What are human rights?
- Mere philosophical concepts?
- Another name of constitutional rights?
- Domestic law or international law?
Human Rights on Domestic Plane
- 1215 Magna Carta
- 1689 English Bill of Rights
- 1776 US Declaration of Independence
- 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights
- 1789 French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
- 1789 US Constitution
- 1791 US Bill of Rights
Sources of International law
- Art. 38, the Statute of International Court of Justice
- International conventions;
- International customs,
- The general principles of law recognized by civilized nations;
- Judicial decisions and the teachings of most highly qualified publicists
- 102 Sources of International Law, Restatement of the Law, Third, Foreign Relations Law of the United States(1) A rule of international law is one that has been accepted as such by the international community of states
- (a) in the form of customary law;
- (b) by international agreement; or
- (c) by derivation from general principles common to the major legal systems of the world.
(2) Customary international law results from a general and consistent practice of states followed by them from a sense of legal obligation.
(3) International agreements create law for the states parties thereto and may lead to the creation of customary international law when such agreements are intended for adherence by states generally and are in fact widely accepted.
(4) General principles common to the major legal systems, even if not incorporated or reflected in customary law or international agreement, may be invoked as supplementary rules of international law where appropriate.
UN Human Rights Treaties
- CERD: International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 21 Dec 1965
- ICCPR: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 16 Dec 1966
- ICESCR: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 16 Dec 1966
- CEDAW: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 18 Dec 1979
- CAT: Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 10 Dec 1984
- CRC: Convention on the Rights of the Child 20 Nov 1989
- CMW: International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families 18 Dec 1990
- CRPD: Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 13 Dec 2006
- ICED: International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 20 Dec 2006