INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

 BACKGROUND - International Human Rights

o recognition and protection of Int Human Rights as such after WWII in

International Relations. Before, these rights obviously existed, but were´t
recognized in a legal form (por así decirlo). There were some developments,
but we can´t affirm that they were recognized as human rights.
o protection of human beings (int. or national) IS NOT the same as
RECOGNITION. Sometimes people were protected because it was supposed to
be the Christian/right thing to do, but not because they had they rights
recognized. When a state recognizes rights, persons are entitled to them. You
have the right of that recognition and the guarantee of them.
o Rights are not charity. Distinction between charity and RIGHTS (imposes
entitlement).
o Code of Hammurabi: established principles on the not so strong people. It had
principles of human protection.
o Did Athenians and Romans have rights? Yes but… not all of them. So not really
a democracy
- Natural Law and Positive Law :

Positive Law is more like the enacted law, while natural law is more ‘’human’’, va por
instinto (for example, do not kill), it is something implicit, it exists. While positive law, if
it is not written, it is not written.

Origin of natural values: human beings have to be protected because they are
creatures of God, they were created by God.

But how are those natural values developed? It is inherent to human rights.

- School of Salamanca: XV century. It helped to put in common basic principles of

religions.
- Francisco de Victoria: International Law.

 Reservation:

A reservation is a statement, however phrased or named, made by a State by which it purports

to exclude or alter the legal effect of certain provisions of a treaty in their application to that
State. A reservation may enable a State to participate in a multilateral treaty in which it would
otherwise be unable or unwilling to do so. States can make reservations to a treaty when they
sign, ratify, accept, approve or accede to it. When a State makes a reservation upon signing, it
must confirm the reservation upon ratification, acceptance or approval. Reservations are
governed by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, and cannot be contrary to the
object and purpose of the treaty.