Centre for Advanced Study

at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

Should States Ratify Human Rights Conventions?

Abstract

International conventions now protect a wide range of human rights: civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights, and the rights of vulnerable groups, such as women, children and the disabled. International organs - courts and supervisory bodies - help ensure that states comply with their conmitments. Many see this as major positive developments. At the same time, states worry that their freedom is restricted in areas traditionally part of the national domain. And the international organs have interpretated the conventions in ways that expand the international obligations. These developments raise both descriptive and normative challenges, especially concerning the democratic legitimacy of human rights courts and supervisory bodies.

The research group brings together legal scholars, social scientists, and political philosophers to address three central puzzles in the field of human rights conventions:

  • the motivations of states when they enter into the conventions,
  • the effects of these conventions on states, and, in light of these findings,
  • whether such conventions are normatively legitimate.

Focus is on four conventions with different geographical reach and whose monitoring or adjudication bodies enjoy different powers:

  • The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR),
  • the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
  • the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
  • the ILO Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries

To understand and assess the impact of human rights conventions is of the highest practical political importance, and also of great theoretical interest. How human rights norms affect the objectives, perceptions and choices of states and other actors also sheds light on more general issues of global governance: What are the roles and potential of ‘principled ideas’ - such as human rights ideals - and law at the level of international governance? How is sovereignty reconceived in response to, and as part of, processes of ‘legalization’ and globalisation?

End Report

International conventions now protect a wide range of human rights: civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights, and the rights of vulnerable groups, such as women, children and the disabled. International organs - courts and supervisory bodies - help ensure that states comply with their commitments. Many see this as major positive developments. At the same time, states worry that their freedom is restricted in areas traditionally part of the national domain. The international organs have also interpreted the conventions in ways that expand the international obligations. These developments raise both descriptive and normative challenges, especially concerning the democratic legitimacy of human rights courts and supervisory bodies.

The project brought together legal scholars, social scientists, and political philosophers to address three central puzzles concerning these challenges to human rights conventions:

  • the motivations of states when they enter into the conventions,
  • the effects of these conventions on states, and, in light of these findings,
  • whether such conventions are normatively legitimate.

Particular attention was paid to:

  • The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
  • The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
  • The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
  • The ILO Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries.

Group members have addressed various aspects of the three main questions through intensive and regular interdisciplinary exchange, seminars, and working groups on topics ranging from particular court cases to methodological challenges. Each member of the research team has prepared various publications; many of us have also participated at various scholarly gatherings. Among the joint outcomes is also a book series that the Co-Directors have agreed with Cambridge University Press: a collection of five volumes of findings based on the research group, edited by various research group members. In addition, we will publish two special issues of journals.

We are grateful to CAS that we will be able to fund final author workshops for several of the book projects during the fall of 2010, thus continuing the research beyond the confines of the academic year of 2009-10. In addition, several members have contributed to public debates in radio and in print media on the topic of state ratification of human rights.

The excellent staff at CAS made every effort to ensure that members of the research group could devote their undivided attention to research; the staff provided housing and common lunches with aplomb, and ensured an exceptionally speedy handling of requests ranging from instalment of new computer programmes over seminar room bookings to travel reimbursement. In addition to the professionalism and energy of the actual personnel, it seems clear that further factors contribute to the excellent administrative support, including the defined single mission of the administration to foster research excellence, executed by a relatively small team located on the premises.

Fellows

  • Aasen, Henriette Sinding
    Professor University of Bergen (UiB) 2009/2010
  • Andenæs, Mads
    Professor University of Oslo (UiO) 2009/2010
  • Bellamy, Richard
    Professor University of London 2009/2010
  • Cali, Basak
    Dr. University College London 2009/2010
  • Dobson, Lynn Beverley
    Associate Professor University of Edinburgh 2009/2010
  • Fauchald, Ole Kristian
    Professor University of Oslo (UiO) 2009/2010
  • Hellum, Anne
    Professor University of Oslo (UiO) 2009/2010
  • Keller, Helen
    Professor University of Zurich 2009/2010
  • Liu, Huawen
    Associate Professor Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 2009/2010
  • Ruiz Fabri, Hélène
    Professor Pantheon-Sorbonne University 2009/2010
  • Semb, Anne Julie
    Associate Professor University of Oslo (UiO) 2009/2010
  • Simmons, Beth A.
    Professor Harvard University 2009/2010
  • Skjeie, Hege
    Professor University of Oslo (UiO) 2009/2010

Previous events

News

Group leader

  • Andreas Føllesdal

    Title Professor Institution University of Oslo (UiO) Year at CAS 2009/2010
  • Geir Ulfstein

    Title Professor Institution University of Oslo (UiO) Year at CAS 2009/2010
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