The Judicial Application Of Human Rights Law: National, Regional And International Jurisprudence

1287 Pages·2017·6.475 MB·English

by  Nihal Jayawickrama

THE JUDICIAL APPLICATION OF
HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
Since the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
over165countrieshaveincorporatedhumanrightsstandardsintotheir
legalsystems;theresultingjurisprudencefromdiverseculturaltraditions
brings new dimensions to concepts first articulated in 1948. In this
revisedsecondedition,NihalJayawickramadrawsonextensivesources
to encapsulate the judicial interpretation of human rights law in one
comprehensive volume. Jayawickrama covers the case law of the
superior courts of 103 countries in America, Europe, Africa, Asia, the
Caribbean and the Pacific, as well as jurisprudence of human rights
monitoringbodies.Heanalysesthejudicialapplicationofhumanrights
lawtodemonstrateempiricallytheuniversalityofcontemporaryhuman
rights norms. This definitive compendium is essential for legal
practitionersandgovernmentandnon-governmentalofficials,aswellas
academicsandstudentsofbothconstitutionallawandtheinternational
lawofhumanrights.
nihal jayawickrama was the Ariel F. Sallows Professor of Human
Rights at the University of Saskatchewan, and Associate Professor of
LawattheUniversityofHongKong,wherehetaughtbothconstitutional
lawandtheinternationallawofhumanrights.HewasChairofJustice,the
HongKongSectionoftheInternationalCommissionofJurists;Chairof
theTrusteesoftheCommonwealthHumanRightsInitiative,London;and
amemberofthePermanentCourtofArbitrationatTheHague.Executive
DirectorofTransparencyInternational,Berlin,from1997to2000,hehas
since2001beentheCoordinatoroftheUN-sponsoredJudicialIntegrity
Group, a representative group of Chief Justices, who prepared the
Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct and related documents.
AmemberoftheSriLankaBar,heheldtheofficesofAttorneyGeneral
and Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and served as
arepresentativetotheUnitedNationsGeneralAssembly.

THE JUDICIAL
APPLICATION OF HUMAN
RIGHTS LAW
National, Regional and International
Jurisprudence
Second Edition
NIHAL JAYAWICKRAMA
UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom
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CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107015685
DOI:10.1017/9781139059121
©NihalJayawickrama2002,2017
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
FirstEdition2002
Reprinted2006
SecondEdition2017
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyClays,StIvesplc
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
ISBN-139781107015685hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
URLsforexternalorthird-partyInternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
Inmemoryof
Sarojini
friend,companionandcritic

CONTENTS
PrefacetotheSecondEdition pageix
Preface xi
TableofCases xv
PART I Introduction 1
1 HistoricalandJuridicalBackground 3
2 TheInternationalBillofHumanRights 24
3 TheDomesticProtectionofHumanRights 70
4 TheRighttoaRemedy 102
PART II GeneralPrinciples 113
5 Interpretation 115
6 Non-Discrimination 133
7 Limitations 146
8 Derogation 165
PART III TheSubstantiveRights 183
9 TheRightofSelf-Determination 185
10 TheRighttoLife 206
11 TheRighttoFreedomfromTorture 281
vii
viii contents
12 TheRighttoFreedomfromSlavery 348
13 TheRighttoLiberty 364
14 TheRightsofPrisoners 432
15 TheRighttoFreedomofMovement 448
16 TheRighttoaFairTrial 490
17 TheRightsofAccusedPersons 561
18 TheRighttoRecognitionasaPerson 642
19 TheRighttoPrivacy 645
20 TheRighttoFreedomofThought 704
21 TheRighttoFreedomofOpinion,Expressionand
Information 739
22 TheRighttoFreedomofAssembly 835
23 TheRighttoFreedomofAssociation 851
24 TheRighttoFamilyLife 881
25 TheRightsoftheChild 906
26 TheRighttoParticipateinPublicLife 920
27 TheRighttoEquality 950
28 TheRightsofMinorities 992
29 TheRightsRelatingtoWork 1003
30 TheRightsRelatingtoSocialSecurity 1016
31 TheRighttoanAdequateStandardof
Living 1025
32 TheRighttoHealth 1041
33 TheRighttoEducation 1051
34 TheRighttoCulturalLife 1065
35 TheRighttoProperty 1074
Index 1089
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
Itisnearlyfifteenyearssincethefirsteditionofthisbookwaspublished.
Although the language of the principal human rights instruments have
remainedthesame,theirjudicialinterpretationhassignificantlyextended
thefrontiersofhumandignityandfreedom.AsJusticeSachsobservedin
the Constitutional Court of South Africa, ‘as the conditions of humanity
alterandasideasofjusticeandequityevolve,sodoconceptsofrightstake
on new texture and meaning’. This has been particularly evident in the
developmentofthelawinrespectoftherighttolife,freedomfromtorture,
freedomofexpression,freedomfromdiscrimination,therighttoprivacy
andtherighttofamilylife.
In this edition, the emphasis is on jurisprudence. Accordingly, in the
introductorysection,thechapterdealingwiththeinternationalprotection
ofhumanrightshasbeenreplacedwithoneontherighttoaremedy.Inthe
sectionon substantive rights,manyof thechaptershavebeenextensively
revised and re-written, drawing not only on the increasing volume of
jurisprudence from international and regional human rights tribunals,
but also on the judgments of superior courts of over a hundred states,
from the Pacific to the Caribbean, through Asia, Africa, Europe and the
Americas.Inthisenormousvolumeofcaselaw,onestrikingfeatureisthe
recognitionoftheuniversalityofhumanrights–thecommonthreadthat
bindsthemtogether.
The re-writing of this book was interrupted, intermittently, during
almosttwoyearsduetotheillnessofmywife,Sarojini.Sheinsisted,before
shepassedaway,thatIshouldcompleteit.Iamextremelygratefulforthe
patienceandkindnessextendedtomeduringthatdifficultperiodbyFinola
O’Sullivan, the Executive Publisher of Law, and the encouragement that
I since received from my two daughters, Nishana and Sharanya, which
helpedmebringmytasktoanend.
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