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Establishing a Hierarchy of Human Rights: Ideal Solution or Fallacy?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2012

Eckart Klein
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Abstract

The Article discusses the difficulties of establishing a hierarchy of norms in international law, particularly with regard to human rights norms. A number of arguments have been put forward but none of them has proven to be conclusive: be it the distinction between treaty-based norms and norms of customary law, be it the non-restrictability or non-derogability of some treaty rights, be it their erga omnes character or the inadmissibility to make reservations. The best way to address the issue of hierarchy seems to be the concept of jus cogens. However, the consequences of some rights being “superior” to others are by no means clear. The fact that certain rights are addressed in court decisions as being “most fundamental” or representing a “supreme value” does not necessarily mean that these rights prevail over other, seemingly “inferior” rights in a given case. This is so because it is difficult to decide in abstracto and in advance possible conflicts of human rights positions of different human beings. The Article therefore recommends a very reluctant use of a terminology pointing at a hierarchy between human rights.

Type
A Symposium on Constitutional Rights and International Human Rights honoring Professor David Kretzmer
Information
Israel Law Review , Volume 41 , Issue 3 , Winter 2008 , pp. 477 - 488
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and The Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 2008

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References

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19 Meron, supra note 2, at 2.

20 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.157/23, ¶5 (July 12, 1993); cf. Tahvanainen, Annika, Hierarchy of Norms in International and Human Rights Law, 24 Nordisk Tidskrift For Menneskerettigheter 191, 201 (2006)Google Scholar; de Wet, Erika, The Prohibition of Torture as an International Norm of jus cogens and Its Implications for National and Customary Law, 15 Eur. J. Int'l L. 97, 119 (2004)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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24 Of course, rough times as times of emergency may influence the outcome of the balancing of conflicting values under the auspices of the principle of proportionality quite differently from normal times.

25 Cf. Koji, Teraya, Emerging Hierarchy in International Human Rights and Beyond: From the Perspective of Non-derogable Rights, 12 Eur. J. Int'l L. 917, 927 (2001)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

26 See also Tahvanainen, supra note 20, at 199 et seq.

27 See, e. g., ICCPR, supra note 23, art. 41 which reflects this idea.

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31 In fact, it is the abundance of reservations declared by states that has motivated the Human Rights Committee as well as other committees to deal with this issue in a quite progressive way, but not completely denying the admissibility of reservations; see Human Rights Committee, General Comment 24, General Comment on Issues Relating to Reservations Made upon Ratification or Accession to the Covenant or the Optional Protocols thereto, or in Relation to Declarations under Article 41 of the Covenant, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.6 (1994).

32 See Klein, Eckart, A Comment on the Issue of Reservations to the Provisions of the Covenant Representing (Peremptory) Rules of General International Law, in Reservations to Human Rights Treaties and the Vienna Convention Regime 59 (Ziemele, Ineta ed., 2004)Google Scholar.

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35 Cf. the references with Shelton, supra note 3, at 303.

36 See ICCPR, art. 2; European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, art. 15; ACHR, art. 4 ACHPR (see supra note 23).

37 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, arts. 53 & 64, May 23, 1969, 1155 U.N.T.S. 331; reprinted in 8 I.L.M. 679 (1969)Google Scholar.

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42 Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, U.N. Doc. A/RES/56/83 Annex (Jan. 28, 2002).

43 See id. arts. 40, 41, 48 and 54.

44 In this sense, see, e. g., Orakhelashvili, Alexander, Peremptory Norms in International Law 490 (2006)Google Scholar.

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46 Al-Adsani v. United Kingdom, supra note 45, ¶ 3, dissent by eight (out of 17).

47 Jones v. Ministry of Interior Al-Mamlaka Al-Arabiya AS Saudiya [2006] UKHL 26, (appeal taken from [2004] EWCA Civ 1394; Fang v. Jiang, (2006) High Court of New Zealand, judgment of Dec. 21, 2006) CIV 2004-404-5843. Cf. further Eckart Klein, Al-Adsani Case, Max-Planck-Encyclopedia of Public International Law, available at http://www.mpepil.com/.

48 East Timor (Portugal v. Australia), 1995 I.C.J. 102, ¶ 29 (June 30); DRC v. Rwanda, supra note 13, ¶ 164. See also Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro), 2007 I.C.J. (Feb. 26) ¶ 147.

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51 Streletz, Kessler & Krenz v. Germany, 2001-II; Eur. Ct. H.R. at ¶¶ 72 & 94 (GC judgment Mar. 22, 2001). Tysiąc v. Poland, Appl. No. 5410/03, Eur. Ct. H.R. (Fourth Section) (judgment of Mar. 20, 2007) at ¶ 102, available at http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?item=1&portal=hbkm&action=html&highlight=Tysi%u0105c%20%7C%20v.&sessionid=15442881&skin=hudoc-en.

52 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, supra note 23, art. 3

53 Soering v. United Kingdom, 11 Eur. Ct. H.R. (ser. A) at ¶ 88 (1989). Chahal v. United Kingdom, 1996-V Eur. Ct. H.R. (GC judgment of Nov. 15, 1996) at para. ¶ 79; Al-Adsani v. United Kingdom, supra note 45, at para. 59.

54 Al-Adsani v. United Kingdom, supra note 45, at para. ¶ 60.

55 Concurring opinion of Judge Costa, Keenan v. United Kingdom, 2001-III, 242 (judgment of Apr. 3, 2001).

56 See also Shelton, supra note 3, at 314.

57 Cf. the Al-Adsani v. United Kingdom, supra note 45.

58 Tahvanainen, supra note 20, at 193.

59 This seems to be misunderstood by D'Amato, supra note 12, at 395.

60 See Klein, Eckart, Human Dignity in German Law, in The Concept of Human Dignity in Human Rights Discourse 145 (Kretzmer, David & Klein, Eckart eds., 2002)Google Scholar.

61 Cf. Gäfgen v. Germany, Appl. No. 22978/05 (GC judgment of June 30, 2008), available at http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int./tkp 197/search.asp?skin=hudoc-en.

62 Cf. Brugger, Winfried, Darf der Staat ausnahmsweise foltern?, 35 Der Staat 67 (1996)Google Scholar.

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64 We should also not overlook the issue of power that is always involved in the establishment of hierarchies of whatever sort; cf. Koskenniemi, supra note 1, at 571; Weiler & Paulus, supra note 6, at 563.

65 General Comment No. 24, supra note 31, at ¶ 10.