International human rights law Part 23

CHILD RIGHTS AT THE CORE: THE USE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN SOUTH AFRICAN CASES ON CHILDREN’S SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS
Solange Rosa and Mira Dutschke
South African Journal on Human Rights
Volume 22, Part 2, 2006 p.224

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, explicitly protects the socio-economic rights of children and adults. When interpreting these provisions in the Bill of Rights, the Constitution states that international law ‘must be considered’. This refers to binding and non-binding international legal instruments such as the Treaties and the General Comments made by the supervisory bodies. This article argues that the courts have an essential role to play in the realisation of International human rights law . Analysis of the judgments of the South African courts shows however that there are flaws in their use and enforcement of international and regional human rights law. In general, the courts tend merely to mention some of the applicable international law provisions without considering them in sufficient detail. Binding international law relevant to the rights of children is not given the same attention as non-binding international law. It is argued that the courts have not properly defined the scope and content of children’s socio-economic rights. Recommendations are made as to how the courts could strengthen their role in promoting the socio-economic rights of children through the considered use and enforcement of international law.

LOOKING OVER A CROWD AND PICKING YOUR FRIENDS: CIVIL RIGHTS AND THE DEBATE OVER THE INFLUENCE OF FOREIGN AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
Stanley A. Halpin
Hastings International and Comparative Law Review
Volume 30, Number 1, Fall 2006 p.1

ENDING IMPUNITY IN THE AMERICAS: THE ROLE OF THE INTER- AMERICAN HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM IN ADVANCING ACCOUNTABILITY FOR SERIOUS CRIMES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
Brian D. Tittemore
Southwestern Journal of International Law
Volume 12, Number 2, 2006 p.429

The UN Human Rights Norms for Corporations: The Private Implications of Public International Law
David Kinley and Rachel Chambers
Human Rights Law Review
Volume 6, Number 3, 2006 p.447-497

Human Rights & Gender Violence: Translating International Law into Local Justice. By Sally Engle Merry
Mindie Lazarus-Black
Law & Society Review
Volume 40, Number 4, December 2006 p.979

Modern Condottieri in Iraq: Privatizing War from the Perspective of International and Human Rights Law
Antenor Hallo de Wolf
Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies
Volume 13, Number 2, Summer 2006 p.315

The European Union and Human Rights: An International Law Perspective
Tawhida Ahmed and Israel de Jesús Butler
European Journal of International law
Volume 17, Number 4, September 2006 p.771-801

THE LONG MARCH TO BINDING OBLIGATIONS OF TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS IN INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
Danwood Mzikenge Chirwa
South African Journal on Human Rights
Volume 22, Part 1, 2006 p.76

States are no longer the sole source of human rights violations. In the context of increasing economic globalisation, non-state actors — particularly transnational corporations (TNCs) — have assumed enormous powers which were once considered to fall within the exclusive preserve of the state. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult for states to regulate and control these actors to ensure that they do not commit human rights violations or that they are held accountable for those violations. The UN Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with regard to Human Rights (UN Norms) adopted in 2003 by the UN Sub-Commission for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights are the most significant step the international community has taken towards developing binding human rights standards for TNCs. Development of the UN Norms was motivated by the need to fill the vacuum created by lapses in the operation of the doctrine of state responsibility and gaps in the implementation of voluntary corporate guidelines or codes. Relying on the experience of earlier efforts to develop human rights standards for corporations and their effectiveness, this article argues that the idea of human rights would risk losing its vitality if the UN Norms were to be adopted by the UN General Assembly as a voluntary mechanism and without meaningful enforcement mechanisms.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

International human rights law, Treaties.