Cowell, Frederick (2018) Anti-totalitarian memory: explaining the presence of ‘Rights Abuse’ clauses in International Human Rights Law. Birkbeck Law Review 6 (1), pp. 35-61. ISSN 2052-1308.
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Abstract
Rights abuse clauses are provisions in the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which prevent individuals using rights to undermine the rights of others in society. They are most commonly used to restrict the free speech of extremist political groups. This paper argues that they are a reflection of an anti-totalitarian consensus behind both instruments. A critical examination of their history shows that these clauses are the products of a form of collective European memory which seeks to safeguard against a collective heritage of totalitarianism. Their substance seemingly privileges a complex historically contingent form of anti-racism and they can be used to justify seemingly far-reaching restrictions on free speech and freedom of association in order to prevent against totalitarianism. Rights abuse clauses, this paper concludes, are a form of collective juridical memory which has overshadowed the development of human rights law in certain areas.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Business and Law > Birkbeck Law School |
| Depositing User: | Frederick Cowell |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Mar 2017 15:44 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:32 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/18381 |
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