Minority Groups and Judicial Discourse in International Law : A Comparative Perspective

Set against previous stages of minority protection under international law, this book discusses the role of courts and court-like bodies particularly in the Americas, Africa and Europe in articulating and accommodating the interests and needs of ethno-cultural minority groups as part of the human rights discourse. Conceptually, it exposes different moments of intervention by such bodies involving the recognition of group existence or identity, the adjustment of human rights norms to accommodate the group s perspectives, the establishment of processes designed to address the complexities resulting from competing claims, and the expansion of procedural avenues within litigation. The result is a fresh comparative practical and theoretical perspective on international jurisprudence as an emerging distinctive component in the complex history of the field.
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Acknowledgments; Table of Cases; Chapter 1 Introduction: Minority protection: a story in movements; The UN debate; The emerging fourth movement; Saramaka as an illustration of judicial discourse; A note on terminology and structure; PART I Chapter 2 Recognition: Spaces of group identity; Domestic courts and international law; Chapter 3 Elaboration: Indirect protection: spaces of freedom or the 'hands off approach'; Direct protection: diffusing general human rights; Chapter 4 Mediation: Reconciling majority and minority interests; Reconciling interests within the group; Chapter 5 Access to justice: Judicial protection; Locus standi and injured party; Continuing effects of rights violation; Evidence ; PART II Chapter 6 Ethno-cultural diversity and international judicial discourse: Dimensions of judicial discourse: preliminary observations; Courts in plural societies; International jurisprudence re-assessed; Expanding on the procedural model; Between substance and procedure; Interpretation as cross-fertilisation; On judicial persuasiveness; Between universalism and justice; Chapter 7 Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
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"Gaetano Pentassuglia has already made his mark with his perceptive and knowledgeable introduction to minorities in international law (2002). His new book combines an unsurpassed command of the case law from several jurisdictions, with a keen conceptual and subject matter analysis. I have special sympathy for his insistence that "international jurisprudence can be appreciated (also) in terms of ensuring that the group acquire legal significance to such an extent as to be recognised...". He establishes this principle without tendentiousness, and with meticulous regard for the evidence. This book sets new standards in scholarship concerning minority rights, and will be an essential point of reference."
Prof Bill Bowring, Birkbeck College, University of London.

"Dr Gaetano Pentassuglia is a leading world expert in the field of minority and indigenous rights and human rights. His new book confirms his standing in these areas of international law. It is an excellent critical analysis of a new emerging movement, consisting of 'rapidly expanding body of international jurisprudence on minority issues', especially under human rights treaties and its relation to domestic law. The author approaches this issue very broadly. He deals extensively with various contentious aspects such as non-discrimination and involvement in the decision-making. The judicial intervention covers an immense area stretching from the acknowledgement of group identity to addressing the issues arising from complex human rights claims. His research is objective and impeccable. Dr Pentassuglia covers an impressive number of cases and decisions of various bodies. The book is very erudite, dealing not only with practical but as well as theoretical issues. I have no doubt that it will appeal both to practitioners and theorists and will become indispensable reading for anyone interested in this area of study."
Malgosia Fitzmaurice, Queen Mary, University of London.
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Gaetano Pentassuglia, J.D., Ph.D., is currently Director of the International and European Law Unit and Senior Lecturer in Law at Liverpool Law School, and Visiting Professor of International Human Rights Law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. He is also a Visiting Professor at Palermo University, and was formerly Adjunct Professor at Munich University. He has served as a Visiting Scholar at several institutions and is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, published by Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. He is the author of numerous leading articles and books in the field, including Minorities in International Law (2002), also translated into French and Serbian.
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