The Right to Life under International Law

Stuart Casey-Maslen is an international lawyer specialising in the use of force and the protection of civilians. He is an honorary Professor at the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria. He has written widely on international human rights and humanitarian law, arms control and disarmament law, and jus ad bellum. The late Christof Heyns was a member of the UN Human Rights Committee (2017–2020), the former UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and Director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa (ICLA) at the University of Pretoria. He was recognized internationally as a leading expert in the field of international human rights law, including right to life issues and regional human rights mechanisms, and published widely on these matters.

An historical introduction to the right to life; Part I. Overview of the Right to Life under International Law: 1. The status of the right; 2. The content of the right; 3. Jurisdiction and the right to life; 4. The relationship between the right to life and other human rights; Part II. Major Themes: 5. Deaths as a result of armed conflict; 6. Jus ad bellum, aggression, and the right to life; 7. Use of force in law enforcement; 8. Counterterrorism; 9. The death penalty; 10. Deaths in custody; 11. Abortion; 12. Euthanasia and suicide; 13. Poverty and starvation; 14. Assemblies, demonstrations, and protests; 15. Arms control and disarmament; 16. Enforced disappearance; 17. Accidents, disease, and natural disasters; 18. Pollution and climate change; 19. Autonomous use of force; 20. Slavery; Part III. The Protection of At-Risk Groups and Individuals: 21. The right to life of women; 22. The right to life of children; 23. Racially motivated killings; 24. LGBTI persons; 25. Persons with disabilities; 26. Older persons; 27. Journalists; 28. Human rights defenders; 29. International migrants; 30. Internally displaced persons; 31. Refugees; Part IV. Accountability: 32. The right to life and state responsibility; 33. The right to life and responsibility of international organisations; 34. Corporate responsibility and the right to life; 35. The right to life and the responsibility of non-state armed groups; 36. the right to life and non-governmental organisations; 37. The right to life and the responsibility of individuals; Part V. Human rights machinery protecting the right to life; 38. The UN human rights machinery and the right to life; 39. Regional human rights machinery and the right to life; Part VI. Outlook: 40. customary rules pertaining to the right to life; 41. The future of the right to life.