Human Rights and Europe

Human Rights - universal rights held to belong to individuals by virtue of their being human, encompassing civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights and freedoms, and based on the notion of personal human dignity and worth. Conceptually derived from the theory of natural law and originating in Greco-Roman doctrines, the idea of human rights appears in some early Christian writers' Read More...

Human Rights - universal rights held to belong to individuals by virtue of their being human, encompassing civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights and freedoms, and based on the notion of personal human dignity and worth. Conceptually derived from the theory of natural law and originating in Greco-Roman doctrines, the idea of human rights appears in some early Christian writers' works and is reflected in the Magna Carta (1215). The concept winds as a philosophical thread through 17th- and 18th-century European and American thought, including the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789). The United Nation's Commission on Human Rights, with Eleanor Roosevelt as chair, created the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), which reasserted the concept of human rights after the horrors of World War II. Human rights have since become a universally espoused yet widely disregarded concept.

Organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch promote human rights and denounce human-rights abuses. In addition, such abuses around the world are monitored and documented by independent investigators ("special rapporteurs") appointed by the UN Human Rights Commission, which, in turn, rebukes cited nations for their human-rights failures. The charging in 1998 by a Spanish court of former Chilean president Augusto Pinochet with human-rights violations and the 1999 British ruling that he could be extradited to Spain, as well as the indictment and arrest (2000) in Senegal of former Chadian president Hissène Habré for human-rights violations during his presidency (although charges were later dropped), were regarded as steps forward in the international protection of human rights.

See also civil rights; feminism; gay-rights movement; war crimes.

See M. A. Glendon, A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (2001).

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.

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Human Rights and Europe

1.

European Human Rights Convention in Domestic Law: A Comparative Study
by Andrew Z. Drzemczewski. 378 pgs.

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This is the first investigation of the legal status of the European Human Eights Convention and its influence and authority in domestic courts of all state party to the Convention. Drzemczerski approaches the problem from the standpoint of comparative law, using materials previously unavailable in this continuing debate.

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Title Page

Preface

Contents

Abbreviations

Introductory Comments

Part I the Obligations Assumed by the Parties to the Convention

Chapter 1 International Treaty Obligations and the Convention

Chapter 2 Determination of the Exact Obligations Imposed Upon the Parties to the Convention

Conclusions to Part I

Part II the Convention's Domestic Status

Chapter 3 the Benelux Countries and France

Chapter 4 Austria, Federal Republic of Germany, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland

Chapter 5 the Scandinavian Countries and Iceland

Chapter 6 Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey

Chapter 7: Cyprus, Ireland, Malta, and the United Kingdom

Conclusions to Part II

Part III Selected Aspects of the Convention's Authority in Domestic Courts

Chapter 8 Convention Rights and Obligations Between Individuals

Chapter 9 the Domestic Application of the Convention and European Community Law

Chapter 10 the Authority of the Findings of the European Commission, the European Court of Human Rights, and the Committee of Ministers

Conclusions to Part III

General Conclusions

Select Bibliography

Appendix State of Signatures and Ratifications of the European Convention on Human Rights

Index of Authors Cited

General Index
2.

Regional Human Rights: A Comparative Study of the West European and Inter-American Systems
by A. Glenn Mower Jr. 182 pgs.

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Mower evaluates the effectiveness of the regional systems for promotin human rights developed by the Council of Europe and the Organization of American States, examining their structure and performance during the 1980s, specifically the degree to which each region's needs were met by the establishment of working agencies and the enactment of appropriate programs. The comparison of these agencies, analyzed within the framework of their respective economic, social, and political environments, affirms the link between increased awareness of human rights and the necessity for a continually flexible official response.

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Title Page

Recent Titles in Studies in Human Rights

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

I: The Settings for the Work of the Two Regional Human Rights Systems

1: Economic/Social Conditions in Constituent States

NOTES

SUMMARY

2: National Political Systems

NOTES

3: Kinds of Human Rights Violations Committed in the Constituent Countries

4: Domestic Human Rights Groups in the Constituent Countries

SUMMARY

NOTES

Summary

II: The Legal Bases for the Two Regional Human Rights Systems

5: The Legal Basis for the Inter- American Human Rights System

6: The Legal Basis for the West European Human Rights System: The European Convention on Human Rights

Summary

III: The Human Rights Commissions

INTRODUCTION

7: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

NOTES

8: The European Commission of Human Rights

Summary

IV: The Human Rights Courts

9: The Inter-American Court of Human Rights

10: The European Court of Human Rights

Summary

V: Additional Implementation

11: The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers

12: Conclusion

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Index

About the Author
3.

Judicial Protection of Human Rights: Myth or Reality? (Part I "Europe")
by Mark Gibney, Stanislaw Frankowski. 212 pgs.

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Contents

Introduction

1: Protection of Human Rights by the Judiciary in Romania

2: The Judicial Protection of the Constitutional Rights and Freedoms in Russia

3: The Protection of Human Rights by Judges: The Israeli Experience

4: Judicial Protection in Israeli-Occupied Territories

5: Judicial Protection of Human Rights in Latin America: Heroism and Pragmatism

6: Freedom from Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

7: Judicial Defense of Human Rights during the Marcos Dictatorship in the Philippines

8: Legal Culture, Legal Professionals and the Future of Human Rights in China

9: "Retreat from Injustice": The High Court of Australia and Native Title

10: U.S. Courts and the Selective Protection of Human Rights

Concluding Remarks

For Further Reading

Index

About the Editors and Contributors
4.

Human Rights in the Private Sphere (Part I "The Different Ways in Which the European Convention on Human Rights Is Relevant, or May Become Relevant, in the United Kingdom Courts")
by Andrew Clapham. 386 pgs.

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The application of international human rights law to the private sphere has implications for the worlds of labor relations, race relations, discrimination and violence against women, and for victims of indignities everywhere. This study shows that respect for privacy need not mean excluding wrongs in the private sphere from the world of human rights. Concentrating on the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights, and their enforcement in the courts of the United Kingdom, it develops a coherent approach to human rights in the private sphere. In particular it challenges the presumption that the fundamental rights and freedoms contained in the European Convention on Human Rights are irrelevant for cases which concern the sphere of relations between individuals.

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Title Page

RECENT TITLES IN THIS SERIES

Editor's Preface

Acknowledgements

Contents

Abbreviations

Table of Cases, Applications and Communications

Table of National Legislation

Table of Treaties, Declarations, European Community Legislation and Draft International Instruments

Introduction

PART I The Different Ways in which the European Convention on Human Rights is Relevant, or may become Relevant, in the United Kingdom Courts

I The Relevance of the Convention in The United Kingdom Courts

2 The Relevance of the Strasbourg Proceedings For the United Kingdom Courts

3 Incorporation of the European Convention On Human Rights in the United Kingdom?

4 International Human Rights and Private Bodies: Two Approaches

5 Limits to the Application of Human Rights In the Private Sphere

6 Fundamental Rights in the Private Sphere: The United States and Canada

7 The Application of the European Convention On Human Rights to the Acts of Non-State Actors: the Case-Law of the European Commission and Court of Human Rights

8 The European Community Legal Order

9 A 'Private Police' for Human Rights In the Private Sphere

10 The Application of Human Rights in The Private Sphere in the United Kingdom

Conclusions

Select Bibliography

Index
5.

Human Rights in a Pluralist World: Individuals and Collectivities ("European Culture, Individual Rights, Collective Rights" begins on p. 149 and "Societal Change, Human Rights and the Welfare State in Europe" begins on p. 189)
by Jan Berting, Peter R. Baehr, J. Herman Burgers, Cees Flinterman, Barbara de Klerk, Rob Kroes, Cornelis A. van Minnen, Koo Vanderwal. 268 pgs.

Book

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Contents

Foreword

Introduction: Human Rights: Rights of Individuals--Rights of Collectivities

Note

I

The Fortieth Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: a Time More for Reflection Than for Celebration

Notes

The Universal Declaration in Space and Time Asbjörn Eide

Notes

II

Introduction Item: Human Rights as Individual and as Collective Rights

Human Rights, Individual Rights and Collective Rights

Notes

The Function of Human Rights as Individual and Collective Rights

Three Generations of Human Rights

Notes

Collective Human Rights: a Western View

Notes

Human Rights and Peoples Rights

Notes

III

Introduction Item: Social and Religious Attitudes Toward Human Rights

Understanding Human Rights in Africa

Notes

Asian Cultures and Human Rights

Human Rights and Liberties in Islam

Notes

Islam and the Ideals of the Enlightenment

Notes

European Culture, Individual Rights, Collective Rights

Notes

The Socialist Conception of Human Rights: the Polish Perspective

IV

Introduction Item: Social Transformation and Human Rights

Human Rights and the Acquisition of National Sovereignty

Notes

Societal Change, Human Rights and the Welfare State in Europe

Notes

The Human Rights Tradition in the United States

Notes

Western Law and Legal Perceptions in the Third World

Notes

The Dialectics of Western Law in a Non-Western World

V

Introduction Item: the Right to Cultural Identity

The Right to Cultural Identity

List of Participants of the Middelburg Conference
6.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: A Perspective on Its Development
by Matthew C. R. Craven. 420 pgs.

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Despite their formal legal recognition in a number of international instruments since 1945, economic, social and cultural rights have long been marginalised and ignored as a category of human rights. This is particularly apparent with respect to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which was intended to form part of the `International Bill of Rights' alongside its sister covenant `The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights'. This study represents the first detailed examination of the origins and development of the ICESCR, drawing in particular upon the work of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The author addresses in detail particular aspects of the Covenant such as the role of the Committee in the supervision process, the nature of state obligations, the principle of non-discrimination, and the rights to work, to join and form Trade Unions, to housing, and to food. This original and scholarly work offers a timely examination of an increasingly significant human rights instrument, and will be of value to all those interested in Human Rights and International Law.

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Title Page

Editor's Preface

Preface

Preface to the Paperback Edition

Contents

Abbreviations

Table of Agreements, Charters, Committees, Conventions, Declarations, Resolutions, Recommendations and Treaties

Introduction

I: Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and Their Codification

2: The System of Supervision

3: State Obligations

4: Non-Discrimination and Equality

5: The Right to Work

6: Just and Favourable Conditions of Work

7: The Right to Form and Join Trade Unions

8: The Right to an Adequate Standard of Living

9: Conclusions

Appendix I the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

Appendix II General Comments of the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

Appendix III States Parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights as at 30 June 1994

Bibliography

Index
7.

Human Rights in the United Kingdom
by Richard Gordon, Richard Wilmot-Smith. 148 pgs.

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Central to any discussion of the present status of the idea of human rights in the United Kingdom is the incorporation of the European Convention of Human Rights. Incorporation has widespread support, and such support should be accompanied by informed debate. In this stimulating collection of essays, contributors such as Lord Bingham, Lord Lester QC, Andrew Marr of The Independent, and Ronald Dworkin, the highly respected legal theorist, present their arguments in favour of incorporation. The expression of their informed opinions and points of view results in a lively and readable book.

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Title Page

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

1: The European Convention on Human Rights: Time To Incorporate

Conclusion

2: Rights and Rites for a New Britain

3: Why We Need a Constitutional Court

4: Why Incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights is Not Enough

Introduction

5: A Bill of Rights as Secular Ethics

Conclusion

6: Does Britain Need a Bill of Rights?

Conclusion

7: Ideas Whose Time Has Passed

8: Incorporation and the Loss of Illusions

Conclusion

9: Taking Human Rights Seriously

Conclusion

Appendix
8.

The Impact of the Human Rights Bill on English Law, Vol. Three
by Basil S. Markesinis. 194 pgs.

Book

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This year a much anticipated Bill of Rights is to be submitted to the British House of Lords. This work examines the effect such a piece of legislation will have on various aspects of English law, including its potential influence on company and commercial law, freedom of speech, and criminal law.

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Title Page

Table of Contents

List of Contributors

I Introduction

2. Opening Address by the Lord Chancellor

3 on Constitutional Theory

4 the Impact on Judicial Reasoning

5 Lessons from South Africa

6 Self-Incrimination, Fair Trials, and the Pursuit of Corporate and Financial Wrongdoing

7 the Impact on Labour Law

8 the Impact on Freedom of Speech

V Conclusion

9 Equality Issues

Conclusion

10 the Implications for Commercial Lawyers in Practice

Ii the Impact on Criminal Justice

12 the Effect on the Law of Obligations

Introduction

Appendix Clifford Chance Conference, London, 28 November 1997, Participants

Index
9.

Migrant Workers in International Human Rights Law: Their Protection in Countries of Employment (Part III "Case Study of the Regional Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Their Families in Europe")
by Ryszard Cholewinski. 474 pgs.

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Migrant workers and their families outnumber refugees and displaced persons, but are given far less attention when it comes to the international protection of their rights. Indeed, to be an economic migrant today carries with it a stigma in a word where barriers to voluntary international migration are growing ever higher. This timely work evaluates the international protection of the rights of migrant workers and their families in countries of employment focusing on their economic, social, cultural, political, and residence rights. The book begins with an overview of international labour migration and its relationship to the right to development. It examines the rights of migrant workers as aliens in general international human rights law as well as the specific efforts and measures of the International Labour Organization and the United Nations. The final part contains a comprehensive case study of the multifarious standards adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe and the European Union to protect this increasingly vulnerable group of human beings.

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Title Page

Preface and Acknowledgements

Contents

Abbreviations

Table of Cases

Table of National Legislation

Table of Treaties and Other International Instruments

Table of European Community and Council of Europe Instruments

Introduction

Part I: International Migration for Employment, Aliens and Citizens

I: International Migration for Employment: An Overview with Reference to the Right to Development

2: Migrant Workers and Their Families as Aliens: Development of International Law and Applicability of Universal and Regional Human Rights Instruments

Part II: Universal Standards Specifically Relating to the Protection of Migrant Workers and Their Families

3: The Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Their Families by the Ilo with Particular Reference to the Migrant Workers Instruments of 1949 and 1975

4: The United Nations International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

Part III: Case Study of the Regional Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Their Families in Europe

Council of Europe Human Rights Conventions and European Community Law: A Comprehensive Framework for Protecting the Rights of Migrants in Europe?

6: Who is a 'Migrant Worker' in Europe?

7: The Right to Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination

8: Economic, Social, Cultural, Political, and Residence Rights

Conclusion: Towards Inclusion or Exclusion?

Bibliography

Index
10.

Human Rights and Comparative Foreign Policy (Chap. 3 "Trials and Errors: The Netherlands and Human Rights," Chap. 4 "British Foreign Policy and Human Rights: From Low to High Politics," and Chap. 9 "Human Rights and Foreign Policy in Central Europe: Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland")
by David P. Forsythe. 370 pgs.

Book

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Human Rights and Comparative Foreign Policy is the first book in English to examine the place of human rights in the foreign policies of a wide range of states during contemporary times. The book is also unique in utilizing a common framework of analysis for all 10 of the country or regional studies covered. This framework treats foreign policy as the result of a two-level game in which both domestic and foreign factors have to be considered. Leading experts from around the world analyze both liberal democratic and other foreign policies on human rights. A general introduction and a systematic conclusion add to the coherence of the project. The authors note the increasing attention given to human rights issues in contemporary foreign policy. At the same time, they argue that most states, including liberal democratic states that identify with human rights, are reluctant most of the time to elevate human rights concerns to a level equal to that of traditional security and economic concerns. When states do seek to integrate human rights with these and other concerns, the result is usually great inconsistency in patterns of foreign policy. The book further argues that different states bring different emphasis to their human rights diplomacy, because of such factors as national political culture and perceived national interests. In the last analysis states can be compared along two dimensions pertaining to human rights: extent to which they are oriented toward an international rather than national conception of rights; and extent to which they are oriented toward international rather than national action to protect human rights.

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Title Page

Contents

Tables and Figures

Acknowledgements

1: Introduction

Notes

Part I: Some Liberal Democracies of the Oecd

2: Us Foreign Policy and Human Rights: the Price of Principles after the Cold War

Notes

3: Trials and Errors: the Netherlands and Human Rights

Notes

4: British Foreign Policy and Human Rights: from Low to High Politics

Notes

5: Japan's Foreign Policy towards Human Rights: Uncertain Changes

Notes

Part II: Some Other States

6: Russian Foreign Policy and Human Rights: Conflicted Culture and Uncertain Policy

Notes

7: India's Human Rights Diplomacy: Crisis and Transformation

Notes

8: Iran and Human Rights

Notes

9: Human Rights and Foreign Policy in Central Europe: Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland

Notes

10: Human Rights and Foreign Policy in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Notes

11: Latin American Foreign Policies and Human Rights

Notes

12: An Overview

Notes

Postscript: the Kosovo Crisis

Contributors

Index
11.

Human Rights in Crisis: The International System for Protecting Rights during States of Emergency ("The Council of Europe" begins on p. 193 and "The Future for Europe" begins on p. 205)
by Joan Fitzpatrick. 282 pgs.

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Title Page

Contents

Editor's Foreword

Acknowledgments

A. Introduction

Chapter I Defining the Problem

Chapter II Effects of Emergencies on Human Rights

A. Introduction

A. Introduction

Chapter III Setting Standards

A. Introduction

Chapter IV the United Nations System: Treaty Organs

Chapter V the United Nations System: Non-Treaty Mechanisms

A. Introduction

Chapter VI Regional Systems

A. Introduction

Chapter VII the Role of Non-Governmental Organizations

Chapter VIII Conclusion

Appendix: the Queensland Guidelines for Bodies Monitoring Respect for Human Rights During States of Emergency

Bibliography

Table of Cases

Index
12.

International Human Rights (Chap. Seven "War and Genocide in the Former Yugoslavia")
by Jack Donnelly. 224 pgs.

Book

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"Human rights" as we know them did not exist (as a cultural and political force) before 1945. Author Jack Donnelly traces the rise of human rights issues coming out of World War II and shows their transformation in the intervening years, including the post-Cold War agendas that have emerged since 1989. Includes figures, tables, documents, suggested readings, photos, and more.

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Title Page

Contents

Tables and Boxes

Acknowledgments

Acronyms

Introduction: A Note to the Reader

One: Human Rights as an Issue In World Politics

Two: Theories of Human Rights

Three: The Domestic Politics Of Human Rights: the Case Of The Southern Cone

Four: The Multilateral Politics Of Human Rights

Five: Human Rights And Foreign Policy

Six: Responding to Tiananmen

Seven: War and Genocide In The Former Yugoslavia

Eight: International Human Rights In a Post-Cold War World

Appendix: Universal Declaration Of Human Rights

Discussion Questions

Notes

Suggested Readings

Glossary

Index
13.

Prosecuting Human Rights Violations from a Previous Regime: The East European Experience, in East European Quarterly
by Mark Gibney. 18 pgs.

Journal Article

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