Time for a Pan-Asian court of human rights?

Platsas, Antonios Emmanuel

Abstract

The contribution examines the theoretical possibility and the practical feasibility of a regional human rights judicial forum for the whole of Asia. Whilst limited parts of Asia operate under regional charters such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the Arab Charter on Human Rights, to date Asia has not managed to build a regional system of protection of human rights. Whilst Asian nations are active participants in international conventions of human rights, the human rights exercise in Asia is still one which is largely confined in the national and certainly defined by the local. Asia does not present us with a regionally unified approach in the sphere of human rights, when one could actually conceive this as a matter of legal utility, whilst maintaining that Asia’s overall divergent approach with other perceptions of human rights law in other parts of the world is probably a healthy legal phenomenon. Nevertheless, the divergence of legal Asia from legal Europe, Africa and America due to the lack of a regional Pan-Asian Court of Human Rights is somewhat remarkable, if not inexplicable. The article proceeds with the examination of human rights in modern Asia, especially by highlighting the ‘Asian values’ approach in the area and by juxtaposing such an approach with comparable matter from other regions. In relation to the above, the contribution critically discusses the universalist approach of human rights law and the relativist approach thereof, the latter having been particularly fertile in Asia. The article concludes with recommendations as appropriate.

Citation

Platsas, A. E. (2013). Time for a Pan-Asian court of human rights?.

• Conference Name: 2nd Annual International Conference on Law, Regulations and Public Policy
• Conference Location: Singapore, Republic of Singapore
• Start Date: Jun 17, 2013
• End Date: Jun 18, 2013
• Publication Date: 2013
• Deposit Date: Dec 2, 2022
• Volume: 2nd Annual International Conference on Law, Regulations and Public Policy Conference Proceedings
• Series ISSN: 2251-3809
• Keywords: Regional human rights, regional judicial fora, Asian values, universalism, relativism
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10198139
• Related Public URLs: https://globalstf.org/