In the first half of the 20th Century, the United Kingdom’s counter-terror laws were couched extremely broadly. Consequently, they bestowed upon the executive extraordinarily wide powers with which it could address perceived threats of terrorism. In that period of time, the internal affairs of any state were considered sacrosanct and beyond the reach of international law. Consequentially, international human rights law was not a feature of the first half of the 20th Century. Following the war, however, international human rights law grew steadily, largely through the propagation of international treaties. As the 20th Century progressed, the United Kingdom became increasingly involved in international human rights law, particularly by way of the ratification of a number of treaties. Prior to the year 2000, none of these treaties had been directly incorporated into the United Kingdom’s municipal law. The traditional Dualist understanding of the relationship between international treaty law and municipal law in the United Kingdom, would hold that these unincorporated human rights treaties would form no part of that state’s domestic law. This Dualist assumption is called into question, however, by a legislative trend which neatly coincides with the United Kingdom’s increased involvement with international human rights. This trend consists of two elements, firstly, the progressively plethoric and specific ways in which the United Kingdom began to define its anti-terror laws. The specificity in which this legislation was set out curtailed the executive’s powers. The second element is that, over time, the United Kingdom’s counter-terror laws increasingly began to include checks and balances on the executive. There is a clear correlation between these trends and the United Kingdom’s evolving relationship with international human rights law. That nation’s enmeshment with international human rights law from 1945 onwards is undeniably linked with the parallel evolution of its domestic counter-terror laws. v One of the grounds on which the status of international law is questioned is that it is ineffectual. This thesis calls such arguments into question, as it shows that international human rights treaties have meaningfully impacted on the United Kingdom’s evolving counter-terror laws and thereby successfully enforced the norms they advocate. / Public, Constitutional, and International / LL.D.

The law governing children’s rights is part of international human rights law and therefore plays an important role in the protection of human rights. However, the effectiveness of the protection of children’s rights depends on a State’s compliance with children’s rights instruments and the implementation mechanisms within a given State. There are implementation mechanisms for the protection of children’s rights at the national, regional and international levels. The protection of children’s rights at these three levels is provided for by children’s rights instruments. The monitoring of particular implementation mechanisms with regard to children’s rights is effected by reporting processes through State Parties to domestic institutions, regional, and international organisations. The reports provided by States Parties must contain relevant information with regard to measures that States Parties have taken to implement children’s rights instruments. Inadequate implementation mechanisms for the protection of children’s rights have emerged as the greatest threat to the realisation of children’s rights. This means that the adoption of children’s rights instruments may yield results only when effective implementation steps are taken by the respective States Parties. There are four “cornerstone” principles that underpin the protection of children’s rights.1 These are: non-discrimination; the best interest of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child.2 This study will evaluate the right to education and the best interests of the child principle as covered in children’s rights instruments at regional and international levels.Education is a powerful tool in ensuring the protection and enjoyment of children’s rights. Therefore, ineffective implementation of the right to education may have adverse consequences for society. The best interest of the child principle is the guiding principle in all matters concerning children’s rights.3 Therefore, the application and effectiveness of the best interests of the child principle will ensure adequate protection of children’s rights. Further, the study will examine the right to education and the best interest of the child in order to demonstrate how the United Nations (UN) and regional human rights instruments have provided for their implementation. Ratification of children’s rights instruments is a symbolic gesture on the part of States Parties to the recognition and significance of protection of children’s rights. The compliance with children rights instruments or treaty obligations is crucial to ensure adequate protection of children’s rights. Thus, non-compliance with treaty obligations will have a negative impact on the protection of children’s rights. The evaluation of the right to education and the best interests of the child principle will be undertaken against the backdrop of children’s rights instruments. The children’s rights instruments are provided for by the United Nations (UN) and regional human rights systems. The dissertation will evaluate the right to education and the best interests of the child principle within three regional systems, namely, the European Union (EU), the Organisation of American States (OAS), and the African Union (AU). It will also examine pertinent case law within the three regional systems. Finally, the efficacy of implementation mechanisms for the enforcement of children’s rights will be assessed. / Public, Constitutional, and International Law / LLM

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. / O trabalho expõe a consolidação do direito à verdade pelo Direito Internacional e a complementaridade entre as comissões da verdade e os tribunais, mecanismos de justiça de transição, como a combinação que melhor lhe confere aplicabilidade. Primeiramente, a tese reivindica que a transição e a consolidação democrática devem se dar por meio da prestação de contas com o passado, o que se torna possível na medida em que se promoveram a partir da 2a Guerra Mundial significativas alterações no Direito Internacional, que se afasta do paradigma vesfaliano de soberania. Aborda-se assim o excepcional desenvolvimento do Direito Internacional dos Direitos Humanos, do Direito Internacional Humanitário e do Direito Penal Internacional, centralizados na ideia de responsabilidade. A tese também abrange o desenvolvimento do direito à verdade no seio da Organização das Nações Unidas e dos sistemas regionais de proteção de direitos humanos, tendo alcançado o status de norma imperativa ou peremptória, sendo explorados os obstáculos ao seu exercício como no caso de anistias e outras medidas similiares como a prescrição, a justiça militar e a coisa julgada. Enfrentam-se, ainda, as potencialidades e limites da verdade que resulta de comissões da verdade e dos tribunais, concebida esta como conhecimento sobre os fatos e o reconhecimento da responsabilidade pelo ocorrido. O trabalho aborda temas como a independência e imparcialidade das comissões de verdade, seus poderes e o alcance de suas conclusões e recomendações. Por sua vez, com vistas a identificar as verdades a serem alcançadas pelos tribunais, privilegia-se o processo criminal, por se entender que a sentença penal pressupõe o exercício mais completo do devido processo. A imperatividade do direito à verdade é também demonstrada pela defesa da participação da vítima no processo criminal e da admissão de culpa por parte do acusado -- ambos consagrados pelo Tratado de Roma. Por fim, a tese analisa alguns cenários para a complementaridade entre estes dois mecanismos de justiça de transição, fazendo o estudo dos casos do Chile, Peru, Serra Leoa e Quênia, casos estes permeados pelo Direito Internacional, seja pela influência da jurisdição universal ou pelo impacto da jurisdição internacional. O caso brasileiro, por certo, não se ajusta a nenhum destes cenários. Sua caracterização como um diálogo em aberto, para efeitos deste trabalho, pressupõe que o Brasil encontra-se em um importante momento de decisão sobre a complementaridade entre comissões da verdade e tribunais - a recente aprovação da Comissão Nacional da Verdade deve conviver com o aparente conflito entre a decisão do Supremo Tribunal Federal, que afirmou a constitucionalidade da Lei de Anistia de 1979, e a decisão da Corte Interamericana no caso Araguaia, que entende nulos os dispositivos da lei que obstaculizam o processamento dos responsáveis, ambas no ano de 2010 - com a oportunidade de demonstrar que a passagem do tempo não arrefece as obrigações a que se comprometeu no cenário internacional. / The dissertation exposes the consolidation of the right to truth by international law and the complementarity of truth commissions and tribunals, both transitional justice mechanisms, as the combination that better confers its aplicability. First, the work claims that transition to and consolidation of democracy should provide accountability for past abuses, what became possible by the changes that have impacted international law after the World War II. The exceptional development of international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international criminal law is explored, considered the idea of responsability. The dissertation takes care of the development of the right to truth within the United Nations Organization and the human rights regional systems, and its status of imperative or peremptory norm, as well the obstacles for its exercise in the case of amnesties and other similar measures as statute of limitation, military justice and doble jeopardy (res judicata). The truth that results from truth commissions and tribunais its potentialities and limits are here conceived as knowledge e acknowledgment of what occured. The work also considers aspects as the independence and impartiality of truth commissions, its powers and the reach of its conclusions and recommendations. On the other hand, considering the truth to be obtained by tribunals, the dissertation priviledges the analysis of criminal procedure, in the sense that a criminal veridict implies due process. The imperativity of the right to truth is also demonstrated by the participation of victims in the criminal procedure and the admission of guilty by the accused both celebrated by the Statute of Rome. The dissertation also covers some sceneries of complementarity between truth commissions and tribunals, making use of the case of Chile, Peru, Sierra Leone and Kenya, cases that suffered significant impact by international law, considered the influence of universal jurisdiction or the impact of international jurisdiction. The Brazilian case, at the end, does not fit precisely in any of these sceneries. Its caracterization as an open dialogue assumes that the country has come face to face with the debate of complementarity the recent approval of the National Truth Commission has to live together with the apparent conflict between two decisions held in 2010: the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the 1979 Amnesty Law and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the Araguaia Case that considered null and void the parts of the law that obstacle the criminal persecution of the ones responsible -, and has opportunity to demonstrate that time has not moderated the obligations to which Brasil has compromised with in the international arena.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. / O trabalho expõe a consolidação do direito à verdade pelo Direito Internacional e a complementaridade entre as comissões da verdade e os tribunais, mecanismos de justiça de transição, como a combinação que melhor lhe confere aplicabilidade. Primeiramente, a tese reivindica que a transição e a consolidação democrática devem se dar por meio da prestação de contas com o passado, o que se torna possível na medida em que se promoveram a partir da 2a Guerra Mundial significativas alterações no Direito Internacional, que se afasta do paradigma vesfaliano de soberania. Aborda-se assim o excepcional desenvolvimento do Direito Internacional dos Direitos Humanos, do Direito Internacional Humanitário e do Direito Penal Internacional, centralizados na ideia de responsabilidade. A tese também abrange o desenvolvimento do direito à verdade no seio da Organização das Nações Unidas e dos sistemas regionais de proteção de direitos humanos, tendo alcançado o status de norma imperativa ou peremptória, sendo explorados os obstáculos ao seu exercício como no caso de anistias e outras medidas similiares como a prescrição, a justiça militar e a coisa julgada. Enfrentam-se, ainda, as potencialidades e limites da verdade que resulta de comissões da verdade e dos tribunais, concebida esta como conhecimento sobre os fatos e o reconhecimento da responsabilidade pelo ocorrido. O trabalho aborda temas como a independência e imparcialidade das comissões de verdade, seus poderes e o alcance de suas conclusões e recomendações. Por sua vez, com vistas a identificar as verdades a serem alcançadas pelos tribunais, privilegia-se o processo criminal, por se entender que a sentença penal pressupõe o exercício mais completo do devido processo. A imperatividade do direito à verdade é também demonstrada pela defesa da participação da vítima no processo criminal e da admissão de culpa por parte do acusado -- ambos consagrados pelo Tratado de Roma. Por fim, a tese analisa alguns cenários para a complementaridade entre estes dois mecanismos de justiça de transição, fazendo o estudo dos casos do Chile, Peru, Serra Leoa e Quênia, casos estes permeados pelo Direito Internacional, seja pela influência da jurisdição universal ou pelo impacto da jurisdição internacional. O caso brasileiro, por certo, não se ajusta a nenhum destes cenários. Sua caracterização como um diálogo em aberto, para efeitos deste trabalho, pressupõe que o Brasil encontra-se em um importante momento de decisão sobre a complementaridade entre comissões da verdade e tribunais - a recente aprovação da Comissão Nacional da Verdade deve conviver com o aparente conflito entre a decisão do Supremo Tribunal Federal, que afirmou a constitucionalidade da Lei de Anistia de 1979, e a decisão da Corte Interamericana no caso Araguaia, que entende nulos os dispositivos da lei que obstaculizam o processamento dos responsáveis, ambas no ano de 2010 - com a oportunidade de demonstrar que a passagem do tempo não arrefece as obrigações a que se comprometeu no cenário internacional. / The dissertation exposes the consolidation of the right to truth by international law and the complementarity of truth commissions and tribunals, both transitional justice mechanisms, as the combination that better confers its aplicability. First, the work claims that transition to and consolidation of democracy should provide accountability for past abuses, what became possible by the changes that have impacted international law after the World War II. The exceptional development of international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international criminal law is explored, considered the idea of responsability. The dissertation takes care of the development of the right to truth within the United Nations Organization and the human rights regional systems, and its status of imperative or peremptory norm, as well the obstacles for its exercise in the case of amnesties and other similar measures as statute of limitation, military justice and doble jeopardy (res judicata). The truth that results from truth commissions and tribunais its potentialities and limits are here conceived as knowledge e acknowledgment of what occured. The work also considers aspects as the independence and impartiality of truth commissions, its powers and the reach of its conclusions and recommendations. On the other hand, considering the truth to be obtained by tribunals, the dissertation priviledges the analysis of criminal procedure, in the sense that a criminal veridict implies due process. The imperativity of the right to truth is also demonstrated by the participation of victims in the criminal procedure and the admission of guilty by the accused both celebrated by the Statute of Rome. The dissertation also covers some sceneries of complementarity between truth commissions and tribunals, making use of the case of Chile, Peru, Sierra Leone and Kenya, cases that suffered significant impact by international law, considered the influence of universal jurisdiction or the impact of international jurisdiction. The Brazilian case, at the end, does not fit precisely in any of these sceneries. Its caracterization as an open dialogue assumes that the country has come face to face with the debate of complementarity the recent approval of the National Truth Commission has to live together with the apparent conflict between two decisions held in 2010: the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the 1979 Amnesty Law and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the Araguaia Case that considered null and void the parts of the law that obstacle the criminal persecution of the ones responsible -, and has opportunity to demonstrate that time has not moderated the obligations to which Brasil has compromised with in the international arena.

Les rapports entre le droit international des droits de l’homme et le droit interne sont devenus, à travers le temps, chaque fois plus complexes, en grande mesure dû aux conflits et antinomies qui naissent entre les règles des ces deux ordonnements quand de l’application, dans le plan du droit interne, d’un traité international de droits de l’homme. La doctrinne traditionnelle, acompagnée par la jurisprudence des tribunaux internes, ont résolu le problème par l’a application de méthodes aussi traditionnelles de solution d’antinomies, qui sont, le hierarchique, le chrolonogique et celui de la spécialité. Seulement quelque peu d’auteurs pensent que l’application de ces critères classiques ne suffisent plus aux besoins que l’ordre juridique pos-moderne exige, comme la coordination des règles de protection à fin de se trouver le “meilleur droit” dans le cas concret. Cette étude defend ce dernier point de vue, et l’auteur comprend que la solution pour les antinomies entre le droit international des droits de l’homme et le droit interne doit être atteint en cherchant la coexistence des sources de protection, plutôt de l’exclusion d’une pour l’autre dans un système intransigeant. Cette coexistence passe à être possible quand se comprend que le système international de protection des droits de l’homme “dialogue” avec le droit interne, toujours dans le sens de mieux proteger à la personne humaine sujet de droits. On propose la construction d’un système que non “choisit” une régle en exclusion de l’autre, mais que les coordonne et les unit en faveur de la protection du être humain, en consacration pleine au principe international pro homine. / Le relazioni tra il diritto internazionale dei diritti umani e il diritto interno sono divenute, col passare del tempo, sempre più complesse, principalmente a causa dei conflitti e le antinomie che sorgono tra le regole di questi due ordinamenti, in particolare, con riferimento all’applicazione, nel piano del diritto interno, di un trattato internazionale sui diritti umani. La dottrina tradizionale, seguita dalla giurisprudenza dei tribunali locali, ha risolto il problema attraverso l’applicazione di criteri tradizionali di soluzione di antinomie, quali siano, attraverso il criterio gerarchico, quello cronologico e della specialità. Appena pochi autori intendono che l’applicazione di questi criteri classici non soddisfa più le necessità che l’ordine giuridico post moderno esige, come quella della coordinazione delle regole di protezione al fine di applicare il “miglior diritto” al caso concreto. Questo studio difende questo ultimo punto di vista, intendendo l’Autore che la soluzione per le antinomie tra il diritto internazionale dei diritti umani e il diritto interno deve essere incontrata nella ricerca della coesistenza delle fonti di protezione, invece della esclusione di una per l’altra all’interno di un sistema intransigente. Questa coesistenza passa ad essere possibile quando si intende che il sistema internazionale di protezione dei diritti umani “dialoga” con il diritto interno, sempre nel senso di cercare la migliore protezione della persona umana, soggetto di diritti. Si difende la costruzione di un sistema che non “sceglie” una regola di esclusione per un’altra, ma che le coordina e le unisce a vantaggio della protezione dell’essere umano, consacrando il principio internazionale pro homine. / As relações entre o direito internacional dos direitos humanos e o direito interno têm se tornado, através dos tempos, cada vez mais complexas, em grande parte devido aos conflitos e antinomias que surgem entre as regras desses dois ordenamentos quando da aplicação, no plano do direito interno, de um tratado internacional de direitos humanos. A doutrina tradicional, acompanhada pela jurisprudência dos tribunais locais, tem resolvido o problema pela aplicação de critérios também tradicionais de solução de antinomias, quais sejam, o hierárquico, o cronológico e o da especialidade. Apenas alguns poucos autores entendem que a aplicação desses critérios clássicos não mais satisfaz às necessidades que a ordem jurídica pósmoderna está a exigir, como a coordenação das regras de proteção a fim de alcançarse o “melhor direito” no caso concreto. Este estudo defende este último ponto de vista, entendendo o Autor que a solução para as antinomias entre o direito internacional dos direitos humanos e o direito interno deve ser alcançada buscandose a coexistência das fontes de proteção, ao invés da exclusão de uma pela outra num sistema intransigente. Esta coexistência passa a ser possível quando se entende que o sistema internacional de proteção dos direitos humanos “dialoga” com o direito interno, sempre no sentido de melhor proteger a pessoa humana sujeito de direitos. Propugna-se pela construção de um sistema que não “escolhe” uma regra em exclusão de outra, mas que as coordena e as une em prol da proteção do ser humano, em franca consagração ao princípio internacional pro homine. / The relationship between international human rights law and national law has, over time, become ever more complex, in large measure due to the conflicts and antinomies that arise between the rules of these two systems regarding the application, in national law, of an international human rights treaty. The traditional doctrine, accompanied by the jurisprudence of local courts, has resolved the problem by the application of traditional criteria for solving antinomies, which are the hierarchical, the chronological and the specialization. Only a few authors understand that the application of these classical criteria no longer satisfies the necessities of the post-modern judicial order, such as the coordination of the protection rules in order to achieve the “best law” in a concrete case. This study defends this latter point of view, based on the principle that the antinomies between international human rights law and internal law should be solved through the coexistence of the protection sources, instead of excluding one by the other in an irreconcilable system. This coexistence becomes possible when one understands that the international system of protection for human rights “dialogues” with internal law, always in the sense of better protecting the human being who is the subject of rights. I argue for the construction of a system that does not “choose” one rule over another, but that coordinates and unites different rules in favor of the protection of the human being, in clear support of the international pro homine principle.

Les rapports entre le droit international des droits de l’homme et le droit interne sont devenus, à travers le temps, chaque fois plus complexes, en grande mesure dû aux conflits et antinomies qui naissent entre les règles des ces deux ordonnements quand de l’application, dans le plan du droit interne, d’un traité international de droits de l’homme. La doctrinne traditionnelle, acompagnée par la jurisprudence des tribunaux internes, ont résolu le problème par l’a application de méthodes aussi traditionnelles de solution d’antinomies, qui sont, le hierarchique, le chrolonogique et celui de la spécialité. Seulement quelque peu d’auteurs pensent que l’application de ces critères classiques ne suffisent plus aux besoins que l’ordre juridique pos-moderne exige, comme la coordination des règles de protection à fin de se trouver le “meilleur droit” dans le cas concret. Cette étude defend ce dernier point de vue, et l’auteur comprend que la solution pour les antinomies entre le droit international des droits de l’homme et le droit interne doit être atteint en cherchant la coexistence des sources de protection, plutôt de l’exclusion d’une pour l’autre dans un système intransigeant. Cette coexistence passe à être possible quand se comprend que le système international de protection des droits de l’homme “dialogue” avec le droit interne, toujours dans le sens de mieux proteger à la personne humaine sujet de droits. On propose la construction d’un système que non “choisit” une régle en exclusion de l’autre, mais que les coordonne et les unit en faveur de la protection du être humain, en consacration pleine au principe international pro homine. / Le relazioni tra il diritto internazionale dei diritti umani e il diritto interno sono divenute, col passare del tempo, sempre più complesse, principalmente a causa dei conflitti e le antinomie che sorgono tra le regole di questi due ordinamenti, in particolare, con riferimento all’applicazione, nel piano del diritto interno, di un trattato internazionale sui diritti umani. La dottrina tradizionale, seguita dalla giurisprudenza dei tribunali locali, ha risolto il problema attraverso l’applicazione di criteri tradizionali di soluzione di antinomie, quali siano, attraverso il criterio gerarchico, quello cronologico e della specialità. Appena pochi autori intendono che l’applicazione di questi criteri classici non soddisfa più le necessità che l’ordine giuridico post moderno esige, come quella della coordinazione delle regole di protezione al fine di applicare il “miglior diritto” al caso concreto. Questo studio difende questo ultimo punto di vista, intendendo l’Autore che la soluzione per le antinomie tra il diritto internazionale dei diritti umani e il diritto interno deve essere incontrata nella ricerca della coesistenza delle fonti di protezione, invece della esclusione di una per l’altra all’interno di un sistema intransigente. Questa coesistenza passa ad essere possibile quando si intende che il sistema internazionale di protezione dei diritti umani “dialoga” con il diritto interno, sempre nel senso di cercare la migliore protezione della persona umana, soggetto di diritti. Si difende la costruzione di un sistema che non “sceglie” una regola di esclusione per un’altra, ma che le coordina e le unisce a vantaggio della protezione dell’essere umano, consacrando il principio internazionale pro homine. / As relações entre o direito internacional dos direitos humanos e o direito interno têm se tornado, através dos tempos, cada vez mais complexas, em grande parte devido aos conflitos e antinomias que surgem entre as regras desses dois ordenamentos quando da aplicação, no plano do direito interno, de um tratado internacional de direitos humanos. A doutrina tradicional, acompanhada pela jurisprudência dos tribunais locais, tem resolvido o problema pela aplicação de critérios também tradicionais de solução de antinomias, quais sejam, o hierárquico, o cronológico e o da especialidade. Apenas alguns poucos autores entendem que a aplicação desses critérios clássicos não mais satisfaz às necessidades que a ordem jurídica pósmoderna está a exigir, como a coordenação das regras de proteção a fim de alcançarse o “melhor direito” no caso concreto. Este estudo defende este último ponto de vista, entendendo o Autor que a solução para as antinomias entre o direito internacional dos direitos humanos e o direito interno deve ser alcançada buscandose a coexistência das fontes de proteção, ao invés da exclusão de uma pela outra num sistema intransigente. Esta coexistência passa a ser possível quando se entende que o sistema internacional de proteção dos direitos humanos “dialoga” com o direito interno, sempre no sentido de melhor proteger a pessoa humana sujeito de direitos. Propugna-se pela construção de um sistema que não “escolhe” uma regra em exclusão de outra, mas que as coordena e as une em prol da proteção do ser humano, em franca consagração ao princípio internacional pro homine. / The relationship between international human rights law and national law has, over time, become ever more complex, in large measure due to the conflicts and antinomies that arise between the rules of these two systems regarding the application, in national law, of an international human rights treaty. The traditional doctrine, accompanied by the jurisprudence of local courts, has resolved the problem by the application of traditional criteria for solving antinomies, which are the hierarchical, the chronological and the specialization. Only a few authors understand that the application of these classical criteria no longer satisfies the necessities of the post-modern judicial order, such as the coordination of the protection rules in order to achieve the “best law” in a concrete case. This study defends this latter point of view, based on the principle that the antinomies between international human rights law and internal law should be solved through the coexistence of the protection sources, instead of excluding one by the other in an irreconcilable system. This coexistence becomes possible when one understands that the international system of protection for human rights “dialogues” with internal law, always in the sense of better protecting the human being who is the subject of rights. I argue for the construction of a system that does not “choose” one rule over another, but that coordinates and unites different rules in favor of the protection of the human being, in clear support of the international pro homine principle.

Les conventions internationales de protection des droits de l’Homme ont été élaborées au début de la seconde moitié du XXe siècle. Or, le champ matériel de ces traités est étroitement connecté aux réalités humaines, elles-mêmes en constante évolution, et les développements technologiques, sociaux, économiques ou scientifiques peuvent avoir des implications directes sur l’exercice des droits et libertés fondamentaux. L’interprétation évolutive des ces instruments, consistant à les envisager « à la lumière des conditions actuelles », est alors devenue courante dans la pratique des juridictions spécialisées, bien qu’elle soit parfois envisagée avec méfiance. Absente des règles d’interprétation du droit international formulées dans la Convention de Vienne sur le droit des traités, cette modalité interprétative intrigue dans la mesure où elle conduit le juge à s’écarter parfois explicitement du texte de l’accord et donc de la volonté des parties. L’interprétation évolutive invite par conséquent à une réévaluation de la fonction interprétative du juge international, entre son encadrement théorique traditionnellement strict et les exigences empiriques du droit international contemporain / Human rights treaties have been adopted at the end of the first half of the XXth century, in a technological, social and economic context which has since then deeply evolved. To maintain the effectiveness and relevance of those treaties, specialised jurisdictions have therefore increasingly interpreted their provisions in light of current living conditions. This method, called evolutive interpretation of treaties, is still looked at with suspicion. Indeed, it is not recognised by the Vienna Convention on the law of treaties and it may lead the judge to depart from the parties intention as expressed in the text of the convention. The evolutive interpretation of treaties invites therefore to reconsider the international judge’s interpretative function, between its strict theoretical conception and the empirical needs of contemporary international law

Diamonds have played a dual role in society since their discovery. On the one hand, they have brought smiles to the faces of many exhibiting love, beauty, wealth and brilliance. On the other hand, they have been at the heart of many conflicts. This juxtaposition has different impacts in usage. For those whom diamonds were a positively and morally accepted benefit, it did not present problems. Where diamonds spurned conflicts, it caused harm to lives and territories. Human rights abuses became the cause of international conflicts. Humanitarian interventions appeared on the United Nations Security Council agenda. The United Nations had to address the human rights abuses and had to confront the escalation of human rights abuses. Human rights abuses reached significant proportions forcing the application of humanitarian intervention mechanisms. Control of the diamond trade industry was fast becoming an item on many international peace keeping agendas. International organisations such as the World Trade Organisation, the International Criminal Court, the African Union, the European Union, the World Diamond Council and the United Nations have all tried to influence the diamond trade and its consequential impact upon human rights. These organisations are regulated by law, making them a preferred mechanism for establishing accountability for human rights abuse, arising from the illegal trade in rough diamonds and the maintenance of peace and security.Pressed by the United Nations and, De Beers; NGOs; the Partnership Africa Canada and Global Witness; the World Diamond Council; and many States initiated a formalised voluntary international certification scheme for the export and import of diamonds. Thisinternational certification scheme for the trade of rough diamonds became known as the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme has been hailed as a milestone in the diamond trade industry. Simultaneously, the Certification Scheme has been criticised for its inefficacy in regulating the legitimate trade of rough diamonds. Whether the Certification Scheme in its present form is suitable to address the crisis in the trade of rough diamonds is central to this study. Thus, the characterisation, monitoring, implementation and evolution of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme will be examined. / Jurisprudence / LLD

"The implementation of the TRIPS Agreement, within the wider context of globalisation, has brought about a conflict between the obligation of states to promote and protect health and the achievement of economic goals pursued under the WTO regime. Since trade is the driving engine of globalisation, it is imperative that, at the very least, rules governing it do not violate human rights but rather promote them. The problem of IP and the right to health therefore lies in ensuring that the integration of economic rules and institutional operations in relation to IPRs coincide with states’ obligations to promote and protect public health. ... This study centres on the specific debate about health and IPRs in the context of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the WTO rules on IP protection. In terms of a human rights approach to the TRIPS Agreement, the ICESCR has been chosen for several reasons. First, the ICESCR specifically recognises both the right to health and the right to the protection of inventions in clearer terms than any other human rights instrument. Secondly, at least 111 of the state parties to the ICESCR are also members of the WTO including a large number of developing countries. Thirdly, if one sees the ICESCR as a vehicle for the fulfilment of the obligation to promote and protect human rights under the United Nations Organisation’s (UN) Charter, it can be argued that in line with article 103, the implementation and interpretation of TRIPS by all UN members states must take into account basic human rights. However, even with primary focus being on the ICESCR, most of the discussion on practical issues will focus on the experiences in Sub-Saharan Africa because the inequalities and problems of access to health care are most dramatically played out in this part of the world. The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between the obligation of states to progressively realise and guarantee the right to health, and the IP rules under the TRIPS Agreement. The specific objective is to examine the relationship between the exceptions under the TRIPS Agreement and the obligation to protect health and the identification of a consistent way of achieving a convergence between the implementation and interpretation of the rules of the two regimes in the area of health." -- Chapter 1 / Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2001. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

The purpose of this thesis is to prove the existence of the right to adequate healthcare through a critical analysis of the law of obligations, constitutional law and international law framed in the wider focal point of South African medical law. The Constitution only makes provision for the right to access to health care. Conclusively this thesis will have to establish a link between a minimum standard in health care and the Constitution. It is submitted that the most efficacious method of establishing this link is with the duty of care, which is intrinsically linked to the doctor-patient relationship. If a critical analysis of the doctor-patient relationship can establish a clear link between the duty of care and state liability then such a link can successfully be applied to the Constitution. If this link is transposed onto the Constitution, a critical evaluation of the rights in the Bill of Rights will then reveal the most applicable right that can house the right to an adequate standard of health care. Such an analysis is only part of the solution however. In order to make this right effective, the international body of medical laws must be critically analysed and juxtaposed against this adequate standard. This carries the dual purpose of adding normative content as well as determining the current state of South Africa’s obligations under international human rights law, and to what extent those obligations have been discharged. Finally, and most significantly, the right to adequate healthcare, as it was forged in the international legal analysis, will be transposed onto the current South African jurisprudence of socio-economic rights. This practical application will then be reflected onto the new National Health Care Insurance to show conclusively that the current governmental approach of effecting health care is wholly inoperable and will ultimately result in significant harm and extensive human rights violations. This is based on the government only considering access to health care sufficient to discharge its duties and being totally incapable of effectively managing its resources. The core outcome for this thesis is to prove the existence of the right to adequate healthcare. Secondary outcomes are tracing the history of medicine to illustrate the creation and evolution of the doctor-patient relationship, a critical analysis of the application of medical ethics to South African law of obligations, a critical analysis of the Constitution and its fundamentals, an exhaustive evaluation of South Africa’s duties and accomplishments under its international obligations and effectively applying the right to adequate healthcare which is diametrically opposed to the current course South Africa is taking to provide health care. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Public Law / unrestricted