Human Rights Encounter Legal Pluralism: Normative and Empirical Approaches (Oñati International Series in Law and Society)

This collection of essays interrogates how human rights law and practice acquire meaning in relation to legal pluralism, i.e., the co-existence of more than one regulatory order in a same social field. As a social phenomenon, legal pluralism exists in all societies. As a legal construction, it is characteristic of particular regions, such as post-colonial contexts. Drawing on experiences from Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, the contributions in this volume analyze how different configurations of legal pluralism interact with the legal and social life of human rights. At the same time, the authors inquire into how human rights law and practice influence interactions that are subject to regulation by more than one normative regime. Aware of numerous misunderstandings and of the mutual suspicion that tends to exist between human rights scholars and anthropologists, the volume includes contributions from experts in both disciplines and intends to build bridges between normative and empirical theory. (Series: Oñati International Series in Law and Society) [Subject: Human Rights Law, Public International Law, Socio-Legal Studies] Acknowledgements Contents Contributors 1 Introduction 1. Normative Legal Pluralism and Human Rights Law 2. Human Rights Law and Empirical Legal Pluralism 3. Empirical Legal Pluralism and the Practice of Human Rights 4. Human Rights Practice and Normative Legal Pluralism 5. The Contributions in this Book Part One: Normative Approaches 2 Legal Pluralism as a Human Right and/or as a Human Rights Violation 1. The Complex Architecture of International Human Rights Law1 2. Toward an Integrated Perspective of International Human Rights Law 3. Conclusion 3 Legal Pluralism and International Human Rights Law: A Multifaceted Relationship 1. Introduction 2. About Legal Pluralism, Human Rights and International Human Rights Law 3. Indigenous Land, Territorial And Resource Rights 4. Conclusion 4 Human Rights, Cultural Diversity and Legal Pluralism from an Indigenous Perspective: The Awas Tingni Case 1. Introduction 2. Human Rights and Diversity: Towards an Inclusive Universalism2 3. The Awas Tigni Case: Localising Human Rights15 4. Conclusions 5 Taking the Challenge of Legal Pluralism for Human Rights Seriously 1. Introduction 2. Do We Encounter Internal Conflict Rules at All? 3. Human Rights and Other Limiting Criteria Are Often Defended as "Natural" 4. How to Promote Intercultural Reflection on Specific Human Rights? 5. Some More General Concluding Remarks 6 Indigenous Justice and the Right to a Fair Trial 1. Introduction 2. The Justice Landscapes of Bolivia 3. The Case Study: Curahuara de Carangas 4. Conclusion Part Two: Empirical Approaches 7 Gender, Human Rights and Legal Pluralities in Southern Africa: A Matter of Context and Power 1. Introduction 2. Africanisation of Women"s Human Rights: Unsettled Gender and Power Struggles Embedded in Legal Pluralities 3. South Africa: Equal Rights Meet Neoliberal Market Actors and Traditional Authorities 4. Zimbabwe: Decreasing Options of Legal Pluralities in a Changing Political, Economic and Legal Terrain 5. Conclusion 8 Women"s Rights and Transnational Aid Programmes in Niger: The Conundrums and Possibilities of Neoliberalism and Legal Pluralism 1. Introduction 2. Women under Legal Pluralism and Neoliberal Governance in Niger 3. CARE and Women"s Rights 4. UNICEF and Women"s Rights 5. Conclusion 9 Legal Borderlands: Ghanaian Human Rights Advocacy between the Layers of Law 1. INTRODUCTION 2. Ghanaian Legal Borderlands 3. Legal Mobilisation in the Borderlands 4. Conclusion 10 Insiders" Perspectives on Muslim Divorce in Belgium: A Women"s Rights Analysis 1. Introduction 2. Muslims in Belgium 3. Islamic Normative Discourses 4. Islamic Normativity in Action: Muslim Divorce Practices in Belgium 5. Implications for the Protection and Promotion of the Human Rights of Women 6. Conclusion 11 Through the Looking Glass of Diversity: The Right to Family Life from the Perspectives of Transnational Families in Belgium 1. Introduction 2. The Right to Family Life and Legal Pluralism 3. Amani and Maka: The Meanings of Family between Egalitarian and Hierarchical References 4. Christine and Eric: The Stakes of Public Love 5. Conclusions References Index Human rights and legal pluralism : four research agendas / Giselle corradi -- Legal pluralism as a human right and/or as a human rights violation / Eva Brems -- Legal pluralism and international human rights law : a multifaceted relationship / Ellen Desmet -- Human rights, cultural diversity, and legal pluralism from an indigenous perspective : the Awas Tingni case / Felipe Gomez Isá -- Taking the challenge of legal pluralism for human rights seriously / Andre Hoekema -- Indigenous justice and the right to a fair trial / Giselle Corradi -- Gender, human rights, and legal pluralities in Southern Africa : a matter of context and power / Anne Hellum and Rosalie Katsande -- Women's rights and transnational aid programs in Niger : the conundrums and possibilities of neoliberalism and legal pluralism / Kari Henquinet -- Legal borderlands : Ghanaian human rights advocacy between layers of law / Catherine Buerger -- Insiders' perspectives on Muslim divorce in Belgium : a women's rights analysis / Kim Lecoyer -- Through the looking glass of diversity : the right to family life from the perspective of transnational families in Belgium / Barbara Truffin and Olivier Struelens Présentation de l'éditeur : "This collection of essays interrogates how human rights law and practice acquire meaning in relation to legal pluralism, ie, the co-existence of more than one regulatory order in a same social field. As a social phenomenon, legal pluralism exists in all societies. As a legal construction, it is characteristic of particular regions, such as post-colonial contexts. Drawing on experiences from Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, the contributions in this volume analyse how different configurations of legal pluralism interplay with the legal and the social life of human rights. At the same time, they enquire into how human rights law and practice influence interactions that are subject to regulation by more than one normative regime. Aware of numerous misunderstandings and of the mutual suspicion that tends to exist between human rights scholars and anthropologists, the volume includes contributions from experts in both disciplines and intends to build bridges between normative and empirical theory."