Introduction: The origins of the regime

Abstract

Abstract This chapter positions the emerging special regime around serious violations of human rights in the international legal order. Seldom has any attention been given in the literature so far to serious violations of human rights as a separate category of human rights violations that encapsulates some of the core community values. Serious violations of human rights arguably form part of the transformation of international law from a legal system primarily based upon bilateral legal relations among states to a system where respect for certain common fundamental values is brought to the forefront. The chapter offers a comparative analysis of serious violations of human rights with other closely related notions—namely, jus cogens norms, erga omnes obligations, and international crimes. It further provides an understanding of the ‘special regime’ for the purposes of this book, and hints at the slow, gradual, and often unintentional emergence of the special regime under consideration. Many of the processes and mechanisms found in the following chapters are the outcome of practical considerations and compromise.