Overview

Human Rights between Idealism and Realism presents human rights in action, focusing on their effectiveness as legal tools designed to benefit human beings. By combining conceptual analysis with an emphasis on procedures and mechanisms of implementation, this volume provides a multidimensional overview of human rights. After examining briefly the history of human rights, the author analyses the intellectual framework that forms the basis of their legitimacy. In particular, he covers the concept of universality and the widely used model that classifies human rights into clusters of different 'generations'. The volume then moves on to analyse the activities of the political institutions of the United Nations, the expert bodies established by the relevant treaties, and the international tribunals specifically entrusted at the regional level with protecting human rights. The author explains how and why in recent years, the classical array of politically inspired informal devices has been enriched by the addition of international criminal procedures and by endeavours to introduce civil suits against alleged individual violators of human rights. Finally, the volume is rounded off by a consideration of the importance of humanitarian law as an instrument for the protection of human life and dignity.

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9780199268610

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A good book ... well organized and clearly written, and includes a wealth of important information (and citations). It will be particularly helpful for courses that want to place emphasis on human rights practice. It is also a healthy reminder of the fact that, despite the many setbacks, the human rights discourse is here to stay. Political Science Quarterly

Author Information

Christian Tomuschat is Professor of Constitutional and International Law at Humboldt University, Berlin.

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