The Constitutionalization of Human Rights Law: Implications for Refugees

The Constitutionalization of Human Rights Law examines how lawyers representing refugees use human rights provisions in national constitutions to close the gap between the Law and its implementation. It focuses on five countries and explores how lawyers adapt creatively to social, political, and legal contexts. The book theorizes a continuum of methods through which cause lawyers use constitutionalized human rights law to benefit refugees, including strategic litigation, training governmental officials, and informal advocacy. It provides qualitative evidence of the effectiveness of human rights treaties and analyses how international protections for refugees become stronger when domestic lawyers enforce them through national constitutions.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 22 September 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

The Constitutionalization of Human Rights Law delves into a comprehensive analysis of how lawyers representing refugees utilize human rights provisions within national constitutions to bridge the gap between the law and its effective implementation. By focusing on five countries, namely Colombia, Mexico, South Africa, Uganda, and the United States, the book explores the innovative approaches taken by lawyers to adapt to the diverse social, political, and legal contexts. It sheds light on the prevalent trend among many refugee-receiving states to either openly reject or passively neglect their legal obligations to protect refugees. Consequently, cause lawyers, who utilize the law to empower others, have turned to constitutionalized human rights law as a means to safeguard the rights of refugees. While it is true that many countries may have included such provisions in their constitutions without fully intending to fulfill their commitments, cause lawyers have seized upon them as a more enforceable tool for rights protection. This book offers a theoretical framework that proposes a continuum of increasingly ambitious methods through which cause lawyers employ constitutionalized human rights law to benefit refugees. Lawyers employ a range of tools as they navigate this continuum, including strategic litigation, training governmental officials in the relevant law, and various forms of informal advocacy. It makes significant contributions to three key strands of socio-legal literature. Firstly, it provides qualitative evidence to demonstrate how human rights treaties gain greater significance when incorporated into national constitutions. Secondly, it analyzes how international protections for refugees become stronger when domestic lawyers enforce them through national constitutions. Lastly, it showcases how refugee lawyers utilize constitutionalized human rights law to safeguard the interests of their clients.

Weight: 472g
Dimension: 242 x 160 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780198868439