KANTIAN THEORY AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COURTS

Human rights are rapidly becoming an important force in international relations. The number of human rights covenants and conventions is increasing, human rights courts and other regulatory organs proliferate, and the discourse of human rights has become important to global political agents ranging from NGOs to world leaders. While this indicates a new respect for human dignity and the rule of law it also raises several difficulties. How are human rights courts to be legitimate unless they are held accountable in properly democratic procedures? How can human rights treaties avoid reflecting ethnocentric values? What is the justification for the margin of appreciation courts sometimes gives states when it comes to human rights? At the deepest level: what is the philosophical foundation of international human rights?This workshop will explore the contribution of Kantian theory in understanding these difficulties. Kantian theory is often invoked in debates about international human rights, but rarely systematically and with attention to the connection between principles and institutions such as courts. Participants are encouraged to explore how human rights should be understood in a Kantian perspective, and what the implications are for the legitimacy of the emerging international human rights regime. 

Speakers
Katrin Flikschuh (LSE): 'Universal Human Rights and Selective Enforcement: some Kantian Reservations'
Peter Niesen (Darmstadt): 'Border-crossing Speech as a Human Right: a Kantian Perspective'
Thomas Pogge (Yale University): 'Kantian Theory and International Human Rights Courts'
Howard Williams (Aberystwyth): 'Kantian Underpinnings for a Theory of MultiRights' 

Contact
Dr. Reidar Maliks, Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, P.O. box 6706 St. Olavs plass 5, 0130 Oslo. +47 228 42001, Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. È necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo..