O'Cinneide, CP;
(2017)
Rights Under Pressure.
European Human Rights Law Review
, 2017
(1)
pp. 43-48.
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Abstract
Human rights law faces a crisis of legitimacy, both in the UK and across much of the wider democratic world. A drumbeat of media criticism focusing on the alleged incompatibility of human rights norms with both ‘common sense’ and the principle of democratic self-government has grown louder, while sceptical voices can increasingly be heard in academia and elsewhere questioning whether the legal protection of human rights has ‘gone too far’. In response, rights enthusiasts have clung to old verities - proclaiming the importance of human rights law as a tool for maintaining the rule of law and reinforcing democracy, while treating rights sceptics with a stiff dose of dismissive disdain. However, they would be wise not to underestimate the scale of the legitimacy crisis now facing human rights, or fail to recognise the strength of some of the critiques coming their way. Defenders of existing human rights law need to be prepared to roll up their sleeves and make a serious case for the legitimacy of existing human rights law, if it is to survive the current crisis more or less intact.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Rights Under Pressure |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Publisher version: | http://www.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk/Catalogue/Product... |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Laws |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1542510 |
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