of the most basic freedoms of a democratic society. This book illustrates the current state of the freedom of religion or belief in Turkey and the challenges and complex problems facing it, concentrating on the most topical issues: being compelled to reveal one’s religion and beliefs on the national identity card; the right of conscientious objection and conscientious objectors; compulsory religious education; recognition of faith groups and the opening of places of worship; and using and wearing religious symbols and dress in the public sphere.

The United Nations is a vital part of the international order. Yet this book argues that the greatest contribution of the UN is not what it has achieved (improvements in health and economic development, for example) or avoided (global war, say, or the use of weapons of mass destruction). It is, instead, the process through which the UN has transformed the structure of international law to expand the range and depth of subjects covered by treaties. This handbook offers the first sustained analysis of the UN as a forum in which and an institution through which treaties are negotiated and implemented. Chapters are written by authors from different fields, including academics and practitioners; lawyers and specialists from other social sciences (international relations, history, and science); professionals with an established reputation in the field; younger researchers and diplomats involved in the negotiation of multilateral treaties; and scholars with a broader view on the issues involved. The volume thus provides unique insights into UN treaty-making. Through the thematic and technical parts, it also offers a lens through which to view challenges lying ahead and the possibilities and limitations of this understudied aspect of international law and relations.

Traditionally few people challenged the distinction between absolute and selective conscientious objection by those being asked to carry out military duties. The former is an objection to fighting all wars - a position generally respected and accommodated by democratic states, while the latter is an objection to a specific war or conflict - theoretically and practically a much harder idea to accept and embrace for military institutions. However, a decade of conflict not clearly aligned to vital national interests combined with recent acts of selective conscientious objection by members of the military have led some to reappraise the situation and argue that selective conscientious objection ought to be legally recognised and permitted. Political, social and philosophical factors lie behind this new interest which together mean that the time is ripe for a fresh and thorough evaluation of the topic. This book brings together arguments for and against selective conscientious objection, as well as case studies examining how different countries deal with those who claim the status of selective conscientious objectors. As such, it sheds new light on a topic of increasing importance to those concerned with military ethics and public policy, within military institutions, government, and academia.