Special issue of the Utrecht Law Review: Exploring Linkages between Rule of Law Backsliding and Human Rights
The Utrecht Law Review has published a special issue, with researchers from the Montaigne Centre, dedicated to the theme of rule of law backsliding and human rights. The special issue contains an introductory article, written by special issue editors and Montaigne researchers Antoine Buyse, Katharine Fortin and Hadeel Abu Hussein.
Backsliding is a global phenomenon that does not only occur in terms of the level or quality of democracy. It also can be traced in an, often deliberate, weakening of the rule of law and a connected deterioration of human rights protection. The authors of the introductory article argue that backsliding in all three corners of the triad democracy-rule of law-human rights are closely connected.
The notion of backsliding takes on special significance when contrasted with the narrative of progress in human rights law, from which it represents such a clear deviation. In order to understand the phenomenon of backsliding in terms of rule of law and human rights, it is crucial to not only understand the causes and actors behind it, but also to assess which brakes against backsliding exist and to which extent they are effective or not, both at the domestic and international levels. The editorial sets out a research agenda for understanding these linkages by identifying which questions matter in this context and from which perspectives they can be investigated.
The special issue further comprises these three articles:
- Application of the Precautionary Principle in Dealing with Future Pandemic Diseases: The Dilemma of Legality and Legitimacy Under the Rule of Law, by Reza Khabook
- Excessive Judicial Deference as Rule of Law Backsliding: When National Security and Effective Rights Protection Collide, by Rumyana van Ark and Tarik Gherbaoui
- Mobilising in Times of Gender Equality Backsliding: International Human Rights Responses to Anti-Gender Discourse, by Lourdes Peroni
Read the special issue here: