International Human Rights Law: Cases, Materials, Commentary

This page intentionally left blank International Human Rights Law C a ses, M at e r i a ls, Comm en ta ry How do you keep students motivated when their perception of a subject conflicts with the reality of its academic study? International human rights law, unquestionably an exciting field, is also complex and demanding. With his breakthrough textbook, De Schutter focuses on international human rights law as a global legal system, rather than as a collection of different (though related) rights, giving it relevance and immediacy. Drawing on cases and materials from a wide range of sources, he shows how human rights law is used as a tool to address contemporary issues such as counterterrorism and global poverty. Materials are organized thematically, allowing readers to make comparisons and connections between different legal treaties and systems. Students can also easily assess how human rights are protected under domestic and international laws. The law is placed in context throughout, ensuring full understanding of why laws exist and how they work. is the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food. A professor at the University of Louvain (UCL) and at the College of Europe and a Member of the Global Law School Faculty at New York University, he has been Visiting Professor at a number of institutions, most recently at Columbia University. From 2002 to 2006, he chaired the EU Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights, a highlevel group of experts which advised the European Union institutions on fundamental rights issues. He has acted on a number of occasions as expert for the Council of Europe and for the European Union. Since 2004, and until his appointment as the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, he has been the General Secretary of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) on the issue of globalization and human rights. ol i v i er de sc h u t t er International Human Rights Law C a ses, M at er i a ls, Comm en ta ry Olivier De Schutter CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521764872 © Olivier De Schutter 2010 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2010 ISBN-13 978-0-511-77656-4 eBook (NetLibrary) ISBN-13 978-0-521-76487-2 Hardback ISBN-13 978-0-521-74866-7 Paperback Cambridge Univer