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Rethinking Human Rights
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Rethinking Human Rights

A special issue of Laws (ISSN 2075-471X). This special issue belongs to the section "Human Rights Issues".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2024) | Viewed by 3799

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jason Rudall

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, Leiden University, 2311 EZ Leiden, The Netherlands
Interests: public international law; human rights; international environmental law; international investment law and legal theory

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues:

In September 1948, Eleanor Roosevelt emphasized that ‘[t]he future must see the broadening of human rights throughout the world’. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which Roosevelt played a central role in drafting as Chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights and which was ultimately adopted on 10 December 1948 by the UN General Assembly. Such a milestone presents an opportunity to reflect on the progress and prospects of human rights protection. It is also evident that the world currently faces numerous inflection points that challenge traditional doctrines and approaches. To ensure that they remain effective, human rights must continually evolve to meet the needs of present generations as well as those of the future. In this Special Issue, particular emphasis is placed on social, environmental or technological changes that demand a reassessment of human rights found in the UDHR. Scholars are invited to critically appraise the current scope of and constraints around human rights protection with a view to identifying future obstacles and challenges in these three contexts. To look forward, it may also be important to look back, not least at how human rights law has overcome problems in the past. By anticipating future challenges and thinking collectively about how to resolve them, it is hoped that the UDHR will remain as relevant in 75 years’ time as it does today. After all, as Eleanor Roosevelt put it so beautifully, ‘[t]he world of the future is in our making. Tomorrow is now’.

Dr. Jason Rudall
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Laws is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • public international law
  • human rights
  • rights of nature
  • international environmental law
  • international economic law
  • development
  • international courts and tribunals
  • dispute settlement

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 252 KiB  
Article
Inter-American Human Rights System and Social Change in Latin America
by Martha Gutiérrez
Laws 2025, 14(2), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws14020014 - 11 Mar 2025
Viewed by 238
Abstract
The role of human rights is increasingly subject to scrutiny and debate. However, historically, human rights functioned as powerful tools for social change. In this context, this paper explores the origin, evolution and impact of the Inter-American Human Rights System, analysing its impact [...] Read more.
The role of human rights is increasingly subject to scrutiny and debate. However, historically, human rights functioned as powerful tools for social change. In this context, this paper explores the origin, evolution and impact of the Inter-American Human Rights System, analysing its impact from three perspectives. First, it reviews empirical studies that advocate distinguishing between compliance with the system’s orders and their broader impact. Case examples are presented to demonstrate how compliance with general orders, such as guarantees of non-repetition, can influence human rights practices across the region, even when compliance is only partial. The analysis highlights that impact extends beyond formal compliance, encompassing the strategies of human rights organisations, interactions between national and international spheres, and progress in the recognition and justiciability of rights, along with measures aimed at benefiting specific groups. Finally, the relationship between the region’s democratic development and the system’s relevance is explored, highlighting its remarkable adaptability to emerging realities and societal demands despite persistent challenges. In the face of prevailing scepticism, the system continues to function as a vital mechanism for promoting social transformation across Latin America. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking Human Rights)
12 pages, 224 KiB  
Article
The Right to Be Oneself: The International and Italian Situation Regarding Gender Incongruence, Focusing on Legislation, Rights, Access to Care, and Appropriateness
by Nicola Di Fazio, Giuseppe Delogu, Miriam Ottaviani, Gianpietro Volonnino, Mauro Arcangeli, Fabio Del Duca, Biancamaria Treves and Raffaele La Russa
Laws 2025, 14(1), 3; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws14010003 - 30 Dec 2024
Viewed by 669
Abstract
Gender incongruence is a current issue with implications in the legislative, social, and healthcare fields. In this context, misinformation is, at present, the main enemy of transgender rights equity. Over time, the scientific community has worked to reclassify this condition, removing it from [...] Read more.
Gender incongruence is a current issue with implications in the legislative, social, and healthcare fields. In this context, misinformation is, at present, the main enemy of transgender rights equity. Over time, the scientific community has worked to reclassify this condition, removing it from psychiatric diagnoses. The method of our work involved investigating and comparing the different social and legislative measures adopted by various countries to ensure the rights and equality of individuals with gender incongruence. The result showed that there are various international approaches allowing adult and minor patients to access medical and administrative procedures for gender transition. In conclusion, there appears to be a need for international bioethical and legislative guidance in order to reduce and eventually eliminate the social inequalities faced by individuals with gender incongruence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking Human Rights)
10 pages, 175 KiB  
Article
The UDHR at 75: Analysing the Prevalence of the Use of the UDHR and Other Human Rights Treaties in the Work of the Constitutional Court of South Africa
by Angelo Dube
Laws 2024, 13(4), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws13040050 - 6 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1791
Abstract
South Africa’s democracy turned 30 years old in 2024. At the same time, its constitutional order and jurisprudence marked three decades since the Interim Constitution and its successor, the 1996 Constitution, came into operation. Coincidentally, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) turned [...] Read more.
South Africa’s democracy turned 30 years old in 2024. At the same time, its constitutional order and jurisprudence marked three decades since the Interim Constitution and its successor, the 1996 Constitution, came into operation. Coincidentally, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) turned 75 years old in the previous year, 2023. The confluence of these facts is quite poignant in the context of a constitutional text that is often lauded for its commitment to the protection of human rights and the eradication of the injustices of the past, which were firmly entrenched by the segregationist policies of the apartheid regime. At the centre of this hype about South African constitutional jurisprudence is the centrality of international law to the interpretation of the Bill of Rights as well as the development of the common law, customary law, and statutory law. With the UDHR being such a central pillar in the human rights sector, this study set out to determine the extent to which the Constitutional Court of South Africa relied on the UDHR and other international instruments in carrying out the mandate set out above. The study analysed cases delivered by the Court in two separate years, spaced ten years apart. The study did not necessarily attempt to determine a correlation, but simply to use descriptive statistics to determine how often, in those two years, the Court relied on international law in general, and on the UDHR in particular, in its interpretive and legal development mandate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking Human Rights)
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