The Content of Internationally Recognised Human Rights under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

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This chapter clarifies where the International Criminal Court can find internationally recognised human rights. It begins by determining whether they can take account of domestic law and examines the issue of international soft law. The qualifier ‘internationally recognized’ under Article of the Rome Statute suggests a certain degree of acceptance by the subjects of international law, i.e. not all human rights are internationally recognized. While nobody denies that ‘internationally recognized human rights’ include international hard law, the status of international soft law is debatable. The stringent requirements of Article – ‘must be consistent’ and ‘internationally recognized’ – are not readily suitable for moral, religious, utilitarian or other factors. Still, judicial recourse to the circumstances of the conclusion of the Rome Statute is possible by exploring other avenues, notably the customary methods of treaty interpretation as reflected in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDefendants and Victims in International Criminal Justice: Ensuring and Balancing Their Rights
EditorsJuan-Pablo Pérez-León-Acevedo, Joanna Nicholson
PublisherRoutledge
Publication date2020
Pages10-31
ISBN (Print)978-0-367-25395-0
ISBN (Electronic)978-0-429-28756-5
Publication statusPublished - 2020
Externally publishedYes

ID: 379588443