Since its inception, the Human Rights Committee has arguably become the most important independent international human rights body in the world. Vested with wide-ranging power, the Committee has developed a large body of case-law to complement the activities of other United Nations organizations. This in-depth study examines the institutional characteristics of the Committee, traces the development of its practices and procedures, and discusses its jurisprudence under selected key articles of the Optional Protocol to the Covenant.

This book critically examines the fundamental legal and policy issues involved in the establishment and functioning of the Permanent International Criminal Court. Detailed consideration is given to the history of war crimes trials and their place in the system of international law, the legal and political significance of a permanent ICC, the legality and legitimacy of war crimes trials, the tensions and conflicts involved in negotiating the ICC Statute, the general principles of legality, the scope of defenses, evidential dilemmas, the perspective of victims, the nature and scope of the...

This book is a tale of two towers, two wars and two visions. The two towers are those of the World Trade Center in New York, destroyed by a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. The two wars are the War Against Terrorism and the War on Iraq. The two visions are of the international legal and political order for the twenty-first century. The issues involved in the War Against Terrorism and the War on Iraq are of fundamental importance because they may define the shape of international order for the twenty-first century. The book has a number of themes. First, it considers the principal...

The debate on multiculturalism and human rights in Europe was reignited in 2004 by the Islamic headscarf ban in France. The legal and political tensions thrown up by this debate are now being witnessed in many European states. The place of religion in schools in general, and wearing of religious dress in State schools in particular, has become an issue across Europe. Supporters of the right to wear the headscarf argue that the ban and similar prohibitions infringe upon a number of human rights. This book examines the issues by considering questions of language, meaning, and symbolism. In...