Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-m8qmq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T09:52:33.327Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Best Evidence: The Role of Information in Domestic Judicial Enforcement of International Human Rights Agreements

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 July 2013

Yonatan Lupu
Yonatan Lupu*
Affiliation:
George Washington University, Washington, D.C. E-mail: ylupu@gwu.edu
Get access

Abstract

Independent domestic courts play important roles in enforcing international human rights agreements, thereby providing a mechanism by which international institutions can affect government policy. Yet this enforcement power is constrained not only by independence but also by the courts' ability to overcome information problems. Domestic courts' enforcement power depends on information in two ways: the costs of producing legally admissible evidence of abuses and the applicable legal standards of proof. When countries ratify international agreements, judicial enforcement can improve government practices when evidence-production costs and standards of proof are low, but not otherwise. With respect to personal integrity rights violations, evidence is especially difficult to obtain, and standards of proof are high, meaning that the courts will not be able to constrain government practices. By contrast, evidence-production costs and standards of proof are lower for other civil rights violations, so courts will be able to prosecute offenders and bring governments into line with their international commitments. Consistent with this theory, I find that commitments to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) have significantly improved governments' respect for the freedoms of speech, association, assembly, and religion. With respect to personal integrity rights, however, I find that commitments to the ICCPR have not improved government practices.

Type
Research Article
Information
International Organization , Volume 67 , Issue 3 , July 2013 , pp. 469 - 503
Copyright
Copyright © The IO Foundation 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alter, Karen J. 2008. Agents or Trustees? International Courts in Their Political Context. European Journal of International Relations 14 (1):33–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amnesty International. 1977. Report of an Amnesty International Mission to Argentina, 6–15 November 1976. London: Amnesty International.Google Scholar
Apodaca, Clair. 2004. The Rule of Law and Human Rights. Judicature 87 (6):292–99.Google Scholar
Bentham, Jeremy. 1981 [1825]. A Treatise on Judicial Evidence. In Treatise on Judicial Evidence, Extracted from the Manuscripts of Jeremy Bentham, edited by Dumont, M.. Littleton, Colo.: Rothman and Company.Google Scholar
Blitt, Robert Charles. 2004. Who Will Watch the Watchdogs? Human Rights Nongovernmental Organizations and the Case for Regulation. Buffalo Human Rights Law Review 10:261–398.Google Scholar
Bull, Jesse, and Watson, Joel. 2004. Evidence Disclosure and Verifiability. Journal of Economic Theory 118 (1):1–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cingranelli, David L., and Richards, David L.. 2010a. The Cingranelli-Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Dataset. Available at ⟨http://www.humanrightsdata.org/⟩. Accessed 14 January 2013.Google Scholar
Cingranelli, David L., and Richards, David L.. 2010b. Short Variable Descriptions for Indicators in the Cingranelli-Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Dataset. Available at ⟨http://www.humanrightsdata.org/documentation/ciri_variables_short_descriptions.pdf⟩. Accessed 14 January 2013.Google Scholar
Conrad, Courtenay R.Forthcoming. Divergent Incentives for Dictators: Domestic Institutions and (International Promises Not to) Torture. Journal of Conflict Resolution.Google Scholar
Conrad, Courtenay R., and Moore, Will H.. 2010. What Stops the Torture? American Journal of Political Science 54 (2):459–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooter, Robert D., and Rubinfeld, Daniel L.. 1989. Economic Analysis of Legal Disputes and Their Resolution. Journal of Economic Literature 27 (3):1067–97.Google Scholar
Cross, Frank B. 1999. The Relevance of Law in Human Rights Protection. International Review of Law and Economics 19 (1):87–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dai, Xinyuan. 2007. International Institutions and National Policies. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Damaska, Mirjan. 1973. Evidentiary Barriers to Conviction and Two Models of Criminal Procedure: A Comparative Study. University of Pennsylvania Law Review 121 (3):506–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Damaska, Mirjan. 1992. Of Hearsay and Its Analogues. Minnesota Law Review 76 (3):425–58.Google Scholar
Davenport, Christian. 1995. Multi-Dimensional Threat Perception and State Repression: An Inquiry into Why States Apply Negative Sanctions. American Journal of Political Science 39 (3):683–713.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davenport, Christian. 1999. Human Rights and the Democratic Proposition. Journal of Conflict Resolution 43 (1):92–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davenport, Christian. 2007a. State Repression and Political Order. Annual Review of Political Science 10:1–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davenport, Christian. 2007b. State Repression and the Tyrannical Peace. Journal of Peace Research 44 (4):485–504.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Downs, George W., Rocke, David M., and Barsoom, Peter N.. 1996. Is the Good News About Compliance Good News About Cooperation? International Organization 50 (3):397–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Downs, George W., and Jones, Michael A.. 2002. Reputation, Compliance, and International Law. Journal of Legal Studies 31 (S1):S95–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engel, Christoph. 2009. Preponderance of the Evidence Versus Intime Conviction: A Behavioral Perspective on a Conflict Between American and Continental European Law. Vermont Law Review 33 (3):435–67.Google Scholar
Finnemore, Martha, and Sikkink, Kathryn. 1998. International Norm Dynamics and Political Change. International Organization 52 (4):887–917.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franck, Thomas M. 1990. The Power of Legitimacy Among Nations. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franck, Thomas M., and Fairley, H. Scott. 1980. Procedural Due Process in Human Rights Fact-Finding by International Agencies. American Journal of International Law 74 (2):304–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garrett, Geoffrey, and Weingast, Barry R.. 1993. Ideas, Interests, and Institutions: Constructing the European Community's Internal Market. In Ideas and Foreign Policy: Beliefs, Institutions, and Political Change, edited by Goldstein, Judith and Keohane, Robert O., 173–206. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Gibney, Mark, and Dalton, Matthew. 1996. The Political Terror Scale. Policy Studies and Developing Nations 4:73–84.Google Scholar
Hafner-Burton, Emilie M. 2008. Sticks and Stones: Naming and Shaming the Human Rights Enforcement Problem. International Organization 62 (4):689–716.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hafner-Burton, Emilie M. 2012. International Regimes for Human Rights. Annual Review of Political Science 15:265–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hafner-Burton, Emilie M., Helfer, Laurence R., and Fariss, Christopher J.. 2011. Emergency and Escape: Explaining Derogations from Human Rights Treaties. International Organization 65 (4):673–707.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hafner-Burton, Emilie M., and Tsutsui, Kiyoteru. 2005. Human Rights in a Globalizing World: The Paradox of Empty Promises. American Journal of Sociology 110 (5):1373–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hafner-Burton, Emilie M., and Tsutsui, Kiyoteru. 2007. Justice Lost! The Failure of International Human Rights Law to Matter Where Needed Most. Journal of Peace Research 44 (4):407–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hathaway, Oona A. 2002. Do Human Rights Treaties Make a Difference? Yale Law Journal 111 (8):1935–2042.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hathaway, Oona A. 2007. Why Do Countries Commit to Human Rights Treaties? Journal of Conflict Resolution 51 (4):588–621.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heckman, James. 1997. Instrumental Variables: A Study of Implicit Behavioral Assumptions Used in Making Program Evaluations. Journal of Human Resources 32 (3):441–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heckman, James, Ichimura, Hidehiko, Smith, Jeffrey, and Todd, Petra. 1998. Characterizing Selection Bias Using Experimental Data. Econometrica 66 (5):1017–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heckman, James, Smith, Jeffrey, and Clements, Nancy. 1997. Making the Most Out of Social Experiments: Accounting for Heterogeneity in Program Impacts. Review of Economic Studies 64 (4):487–535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helfer, Laurence R. 2002. Overlegalizing Human Rights: International Relations Theory and the Commonwealth Caribbean Backlash Against Human Rights Regimes. Columbia Law Review 102 (7):1832–911.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henderson, Conway W. 1991. Conditions Affecting the Use of Political Repression. Journal of Conflict Resolution 35 (1):120–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, Daniel W. Jr. 2010. Estimating the Effects of Human Rights Treaties on State Behavior. Journal of Politics 72 (4):1161–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ho, Daniel E., Imai, Kosuke, King, Gary, and Stuart, Elizabeth A.. 2007. Matching as Nonparametric Preprocessing for Reducing Model Dependence in Parametric Causal Inference. Political Analysis 15 (3):199–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ho, Daniel E., Imai, Kosuke, King, Gary, and Stuart, Elizabeth A.. 2011. MatchIt: Nonparametric Preprocessing for Parametric Causal Inference. Journal of Statistical Software 42 (8):1–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Honaker, James, King, Gary, and Blackwell, Matthew. 2011. Amelia II: A Program for Missing Data (Special Vol.). Journal of Statistical Software 45 (7):1–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, Simon, McMillan, John, and Woodruff, Christopher. 2002. Courts and Relational Contracts. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 18 (1):221–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keck, Margaret E., and Sikkink, Kathryn. 1998. Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Keith, Linda Camp. 1999. The United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Does It Make a Difference in Human Rights Behavior? Journal of Peace Research 36 (1):95–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keith, Linda Camp. 2002. Judicial Independence and Human Rights Protection Around the World. Judicature 85 (4):195–200.Google Scholar
Keith, Linda Camp, Tate, C. Neal, and Poe, Steven C.. 2009. Is the Law a Mere Parchment Barrier to Human Rights Abuse? Journal of Politics 71 (2):644–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelley, Judith. 2007. Who Keeps International Commitments and Why? The International Criminal Court and Bilateral Nonsurrender Agreements. American Political Science Review 101 (3):573–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keohane, Robert O. 1984. After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Lechner, Michael. 2000. An Evaluation of Public-Sector-Sponsored Continuous Vocational Training Programs in East Germany. Journal of Human Resources 35 (2):347–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Little, Roderick J.A., and Rubin, Donald B.. 1987. Statistical Analysis with Missing Data. New York: Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Lupu, Yonatan. Forthcoming. The Informative Power of Treaty Commitment: Using the Spatial Model to Address Selection Effects. American Journal of Political Science.Google Scholar
Lutz, Ellen L., and Sikkink, Kathryn. 2000. International Human Rights Law and Practice in Latin America. International Organization 54 (3):633–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, Monty G., and Jaggers, Keith. 2007. Polity IV Project: Political Regime Characteristics and Transitions, 1800–2006. Dataset Users' Manual. Center for Systemic Peace. College Park: University of Maryland. Available at ⟨http://www.systemicpeace.org/inscr/p4manualv2006.pdf⟩. Accessed 14 January 2013.Google Scholar
McCauliff, C.M.A. 1982. Burdens of Proof: Degrees of Belief, Quanta of Evidence, or Constitutional Guarantees? Vanderbilt Law Review 35 (6):1293–335.Google Scholar
McCormick, James M., and Mitchell, Neil J.. 1997. Human Rights Violations, Umbrella Concepts, and Empirical Analysis. World Politics 49 (4):510–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCubbins, Mathew, and Schwartz, Thomas. 1984. Congressional Oversight Overlooked: Police Patrols Versus Fire Alarms. American Journal of Political Science 28 (1):165–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, Ronald B. 1994. Intentional Oil Pollution at Sea: Environmental Policy and Treaty Compliance. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Moore, Will H. 2000. The Repression of Dissent: A Substitution Model of Government Coercion. Journal of Conflict Resolution 44 (1):107–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moravcsik, Andrew. 2000. The Origins of Human Rights Regimes: Democratic Delegation in Postwar Europe. International Organization 54 (2):217–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neumayer, Eric. 2005. Do International Human Rights Treaties Improve Respect for Human Rights? Journal of Conflict Resolution 49 (6):925–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newman, Jon O. 2006. Quantifying the Standard of Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: A Comment on Three Comments. Law, Probability and Risk 5 (3-4):267–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orentlicher, Diane F. 1990. Bearing Witness: The Art and Science of Human Rights Fact-Finding. Harvard Human Rights Journal 3:83–135.Google Scholar
Pearl, Judea. 2000. Causality: Models, Reasoning, and Inference. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Png, I.P.L. 1986. Optimal Subsidies and Damages in the Presence of Judicial Error. International Review of Law and Economics 6 (1):101–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poe, Steven C. 2004. The Decision to Repress: An Integrative Theoretical Approach to the Research on Human Rights and Repression. In Understanding Human Rights Violations: New Systematic Studies, edited by Carey, Sabine C. and Poe, Steven C., 16–42. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Poe, Steven C., and Tate, C. Neil. 1994. Repression of Human Rights to Personal Integrity in the 1980s: A Global Analysis. American Political Science Review 88 (4):853–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poe, Steven C., Tate, C. Neil, and Keith, Linda Camp. 1999. Repression of the Human Right to Personal Integrity Revisited: A Global Cross-National Study Covering the Years 1976–1993. International Studies Quarterly 43 (2):291–313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polinsky, A. Mitchell, and Shavell, Steven. 1989. Legal Error, Litigation, and the Incentive to Obey the Law. Journal of Law, Economics and Organization 5 (1):99–108.Google Scholar
Poole, Keith T., and Rosenthal, Howard. 1997. Congress: A Political-Economic History of Roll Call Voting. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Powell, Emilia Justyna, and Staton, Jeffrey K.. 2009. Domestic Judicial Institutions and Human Rights Treaty Violation. International Studies Quarterly 53 (1):149–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PRS Group. 2007. International Country Risk Guide: ICRG Risk Ratings. East Syracuse, N.Y.: PRS Group. Available at ⟨http://www.prsgroup.com/CountryData_AvailableData.aspx⟩. Accessed 14 January 2013.Google Scholar
Ratner, Steven R., and Abrams, Jason S.. 2001. Accountability for Human Rights Atrocities in International Law: Beyond the Nuremberg Legacy. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Risse, Thomas, Ropp, Stephen C., and Sikkink, Kathryn, eds. 1999. The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rubin, Donald B. 1997. Estimating Causal Effects from Large Data Sets Using Propensity Scores. Annals of Internal Medicine 127 (8):757–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rubinfeld, Daniel L., and Sappington, David E. M.. 1987. Efficient Awards and Standards of Proof in Judicial Proceedings. RAND Journal of Economics 18 (2):308–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanchirico, Chris William. 2004. Evidence Tampering. Duke Law Journal 53 (4):1215–336.Google Scholar
Sanchirico, Chris William. 2006. Detection Avoidance. New York University Law Review 81 (4):1331–99.Google Scholar
Sanchirico, Chris William, and Triantis, George. 2007. Evidentiary Arbitrage: The Fabrication of Evidence and the Verifiability of Contract Performance. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 24 (1):72–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sartori, Anne E. 2003. An Estimator for Some Binary-Outcome Selection Models Without Exclusion Restrictions. Political Analysis 11 (2):111–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simmons, Beth A. 2000. International Law and State Behavior: Commitment and Compliance in International Monetary Affairs. American Political Science Review 94 (4):819–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simmons, Beth A. 2009. Mobilizing for Human Rights: International Law in Domestic Politics. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simmons, Beth A., and Hopkins, Daniel J.. 2005. The Constraining Power of International Treaties: Theory and Methods. American Political Science Review 99 (4):623–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simon, Rita James, and Mahan, Linda. 1971. Quantifying Burdens of Proof: A View from the Bench, the Jury, and the Classroom. Law and Society Review 5 (3):319–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simpson, John, and Bennett, Jana. 1985. The Disappeared and the Mothers of the Plaza: The Story of the 11,000 Argentinians Who Vanished. New York: St. Martins Press.Google Scholar
Smith, Jeffrey A., and Todd, Petra E.. 2005. Does Matching Overcome LaLonde's Critique of Nonexperimental Estimators? Journal of Econometrics 125 (1-2):305–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snow, Clyde Collins, Peccerelli, Fredy Armando, Susanavar, Jose Samuel, Robinson, Alan G., and Ochoa, Jose Maria Najera. 2008. Hidden in Plain Sight: X.X. Burials and the Desaparecidos in the Department of Guatemala, 1977–1986. In Statistical Methods for Human Rights, edited by Asher, Jana, Banks, David, and Scheuren, Fritz J., 89–116. New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Staton, Jeffrey K., and Moore, Will H.. 2011. Judicial Power in Domestic and International Politics. International Organization 65 (3):553–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taruffo, Michele. 2003. Rethinking the Standards of Proof. American Journal of Comparative Law 51 (3):659–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tate, C. Neal, and Keith, Linda Camp. 2007. Conceptualizing and Operationalizing Judicial Independence Globally. Paper presented at the 103rd annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, August, Chicago.Google Scholar
Tillers, Peter, and Gottfried, Jonathan. 2006. Case Comment: United States v. Copeland, 369 F. Supp. 2d 275 (E.D.N.Y. 2005): A Collateral Attack on the Legal Maxim that Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Is Unquantifable? Law, Probability and Risk 5 (2):135–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tullock, Gordon. 1980. Trials on Trial: The Pure Theory of Legal Procedure. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
United Nations Treaty Collection (UNTC). Available at ⟨http://treaties.un.org/home.aspx⟩. Accessed 1 November 2008.Google Scholar
Victor, David G., Raustiala, Kal, and Skolnikoff, Eugene B., eds. 1998. The Implementation and Effectiveness of International Environmental Commitments: Theory and Practice. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Voeten, Erik. 2000. Clashes in the Assembly. International Organization 54 (2):185–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Von Stein, Jana. 2005. Do Treaties Constrain or Screen? Selection Bias and Treaty Compliance. American Political Science Review 99 (4):611–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weinstein, Jack B., and Dewsbury, Ian. 2006. Comment on the Meaning of “Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.” Law, Probability and Risk 5 (2):167–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weissbrodt, David, and McCarthy, James. 1982. Fact-Finding by Nongovernmental Organizations. In International Law and Fact-Finding in the Field of Human Rights, edited by Ramcharan, B.G., 186–230. The Hague, The Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wigmore, John H. 1981. Evidence in Trials at Common Law. New York: Little Brown.Google Scholar
Winston, Morton E. 2001. Assessing the Effectiveness of International Human Rights NGOs: Amnesty International. In NGOs and Human Rights: Promise and Performance, edited by Welch, Claude E. Jr., 25–54. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Wright, Richard W. 2009. Proving Facts: Belief Versus Probability. In European Tort Law 2008, edited by Koziol, Helmut and Steininger, Barbara C., 79–105. Vienna: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar