All lectures of International health law completely written out
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Course
International health law
Institution
Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (EUR)
All the lectures of international health law completely written out.
Document is 19 pages long and personally really helped me to better understand the concept and handy to use during the exam.
Lectures IHL
Lecture 1- Introduction
International law= law of nations
Law between states. Set of rules, norms, standards generally accepted in relations between states. It
establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework to guide states across a
broad range of domains, including war, diplomacy, trade and human rights.
We make a distinction between rules between states, rules which both states agree upon> treaties.
This is the law of nations. But we also have law within states, which is called municipal law.
Sources of international law
- Can be found in treaties> set of rules and decisions which are agreed upon between
states. The state is the actor/entity. Contracts in ordinary law are between individuals,
but in international law its between states and the rules they agree upon. Treaty can
establish an organization (UN). International law is made up of treaties. But rules can also
derive from treaties.
- International custom= a set of rules which can not be found in formal treaties, writings
on how states should behave towards each other in the international field.
- General principles of law= if you promise something, make a treaty with another country,
it is up to a state to live up to whatever it has agreed upon. You fulfil your promises.
- Writing of legal scholars= the way they explain it, opinions of authoritative are extremely
important.
Treaties
Agreements between states> primary source of international law.
Formal written agreement entered into by actor in international law. Those actors can be sovereign
states and international organizations. Only instruments that are binding upon parties are considered
treaties subject to international law.
Agreed by two states> bilateral
Agreed by multiple states> multilateral
Treaties can vary significantly in substance and complexity and may govern a wide variety of matters.
They can have any subject, but the ones we will discuss is about human rights and human rights
protection.
International law on treaties is subject to a treaty as well> Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
(VCLT). Sets forth the rules and procedures for creating, enforcing, amending and interpreting
treaties.
Treaty can create new international organizations> can be classified by the degree of sovereignty:
- Intergovernmental organizations> Council of Europe, United Nations. They do not really
have power over the states, which are party to those treaties. An organization which
facilitates cooperation. Exerts no power of its own.
- Supranational organizations> European Union. State has relegated sovereign party to this
organizations. EU has legislative power on its own, executive power (can make rules,
more important than the rules made by the states itself).
Treaties can deal with a variety of subjects> also human rights protection. Restriction of rights we are
entitled to but who protect our health. Health and health care are also human rights issues.
General structure of human rights treaties
Treaties always have the same structure.
, - Preamble> in here states/parties to a treaty state their objective. What do they want to
do with this treaty
- General provisions> purpose, scope and definitions
- Chapters on human rights> contains a material element which defines the human rights
in question
- Compliance and dispute resolution> what happens when you don’t comply
- Amendments> is it possible to change something about the treaty.
Protocols> states want to add a protocol
Reservations> state is allowed not the agree with every part
- Final clauses> signature, ratification, entry into force.
Ratifying> treaty becomes binding
UN treaty series: http://treaties.un.org/
Council of Europe treaty series: http://www.conventions.coe.int/
Interpretation of treaties> treaty is a document stating a number of rules which came into effect at a
certain point in time. But every treaty is always also a living instrument, subject to constant
interpretation by the national and international courts. It has to be interpreted in order to provide
solutions for problems which need to be solved right away.
- Decisions of
o International human rights courts> to protect violation on human rights laws
European court of human rights
Inter-American court of human rights
Etc.
o Domestic courts
- Analysis and commentary
Researching international law
- Locate text of treaty> You have to find the treaty which is of interest for you.
- Information on ratification and entry into force> You have to find out if a treaty is binding
for a particular state. List of ratifications shows which states it applies to. And you have
to find the date at which the treaty went into force.
- Reservations> list of states which have made reservations. States accept certain parts of
the treaty and are bound to these parts and act in accordance, but make reservations for
other parts.
- Implementation in domestic legislation> if a state becomes party to a treaty, that treaty
will impose obligations on the state. One of those obligations is that the state has to
make some national states to fulfil the treaty. Implementation into domestic national
legislation.
- Find decisions of (inter)national courts
Previous decisions give an idea how a treaty should be interpreted. Look at the treaty
itself and also the case law because of alleged violations, find relevant decisions and you
need to know how according to legal scholars, a decision has to be understood.
Human rights> definition and foundation
- Human rights are the rights that all people have by virtue of being human beings.
Between birth and death, you enjoy human rights protection.
- Human rights are derived from the inherent dignity of the human person and are defined
internationally, nationally and locally by various law making bodies.
Dignity is mentioned in almost all human rights treaties.
, - Human rights law is the most fundamental part of every legal system. If a legal system
does not recognize human rights, it is not a proper legal system. Respect for human
dignity.
International human rights law serves as> their purposes:
- A beacon> pulls states towards accepting human rights
- A safety net> to amend shortcomings on the national level, to supplement national legal
system.
- A basis> mobilise shame of the international community
Human rights obligations of states
4 categories:
- Respecting a right means that the state must not violate a particular right
- Protecting a right means to prevent violations of that right by non-state actors
- Fulfilling a right means that a state has to take all appropriate measures, like allocating
budgetary resources, to the realisation of that right.
- Promoting a right means that the state must educate the public and raise awareness
about that right.
After WWII, human rights protection became an international fair.
Modern protection of human rights:
- UDHR= Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- ICCPR and ICESCR where additionally adopted
ICCPR= International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
ICESCR=International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Together, these 3 documents are known as the International Bill of Human Rights
So the international Bill of rights= UDHR + ICCPR + ICESCR
ICCPR> abstaining from doing something, respecting certain rights
- Prohibits discrimination
- Protection right to life
- Prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (personal
integrity)
- Prohibits slavery
- Prohibits arbitrary arrest or detention
- Protects freedom of opinion and expression
- Protects freedom of association and assembly
- Public emergency exception (but no torture, execution or slavery is ever permitted)
ICESCR: contains human rights which are of a different nature. About rights which really require what
a state does something.
- Right to work and make a decent living for themselves and their families
- Safe and healthy working conditions
- Right to form trade unions with the right to strike
- Right of everyone to social security, including social insurance in de widest possible
protection and assistance should be accorded to the family, which is the natural and
fundamental group unit of society
- Right to adequate food, clothing and housing and to the continuous improvement of
living conditions.
- Right to education
- Right to health
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