International Human Rights Law and the International Court of Justice

Abstract

This report, prepared for the Committee on International Human Rights Law of the International Law Association, examines the increased references by the ICJ to decisions by human rights bodies as well as its attitude towards the position of the individual in general, with a focus on its case law on the extraterritorial application of human rights treaties, on its practice regarding provisional measures involving human beings and on the issue of diplomatic protection. It concludes that given its function and its dependence on the cases and requests brought before it, the ICJ very often is not in a position to contribute to human rights law, but its increasing sensitivity to the fate of human beings has nevertheless contributed to the humanization of international law and its increasing openness to cross-referencing does validate, directly or indirectly, the approach of the supervisory bodies to human rights treaties dealing with individual complaints.