This book examines the idea of a fundamental entitlement to health and healthcare from a human rights perspective. The volume is based on a particular conceptual reasoning that balances critical thinking and pragmatism in the context of a universal right to health. Thus, the primary focus of the book is the relationship or contrast between rights-based discourse/jurisprudential arguments and real-life healthcare contexts. The work sets out the constraints that are imposed on a universal right to health by practical realities such as economic hardship in countries, lack of appropriate governance, and lack of support for the implementation of this right through appropriate resource allocation. It queries the degree to which the existence of this legally enshrined right and its application in instruments such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) can be more than an ephemeral aspiration but can, actually, sustain, promote, and instil good practice. It further asks if social reality and the inequalities that present themselves therein impede the implementation of laudable human rights, particularly within marginalised communities and cadres of people. It deliberates on what states and global bodies do, or could do, in practical terms to ensure that such rights are moved beyond the aspirational and become attainable and implementable. Divided into three parts, the first analyses the notion of a universal inalienable right to health(care) from jurisprudential, anthropological, legal, and ethical perspectives. The second part considers the translation of international human rights norms into specific jurisdictional healthcare contexts. With a global perspective it includes countries with very different legal, economic, and social contexts. Finally, the third part summarises the lessons learnt and provides a pathway for future action. The book will be an invaluable resource for students, academics, and policymakers working in the areas of health law and policy, and international human rights law.

This title was first published in 2003. Environmental Human Rights redefines the political, ethical and legal relationships between the environment and human rights to claim the human rights to an environment free from toxic pollution and to natural resources. Through a focus on the operational dynamics of social power, this compelling book details how global capitalism subjugates concerns of human security and environmental protection to the values of allocative efficiency and economic growth. The capacity of social power to construct ethical norms and to determine the efficacy of law is examined to explain how ethical and legal concepts have been selectively applied to accommodate existing patterns of production, consumption and exchange that cause environmental degradation and human rights violations. By looking at how environmental values have been systematically excluded from the human rights discourse, the book claims that human rights politics and law has been constructed on double standards to accommodate the destructive forces of capitalism.

The book concerns the study and analysis of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights from an international legal perspective, taking into consideration the adoption of the 2008 Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

The volume provides a detailed account of the structure and functioning of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the light of its jurisprudence, through a study of the Committee s procedures and practices (periodic reports and general comments), including taking into account the Optional Protocol for individual complaint procedure. The book considers the possible implications of the work of this Committee on other UN Committees, such as the Human Rights Committee and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, as well as considering the repercussions of its work on the international protection of fundamental rights, such as the right to education, to health and adequate food.

The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will be of particular interest to academics and students of International and Human Rights law.

Following on from her previous nine books on discrimination law, Anne-Marie Mooney Cotter now focuses on the goal of child equality. Examining issues of child labour and the relevant laws which are designed to protect the most vulnerable in our society, the book explores the primary role of legislation and the judicial system and its impact on the fight for child rights and the ultimate goal of the end of inequality. The book considers the major common law countries of Australia and New Zealand, Africa and South Africa, Canada, Mexico and the United States, and the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the European Union Treaty in a historical and compelling analysis of discrimination worldwide. By providing a detailed examination of child rights and the law, it will be an important read for those concerned with equality and empowering those most vulnerable to discrimination, the children.

More than five years after the commencement of the Human Rights Act 1998, it is timely to evaluate the Act's effectiveness. The focus of Making Rights Real is on the extent to which the Act has delivered on the promise to 'bring rights home'. To that end the book considers how the judiciary, parliament and the executive have performed in the new roles that the Human Rights Act requires them to play and the courts' application of the Act in different legal spheres. This account cuts through the rhetoric and controversy surrounding the Act, generated by its champions and detractors alike, to reach a measured assessment. The true impact in public law, civil law, criminal law and on anti-terrorism legislation are each considered. Finally, the book discusses whether we are now nearer to a new constitutional settlement and to the promised new 'rights culture'.

Cosmopolitan Justice and its Discontents pursues a reflection upon the institutional orders designed to ensure respect for the rule of law, human rights, and social justice. The majority of literature on cosmopolitanism tends to be oriented in sociology, political science or philosophy, and is largely positive. This book aims to fill the lacuna with respect to critical and legal perspectives in this field. In particular, it highlights the importance of international economic law and its institutions when evaluating the evolution of cosmopolitan norms. In addition, it provides critical and multidisciplinary perspectives on Cosmopolitan Justice and Sovereignty; Institutions, Civil Society and Accountability; and Social Exclusion, Migration, and Global Markets. This book will be of considerable interest to academics and students concerned with international public and private law, international criminal law, international economic law, human rights, migration, criminology, political science, and philosophy.

Homosexuality and the European Court of Human Rights is the first book-length study of the Court's jurisprudence in respect of sexual orientation. It offers a socio-legal analysis of the substantial number of decisions and judgments of the Strasbourg organs on the wide range of complaints brought by gay men and lesbians under the European Convention on Human Rights. Providing a systematic analysis of Strasbourg case law since 1955 and examining decades of decisions that have hitherto remained obscure, the book considers the evolution of the Court's interpretation of the Convention and how this has fashioned lesbian and gay rights in Europe. Going beyond doctrinal analysis by employing a nuanced sociological consideration of Strasbourg jurisprudence, Paul Johnson shows how the Court is a site at which homosexuality is both socially constructed and regulated. He argues that although the Convention is conceived as a 'living instrument' to be interpreted 'in the light of present-day conditions' the Court's judgments have frequently forged and advanced new social conditions in respect of homosexuality. Johnson argues that the Court's jurisprudence has an extra-legal importance because it provides an authoritative and powerful discursive resource that can be mobilized by lesbians and gay men to challenge homophobic and heteronormative social relations in contemporary societies. As such, the book considers how the Court's interpretation of the Convention might be evolved in the future to better protect lesbian and gay rights and lives.

Written by an established scholar in the field, this text examines the nature of emergency powers and their use in the Russian constitution. It explores the use of such powers in Russian history, comparing the Russian situation with those that exist in other countries and discussing the legal thought underpinning such powers. The practicalities and theories of emergency orders are traced throughout history with Dormin arguing that the longer an emergency regime lasts, the less effective the measure becomes. With original research and remarkable insight, this text will be of interest to scholars examining the new Russia, its rulers, conflicts and motives, as well as its political systems.

Latin America has a long tradition of constitutional reform. Since the democratic transitions of the 1980s, most countries have amended their constitutions at least once, and some have even undergone constitutional reform several times. The global phenomenon of a new constitutionalism, with enhanced rights provisions, finds expression in the region, but the new constitutions, such as those of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, also have some peculiar characteristics which are discussed in this important book. Authors from a number of different disciplines offer a general overview of constitutional reforms in Latin America since 1990. They explore the historical, philosophical and doctrinal differences between traditional and new constitutionalism in Latin America and examine sources of inspiration. The book also covers sociopolitical settings, which factors and actors are relevant for the reform process, and analyzes the constitutional practices after reform, including the question of whether the recent constitutional reforms created new post-liberal democracies with an enhanced human and social rights record, or whether they primarily serve the ambitions of new political leaders.

Strategic Visions for Human Rights takes a multi-disciplinary approach to future directions for human rights. It looks beyond what international human rights treaties have so far established and considers the context in which rights in the twenty-first century might develop to meet needs. The book examines how international law might be utilized to protect groups rather than just individual members of the group and it also calls into question the liberal positivist approach to international law that provides the framework for human rights norms. The book is written and published in honour of Professor Kevin Boyle. It celebrates his long career in human rights law both as an academic and a practising barrister. Professor Boyle has taken numerous cases on human rights issues to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and has long been involved in human rights aspects of the peace process in Northern Ireland. He has published widely on human rights issues, focusing on freedom of expression and religion and non-discrimination. The contributors to this volume are well-known academics in the field of human rights and include Francesca Klug, Conor Gearty, David Beetham and Asbjorn Eide. Amongst some of the issues addressed in the book are the future of the European Court of Human Rights, the role of academics play in engendering transition to post-conflict democratic states, and human rights and religious pluralism.

The Delivery of Human Rights reflects on two overlapping issues in international human rights law: how can existing norms be better implemented and effected, and how can other branches of international law or other international actors be used so as to provide an improved delivery of those norms. Rather than simply looking at the content of the rights, this book will also explore how the framers' intention that individuals benefit from the norms can be achieved. The book is written and published in honour of Professor Sir Nigel Rodley KBE. It celebrates his career as an academic and practitioner in the area of human rights. Professor Rodley acted as the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture from 1993 to 2001 and is currently a member of the UN Human Rights Committee. He is also a member of the International Commission of Jurists. Since 2001 he has been a Member of the UN Human Rights Committee, established under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In 1998 he was knighted in the Queen's New Year's Honours list for services to Human Rights and International Law and in 2000 he received an honorary LLD from Dalhousie University. He is Professor and Chair of the Human Rights Centre, University of Essex, having taught there since 1990. The contributors to this volume are notable experts in the area of human rights law and include Paul Hunt, Malcolm Evans, Michael O'Flaherty and David Weissbrodt. The book addresses such topics as the Role of Special Rapporteurs, how can the absolute prohibition of torture be properly implemented, Responsibility to Protect, non-state actors, including businesses, and human rights.

In Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa, Jennifer Moore studies the role and application of humanitarian law by focusing on African countries that are emerging from civil wars. Moore offers an overview of international law, including its essential vocabulary, and describes four particular subfields of international law: international humanitarian law, international human rights law, international criminal law, and international refugee law. After setting forth this overview, Moore considers practical mechanisms to implement international humanitarian law, focusing specifically on the experiences of Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Burundi. Through the case studies of these countries, Moore describes transitional justice's fundamental components: criminal, social, and historical. Although the African continent has gone through some of the world's greatest humanitarian emergencies, issues such as violence against women, child soldiers, and genocide are not unique to Africa, and as such, the study of humanitarian law by examining Africa's experience is important to conflict resolution and reconstruction throughout the world.

This book proposes a significant reassessment of the history of Iraq, documenting democratic experiences from ancient Mesopotamia through to the US occupation. Such an analysis takes to task claims that the 'West' has a uniquely democratic history and a responsibility to spread democracy across the world. It also reveals that Iraq has a democratic history all of its own, from ancient Middle Eastern assemblies and classical Islamic theology and philosophy, through to the myriad political parties, newspapers and protest movements of more recent times. This book argues that the democratic history of Iraq could serve as a powerful political and discursive tool where the Iraqi people may come to feel a sense of ownership over democracy and take pride in endorsing it. This could go a long way towards mitigating the current conflicts across the nation and in stabilizing and legitimating its troubled democracy. Taking an interdisciplinary approach and referring to some of the most influential critical theorists to question ideological assumptions about democracy and its history, this book is useful to those interested in political and legal history, human rights and democracy.

Understanding the Islamic Veiling Controversy provides a sophisticated analysis of relevant legislation and case law in order to examine the assumptions and limits of the debates surrounding the issue of Islamic veiling. For some, Islamic veiling indicates a lack of autonomy, the oppression of women and the threat of Islamic radicalism to Western secular values; for others, it suggests a positive autonomous choice and a legitimate exercise of one's freedom of religion -- a much treasured right in democratic societies. Across seemingly diverse legal and political traditions, however, a set of discursive frameworks -- the preoccupation with autonomy and choice; the imperative of gender equality; and a particular secular understanding of religion and religious subjectivity -- shape the positions of both proponents and opponents of various restrictions on Islamic veiling. Rather than take a position on one or the other side of the debate, this book explores and challenges these frameworks. And, in so doing, it brings a consistent and sophisticated theoretical outlook to a comprehensive consideration of Islamic veiling controversies, as they have arisen around the world.

Based on original research and personal encounters, this book narrates the real-life-stories of women locked up in Indian prisons for alleged or actual violations of the state s criminal laws, contextualizing women offenders experiences of the criminal justice system and of state custodial institutions.

within the larger narratives of their particular lives, thus interrogating the social as well as legal frameworks within which women face adversities in their lives and in custody. It argues that the sex and gender issues that affect women outside are carried over inside, with extremely damaging consequences for the lives and mental health of women prisoners. The volume will be of interest to those in gender studies, legal studies, sociology, and human rights organisations, as well as to policy makers and the general reader.

Expert food historians provide detailed histories of the creation and development of particular delicacies in six regions of medieval Europe-Britain, France, Italy, Sicily, Spain, and the Low Countries.

As globalization continues to spread and evolve, so nation-states attempt to govern financialization, tax evasion, corruption, terrorism, civil and military conflicts and environmental dangers, social polarization and the complexities in human rights implementation, by institutional and transnational means. This volume discusses these issues from different legal perspectives and highlights the challenges of governing human activity in an age of remarkable interconnectedness. Covering a broad range of policy areas and analysis of emerging forms of governance from liberal to critical and Marxist, the chapters are legal in their approach and form an important contribution to the growing study of emergent forms of authority, coordination and power developing in response to the challenges presented by some of the key contemporary governance issues in the first half of the twenty-first century.

Rhetoric scholars have articulated diverse approaches to both civil and human rights as political, ethical, and academic discourses. "Traditions of Testifying and Witnessing" initiates important interdisciplinary conversations within human rights rhetoric concerning the construction of rights knowledge, the role of advocacy, and politics of representations during acts of witnessing. Developing a conceptual framework for rhetorical inquiry into rights discourse, the collection of essays by established scholars demonstrates a range of approaches and subject matter. From textual analysis of AIDS politics and activism to theoretical discussions of the nature of rights rhetoric and confession, the book challenges many current assumptions about rights history and practices and still provides an introduction to the recent themes for classroom use. To encourage critical reflection on the assumptions, contentions, and implications of political representations and human rights, the editors have concluded the collection with a series of suggestive visual works without comment to prompt viewers' own engagement with them. This book was originally published as a special issue of Rhetoric Society Quarterly

The connection between environment and health has been well studied and documented, particularly by the World Health Organization. It is now being included in some legal instruments, although for the most part caselaw does not explicitly make that connection. Neither the right to life nor the rights to health or to normal development are actually cited in the resolution of cases and in judges' decisions. This volume makes the connection explicit in a broad review of human rights and legal issues associated with public health and the environment. It will be particularly useful as many legal instruments emphasize the right to 'development' without fully discussing the necessary safety and public health aspects, and the respect for the ecology of any area where such 'development' (often unwanted by local or indigenous communities) is to be located. Climate change is another pressing variable that is considered, and several chapters address the interface between human health and ecological conditions. Overall the book integrates perspectives from a wide range of disciplines, including ethics, ecology, public health and epidemiology, and human rights and law.

Panoramic and provocative in its scope, this handbook is the definitive guide to contemporary issues associated with male sex work and a must read for those who study masculinities, male sexuality, sexual health, and sexual cultures. This groundbreaking volume will have a powerful impact on our understanding of this challenging, elusive subject. While the internet has brought the previously hidden worlds of male sex work more starkly into public view, academic research has often remained locked into descriptions of male sex workers and their clients as perverse. Drawing from a variety of regions, the chapters provide insights into the historical, popular cultural, social, and economic aspects of sex work, as well as demographic patterns, health outcomes, and policy issues. This approach shifts thought on male sex work from a hidden "social problem" to a publicly acknowledged "social phenomenon." The book challenges myths and reconceptualizes male sex work as a discrete field. Importantly, it provides a vehicle for the voices of male sex workers and new and established scholars. This richly detailed, humane, and innovative collection retrieves male sex work from silence and invisibility on the one hand and its association with scandal and stigma on the other. The findings within have profound implications for how governments approach public health and regulation of the sex industry and for how society can make sense of the complexities of human sexualities. A compelling scholarly read and a major contribution to a commercial sector that is often neglected in policy debates on sex work, this handbook will be of great interest to scholars of criminology, sociology, gender studies, and cultural studies and all those interested in male sex work.

The Stonewall Riot in New York in 1969 marked the birth of the sexual minority rights movement worldwide. In the subsequent four decades, equality and related rights on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity have been enshrined in many African, Asian, Australasian, European and North American countries, thanks to better informed discourses of the natures of sexual orientation, gender identity, equality and rights that systematic scientific and socio-legal research has generated. Discrimination, harassment and persecution on grounds of a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, however, continue to pervade the laws and social norms in all developed and developing countries. In tribute to the courage of those who participated in the Stonewall Riot, this book examines the progress and stalemate in various countries on five continents, as well as in the development of international law, concerning the rights of persons belonging to sexual minorities. This book covers issues including homophobic bullying and gay-straight alliances in schools; the merits and problems that legislation prohibiting hate speech on grounds of sexual orientation presents; criminal justice systems in relation to male rape victims and to criminalisation of HIV exposure and transmission; the development of sexual minority rights, from historical and socio-legal perspectives, in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and Zimbabwe; the lives of transgender persons in Asian countries; the evolution, operation and impact of international and domestic refugee laws on sexual orientation and gender identity as grounds for refugee status and asylum; and the conflicts between law, religion and sexual minority equality rights that inhere in the same-sex marriage debate in Ireland. This book was previously published as a special double issue of The International Journal of Human Rights.

Education is a fundamental human right that is recognised as essential for the attainment of all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. It was not until 2006, on the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), that the right to inclusive education was codified. This volume fills a major gap in the literature on the right of disabled people to education. It examines the theoretical foundations and core content of the right to inclusive education in international human rights law, and explores the various ways of implementing this right through an exploration of legal strategies and mechanisms. With contributions by leaders in the field, this volume advances scholarship on the core content of the right to inclusive education by examining the content and practice of the right at the national, regional and international levels.

The role of capital punishment in America has been criticised by those for and against the death penalty, by the judiciary, academics, the media and by prison personnel. This book demonstrates that it is the inconsistent and often incoherent jurisprudence of the United States Supreme Court which accounts for a system so lacking in public confidence. Using case studies, Kenneth Williams examines issues such as jury selection, ineffective assistance of counsel, the role of race and claims of innocence which affect the Court's decisions and how these decisions are played out in the lower courts, often an inmate's last recourse before execution. Discussing international treaties and their lack of impact on capital punishment in America, this book has international appeal and makes an important contribution to legal scholarship. It also provides a unique understanding of the dynamics of an alarmingly problematic system and will be valuable to those interested in human rights and criminal justice.

Notwithstanding the widespread and persistent affirmation of the indivisibility and equal worth of all human rights, socio-economic rights continue to be treated as the "Cinderella" of the human rights corpus. At a domestic level this has resulted in little appetite for the explicit recognition and judicial enforcement of such rights in constitutional democracies. The primary reason for this is the prevalent apprehension that the judicial enforcement of socio-economic rights is fundamentally at variance with the doctrine of the separation of powers. This study, drawing on comparative experiences in a number of jurisdictions which have addressed (in some cases more explicitly than others) the issue of socio-economic rights, seeks to counter this argument by showing that courts can play a substantial role in the vindication of socio-economic rights, while still respecting the relative institutional prerogatives of the elected branches of government. Drawing lessons from experiences in South Africa, India, Canada and Ireland, this study seeks to articulate a "model adjudicative framework" for the protection of socio-economic rights. In this context the overarching concern is to find some role for the courts in vindicating socio-economic rights, while also recognising the importance of the separation of powers and the primary role that the elected branches of government must play in protecting and vindicating such rights. The text incorporates discussion of the likely impact and significance of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and looks at the implications of the Mazibuko decision for the development of South Africa's socio-economic rights jurisprudence.

This book offers an overview of the history and development of civil society in three major nations of South Asia - Pakistan, India and Bangladesh - from colonial times to the present. It examines the liberalization of civil society since the 1980s, the needs it created for civil action, the professionalization of civil society organizations, and the extent to which civil society may benefit society at large in the context of local, national and global transformations in the economy, political regime and ideology. The reader will find new insights on the interaction between the liberalization of multifaceted civil societies in the three countries, presenting contrasts such as restrictions put on women's organizations or labour unions and acceptance of religious organizations' activities. The volume looks at forms of transfer of civil society models, representation and democratic legitimacy of civil society organizations such as nongovernmental organizations, government organized NGOs and faith-based organizations, along with the structuring of civil society through legal frames as well as female, religious, and ethnic mobilizations around language and literature. Using wide-ranging empirical data and theoretical analyses, it deals with civil society issues relating to human rights and political challenges, justice, inequality, empowerment, and the role of bureaucracy, women's movements, and ethnic and linguistic minorities. It also presents early responses to the Covid-19 crisis in 2020 which created significant pressure on the states and on civil society. This book will be useful to scholars and researchers of political studies, development studies, sociology, public policy and governance, law and human rights, as also to professionals in think tanks, civil society activists and NGOs.