Our story always seems to pit the good guys against the bad guys:the founding fathers versus the evil empire, man versus machine, Main Street versus Wall Street, the ninety-nine percent versus the one percent. Nobody, including those of us who struggle to realize human rights in the United...

Does a woman have a human right to resist rape or murder? Do people have a human right to resist tyranny? The United Nations Human Rights Council has said no - that international law recognizes no human right of self-defense. To the contrary, the Human Rights Council declares that very severe...

This chapter is focused on the challenges and implications of Articles 20(1), 21, 22, 24, and 44 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP; the Declaration). These provisions are centered on: the economic, social, and cultural (ESC) rights of indigenous...

This article suggests that a re-evaluation of the principle of subsidiarity is in order. While I make no sweeping claims that the principle of subsidiarity is always preferable or always undesirable, I do suggest that a close look at the myriad ways in which subsidiarity applies reveals that it...

In 2006, a new United Nations Human Rights Council came into existence, replacing the former UN Commission on Human Rights with a restructured body. To help achieve its goals, a new mechanism for monitoring the human rights performance of all states was also introduced, known as Universal...

The legal context may not be the only context in which human rights are applied, but it certainly is an important one. With a view to assessing human rights in the context both of the courtroom and of legal scholarship, this paper sets out some of the basics of law and legal method

This article weighs up the arguments against justiciability of Economic Social Rights (ESRs). It emphasizes the importance of ESRs; stipulates that any argument against the legitimacy of judicial enforcement of ESRs is neither plausible nor supported by reality on ground; and seeks to cast doubt...

This paper analyses the forgotten right to continuous improvement of living conditions in ICESCR Art 11(1), drawing on: the travaux préparatoires; the broader context of Twentieth Century international law; and the work of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It argues that we...

In the long battle against corruption, the last 20 years or so has yielded a number of international legal and institutional initiatives -- most notably, the OECD Bribery Convention and the UN Convention Against Corruption; regional anti-corruption conventions (in both Africa and the Americas);...