Abstract

The acceptance of the individual as a subject of international law has been gradual and asymmetrical. Individuals have become international law subjects in their own rights in some international legal areas, including human rights and international criminal law. This affords individuals substantive rights and obligations, as well as procedural rights. In most legal areas, however, individuals acquired substantive rights, but not direct procedural rights. In those instances, individuals need the filter of a nationality to enforce their claim and remedy in international proceedings. This Article criticizes the nationality-based approach and argues that there are better and alternative ways to provide procedural rights for claims arising from individual substantive rights under international law. A new approach could address some of the asymmetries of the present system and reconcile the difference between theory and practice in how international law approaches the individual.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2019

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