The Fundamentals of International Human Rights Treaty Law

Foreword (J.Th. Möller)......Page 13
Introduction......Page 17
I. International Judicial Organs and the Nature of International Human Rights Treaty Obligations......Page 25
II. The Primacy of International Human Rights Law......Page 27
III. The Relationship between International Legal Obligations and Domestic Law: From Dualism, Monism, and Coordination, to Responsibility......Page 30
IV. The Nature of Treaty Obligations......Page 32
V. Obligations under the United Nations Charter......Page 36
VI. Mandatory Decisions of the United Nations Security Council......Page 38
VII. Treaties and International Customary Law......Page 39
VIII. Jus Cogens Rights and Rights That May Never Be Suspended or Abrogated......Page 44
Conclusion......Page 47
I. The National Responsibility to Protect......Page 49
A. Implementation at the National Level (General Comment No. 3 (1981) of the Human Rights Committee)......Page 51
B. Developing a Comprehensive National Strategy (General Comment No. 5 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child)......Page 52
C. The Role of National Human Rights Institutions in the Protection of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (General Comment No. 10 (1998) of the CESCOR)......Page 53
D. CERD General Recommendation XVII (1993) on the Establishment of National Institutions to Facilitate the Implementation of the Convention......Page 54
I. The Concept of a National Protection System......Page 55
Constitutional Dimension......Page 56
Legislative Dimension......Page 57
Judicial Dimension......Page 58
Monitoring Dimension......Page 59
II. The Prevention of Human Rights Violations......Page 60
A. Preventive Protection of the Right to Life......Page 61
B. Preventive Dimensions of the Right to an Effective Remedy......Page 62
C. Interim Measures of Protection......Page 64
D. Deportation and Extradition to Countries Where There Is Risk of Serious Violation of Human Rights: Preventive Protection......Page 65
III. Remedies for Human Rights Violations......Page 66
IV. The Role of the Courts and of Law Enforcement Agencies......Page 67
V. The Role of National Human Rights Institutions......Page 69
The Preventive Role of National Human Rights Institutions......Page 72
VI. The Role of Human Rights Education in a National Protection System......Page 73
VII. The Role of National Human Rights Plans of Actions in National Protection Systems......Page 74
Conclusion......Page 76
Introduction......Page 79
II. General Comment No. 25 of the Human Rights Committee (1996)......Page 80
III. General Comment No. 12 of the Human Rights Committee......Page 81
IV. Democracy and Human Rights......Page 82
V. The Content of Democracy......Page 85
B. The Legislature and the Rule of Law......Page 88
G. Economic and Social Development......Page 89
VIII. The European Court of Human Rights and the Rule of Law......Page 90
• Principle of lawfulness......Page 92
• Principle of legal certainty......Page 93
C. Due process: Judicial Review, Access to Courts andRemedies, Fair Trial......Page 94
IX. Democracy and Freedom of Association in the Jurisprudence of ILO Supervisory Bodies......Page 96
X. The Jurisprudence and Practice of Other Treaty Bodies......Page 98
Conclusion......Page 100
Introduction......Page 101
I. The Core Provisions......Page 102
B. The ICCPR......Page 103
C. The American Convention......Page 104
II. 1968 Resolution of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights......Page 105
A. Essential Requirements......Page 106
D. Peremptory Norms......Page 107
F. Notification......Page 108
V. Judicial Guarantees......Page 109
VII. The Legality of Nuclear Weapons......Page 111
Conclusion......Page 112
Introduction......Page 115
A. The Prevention of Torture......Page 116
B. Preventing Racial Discrimination in the Administration and Functioning of the Criminal Justice System......Page 117
C. Avoiding Discrimination Against Women in National Strategies for the Prevention of AIDS......Page 118
E. Preventive Protection of the Right to Life......Page 119
II. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide......Page 120
III. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment......Page 122
IV. Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment......Page 127
V. European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment......Page 132
VI. Preventive Procedures of UN Human Rights Treaty Organs......Page 135
Conclusion......Page 137
Introduction......Page 139
I. The Duty to Respect......Page 140
II. The Duty to Protect......Page 141
The Responsibility to Protect......Page 144
Preventive, Curative and Remedial or Compensatory Protection......Page 145
Shades of Protection: Direct and Indirect......Page 147
III. The Duty to Ensure......Page 149
IV. Violations of the Obligations to Respect, to Protect and to Fulfil......Page 150
Conclusion......Page 151
A. Inter-American Court of Human Rights......Page 153
C. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights......Page 154
E. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)......Page 155
B. Scope of the Obligation......Page 156
C. Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law that Constitute Crimes under International Law......Page 157
F. Treatment of Victims......Page 158
H. Access to Justice......Page 159
I. Reparation for Harm Suff ered......Page 160
J. Access to Relevant Information Concerning Violationsand Reparation Mechanisms......Page 162
Transitional justice......Page 163
Conclusion......Page 164
I. The Objectives of Reporting Systems......Page 165
II. Cooperation of States Parties......Page 167
A. The Range of General Comments......Page 168
D. Domestic Application......Page 170
Conclusion......Page 171
A. The Concept of International Protection......Page 173
B. General Comment 33 of the Human Rights Committee......Page 177
D. The Duty to Cooperate in the Examination of Petitions......Page 181
A. UN Human Rights Special Procedures......Page 182
B. ILO Inquiry Bodies......Page 183
C. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights......Page 185
E. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture......Page 186
Conclusion......Page 187
I. Universality......Page 189
II. Equality......Page 191
A. General Comment 18/37 of the Human Rights Committee (Equality and Non-Discrimination)......Page 192
B. General Comment 4/13 of the Human Rights Committee (Gender Equality)......Page 193
C. General Comment No. 16 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights......Page 194
III. Justice......Page 197
A. Striving for Just Societies Grounded in Human Rights Norms......Page 198
B. Equitable Balances between the State and the Individual......Page 201
Conclusion......Page 202
Conclusion......Page 205
Appendix I General Comment No. 31 of the Human Rights Committee......Page 209
Appendix II General Comment No. 33 of the Human Rights Committee......Page 217
Appendix III The Limburg Principles on the Implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights......Page 223
Appendix IV The Siracusa Principles......Page 239
Appendix V The Council of Europe and the Rule of Law......Page 255
Bibliography......Page 293
Index......Page 297