II New Books
| Date | 01 December 2004 |
| DOI | 10.1177/016934410402200413 |
| Published date | 01 December 2004 |
| Subject Matter | Part D: Documentation |
II NEW BOOKS
Corporations and transnational human rights litigation / Sarah Joseph. – Oxford: Hart,
2004. – xii, 177 p.
ISBN: 1-84113-457-0
Since the mid-1980s litigants have been exploring ways of holding multinational
corporations (MNCs) liable for offshore human rights abuses in the courts of the
companies’ home States. The highest profile cases have been the human rights
claims brought against MNCs under the Alien Tort Claims Act in the United States.
Such claims also raise issues under customary international law. Furthermore a
corporation’s human rights practices were indirectly targeted under trade practices
law in litigation in California against Nike. Another legal front is found in the USA,
England and Australia, where courts have become more willing to exercise
jurisdiction over transnational common law tort claims against home corporations.
This study examines these developments and the procedural arguments which have
been used to block litigation, as well as the principles which can be gleaned from
cases which have settled.
Defining civil and political rights: the jurisprudence of the United Nations Human Rights
Committee / Alex Conte, Scott Davidson and Richard Burchill. – Aldershot: Ashgate,
2004. – xxi, 257 p.
ISBN: 0-7546-2279-7
This book provides a comprehensive analysis and commentary on the decisions –
technically known as views – of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which
is an independent and quasi-judicial international body established under the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Each of the
substantive rights and freedoms set out in the ICCPR is considered in detail, by
analysis of final reviews and comments of the Human Rights Committee.
The development of positive obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights by
the European Court of Human Rights / Alastair L. Mowbray. – Oxford: Hart, 2004. – xvi,
239 p. – (Human rights law in perspective; no. 2)
ISBN: 1-84113-261-6
During the last 30 years the European Court of Human Rights has been developing
positive obligations under the European Convention. This book seeks to provide a
critical analysis of the case law concerning positive obligations. Positive obligations
require many different forms of action by member States, ranging from effectively
investigating killings to protecting peaceful demonstrators from violent attacks by
their opponents. The contemporary significance of these obligations is illustrated by
the fact that it is the obligation upon States to provide fair trials to determine civil
and criminal proceedings within a reasonable time, which is the source of the
overwhelming majority of complaints to the European Court in recent years. The
study examines the legal bases and content of key positive obligations. Conclusions
are drawn concerning the reasons for the development of these obligations and
areas of potential expansion are identified.
Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, Vol. 22/4 (2004) 699
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