The International Law Of Human Rights

This book provides a comprehensive account of the emergence of the customary law of human rights. It examines a range of human rights norms, and provides a useful guide to identifying those which can be described as customary.

The only textbook in the area to take a Global South perspective, drawing on the expertise of the authors and bringing in perspectives from a leading judge in the field. International Law of Human Rights takes students through a rigorous exploration of the theoretical foundations and principles of the subject, alongside current practice and procedures.- Provides a unique Global South perspective, offering a broad view of the subject area.- Focuses on the historical and philosophical foundations of human rights before exploring global and regional systems for their protection, and key substantive rights.- Presents a clear and accurate account of current human rights law practice.- Deep discussion and thorough analysis supported by 'further reflections' and 'critical debate' sections, and summaries of key cases.- Insightful testimonial from the distinguished Judge Cançado Trindade helps to bring a complex discipline to life.- Also available as an e-book with features and links that offer extra learning support.

1.11 The Rule of Law

This volume discusses the impact of human rights law on other fields of international law. Does international human rights law modify other fields of international law? Contributions focus on possible spillover effects of human rights on international economic or international criminal law. Does international human rights law have a streamlining effect on international law as a whole? This might be identified as a process of constitutionalisation. In this book, human rights can be understood as one of the core principles of international legal order and thus have an effect on the general law of treaties or on the settlement of disputes. Although human rights law is a relatively young field of international law, its content and core values today are of major importance for the interpretation of international law as a whole. As we witness a redefinition of sovereignty as a responsibility of states towards the people and a shift to greater relevance of the individual in international law in general, it is a logical consequence that human rights have an impact on other areas of international law.

This study demonstrates the extensive protection that international law provides to human rights even in the most serious of emergencies when they are particularly vulnerable. Based on a meticulous analysis of preparatory works and practice under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the American and European Conventions on Human Rights, and with a special chapter on the International Labour Organisation's approach to international labour standards and emergencies, this book shows that respect for the rule of law and the concept of a democratic society are controlling parameters in any valid limitation on the enjoyment of human rights. It further shows that respect for human rights and the operation of institutions such as the Legislature and Judiciary are crucial to enabling societies to address and eventually remedy the root causes of emergency situations. The study recommends possible directions for the development of case law and suggests some practical means to help ensure that international legal requirements are in fact respected in emergencies.

In 1980, Professors McDougal, Lasswell, and Chen published the original edition of Human Rights and World Public Order to present a "comprehensive framework of inquiry" from which to approach international human rights law, and international law, and inadequacies therein in the discourse of that time by combining theme, structure, method, and process. As a classic text of the New Haven School of International Law, this book explores human rights and international law in the broadest sense, taking into account social sciences research while embracing all values secured, or consequently fulfilled, or needed to thus be achieved. The book endured as a lasting contribution that reframed human rights within the New Haven School tradition, and as a magnificent work of scholarship freed from the confines of positivism and the static concerns of any one political or historical period. Co-author Lung-chu Chen spearheaded the re-issuance of this venerable title, complete with a contemporary, fresh Introduction to unveil this work to a new generation of scholars, students, and practitioners of international law and human rights. This Introduction surveys the major developments in human rights since 1980, including many doctrines and concepts that have emerged since. It covers contemporary events to provide today's readers with the opportunity to contextualize the chapters and to apply the book's framework to future endeavors.

This incisive book provides an unparalleled insight into the ways in which international human rights law functions in a real world context across cultural, religious and geopolitical divides. Written by a professor, former ambassador and international judge, the book demonstrates how power, diplomacy, tactics and processes operate within the human rights system from the perspective of a non-Western insider with more than three decades’ experience in the field.