The Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law / edited by Dinah Shelton

It includes index pages.

Description:
The Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law provides a comprehensive and original overview of one of the fundamental topics within international law. It contains substantial new essays by more than forty leading experts in the field, giving students, scholars, and practitioners a complete overview of the issues that inform research, as well as a 'map' of the debates that animate the field. Each chapter features a critical and up-to-date analysis of the current state of debate and discussion, assessing recent work and advancing the understanding of all aspects of this developing area of international law.

The Handbook consists of 39 chapters, divided into seven parts. Parts I and II explore the foundational theories and the historical antecedents of human rights law from a diverse set of disciplines, including the philosophical, religious, biological, and psychological origins of moral development and altruism, and sociological findings about cooperation and conflict. Part III focuses on the law-making process and categories of rights. Parts IV and V examine the normative and institutional evolution of human rights, and discuss this impact on various doctrines of general international law. The final two parts are more speculative, examining whether there is an advantage to considering major social problems from a human rights perspective and, if so, how that might be done: Part VI analyses current problems that are being addressed by governments, both domestically and through international organizations, and issues that have been placed on the human rights agenda of the United Nations, such as state responsibility for human rights violations and economic sanctions to enforce human rights; Part VII then evaluates the impact of international human rights law over the past six decades from a variety of perspectives.

The Handbook is an invaluable resource for scholars, students, and practitioners of international human rights law. It provides the reader with new perspectives on international human rights law that are both multidisciplinary and geographically and culturally diverse.

Table of Contents

I. Theoretical Foundations
1:Religion, M. Christian Green and John Witte, Jr.
2:Moral Philosophy, Siegfried Van Duffel
3:Biological Foundations of Human Rights, Christopher A. Robinson
4:Sociology of Human Rights, Brian S. Turner
5:The Psychology Foundations of Human Rights, Robin Bradley Kar
6:Anthropology and the Grounds of Human Rights, Mark Goodale
II. Historical and Legal Sources
7:The Foundations of Justice and Human Rights in Early Legal Texts and Thought, Paul Gordon Lauren
8:General Principles and Constitutions as Sources of Human Rights Law, Michael O'Boyle and Michelle Lafferty
9:The Anti-Slavery Movement and the Rise of International Non-Governmental Organizations, Jenny Martinez
10:Diplomatic Protection as a Source of Human Rights Law, Annemarieke Vermeer-Künzli
11:Humanitarian Law as a Source of Human Rights Law, Gerd Oberleitner
12:Social Justice, Rights, and Labour, Janelle M. Diller
13:The Protection of Minorities under the Auspices of the League of Nations, Péter Kovács
III. Structural Principles
14:Human Dignity, Paolo G. Carozza
15:Subsidiarity, Gerald L. Neuman
16:Sovereignty, Johan D. van der Vyver
17:Solidarity, Rüdiger Wolfrum
18:Equality, Jarlath Clifford
19:Proportionality, Yutaka Arai-Takahashi
20:Democracy and the Rule of Law, Christian Tomuschat
IV. Normative Evolution
21:The Law-Making Process: From Declaration to Treaty to Custom to Prevention, Bertrand G. Ramcharan
22:Core Rights and Obligations, Martin Scheinin
23:'Jus Cogens' and Obligations 'Erga Omnes', Erika de Wet
24:Positive and Negative Obligations, Dinah Shelton and Ariel Gould
V. Institutions and Actors
25:From Commission to the Council: Evolution of UN Charter Bodies, Miloon Kothari
26:The Role and Impact of Treaty Bodies, Nigel S. Rodley
27:The Role of International Tribunals: Law-Making or Creative Interpretation?, Cecilia Medina
28:Universality and the Growth of Regional Systems, Christof Heyns and Magnus Killander
29:National Implementation and Interpretation, Nisuke Ando
30:Roles and Responsibilities of Non-State Actors, David Weissbrodt
VI. Human Rights and General International Law
31:Interpretation of Human Rights Treaties, Malgosia Fitzmaurice
32:Enforcing Human Rights through Economic Sanctions, George A. Lopez
33:Transnational Litigation: Jurisdiction and Immunities, Chimène I. Keitner
34:The Use of International Force to Prevent or Halt Atrocities: From Humanitarian Intervention to the Responsibility to Protect, Ramesh Thakur
35:Trade Law and Investment Law, Sarah Joseph
VII. Assessments
36:Creating and Applying Human Rights Indicators, Francisco López-Bermúdez
37:Compliance, Gisella Gori
38:What Outcomes for Victims?, Fiona McKay
39:Human Rights Make a Difference: Lessons from Latin America, Juan E. Méndez and Catherine Cone