The Domestic Institutionalisation of Human Rights

This book explores recent developments pointing towards a ‘domestic institutionalisation of human rights’, composed of converging international trends prescribing the setting up of domestic institutions, and the need for a national human rights systems approach. Building on new compliance theories, innovative arrangements have resolutely appeared around the turn of the millennium and some are now legally enshrined in human rights treaties.

In their introduction, the editors capture these developments, their main elements and key points of debate. They outline a research agenda aimed at structuring and generating further attention from both academics and practitioners. As a stepping stone, the book singles out the purposeful attempt by the United Nations and others to frame these trends around the concept of ‘National Human Rights System’. The chapters assess various models and cases put forward for such systems. Each chapter highlights the specific forms of institutions being promoted and their intended domestic interactions, and discusses how these institutions are leveraged and strengthened by international bodies. Authors critically review their implications for the future of human rights, paving the way for additional research.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Nordic Journal of Human Rights.

Stéphanie Lagoutte is Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for Human Rights, Copenhagen, Denmark. She holds a doctoral degree in Law from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and a PhD in Law from the Aarhus University, Denmark. Most of her work focuses on the duties and role of the state in human rights protection.

Sébastien Lorion is Senior Adviser at the Danish Institute for Human Rights, Copenhagen, Denmark. He holds a PhD degree from the University of Copenhagen and undertakes legal and social sciences research focusing on governmental human rights focal points, national human rights action plans and national human rights institutions.

Steven L.B. Jensen is Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for Human Rights, Copenhagen, Denmark. He holds a PhD degree from the University of Copenhagen. His areas of work have mainly focused on the historical evolution of human rights, health and human rights as well as national human rights institutions.