Introduction

Book synopsis: Human rights are considered one of the big ideas of the early twenty-first century. This book presents in an authoritative and readable form the variety of platforms on which human rights law is practiced today, reflecting also on the dynamic inter-relationships that exist between these various levels. The collection has a critical edge. The chapters engage with how human rights law has developed in its various subfields, what (if anything) has been achieved and at what cost, in terms of expected or produced unexpected side-effects. The authors pass judgment about the consistency, efficacy and success of human rights law (set against the standards of the field itself or other external goals). Written by world-class academics, this Companion will be essential reading for students and scholars of human rights law. A coherent, succinct and fresh view on contemporary human rights law Chapters are written by leading experts in each of the sub-fields that makes up the field as a whole Engages with human rights from a policy-oriented as well as a scholarly perspective, while always keeping scholarship to the forefront of the discussion and analysis of the relevant la