Neue Menschenrechte vor regionalen Menschenrechtsinstitutionen

Abstract

Judges are rarely front-runners when it comes to coining new human rights. Since vis-à-vis the state parties their legitimacy is based on the human rights instruments they are created to apply, regional human rights institutions will in general attempt to accommodate present needs and to include marginalised groups rather by an extensive reading of established rights than by subscribing to a new ‘human right to …’. However, as legitimacy is not confined to this dimension alone, under certain circumstances human rights institutions might be more inclined to innovation. In three comparative case studies this article analyses how regional human rights institutions mediate between evolution and revolution and offers some tentative conclusions.