Global law and human rights: Marxist reflections. How can a political account of human rights avoid Eurocentrism?

My recent book The Degradation of the International Legal Order? attempts a political account of human rights, and engages with the work of China Miéville and Susan Marks, as well as the extraordinary opus of Alain Badiou. The book has been well received. Sympathetic reviews by Robert Knox and Upendra Baxi have levelled a number of constructive criticisms, and this paper seeks both to grapple with the issues raised and to take the project forward. What is at stake is the concretisation of a thoroughly materialist, properly communist historicisation of human rights, as a contribution to contemporary struggles. In particular, is this project in any sense necessarily Eurocentric

Russia and Human Rights: Incompatible Opposites?

The Article raises in his article “Russia and human rights: incompatible opposites?” the question, if the currently complicated relations between Russia and the CoE concerning Russia’s obligations under the ECHR are at breaking-point. In regard to this issue he gives a description of the history of law in Russia to prove the pre-existing tradition of argument about human rights

The Russian Federation, protocol no. 14 (and 14 bis), and the battle for the soul of the ECHR

With a focus on the Russian Federation, this article examines the adoption by the Council of Europe of Protocol No.14 to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and its long-delayed coming into force. The author starts with the question of the original object and purpose of the Council, and how they have now changed. This leads to an analysis of the nature of the crisis – a crisis of success – now faced by the ECHR system, and the reform process which started, on the 50th anniversary of the ECHR, in 2000. After describing Protocol No.14 itself, and the discussion which has surrounded it, the article turns to the central issue. This is not the question of procedural reform, or even admissibility criteria, but what lies behind – the “soul” of the ECHR system. Should the Strasbourg Court remain a court which renders “individual justice”, albeit only for a handful of applicants and with long delays; or should it make become a court which renders “constitutional justice”? The article focuses on the specific problems faced by Russia in its relations with the Council of Europe; and an analysis of the lengthy refusal by the Russian State Duma to ratify Protocol No. 14. The author concludes with an attempted prognosis

Minorities’ protection in Russia: is there a ‘Communist Legacy’?

Book synopsis: Twenty years after the demise of communist policy, this book evaluates the continuing communist legacies in the current minority protection systems and legislations across a number of states in post-communist Europe. The fall of communism and the process of democratisation across post-communist Europe led to considerable change in minority protection with new systems and national political institutions either developed or copied. In general, the new institutions reflected the practices and experiences of (western) European states and were installed upon advice from European security organisations. Yet many ideas, legislative frameworks, policies and practices remained open to interpretation on the ground. With case studies on a diverse set of post-communist polities including Slovakia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Ukraine, Estonia, Croatia, the Baltic States and Russia, expert contributors consider how the institutional legacies of the communist past impact on policies designed to support minority communities in the new European democracies. Providing unique empirical material and comparative analyses of ethnocultural diversity management during and after communism, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, European politics, political geography, post-communism, ethnic politics, nationalism and national identity

Marx, Lenin and Pashukanis on self-determination: response to Robert Knox

This response to Robert Knox’s very kind and constructive review1 of my 2008 book The Degradation of the International Legal Order?: The Rehabilitation of Law and the Possibility of Politics gives me the opportunity not only to answer some of his criticisms, but also, on the basis of my own reflections since 2008, to fill in some gaps. Indeed, to revise a number of my arguments. First, I restate my attempt at a materialist account of human rights. Next I explain why, for me, the right of peoples to self-determination is absolutely central to a materialist understanding of human rights; and also fill a serious gap in my own account in the book. This leads me not only to a reply to Robert Knox on the question of ‘indeterminacy’ in international law, but also to a disagreement with him on the use or misuse of the language of self-determination. My fourth section returns to our very different evaluations of the significance and meaning of the work of Yevgeny Pashukanis, and what, for me, is Pashukanis’s misunderstanding, for reasons consistent with his general theoretical trajectory, of Marx and Lenin on the Irish question. Finally, I present an outline of a re-evaluation of Marx’s principled position on self-determination

Fragmentation, Lex Specialis and the tensions in the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights

This chapter attempts to radicalize arguments the author has presented in previous collections. He draws on his own experience of taking Kurdish (from 1994 to 1999) and then Chechen (from 2000 to the present) cases to the European Court of Human Rights. He employs materialist and historicized account of international law and human rights for which he contends. He argues that the lex specialis doctrine as developed in recent case-law of the International Court of Justice (the ICJ) contains a category error, insofar as it brings human rights law and humanitarian law into a relationship with each other; for example, that of ‘complementarity’. Chalk is being compared with, or even substituted by, cheese. He starts with an analysis of the confusion of the ICJ. He then turns to the concept of ‘fragmentation of international law’ as it impacts on the issue of the relationship between the two bodies of law, and then outlines what are for him the key differences between IHL and IHRL. Finally, he illustrates his position in contrast to a number of contemporary scholars: Schabas, Droege, Hampson, Abresch, Quenivet and Orakhelashvili. His conclusion is that the European Court of Human Rights has in this matter at least, consciously or not, chosen the correct path in dealing with cases that have come before it, especially the Chechen cases

How will the European Court of Human Rights deal with the UK in Iraq?: lessons from Turkey and Russia

The decision by the US and UK governments to use military force against Iraq in 2003 and the subsequent occupation and administration of that State, has brought into sharp focus fundamental fault lines in international law. The decision to invade, the conduct of the war and occupation and the mechanisms used to administer the country all challenge the international legal community placing it at a crossroads. When can the use of force be justified? What are the limits of military operations? What strength does international criminal law possess in the face of such interventions? How effective is the international regime of human rights in these circumstances? What role does domestic law have to play? How the law now responds and develops in the light of these matters will be of fundamental global importance for the 21st century and an issue of considerable political and legal concern. This book explores this legal territory by examining a number of issues fundamental to the future direction of international law in the War's aftermath. Consideration is also given to the impact on UK law. Both practical and academic perspectives are taken in order to scrutinise key questions and consider the possible trajectories that international law might now follow. Book description from publisher website at: http://www.hartpub.co.uk/books/details.asp?isbn=978184113669