Human Rights with Modesty: The Problem of Universalism

Human Rights with Modesty: The Problem of Universalism PDF Author: András Sajó
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9401761728
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
This volume considers the problem of legal universals at the level of the rule of law and human rights, which have fundamentally different pedigrees, and attempts to come to terms with the new unease arising from the universal application of human rights. Given the juridicization of human rights, rule of law and human rights expectations have become significantly intertwined: human rights are enforced with the instruments of the rule of law and are thus limited by the restricted reach thereof. The first section of this volume considers the difficulties of universalistic claims and offers a number of possible solutions for adapting universal expectations to specific contexts. The second section considers problems of human rights politics; sections three and four present empirical studies about the appearance and disappearance of the rule of law and fundamental rights in Western and non-Western societies. Special attention is paid to the problems of developing countries, with a specific focus on past and present developments in Iran. These empirical studies indicate that the acceptance of human rights and the rule of law is historically contingent and cannot simply be considered as a matter of culture.

Human Rights with Modesty: The Problem of Universalism

Human Rights with Modesty: The Problem of Universalism PDF Author: András Sajó
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9401761728
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 380

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume considers the problem of legal universals at the level of the rule of law and human rights, which have fundamentally different pedigrees, and attempts to come to terms with the new unease arising from the universal application of human rights. Given the juridicization of human rights, rule of law and human rights expectations have become significantly intertwined: human rights are enforced with the instruments of the rule of law and are thus limited by the restricted reach thereof. The first section of this volume considers the difficulties of universalistic claims and offers a number of possible solutions for adapting universal expectations to specific contexts. The second section considers problems of human rights politics; sections three and four present empirical studies about the appearance and disappearance of the rule of law and fundamental rights in Western and non-Western societies. Special attention is paid to the problems of developing countries, with a specific focus on past and present developments in Iran. These empirical studies indicate that the acceptance of human rights and the rule of law is historically contingent and cannot simply be considered as a matter of culture.

Human Rights with Modesty

Human Rights with Modesty PDF Author: Andras Sajo
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789401761734
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description


The Universalism of Human Rights

The Universalism of Human Rights PDF Author: Rainer Arnold
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400745109
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 435

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Book Description
Is there universalism of human rights? If so, what are its scope and limits? This book is a doctrinal attempt to define universalism of human rights, as well as its scope and limits. The book presents tests of universalism on international, regional and national constitutional levels. It is maintained that universalism of human rights is both a ‘concept’ and a ‘normative reality’. The normative character of human rights is scrutinized through the study of international and regional agreements as well as national constitutions. As a consequence, limitations of normativity are identified, usually on the international level, and take the form of exceptions, reservations, and interpretations. The book is based on the General and National Reports which were originally presented at the 18th International Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law in Washington D.C. 2010.

The Politics of Justice and Human Rights

The Politics of Justice and Human Rights PDF Author: Anthony J. Langlois
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521807852
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
This book makes a major contribution to the theory and practice of human rights, engaging in particular with the "Asian values" debate. It is especially concerned with the tension between a universal regime of human rights and its ability to accommodate diversity. Incorporating original fieldwork from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, the book also draws out the significance of Southeast Asian developments for international human rights discourse. It is likely to become a definitive account of political discussions of human rights in Southeast Asia and an important contribution to the development of human rights theory.

Human Rights in Thick and Thin Societies

Human Rights in Thick and Thin Societies PDF Author: Seth D. Kaplan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108690599
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
Socio-centric societies have vibrant - albeit different - concepts of human flourishing than is typical in the individualistic West. These concepts influence the promotion of human rights, both in domestic contexts with religious minorities and in international contexts where Western ideals may clash with local norms. Human Rights in Thick and Thin Societies uncovers the original intentions of the drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, finds inspiration from early leaders in the field like Eleanor Roosevelt, and examines the implications of recent advances in cultural psychology for understanding difference. The case studies included illustrate the need to vary the application of human rights in differing cultural environments, and the book suggests a new framework: a flexible universalism that returns to basics - focusing on the great evils of the human condition. This approach will help the human rights movement succeed in a multipolar era.

Human Rights on Common Grounds

Human Rights on Common Grounds PDF Author: Kirsten Hastrup
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004479929
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
The universality of human rights has been extensively discussed since their inception, and most often in terms of contrasting viewpoints of universalism versus relativism. The present volume seeks to get beyond the polarization and to ask instead in which sense human rights are universal. The point of departure is that human rights must be universal in some sense, or they are nothing. It is meaningless to talk of human rights if they are not applicable to all humans, unconditionally. From each of their vantage points the authors explore the notion of universality in a joint effort to maintain the fundamental aspiration of the human rights documents without sidestepping the question. The authors come from such diverse fields as law, history, philosophy and anthropology, and between them they contribute in complementary ways to the never-ending quest for universality, correlating with a view of all humans being equal in dignity and rights. They are also keenly aware that the human rights project is unfinished and must always be forcefully argued for.

Property, Power and Human Rights

Property, Power and Human Rights PDF Author: Laura Dehaibi
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 103531391X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Book Description
Through deconstructing the right to property, this incisive book critically assesses the claim that international human rights law is universal. Laura Dehaibi presents an innovative bottom-up and dialogical approach to human rights, lived universalism, that draws on lived experience in the margins to give rights a subversive and emancipatory meaning.

The Culturalization of Human Rights Law

The Culturalization of Human Rights Law PDF Author: Federico Lenzerini
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191641324
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 1409

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Book Description
The idea of multi-culturalism has had a significant impact across many areas of law. This book explores how it has shaped the recent development of international human rights law. Custodians of human rights, especially international monitoring bodies, try to advance the effectiveness of human rights standards by interpreting these standards according to a method strongly inspired by the idea of cultural 'relativism'. By using elements of cultural identity and cultural diversity as parameters for the interpretation, adjudication, and enforcement of such standards, human rights are evolving from the traditional 'universal' idea, to a 'multi-cultural' one, whereby rights are interpreted in a dynamic manner, which respond to the particular needs of the communities and individuals directly concerned. This book shows how this is epitomized by the rise of collective rights - which is intertwined with the evolution of the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples - in contrast with the traditional vision of human rights as inherently individual. It demonstrates how the process of 'culturalization' of human rights law can be shown through different methods: the most common being the recourse to the doctrine of the 'margin of appreciation' left to states in defining the content of human rights standards, extensively used by human rights bodies, such as the European Court of Human Rights. Secondly, different meanings can be attributed to the same human rights standards by adapting them to the cultural needs of the persons and - especially - communities specifically concerned. This method is particularly used by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the African Commission of Human and Peoples' Rights. The book concludes that the evolution of human rights law towards multi-cultural 'relativism' is not only maximizes the effectiveness of human rights standards, but is also necessary to improve the quality of communal life, and to promote the stability of inter-cultural relationships. However, to an extent, notions of 'universalism' remain necessary to defend the very idea of human dignity.

Law, Politics and Rights

Law, Politics and Rights PDF Author: Tiyanjana Maluwa
Publisher: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers
ISBN: 9004249001
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
Law, Politics and Rights: Essays in Memory of Kader Asmal presents critical perspectives on various inter-related themes in the areas of human rights, constitutionalism, democracy, international law, political and cultural rights and identity. The discussions reflect the wide-ranging interests and subjects that Kader Asmal engaged with as a legal scholar, human rights campaigner and politician of international renown throughout his life. Kader Asmal is perhaps best known for his political career as one of the most senior members of the African National Congress and a government minister in post-apartheid South Africa. Less well known to the general public is his equally immense contribution to international human rights law and policy, recognised with the award of the Prix UNESCO in 1983, through more than three decades of an international academic career and legal activism. This book is a reminder of the enduring relevance of the issues and causes he espoused and advocated. Contributors include: John Dugard, Richard Harvey, Federico Lenzerini, Tiyanjana Maluwa, Obiora Chinedu Okafor, Nsongurua Udombana, Muna Ndulo, Albie Sachs, Max du Plessis, Nico Steytler, Gerard Whyte, and Abdulqawi Yusuf.

Human Rights

Human Rights PDF Author: Christian Tomuschat
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191506699
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 562

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Book Description
This third edition of Human Rights: Between Idealism and Realism presents human rights in action, focusing on their effectiveness as legal tools designed to benefit human beings. By combining conceptual analysis with an emphasis on procedures and mechanisms of implementation, this volume provides a multidimensional overview of human rights. After examining briefly the history of human rights, the author analyses the intellectual framework that forms the basis of their legitimacy. In particular, he covers the concept of universality and the widely used model that classifies human rights into clusters of different 'generations'. In this edition, the author brings together the fundamental aspects of human rights law, addressing human dignity as the ethical foundation of human rights, the principle of equality and non-discrimination as the essence of any culture of human rights, the protections against racial discrimination and discrimination against women, and assesses the individual as a subject of international law. The volume then moves on to assess the activities of the political institutions of the United Nations, the expert bodies established by the relevant treaties, and the international tribunals specifically entrusted at the regional level with protecting human rights. This edition also includes specific analysis of the actions mandated by the UN Security Council against Libya in 2011. It also includes greater coverage of the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. The author explains how and why the classical array of politically inspired informal devices has been enriched by the addition of international criminal procedures and by endeavours to introduce civil suits against alleged individual violators of human rights. Finally, the volume is rounded off by a consideration of the importance of humanitarian law as an instrument for the protection of human life and dignity and an exploration of the future of human rights.