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Article
Publication date: 1 January 2008

Rick Lines

This paper explores the health rights of prisoners as defined in international law, and the mechanisms that have been used to ensure the rights of persons in detention to realise…

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Abstract

This paper explores the health rights of prisoners as defined in international law, and the mechanisms that have been used to ensure the rights of persons in detention to realise the highest attainable standard of health. It examines this right as articulated within United Nations and regional human rights treaties, non‐binding or so‐called soft law instruments from international organisations and the jurisprudence of international human rights bodies. It explores the use of economic, social and cultural rights mechanisms, and those within civil and political rights, as they engage the right to health of prisoners, and identifies the minimum legal obligations of governments in order to remain compliant with human rights norms as defined within the international case law. In addressing these issues, this article adopts a holistic approach to the definition of the highest attainable standard of health. This includes a consideration of adequate standards of general medical care, including preventative health and mental health services. It also examines the question of environmental health, and those poor conditions of detention that may exacerbate health decline, disease transmission, mental illness or death. The paper examines the approach to prison health of the United Nations human rights system and its various monitoring bodies, as well as the regional human rights systems in Europe, Africa and the Americas. Based upon this analysis, the paper draws conclusions on the current fulfilment of the right to health of prisoners on an international scale, and proposes expanded mechanisms under the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment to monitor and promote the health rights of prisoners at the international and domestic levels.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 3 August 2011

Robert C. Blitt

This chapter is intended to elaborate on the existing academic literature addressing the migration of constitutional ideas. Through an examination of ongoing efforts to enshrine…

Abstract

This chapter is intended to elaborate on the existing academic literature addressing the migration of constitutional ideas. Through an examination of ongoing efforts to enshrine “defamation of religion” as a violation of international human rights, the author confirms that the phenomenon of migration is not restricted to positive constitutional norms, but rather also encompasses negative ideas that ultimately may serve to undermine international and domestic constitutionalism. More specifically, the case study demonstrates that the movement of anti-constitutional ideas is not restricted to the domain of “international security” law, and further, that the vertical axis linking international and domestic law is in fact a two-way channel that permits the transmission of domestic anti-constitutional ideas up to the international level.

In reaching the findings presented herein, the chapter also adds to the universalism–relativism debate by demonstrating that allowances for “plurality consciousness” on the international level may in certain instances undermine fundamental norms previously negotiated and accepted as authoritative by the international community. From this perspective, the movement in favor of prohibiting “defamation of religion” is not merely a case study that helps to expand our understanding of how anti-constitutional ideas migrate, but also indicative of a reenergized campaign to challenge the status, content, and stability of universal human rights norms.

Details

Special Issue Human Rights: New Possibilities/New Problems
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-252-4

Article
Publication date: 13 November 2017

Md Sazzad Hossain

The main purpose of this paper is to explore the extra-judicial killing situation in Bangladesh by analyzing both national and international human rights law. In addition, this…

Abstract

Purpose

The main purpose of this paper is to explore the extra-judicial killing situation in Bangladesh by analyzing both national and international human rights law. In addition, this paper will also identify the remedy that is available for the victim’s family for extra-judicial killing by law enforcement agencies, especially the Rapid Action Battalion of Bangladesh.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a qualitative research where both primary and secondary sources have used to identify the situations of extra-judicial killings in Bangladesh, the human rights instruments and the judicial activism to protect human rights.

Findings

This paper will show impunity of the law enforcement agencies increasing the number of extra-judicial killings of citizens, by violating the Constitutional and International human rights law that deal with “right to life”. The state sovereignty is not hindering the implementation of the international law, but the judiciary of Bangladesh needs to be more efficient in protecting citizens’ human rights, along with bringing criminal prosecution against members of the law enforcement agencies, by providing “effective and adequate” remedy to the victim’s family.

Research limitations/implications

While analyzing the “right to life” under the International Human Rights Conventions, this paper will only deal with the UDHR and the ICCPR, as Bangladesh has ratified those Conventions.

Originality/value

This paper will add value to identify the present rights of the citizen under domestic and international law and to incorporate new legislation through finding the lack of present legislation to protect the right to life and remedy for extra-judicial killings in Bangladesh.

Details

International Journal of Law and Management, vol. 59 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-243X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 4 May 2020

Chris Kendall

This chapter examines the delicate balance achieved by apex courts in new democracies when dealing with impunity for rights violations during times of transitional justice. While…

Abstract

This chapter examines the delicate balance achieved by apex courts in new democracies when dealing with impunity for rights violations during times of transitional justice. While international law has clearly rejected amnesties for past rights violations, domestic politics sometimes incorporate amnesties as part of larger peace settlements. This puts courts in the difficult situation of balancing the competing demands of law and politics. Courts have achieved equipoise in this situation by adopting substantive interpretations and procedural approaches that use international law’s rights-based language but without implementing international law’s restrictions on amnesties. In many cases, courts do this without acknowledging the necessarily pragmatic nature of their decisions. In fact, oftentimes courts find ways of avoiding having to make any substantive decision, effectively removing themselves from a dispute that could call into question their adherence to international legal norms that transcend politics. In doing so, they empower political actors to continue down the road toward negotiated peace settlements, while at the same time protecting the courts’ legitimacy as institutions uniquely situated to protect international human rights norms – including those they have effectively deemphasized in the process.

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2003

Georgios I. Zekos

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…

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Abstract

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

Details

Managerial Law, vol. 45 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0558

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

Amy Burchfield

– This selected annotated bibliography guides users to print and online tools for researching international human rights law.

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Abstract

Purpose

This selected annotated bibliography guides users to print and online tools for researching international human rights law.

Design/methodology/approach

To research international human rights law, users may need to access a wide range of resources that represent varying levels of depth and analysis. Thus, this selected annotated bibliography reviews a selection of dictionaries, handbooks, nutshells, encyclopedias, guides and Web sites that will be useful to scholars, students, practitioners and the general public. The results of a trial search for information on the women’s human rights are included for each resource.

Findings

As recent world events such as the Arab Spring and the Syrian Civil War make headlines, the need for understanding international human rights law continues to be essential to life in a just society. The resources reviewed here help researchers, practitioners and the general public better understand the human rights implications of the events happening around them today, as well as past events.

Originality/value

This is an original bibliography that aims to select and review tools for researching international human rights law from a variety of types and formats. It may be valuable to librarians working in academic, school and public libraries who handle questions about human rights, legal issues and world events.

Details

Reference Reviews, vol. 29 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0950-4125

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 January 2014

Jean Carmalt

This article looks at the relationship between human rights law and geography. Drawing from a meeting of the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), the article explores how the right to…

Abstract

This article looks at the relationship between human rights law and geography. Drawing from a meeting of the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), the article explores how the right to life was legally interpreted to apply to the loss of life associated with Hurricane Katrina. In particular, the article argues that the HRC’s legal interpretation of the right to life shifted as part of a discussion between the United States and nongovernmental organizations. The shift incorporated a more nuanced understanding of the spatial dimension of injustice by including preexisting inequalities and ongoing internal displacement in the analysis of human rights obligations related to the hurricane. The HRC meeting and the legal interpretations arising from that meeting therefore provide an example of Seyla Benhabib’s concept of “democratic iterations” as well as an example of how law can be “spatialized” through international legal processes.

Details

Studies in Law, Politics, and Society
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-785-6

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 3 August 2011

Leila Kawar

This chapter examines how international human rights law is shaping the politics of immigration. It argues that migrant human rights are neither conceptually nor practically…

Abstract

This chapter examines how international human rights law is shaping the politics of immigration. It argues that migrant human rights are neither conceptually nor practically incompatible with an international order premised upon state territorial sovereignty, and that the specific aesthetics of the contemporary international human rights system, namely its formalistic and legalistic tendencies, has facilitated its integration with a realm of policymaking traditionally reserved to state discretion. An exploration of two areas in the emerging field of migrant human rights traces the multi-scalar transnational legal processes through which these norms are formulated and internalized.

Details

Special Issue Human Rights: New Possibilities/New Problems
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-252-4

Article
Publication date: 5 January 2023

Barbara Mikołajczyk

The purpose of this paper is to show the potential of international human rights law to raise awareness of the international community about ageism and its three aspects – old age…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show the potential of international human rights law to raise awareness of the international community about ageism and its three aspects – old age discrimination, stereotyping and prejudices against older persons. The author evaluates the ability of international human rights law to encourage states to take action against these phenomena and looks for new solutions. The author also intends to examine if there are international law instruments compelling states to reject stereotypes and prejudices on older persons if there is no treaty devoted to them.

Design/methodology/approach

The author applies methods relevant to legal science. The core human rights treaties, soft law documents and activities of human rights bodies are selected, analysed and interpreted.

Findings

The core human rights treaties require going beyond their literal interpretation to observe older persons' rights. States should interpret them in good faith, relying on the ageing mainstreaming approach. Instruction to states on how to do so lies in the soft law and output of the international human rights bodies. However, there is also room for improvement. Therefore, the author proposes adopting a targeted resolution on counteracting ageism and its components, updating positions by international treaty bodies, and involving various human rights procedures and specialised agencies in the fight against intangible dimensions of ageism.

Originality/value

It is the first study analysing awareness about stereotyping and prejudices against older persons from international human rights law. The author indicates untapped possibilities of the fight against ageism and its intangible dimensions under international law.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 42 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2011

Alice de Jonge

This paper aims to highlight the disparity between the huge global influence and reach of transnational corporations, on the one hand, and the lack of international legal…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to highlight the disparity between the huge global influence and reach of transnational corporations, on the one hand, and the lack of international legal infrastructure for regulating TNC activity, on the other. Existing avenues for holding TNCs accountable for breaches of international standards are woefully inadequate. After rejecting the idea of subjecting TNCs to potential criminal liability, the paper then proposes a set of principles for international TNC responsibility modelled on the 2001 Draft Articles on State Responsibility. The potential future role of regional human rights courts and the International Labour Organisation in holding TNCs accountable is also explored.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey of existing legal texts and secondary scholarship was undertaken to determine the existing coverage of the regulatory infrastructure for holding TNCs to account, and to identify gaps in that coverage.

Findings

Significant governance gaps in the existing institutional infrastructure were identified, creating a permissive environment within which blameworthy acts by TNCs may occur without adequate sanctioning or reparation. Potential regulatory and institutional avenues for filling these gaps were identified.

Research limitations/implications

The author lacks hands‐on experience of the political barriers which may exist and may make the proposed reforms unrealistic. Those in the field are encouraged to consider whether the proposed reforms are feasible/desirable.

Practical implications

The paper contains implications for the future of international law, the regional human rights courts and the International Labour Organisation.

Originality/value

The paper contains original proposals for the future evolution of international law in its application to TNCs.

Details

Critical perspectives on international business, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

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