Lutz Oette

The prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment has a special status. It is the foremost international human rights norm protecting persons from attacks on their dignity and integrity. Consequently, it has been at the forefront of a series of developments in international human rights law and international law more broadly. Having withstood sustained challenges to its absolute nature in the 'war on terror', it has broadened its scope of application, becoming more sophisticated and complex in the process. The prohibition of torture increasingly interacts with other fields of human rights law, such as non-discrimination law, international criminal law, international humanitarian law, and international migration law. The Transformation of the Prohibition of Torture in International Law analyses the nature and significance of this transformation and looks into the scope of the prohibition's further evolution. Empirical scholarship, innovative human rights body practice, and challenges from activists, particularly from the Global South, have focused on the relational nature of torture and other ill-treatment, its embeddedness in wider structures of power, and the role of international law in legitimizing-if not facilitating-widespread suffering, from mass incarceration to poverty and climate change. This analysis reveals an inherent tension in the prohibition between a conventional, narrow focus on direct State violence and a wide lens encompassing myriad forms of suffering. To retain its validity and effectiveness in the twenty-first century, argues Lutz Oette, the prohibition on torture must navigate this tension and successfully address and transform abusive power asymmetries.

Now in its fourth edition, Bantekas and Oette's textbook on international human rights law is the key text around the globe for both undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in law and other disciplines with a human rights dimension. It covers theoretical approaches to rights as well its practice, from grassroots activism to strategic litigation. In addition to classical topics of human rights, the book includes chapters on the interface between investment/trade and human rights, terrorism, the protection of vulnerable persons (such as LGBTQIA+, persons with disabilities, older persons and others), the rights of women, international criminal and humanitarian law, the right to development and sustainable development, reparations and victims' rights, and many others. It has been widely adopted by instructors across the globe for LLM/JD and LLB courses.

Now in its fourth edition, Bantekas and Oette's textbook on international human rights law is the key text around the globe for both undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in law and other disciplines with a human rights dimension. It covers theoretical approaches to rights as well its practice, from grassroots activism to strategic litigation. In addition to classical topics of human rights, the book includes chapters on the interface between investment/trade and human rights, terrorism, the protection of vulnerable persons (such as LGBTQIA+, persons with disabilities, older persons and others), the rights of women, international criminal and humanitarian law, the right to development and sustainable development, reparations and victims' rights, and many others. It has been widely adopted by instructors across the globe for LLM/JD and LLB courses.

This unique textbook merges human rights law with its practice, from the courtroom to the battlefield. Human rights are analysed in their particular context, and the authors assess, among other things, the impact of international finance, the role of NGOs, and the protection of rights in times of emergency, including the challenges posed by counter-terrorism. In parallel, a series of interviews with practitioners, case studies and practical applications offer multiple perspectives and challenging questions on the effective implementation of human rights. Although the book comprehensively covers the traditional areas of international human rights law, including its regional and international legal and institutional framework, it also encompasses, through distinct chapters or large sections, areas that have a profound impact on human rights worldwide, such as women's rights, human rights and globalisation, refugees and migration, human rights obligations of non-state actors, debt and human rights, and others.

Die jungste Sanktionspraxis hat die Frage nach den sich aus den Menschenrechten und dem humanitaren Voelkerrecht ergebenden Grenzen des Ermessens des Sicherheitsrats aufgeworfen, die beim Einsatz von Wirtschaftssanktionen zu beachten sind. Diese Grenzen werden anhand einer praxisorientierten Auslegung der UN-Charta bestimmt. Die rechtliche Beurteilung dieser Praxis zeigt, dass vor allem die gegenuber dem Irak verhangten Sanktionen den aus den Menschenrechten und dem humanitaren Voelkerrecht folgenden Anforderungen nicht in vollem Umfang gerecht geworden sind. Seit geraumer Zeit ist aber ein Wandel zu einer Praxis erkennbar, in der "unbeabsichtigte humanitare Nebenwirkungen" vermieden werden sollen, besonders in Form gezielter Sanktionen. Diese Entwicklung bietet den Ansatzpunkt fur ein Sanktionsregime, in dessen Rahmen die Menschenrechte und humanitaren Rechte so weitgehend wie moeglich gewahrleistet werden.