The Sovereignty of Human Rights
Patrick Macklem
Reviews and Awards
"Macklem offers his readers a well-articulated argument that advances discourse on the subject. He also gives them a fascinating, in-depth review of the origination of workers' rights, minority and indigenous rights, the right of self-determination and the right to development, which supports his approach." -- Sarah Frost, Israel Law Review
"The lSovereignty of Human Rights is a must-read for anyone interested in international human rights law and global justice. Professor Macklem presents a highly original theory of human rights as normative legal concepts, focused on their role in the international legal system. The legal conception he offers is analytically distinct from both traditional moral and recent political conceptions. Given the expansion of international human rights law since the 1970s, Macklem's focus on their function as legal norms is illuminating and important...In short, Macklem's book forces us to rethink and revise our understanding of the effects of the ascription of international legal sovereign authority to certain political communities deemed states, and to revise our view of what constitutes a human right in the international system accordingly." --Jean L. Cohen, Nell and Herbert Singer Professor of Political Theory and Contemporary Civilization, Columbia University
"This densely argued, broad-based inquiry justifies human rights from several perspectives. Macklem (Univ. of Toronto, Canada) focuses on the tension between sovereign powers vested in states and human rights belonging to individuals and groups." --C.E. Welch, University of Buffalo, lChoice
"Professor Macklem's book makes a valuable contribution to the existing literature on the role of international human rights law in the international legal order... [his] argument is highly original." - Anna John, Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht (ZaöRV)