Health and Human Rights: In Search of the Legal Dimension
Human Rights & International Legal Discourse, 2015 9(2), 212-241
30 Pages Posted: 19 Jun 2014 Last revised: 16 Mar 2018
Date Written: June 18, 2014
Abstract
This paper explores the legal contours of the field of ‘health and human rights’ as a new and emerging field of human rights law. After an analysis of its conceptual foundations, it illustrates how health and human rights evolved from a phase of standard-setting to a field that was primarily addressed by public health experts, to a field that is haphazardly, but increasingly, addressed by legal scholars and practitioners. Subsequently, it briefly analyses the practice of judicial and quasi-judicial international bodies, in particular in the context of the UN and the Council of Europe, and it explores the legal perspectives of two important health and human rights-related topics: reproductive health, including the issue of abortion, and socio-economic health inequalities.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation