This book examines the relationship between human rights ideals and laws, exploring how legalization influences our understanding of rights. It features diverse perspectives from various fields, addressing the ethical, political, and practical implications of human rights law. Essential for anyone seeking to understand and promote a genuine human rights culture.
The book provides an original interpretation of the authority of international law - an interpretation that is not tied to prior state consent nor to domestic constitutional frameworks. it offers a nuanced account, arguing that whether international law has a claim to authority in any given situation depends on the type of duty it imposes on the state and that duty's normative force. There is no strict framework in which international law always trumps domestic law or vice versa. Instead, the author presents a realistic account of when international law has absolute authority, and when it can afford for states to have a margin of appreciation