International Law for Humankind


Book Description

Fully updated and covering the new challenges and dangers which have emerged since publication of the previous edition, the new 3rd Edition of International Law for Humankind builds on the revised and adapted text of a General Course on Public International Law delivered by the Author at The Hague Academy of International Law. Professor Cançado Trindade develops his Leitmotiv of identification of a corpus juris increasingly oriented to the fulfillment of the needs and aspirations of human beings, of peoples and of humankind as a whole. With the overcoming of the purely inter-State dimension of the discipline of the past, international legal personality has expanded, so as to encompass nowadays, besides States and international organizations, also peoples, individuals and humankind as subjects of International Law. The growing consciousness of the need to pursue universally-shared values has brought about a fundamental change in the outlook of International Law in the last decades, drawing closer attention to its foundations and, parallel to its formal sources, to its material source (the universal juridical conscience). He examines the conceptual constructions of this new International Law and identifies basic considerations of humanity permeating its whole corpus juris, disclosing the current processes of its humanization and universalization. Finally, he addresses the construction of the international rule of law, acknowledging the need and quest for international compulsory jurisdiction, in the move towards a new jus gentium, the International Law for humankind.




Judge Antônio A. Cançado Trindade. The Construction of a Humanized International Law


Book Description

This volume is the sixth in the Series The Judges, which collects and synthesizes the opinions of leading international Judges of the contemporary era who have contributed significantly to the progressive development of international law. The current volume contains a selection of the Individual Opinions of Judge Antônio A. Cançado Trindade, former Judge and President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and since 2008 a Judge of the International Court of Justice. Many dwell on aspects of the increased humanization of international law. Elevating this body of norms, which have traditionally focused on purely inter-State relations, to a level where individuals and their suffering (projected in time) become a primary concern, is without doubt Antônio A. Cançado Trindade ́s major doctrinal contribution. Revisiting the traditional conceptions of the basis of State responsibility and of jurisdiction, the problems of amnesty laws, the prohibitions of jus cogens, the imperative of access to justice in the light of jus cogens, the obligations erga omnes of protection, the provisional measures of protection, locus standi in judicio and the international legal personality of the human person, jus standi and the international legal capacity of the human person, and developments in reparations, are but a few examples of the themes examined in the learned Opinions expressed by Judge Cançado Trindade at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The great achievement of Judge Cançado Trindade at the International Court of Justice has been to draw attention to this dimension, and to further its development in the international case-law, in the light of the universal juridical conscience and stressing the relevance of general principles of international law. In a significant number of cases the World Court acts today as a human rights court, dealing increasingly, albeit under the traditional umbrella of inter-State disputes, with situations that involve human suffering and lead it to find human rights violations. The volume includes a Preface by Dean Spielmann and a General Introduction by Andrew Drzemczewski. Two volume set. This title comprises volume 1 & 2. We also offer this title as part of a 3 volume set (isbn 9789004375048).




The Access of Individuals to International Justice


Book Description

This book contends that the right of access to justice (at national and international levels) constitutes a basic cornerstone of the international protection of human rights, and conforms a true right to the Law. It amounts, lato sensu, to the right to the realization of justice. In such understanding, it comprises not only the formal access to a tribunal or judge, but also respect for the guarantees of due process of law, the right to a fair trial, and to reparations (whenever they are due), and the faithful execution of judgments. On its part, the right to an effective domestic remedy is a basic pillar of the rule of law in a democratic society. In its part, the right of international individual petition, together with the safeguard of the integrity of international jurisdiction, constitute the basic foundations of the emancipation of the individual vis-à-vis his own State. This is a domain that has undergone a remarkable development in recent years. It is submitted that the right of access to justice belongs today to the domain of jus cogens. Without it, there is no legal system at all. The protection of the human person in the most adverse circumstances has evolved amongst considerations of ordre public. Such recent evolution has been contributing to the gradual expansion of the material content of jus cogens. Furthermore, the very notion of "victim" (encompassing direct, indirect and potential victims) has been the subject of a considerable international case-law. Victims have had their cause vindicated in situations of utmost adversity, if not defencelessness (e.g., abandoned or "street children", undocumented migrants, members of peace communities in situations of armed conflict, internally displaced persons, individuals in infra-human conditions of detention, surviving victims of massacres).




Yearbook of the European Convention on Human Rights, 2001/Annuaire De LA Convention Europenne Des Droits De L'Homme


Book Description

This volume of the "Yearbook of the European Convention on Human Rights," prepared by the Directorate of Human Rights of the Council of Europe, relates to 2001. Its presentation follows that of previous volumes. Part one contains basic texts and information of a general nature; part two deals with the European Commission of Human Rights; part three with the European Court of Human Rights; part four with the Resolutions of the Committee of Ministers; and parts five and six with the other work of the Council of Europe in the field of human rights, the situation in the Member States, and developments within the European Communities. A bibliography and index are included.