Human Rights and the End of Empire: Britain and the Genesis of the European Convention - Couverture rigide

Simpson, Brian

 
9780198262893: Human Rights and the End of Empire: Britain and the Genesis of the European Convention
Couverture rigide
ISBN 10 : 0198262892 ISBN 13 : 9780198262893
Editeur : Oxford University Press, 2001

Synopsis

The 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 account of the processes of negotiation which produced it. This book, which is based on extensive use of archival material, therefore breaks entirely new ground. The British government, working through the Foreign Office, played a central role in the postwar human rights movement, first of all in the United Nations, and then in the Council of Europe; the context in which the negotiations took place was affected both by the cold war and by conflicts with the anti-colonial movement, as well as by serious conflicts within the British governmental machine. The book tells the story of the Convention up to 1966, the date at which British finally accepted the right of individual petition and the jurisdiction of the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights. It explores in detail the significance of the Convention for Britain as a major colonial power in the declining years of Empire, and provides the first full account of the first cases brought under the Convention, which were initiated by Greece against Britain over the insurrection in Cyprus in the 1950s. It also provides the first account based on archival materials of the use of the Convention in the independence constitutions of colonial territories.

Les informations fournies dans la section « Synopsis » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Présentation de l'éditeur

The 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 account of the processes of negotiation which produced it. This book, which is based on extensive use of archival material, therefore breaks entirely new ground. The British government, working through the Foreign Office, played a central role in the postwar human rights movement, first of all in the United Nations, and then in the Council of Europe; the context in which the negotiations took place was affected both by the cold war and by conflicts with the anti-colonial movement, as well as by serious conflicts within the British governmental machine. The book tells the story of the Convention up to 1966, the date at which British finally accepted the right of individual petition and the jurisdiction of the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights. It explores in detail the significance of the Convention for Britain as a major colonial power in the declining years of Empire, and provides the first full account of the first cases brought under the Convention, which were initiated by Greece against Britain over the insurrection in Cyprus in the 1950s. It also provides the first account based on archival materials of the use of the Convention in the independence constitutions of colonial territories.

Revue de presse

Human 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)

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
Oxford University Press
Date d'édition
2001
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
0198262892
ISBN 13 
9780198262893
Reliure
Relié
Nombre de pages
1176
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
Ufficio Anagrafiche Messaggerie
ufficio.anagrafiche@meli.it

Via Verdi, 8
Assago Milano
20090
Italie

Autres éditions populaires du même titre

9780199267897: Human Rights and the End of Empire: Britain and the Genesis of the European Convention

Edition présentée

ISBN 10 :  0199267898 ISBN 13 :  9780199267897
Editeur : Oxford University Press, 2004
Couverture souple