A collection of essays presented at the 19th World Congress in Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy, held in New York 1999. They represent a cross-section of work on human rights, derived from 11 different countries. There are also a group of specialist essays on constitutional rights, minority rights, state sovereignty and human rights, global justice and self-determination, as well as a number of essays which reflect the diversity of the political and legal development in the field of human rights worldwide.