Chapter Nine. Application Of International Standards Of Human Rights Law At Domestic Level

When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was passed in 1948 it generated much excitement among human rights lawyers. It was a first real statement at the highest echelons of international society, of the validity of human rights law and its pertinence to every corner of the global community. The universal regime of human rights protection is created more as a network of minimal normative standards, that States are encouraged to accept and make realizable within their domestic systems, taking into account any cultural nuances that ought to be reflected. This chapter emphasizes the importance of domestic regimes, first, by explaining the manner in which international standards are born and enter into reality and second, by emphasizing the manner in which international human rights regimes exhort States to implement the rights at domestic level. It ends with a conclusion on the extent to which this process has been successful. Keywords: domestic level; human rights law; international standards; states; Universal Declaration of Human Rights