The Law and Politics of International Human Rights Courts

The book describes and analyzes the law and politics of international human rights courts, focusing on the extent to which the courts have strengthened the protection of human rights in international and national systems, and at times, have engendered political backlash against their efforts.

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Combining perspectives from law and the social sciences, this book provides an account of the origins and evolution of six regional human rights courts. In each of these cases, judges sought to overcome political forces and legal obstacles that threatened to render the regime stillborn. Alec Stone Sweet and Wayne Sandholtz focus on the struggle to raise standards of rights protection within multi-level "transnational systems of justice." A transnational system of justice is comprised of three components: a charter of rights; a court tasked with enforcing the charter; and the right of individuals to petition the court with a claim that their rights have been violated. The book analyzes the law and politics of such systems in diverse areas, including torture, inhuman treatment, non-discrimination, due process and access to justice, free expression, privacy and family, and other freedoms. In some cases, state officials have at times strongly supported enhancing the effectiveness of rights protections. In others, the activities of the courts have generated significant political "backlash," leading state officials to act to curb the court's authority, or to exit the regime altogether. The book describes and evaluates these attempts, the results of which have been mixed, with most court-curbing exercises failing.