Interpreting the Political Theory in the Practice of Human Rights

In this discussion of The Heart of Human Rights, I support Allen Buchanan’s pursuit of a theory-in-practice methodology for interpreting the foundations and meaning of international legal human rights from within the practice. Following my use of that methodology, I recharacterize the theory of rights revealed by this methodology as political not moral. I clarify the import of this interpretation of international legal human rights for two problems that trouble Buchanan: (1) whether the scope of ‘basic equal status’ is a global or an ‘intrasocial’ standard and (2) whether there is a ‘proliferation’ of rights that risks undermining the legitimacy of international legal human rights. I argue that the scope of basic equal status is global and that the practice of making what he calls ‘new’ rights claims is part of the practice of human rights.     

A Social Practice Prioritarian Response to Allen Buchanan’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Heart of Human Rights</Emphasis>

Allen Buchanan’s ‘The Heart of Human Rights’ addresses the moral justification of the international legal human rights system (ILHRS). Buchanan identifies two functions of the ILHRS: a well-being function and a status egalitarian function. Because Buchanan assumes that the well-being function is sufficientarian, he augments it with a status egalitarian function. However, if the well-being function is utilitarian or prioritarian, there is no need for a separate status egalitarian function, because the status egalitarian function can be subsumed by the utilitarian or prioritarian well-being function.     

论国际人权立法的中国化——以民主权为中心

如何建立足以对接、通融国际人权理念的国内人权立法的整合机制,是国际人权立法中国化必须首先解决的问题。民主权是一种新兴的人权。民主权立法"中国化"面临着理念整合、合法性、有效性等困境,其具体克服路径即在于:通过直接进行普适性与特殊性的价值调适以实现理念整合,建构具备与公众参与及自治相关的正当程序内涵的立法制度,藉此导出各公共领域内民主权的具体内容并确立其实现与救济的相关法律制度。     

Loss of Innocence in Common Law Presumptions

This review article of Stumer (The presumption of innocence: evidential and human rights perspectives. Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2010) explores the concept, normative foundations and institutional implications of the presumption of innocence in English law. Through critical engagement with Stumer’s methodological assumptions and normative arguments, it highlights the narrowness of common lawyers’ traditional conceptions of the presumption of innocence. Picking up the threads of previous work, it also contributes to on-going debates about the legitimacy of reverse onus clauses and their compatibility with European human rights law and general principles of criminal jurisprudence.     

“规则制华”政策下中国自由贸易协定的功能转向

中国已签订的自由贸易协定在商界利用率不高,经贸规则止步于对世界贸易组织的简单模仿,总体上偏向于扩大市场准入的传统功能且效果有限。当代国际经济法面临体系性重构,由西方主导的“规则制华”政策的影响与日俱增,但该政策背离了全球治理的正确方向。鉴于此,当下中国自由贸易协定应积极转向规则建构功能:一是以自身利益为内在基准进行议题盘点,突出自身的规则诉求;二是以制度扩散为外在目标,追求国内制度外溢与对外制度供给,并以“效率提升型”制度为供给特色,从而将本国自身利益与国际公共利益结合起来。“合理利用区域机制,通过自由贸易协定进行规则再造,对‘一带一路’中小伙伴进行制度供给”的改革思路符合中国的实力现状,这一思路既能促进全球化背景下的经贸合作利益,又能保障新兴大国对内的公共政策自主权与对外的制度话语权。     

论自决权的性质——一种国际法与国内法的综合分析

在国际政治和国际法领域里,自决权是一个难以明确界定的有争议的概念。它的内容、主体和适用范围始终在不断适应国际政治的变化和发展,它的重心也必将随着其内容、主体和适用范围的发展变化而发生相应的转移。这一重心转移的过程,既是自决权从外部自决向内部自决回归的过程;也是自决权由以国际法原则为重心转移到以国内法原则为重心的过程;同时也是自决权自身内涵不断扩大的历史过程。在这一过程中,自决权先后主要是独立权、国家主权、人权、发展权、人民主权和自治权。自决权的内涵及其重心转移说明,台湾当局企图分裂国家,搞“独立公投”的所谓“自决”,既违背国际法原则,也违背国内法原则,实际上是行不通的。     

浅析亨金在国际法上的主权思想

"主权"是传统国际法理论构架的基石,但此概念自引入国际法后一直争议颇多。本文简要梳理了传统主权理论和国际法上的主权学说,以期形成对比从而更有针对性地鉴别亨金的主权思想;重点分析了亨金在国际法上的主权思想,并将其概括为辩证的、务实的、动态的主权观,进而从国际人权法、国际立法以及国际秩序三个方面阐述亨金主权思想的积极影响。     

论发展权的法律救济机制

全球社会迄今依然没能成功开发发展权法律救济机制的关键在于对发展权的可司法性缺乏应有的理论认识。发展权的可司法性无论是从价值、性状还是范围上,均可得到充分求证。而发展权侵权行为的界定则是进行救济的前提,其内在要素包括结构性侵权和个体性侵权,外在形式分为作为与不作为,尤其是从"具体性权利论"这一新理论出发,可以发现国家不作为侵权行为对发展权的重大影响。在"国际宪政关系"新视野下,发展权法律救济程序的权利义务主体及其相互关系之展开具有不同于普通人权的多元性和独特性,其互动的关系模式即权利救济机制的运行程序包括:内国的确权之诉及相关审查机制、请求国家赔偿的给付之诉,在国际上,可巧妙地将《发展权宣言》的抽象规定链接到现行国际人权公约的具体规范之中,利用现行国际人权公约设定的硬性机制予以实施。     

禁止体罚儿童的国际法律规定与国内法律实施——以家庭内体罚儿童为视角

普遍存在的体罚儿童现象随着国际社会对儿童权利的关注逐渐进入人们的视野,特别是家庭内部的儿童体罚问题也开始受到关注。近年来,禁止一切形式的儿童体罚的观念逐渐被越来越多的国家所接受。探析儿童体罚问题的原因和危害,从国际人权文件和我国国内法律体系中寻找家庭内部禁止体罚儿童的依据,以类型化分析的方法比较世界各国保护儿童的立法例及其进展,借鉴外国禁止体罚的立法实践,针对我国在禁止家庭内体罚儿童中存在的种种问题,提出若干改进方向,以求尽快达到禁止体罚儿童的国际人权法律标准、不断改善国内儿童权利保护状况十分必要。     

“保护的责任”与宽容、多元的价值秩序

"保护的责任"是一种新的人权保护观念和规范,它要求主权国家必须承担和履行保护其国内人民的重大责任,当一国不能或不愿履行这一责任时,国际社会将有责任介入并采取相应的保护行动。由于"保护的责任"在内涵发展与具体适用等方面存在着不确定性与分歧,为使"保护的责任"得到正确的解释运用,防止其被滥用,应当坚持国际社会的容忍性、多样性,以宽容、多元的人权价值及其相应的国际秩序为基础来指导国内人权保护。     

International Law,Institutional Moral Reasoning,and Secession

This paper argues for the superiority of international law’s existing ban on unilateral secession over its reform to include either a primary or remedial right to secession. I begin by defending the claim that secession is an inherently institutional concept, and that therefore we ought to employ institutional moral reasoning to defend or criticize specific proposals regarding a right to secede. I then respond to the objection that at present we lack the empirical evidence necessary to sustain any specific conclusion regarding an international legal right to secession. Specifically, I argue that we ought to adopt a precautionary approach, and that such an approach justifies giving no weight to promoting political self-determination per se when considering whether to reform international law governing secession. I conclude with several reasons to think that even a remedial right to unilateral secession will detract from, not enhance, the international legal order’s ability to promote peace and human rights.     

Constructing International Crime: Lawyers,States, and the Origin of International Criminal Prosecution in the Interwar Period

This article explains the development of international crime as a legal category. I argue that states’ pursuit of political rights claims empowers international lawyers to develop new legal categories to grant states new tools to pursue their interests. At the same time, lawyers have a stake in defending the autonomy of law from politics, thus pushing for the development of legal norms and institutions that go beyond the original state intent. States’ turn to law thus begets more law, expanding the legal and institutional tools to solve international problems while simultaneously enforcing a commitment to principles of legality. To demonstrate the plausibility of the theory, the article studies the construction of the concept of an international crime in the interwar period (1919–1939). In response to the Allies’ attempt to prosecute the German Emperor, international lawyers sought the codification of international criminal law and drafted enforcement mechanisms. The interwar legal debate not only introduced international crime into the legal and political vocabulary, it also legitimized a new set of institutional responses to violations of international law, namely, international criminal prosecution.     

The Concept of Rights in Contemporary Human Rights Discourse

In a variety of disciplines, there exists a consensus that human rights are individual claim rights that all human beings possess simply as a consequence of being human. That consensus seems to me to obscure the real character of the concept and hinder the progress of discussion. I contend that rather than thinking of human rights in the first instance as “claim rights” possessed by individuals, we should regard human rights as higher order norms that articulate standards of legitimacy for sociopolitical and legal institutions.     

Democratic legitimacy in the European Union: Fulfilling the institutional logic

The European Union's delicate institutional balance between intergovern‐mentalism and supranationalism has been the source of both the EU's successes and its problems. This balance is under scrutiny as representatives of Member States and EU institutions pursue their particular visions of democratic legitimacy in the course of the 1996–97 Intergovernmental Conference. This essay examines three competing conceptualisations of democratic legitimacy: the Gaullist view, which associates legitimacy narrowly with national sovereignty; a national culture perspective that posits a unique correspondence of national character and national parliaments; and a parliamentary view that associates legitimacy with the role played by parliaments in scrutinising the behaviour of executives, whether at national or European level. Only the last of these perspectives acknowledges that democratic legitimacy is a continuous variable rather than an all‐or‐nothing concept, and that the EU may therefore accumulate legitimacy by improving both the process and substance of policy making within the logic of existing institutional structures.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">It’s Right,It Fits,We Debated,We Decided,I Agree,It’s Ours,and It Works</Emphasis>: The Gathering Confluence of Human Rights Legitimacy

How should we understand human rights and why might we respect them? The current literature – both philosophical and historical – presents a barrage of conflicting accounts, including moral, functional, deliberative, legal, consensual, communitarian and pragmatic approaches. I argue that each approach captures a unique, common-sense – and, in principle, compatible – insight into why human rights warrant respect. Acknowledging this compatibility illuminates the myriad different avenues for legitimacy human rights enjoy, and provides a historical window into explaining how human rights rose to become the international community’s ethical lingua franca. The depth and spread of convergence on human rights proved possible precisely because myriad people the world over found a wealth of disparate reasons for rallying under its banner. But even as human rights enjoy seven distinct sources of legitimacy, I argue that they are thereby opened for normative challenge on seven distinct fronts.     

社会保障的人权保护

国际人权条约将社会保障确认为人权的重要内容,使社会保障权表现为国家义务的形式,国家应努力创造条件使其向现实权利转化。从我国条约适用来看,已经生效的国际人权条约必须首先转化为国内法才能得到执行,表明了立法对于人权保护的重要性和基础性地位,而我国的社会保障立法滞后,难以满足现实需要。所以,应按照条约要求和国内实际情况,围绕社会保障权构建一个完备的权利保障法律体系,积极履行国际义务,加强社会保障的人权保护,促进社会保障权的实现。     

Can twitter change the Iranian legal landscape for women?

ABSTRACT

This article explores the effectiveness of international social media (Twitter) campaigns, as a modern form of transnational advocacy networks, seeking domestic legal change in Iran for women’s rights. Using the spiral model of human rights change and second wave normative theories, the article critiques current thought on social media as an advocacy tool using evidence from two Iranian campaigns. Gathering empirical data from the #stopstoning and #letwomengotostadium campaigns, the research finds that Twitter campaigns may be linked to regression in some areas of women’s rights. Early evidence indicates that social media may lead to amplified government backlash, lack of campaign persistence and foreign overshadowing of domestic voices, which all contribute to the ongoing problematisation of the role of transnational advocacy networks in domestic human rights change.     

“人本”语境下的规则冲突与冲突规则

"人本相同"是国际社会公认的普世价值,但事实上的"人本不同"造成了各国民商事法律规定的冲突。"人本"语境下的冲突法应尊重人的价值,维护人的权利,重视人的发展,以促进全球范围内民商事活动的顺利进行、物质资源的合理配置、人类社会的和谐共存。我国《涉外民事关系法律适用法》以"人本"思想为价值导向,多采双边冲突规则,坚持内外法律平行,注重冲突法的实质正义,平等保护内外国当事人的合法权益,体现了"以人为本"的科学发展观,为构建和谐国际民商事秩序保驾护航。     

论欧洲理事会的人权保护制度对建立和完善国际人权保护制度的影响

欧洲理事会采取集体办法促进和保护人权的理论和实践对建立和完善国际人权保护制度产生了深远的影响 :区域性人权保护办法是在区域层面上施行《世界人权宣言》的有效途径 ;国际人权机构应通过改革不断提高人权的可司法性 ;主权国家应在采取集体办法保护区域人权方面积极行使主权权利 ;人权国际保护内在地要求增强个人的权利主体意识 ;国际人权保护机构应不断提高其工作效率。随着欧洲理事会的人权保护制度的不断完善 ,它在人权国际保护中的“领跑者”的形象和影响将得以继续显现。     

Dignity, Democracy, Civilisation

This paper contributes to international discussion about the difficulty of defining human dignity as a legal concept by locating it at the heart of (European) democracy and human rights. Focusing on emerging dignity case law in the United Kingdom, the paper explores the connections among dignity, human rights and democracy, and the uses of dignity to enhance and refine democracy. While judges are key actors in the construction of dignity, they operate within the boundaries of a particular democratic ‘civilisation’ anchored in the core prohibitions of art 2, 3 and 4 European Convention on Human Rights, combined with those of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (art. 2, 3, 4 and 5). This normative core, the paper argues, is to be understood in the wider time frame of democracy and dignity, which is equally important for refining and thickening human dignity’s conceptual and normative definition, as well as for reflecting on the legitimacy of its (judicial) uses.