Recent publications in international human rights law
| DOI | 10.1177/09240519211072936 |
| Date | 01 March 2022 |
| Published date | 01 March 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Recent publications |
Recent publications in
international human rights law
Witte J, The Blessings of Liberty : Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the Western Legal
Tradition (Cambridge University Press 2021)
Leading legal scholar John Witte, Jr. explores the role religion played in the development of rights
in the Western legal tradition and traces the complex interplay between human rights and religious
freedom norms in modern domestic and international law. He examines how US courts are moving
towards greater religious freedom, while recent decisions of the pan-European courts in Strasbourg
and Luxembourg have harmed new religious minorities and threatened old religious traditions in
Europe. Witte argues that the robust promotion and protection of religious freedom is the best
way to protect many other fundamental rights today, even though religious freedom and other fun-
damental rights sometimes clash and need judicious balancing. He also responds to various modern
critics who see human rights as a betrayal of Christianity and religious freedom as a betrayal of
human rights.
***
Andrew J and Bernard F, Human Rights Responsibilities in the Digital Age : States, Companies,
and Individuals (Cambridge University Press, 2021)
This book examines the tangled responsibilities of states, companies, and individuals surrounding
human rights in the digital age. Digital technologies have a huge impact –for better and worse –on
human lives; while they can clearly enhance some human rights, they also facilitate a wide range of
violations.
States are expected to implement efficient measures against powerful private companies, but, at the
same time, they are drawn to technologies that extend their own control over citizens. Tech com-
panies are increasingly asked to prevent violations committed online by their users, yet many of
their business models depend on the accumulation and exploitation of users’personal data.
While civil society has a crucial part to play in upholding human rights, it is also the case that indi-
viduals harm other individuals online. All three stakeholders need to ensure that technology does
not provoke the disintegration of human rights.
Bringing together experts from a range of disciplines, including law, international relations, and
journalism, this book provides a detailed analysis of the impact of digital technologies on human
rights, which will be of interest to academics, research students and professionals concerned by
this issue.
***
Recent publications
Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights
2022, Vol. 40(1) 75–79
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/09240519211072936
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