This thesis examines the debate about cultural relativism of human rights in the concrete context of the prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment as applied to criminal sentences. A study of the jurisprudence concerning the prohibition reveals that traditional legal methodology is unable to decide this debate unequivocally. It is argued that both an extreme uniformity in its interpretation as well as a complete lack of common standards are indefensible in the contemporary system of international law. Therefore, any modern interpretation of the prohibition has to strike a balance between these two extremes. Yet, this balance can not be established unilaterally once and for all. It has to be the result of an ongoing universal debate within the preexisting legal framework. Thus, the compromise that is found will shift over time to reflect the evolving consensus of the international community.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.32797 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Braun, Felix, 1973- |
| Contributors | Gaudreault-DesBiens, Jean-Francois (advisor), Provost, Rene (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Laws (Institute of Comparative Law.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001863715, proquestno: MQ79124, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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