Bridging the Gap Between International Human Rights and International Cultural Heritage Law Instruments

Cultural Expression ◽

Community Rights ◽

Human Rights Treaties ◽

International Human ◽

Individual And Community Rights

With the activities of UNESCO in the recent decades international cultural heritage law has become its own area within public international law. By its very nature, namely its focus on cultural heritage and forms of cultural expression, it is closely linked to different human rights. However, this link has only really been realized in more recent instruments and even then not fully. States have obligations in both areas of international law. This raises the question of how to best accommodate State duties and rights under UNESCO instruments with individual and community rights under the respective human rights treaties. The author proposes to examine the functions of cultural heritage as one way in which to better bridge the gap between the two fields.

The Idea of International Human Rights Law

10.1093/oso/9780198749844.001.0001 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Steven Wheatley

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Law ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

Fragmentation Of International Law

Moral Concept ◽

Customary International Law ◽

Human Rights Treaties ◽

International Human ◽

International Human Rights Law has emerged as an academic subject in its own right, separate from, but still related to, International Law. This book explains the distinctive nature of the new discipline by examining the influence of the moral concept of human rights on general international law. Rather than make use of moral philosophy or political theory, the work explains the term ‘human rights’ by examining its usage in international law practice, on the understanding that words are given meaning through their use. Relying on complexity theory to make sense of the legal practice in the United Nations, the core human rights treaties, and customary international law, The Idea of International Human Rights Law shows how a moral concept of human rights emerged, and then influenced the international law doctrine and practice on human rights, a fact that explains the fragmentation of international law and the special nature of International Human Rights Law.

Germany

10.1093/oso/9780198786627.003.0006 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Valentin Aichele

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Law ◽

Direct Effect ◽

Federal Courts ◽

Persons With Disabilities ◽

Monitoring Mechanism ◽

International Human ◽

Human Rights Norms

This chapter analyses the use and interpretation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in sixty-nine decisions of German federal courts between 2009 and mid-2016. German courts’ failure to be proactive in demonstrating ‘friendliness towards public international law’ when dealing with international human rights norms has been criticised. The National CRPD Monitoring Mechanism addressed problems in the application of the law. This chapter investigates the courts’ understanding of basic CRPD concepts, judicial techniques, interpretation methods and specific CRPD provisions. The importance of the concepts of self-executing provisions and direct effect is discussed. In quantitative terms, German courts have referred to the CRPD more often than any other UN international human rights instrument. Furthermore, in qualitative terms, federal courts have become more receptive towards the CRPD. However, it is clear that much of the potential for courts to use the CRPD in the realisation of the rights of persons with disabilities remains untapped.

Judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada of February 28, 2020, on Nevsun v. Araya: a “quiet revolution” in the assessment of the status of corporations under public international law?

Meždunarodnoe pravosudie ◽

10.21128/2226-2059-2021-2-25-39 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 25-39

Author(s):

Vera Rusinova ◽

Olga Ganina

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Supreme Court ◽

International Law ◽

Supreme Court Of Canada ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

The Supreme Court ◽

The article analyses the Judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada on the Nevsun v. Araya case, which deals with the severe violations of human rights, including slavery and forced labor with respect of the workers of Eritrean mines owned by a Canadian company “Nevsun”. By a 5 to 4 majority, the court concluded that litigants can seek compensation for the violations of international customs committed by a company. This decision is underpinned by the tenets that international customs form a part of Canadian common law, companies can bear responsibility for violations of International Human Rights Law, and under ubi jus ibi remedium principle plaintiffs have a right to receive compensation under national law. Being a commentary to this judgment the article focuses its analysis on an issue that is of a key character for Public International Law, namely on the tenet that international customs impose obligations to respect human rights on companies and they can be called for responsibility for these violations. This conclusion is revolutionary in the part in which it shifts the perception of the companies’ legal status under International Law. The court’s approach is critically assessed against its well-groundness and correspondence to the current stage of International law. In particular, the authors discuss, whether the legal stance on the Supreme Court of Canada, under which companies can bear responsibility for violations of International Human Rights Law is a justified necessity or a head start.

Conclusion: Human Rights Treaties (Sometimes) Protect Rights

Contentious Compliance ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190910976.003.0007 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 193-224

Author(s):

Courtenay R. Conrad ◽

Emily Hencken Ritter

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Law ◽

International Institutions ◽

Domestic Institutions ◽

Human Rights Regime ◽

Human Rights Treaties ◽

This chapter highlights the conclusions and contributions of theresearch: obligation to international law can constrain leaders from violating human rights-and encourage potential dissidents to revolt against their governments. The argument that human rights treaties "work" is contrary to the explanations of a wide variety of scholars who maintain that the international human rights regime has been an abject failure. Although scholars have found evidence that domestic institutions can lead to decreased repression, there has been little support for the argument that international institutions do so.In contrast, this book finds that-if international law creates even the smallest shift in assumptions over domestic consequences for repressive authorities-these effects can yield a substantively meaningful reduction in rights violations when leaders have significant stakes in domestic conflicts.

Theory and Evidence Regarding the Effectiveness of Human Rights Treaties

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.544 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel W. Hill, Jr.

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Law ◽

Good Evidence ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

International Treaties ◽

Human Rights Treaties ◽

Sources Of Variation ◽

The adoption by the United Nations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 marked the beginning of the modern international human rights regime. Since then the number of international treaties that protect human rights, as well as the number of internationally recognized rights, has greatly increased. The increasing number and scope of international treaties attests to the fact that advocates for human rights view treaties, which are legally binding in principle, as useful tools for promoting respect for the various rights identified in international law. Only recently have scholars begun to collect and systematically examine evidence concerning the effectiveness of human rights treaties. This new body of research is motivated by a question that has obvious normative import and policy relevance: do we have good evidence that the widespread adoption of international human rights law has had any meaningful impact on the level of respect that states exhibit for the rights articulated in international law? To date, this literature suggests three sources of variation in the effectiveness of human rights treaties: (1) variation in the domestic political and legal institutions that facilitate enforcement and compliance, (2) variation in the nature of the rights protected by different treaties and the nature of violations, and (3) variation in the strength of governments’ commitments to the UN treaty regime. All three sources of variation point to opportunities to advance our understanding of the conditions under which international human rights law can achieve its goals.

The problem of applying reservations to international human rights agreements

Law and innovations ◽

10.37772/2518-1718-2021-1(33)-10 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 68-73

Author(s):

Ivanna Maryniv ◽

Liubov Rudai

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Law ◽

Legal Regulation ◽

European Convention ◽

Effective Control ◽

International Treaties ◽

European Court ◽

Human Rights Treaties ◽

A problem statement. Human rights law, as a branch of public international law, to date, is mainly codified and consists mainly of treaty rules contained in universal and regional conventions. At the same time, in most cases, the parties to these agreements make reservations of both a substantive and procedural nature that apply to all generations of human rights. The question arises as to the legitimacy of the reservations declared by states to international acts on human rights and freedoms. Аnalysis of research and publications. Many international lawyers deal with the issue of reservations to human rights treaties and their validity. Thus, the works of E.S. Alisievich, are devoted to this issue, I.I. Lukashuk, V.G. Butkevich, V.L. Tolstoy, M.V. Buromensky and others. However, there are a number of problems with the legal regime of reservations to human rights treaties. The main thesis that reveals their essence is that there is no mechanism for effective control over the legitimacy of such reservations. The main text. The article considers the concept of reservations to international treaties, examines the problem of issuing reservations to international human rights treaties. The application of the institution of reservations is studied on the example of certain international treaties in the field of human rights, such as: the European Convention on Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The case law of the European Court of Human Rights on the application of reservations to the European Convention on Human Rights is studied. Conclusions. Today, the sovereign right of every state to stipulate international treaties is firmly established in international law, but there is no clear legal regulation of this institution that would prevent abuses by states in this area. We see the need to further study the institution of reservations to human rights treaties, its development and the development of general principles, procedures, and control over their legitimacy.

Conflict over Conflict: The Right to Strike in International Law

Global Labour Journal ◽

10.15173/glj.v8i1.2649 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Diane F Frey

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Law ◽

Political Rights ◽

International Labour Organisation ◽

Cultural Rights ◽

Human Rights Treaties ◽

International Human ◽

The Right

<p>The existence of a right to strike under international law has been challenged by the International Organization of Employers since the late 1980s. The employer group claims that no such right exists under international law and has been moving to undermine recognition of the right at the International Labour Organisation (ILO). This article examines the right to strike in international human rights law. It considers specifically the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and finds that the right to strike exists in both of these treaties. Further, the article demonstrates that while the ILO employers group may challenge the existence of the right to strike, its government members have overwhelmingly ratified international human rights treaties contradicting the employer group's position that there is no such right.</p>

Domestic Human Rights Adjudication in the Shadow of International Law: The Status of Human Rights Conventions in Israel

Israel Law Review ◽

10.1017/s0021223717000164 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 50 (3) ◽

pp. 331-388 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Barak Medina

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Law ◽

Democratic Legitimacy ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

Quarter Century ◽

Human Rights Treaties ◽

International Human ◽

The Government

The quarter-century anniversary of Israel's ratification of the major United Nations (UN) human rights treaties is an opportunity to revisit the formal and informal interaction between domestic and international Bills of Rights in Israel. This study reveals that the human rights conventions lack almost entirely a formal domestic legal status. The study identifies a minor shift in the scope of the Israeli Supreme Court's reference to international law, as the Court now cites international human rights law to justify decisions that a state action is unlawful, and not only to support findings that an action is valid. This shift may be the result of other reasons, for instance, a ‘radiation’ of the Court's relatively extensive use of international humanitarian law in reviewing state actions taken in the Occupied Territories. However, it may also reflect a perception of enhanced legitimacy of referring to international human rights law as a point of reference in human rights adjudication following ratification of the treaties.At the same time, the Court continues to avoid acknowledging incompatibility between domestic law and international law. It refers to the latter only to support its interpretation of Israeli constitutional law, as it did before the ratification. This article critically evaluates this practice. While international human rights law should not be binding at the domestic level, because of its lack of sufficient democratic legitimacy in Israel, it should serve as an essential benchmark. The Court may legitimise a human rights infringement that is unjustified according to international law, but such incompatibility requires an explicit justification. The Court, together with the legislature and the government, are required to engage critically with the non-binding norms set by the ratified UN human rights treaties.

Desfragmentando o Direito Internacional Público: A Integração Entre o Direito Internacional dos Investimentos e o Direito Internacional dos Direitos Humanos (Defragmenting Public International Law: The Integration between International Investment Law and International Human Rights Law)

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2250349 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel M. C. Barbosa

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Law ◽

International Investment ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

International Investment Law ◽

Investment Law ◽

Why Do National Court Judges Refer to Human Rights Treaties? A Comparative International Law Analysis of CEDAW

The American Journal of International Law ◽

10.5305/amerjintelaw.109.3.0534 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 109 (3) ◽

pp. 534-550 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Christopher McCrudden

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Law ◽

National Court ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

Human Rights Treaties ◽

Similarities And Differences ◽

International Human ◽

Domestic Level

Comparative international law promises to bring fresh attention to the similarities and differences in how international law is understood and approached at the domestic level. Comparative international human rights law applies this focus to similarities and differences in the ways that international human rights law is, for example, interpreted at the domestic level by courts.