Studies on Human Rights Conventions: Series Number 4: The Legitimacy of International Human Rights Regimes: Legal, Political and Philosophical Perspectives

The past sixty years have seen an expansion of international human rights conventions and supervisory organs, not least in Europe. While these international legal instruments have enlarged their mandate, they have also faced opposition and criticism from political actors at the state level, even in well-functioning democracies. Against the backdrop of such contestations, this book brings together prominent scholars in law, political philosophy and international relations in order to address the legitimacy of international human rights regimes as a theoretically challenging and politically salient case of international authority. It provides a unique and thorough overview of the legitimacy problems involved in the global governance of human rights.

1. International human rights and the challenge of legitimacy Johan Karlsson Schaffer, Andreas Follesdal and Geir Ulfstein; 2. The legitimate authority of international human rights: on the reciprocal legitimation of domestic and international human rights Samantha Besson; 3. On the legitimate authority of international human rights bodies Steven Wheatley; 4. Equality, human rights, and political legitimacy Kristen Hessler; 5. The legitimacy of international interpretive authorities for human rights treaties: an indirect-instrumentalist defence Basak Cali; 6. Torture and the politics of legitimation in international law Ian Hurd; 7. Legitimacy, institutional power, and international human rights institutions: a conceptual enquiry Lynn Dobson; 8. Legitimacy, global governance and human rights institutions: inverting the puzzle Johan Karlsson Schaffer; 9. The democratic legitimacy of international human rights conventions: political constitutionalism and the Hirst case Richard Bellamy; 10. Much ado about nothing? International judicial review of human rights in well-functioning democracies Andreas Follesdal.