The Domestic Incorporation of Human Rights Law and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

32 Pages Posted: 12 Feb 2010

See all articles by Michael Ashley Stein

Michael Ashley Stein

Visiting Professor, Harvard Law School; University of Pretoria Faculty of Law, Centre for Human Rights

Janet Lord

American University; Harvard University - Harvard Law School; University of Maryland School of Law

Date Written: 2008

Abstract

This Article reviews the processes by which domestic-level transposition of international human rights norms may occur as a consequence of human rights treaty ratification, or other means of incorporation. Specifically, we consider the transformative vision of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD or Convention) as a vehicle for fostering national-level disability law and policy changes. In doing so, we outline the challenges and opportunities presented by this new phase in disability rights advocacy, and we draw conclusions that bear generally upon human rights practice and scholarship. We contend that the role of human rights in domestic law and process reflect important dimensions of international law and practice. At the same time, human rights advocates and scholars often fail to account for the potentially mutually constitutive nature of domestication processes and the transformative role that human rights treaties perform within societies. Accordingly, we argue that effective Convention implementation must result in a human rights practice that includes law reform or court-based advocacy, but also moves beyond it to include strategies that support deeper domestic internalization of human rights norms.

Keywords: Disability, Disability Human Rights Treaty, International Law, Human Rights

Suggested Citation

Stein, Michael Ashley and Lord, Janet, The Domestic Incorporation of Human Rights Law and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008). Washington University Law Review, Vol. 83, 2008, William & Mary Law School Research Paper No. 09-37, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1551945 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1551945

Michael Ashley Stein (Contact Author)

Visiting Professor, Harvard Law School ( email )

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University of Pretoria Faculty of Law, Centre for Human Rights ( email )

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Janet Lord

American University ( email )

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Harvard University - Harvard Law School ( email )

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Cambridge, MA 02138
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HOME PAGE: http://www.hpod.org

University of Maryland School of Law ( email )

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