Description
Book SynopsisThe European Convention on Human Rights, which came into force in 1953 after signature, in 1950, established the most effective system for the international protection of human rights which has yet conme into existence anywhere in the world. Since the collapse of communism it has come to be extended to the countries of central and eastern Europe, and some seven hundred million people now, at least in principle, live under its protection. It remains far and away the most significant achievement of the Council of Europe, which was established in 1949, and was the first product of the postwar movement for European integration. It has now at last been incorporated into British domestic law. Nothing remotely resembling the surrender of sovereignty required by accession to the Convention had ever previously been accepted by governments. There exists no published account which relates the signature and ratification of the Convention to the political history of the period, or which gives an ac
Trade ReviewHuman Rights and the End of Empire is full of good things. It is well written, with numerous interesting (and provoking) asides and pen portraits of the dramatis personae. It provides an unrivalled narrative of the origins of the Convention and of British official attitudes to human rights in the immediate post-war years, and will be an invaluable aid to anyone wishing to understand the evolution of the European system of human rights protection. * Human Rights Law Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, Autumn 2001 *
This is a major book by a master of legal history. * International and Comparative Law Quarterly *
a very well written book, based on meticulous scholarship, with a convincing argument, and on a theme of great interest and importance, especially since September 11th. * Professor Bernard Porter, TLS *
Table of ContentsNOTE ON THE PAPERBACK EDITION ; PREFACE ; ABBREVIATIONS ; 1. Human Rights, Fundamental Freedoms, and the World of the Common Law ; 2. The Mechanisms of Repression ; 3. The International Protection of Individual Rights Before 1939 ; 4. The Ideological Response to War: Codes of Human Rights ; 5. Human Rights and the Structure of the Brave New World ; 6. The Burdens of Empire ; 7. The Foreign Office Establishes a Policy ; 8. Beckett's Bill and the Loss of the Initiative ; 9. Conflict Abroad and at Home ; 10. The Growing Disillusion ; 11. Britain and the Western Option ; 12. From the Brussels Treaty to the Council of Europe ; 13. A Convention on the Right Lines: The Rival Texts ; 14. The Conclusion of Negotiations and the Rearguard Action ; 15. The First Protocol ; 16. Ratification and its Consequences ; 17. Emergencies and Derogations ; 18. The First Cyprus Case ; 19. The Outcome of the Two Applications ; 20. Coming In, Rather Reluctantly, From the Cold ; Bibliography ; Index
