Revisiting the Humanisation of International Law: Limits and Potential

The article critically evaluates the theory of the humanisation of international law. First, it argues that despite human rights having impact on (other areas of) international law, this trend has in the past been somewhat inflated. A number of examples are given where human rights have been tested against other objectives pursued by international law, with humanisation revealing its limits and actual dimensions. The second argument consists in identifying and highlighting obligations erga omnes (partes) and the principle of due diligence as two ‘systemic’ tools, that are central to the humanisation of international law. Both these tools form part of modern positive law, but may also make a positive contribution towards the direction of deeper humanisation in international law, having the potential, inter alia, to limit state will, establish occasional material normative hierarchy consisting in conditional priority in the fulfilment of human rights, give a communitarian tone to international law and invite states to be pro-active in the collective protection of their common interests and values. In its conclusions, the article offers a plausible explanation about the paradox it identifies of the limits of the humanisation on the one hand, and its potential for further development on the other. For, it is inherent in international law that the line separating the law from deontology is thin. The process of humanisation needs to be balanced with the other objectives of international law as well as reconciled with the decentralised and sovereignist origins of the pluralistic international legal system

A European law of international responsibility? The articles on the responsibility of international organizations and the EU

The first section of this paper will briefly describe the plea made by the European Union for recognition of special rules of responsibility for regional economic integration organizations, with an emphasis on rules on attribution (Part 1). The paper will then critically evaluate this claim and the way it was addressed by the ILC in its work on the Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations (Part 2). Arguing that the Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations leave enough room for the development of rules of international responsibility specific to regional economic integration organizations, the paper will then evaluate the possible source for such special rules and gauge the value of EU law for the sake of the lex specialis principle (Part 3). The paper will finally turn to the draft agreement on the accession of the EU to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and will reflect on the extent to which the mechanism set up on that occasion could be conducive to the emergence of special rules of international responsibility for the EU (Part 4)