Domestic Courts and International Human Rights

Abstract

The main focus of this chapter is the direct use of international human rights law by domestic courts deciding both criminal and civil cases on the basis of universal jurisdiction. Before discussing the historical development and major interpretative paradigms of this most important way to implement human rights, we shortly review the more indirect approach, when courts while deciding domestic cases use international human rights as a source of constitutional interpretation. The chapter concludes with the possible future directions of universal jurisdiction, as a perspective of the globalization of both criminal and civil accountability.

Keywords: international human rights, universal jurisdiction, alien torts, torture victim protection, anti-terrorism regulation, liability of private actors, jurisdiction over states separated