Towards the rule of law’s human rights requirements in Commonwealth States: selected observations

There are many interpretations of the rule of law. Transforming from a ‘thin’ to ‘thicker’ conceptualisation means infusing ‘quality’ and ‘goodness’ to the laws of the State. Accordingly, this centres attention on aspects of adherence to international human rights, the focus of this article. Drawing on the literature linking rule of law with human rights, a preliminary evaluation of the extent to which Commonwealth States appear to respect this ‘thicker’ rule of law will be provided. Reference will be made to a qualitative analysis of the comments and recommendations made to States during the first cycle of universal periodic review by the UN Human Rights Council as well as a number of pre-existing statistical data on specific issues. While the rigour of such an approach may be queried, there can be little doubt that although there is evidence of rule of law compliance within the States, there remains scope for improvement