The role and influence human rights in society has been enhanced by its association with international law and yet despite this legal springboard, the scope of its legal nature remains uncertain. By means of a brief historical review alongside analyses of the work of international human rights courts and treaty bodies, this book assesses the distinctive legal dimension of human rights. It concludes that the legalisation of human rights is an unplanned and evolving social construct that continues under the managerial direction of international human rights courts and treaty bodies using the primary tool of treaty interpretation. These characteristics of the legal environment of human rights in international law provide a good appreciation of the law itself and its limits.
