Humanity across International Law and Biolaw

An examination of how the concept of humanity is mobilized to make legal arguments in different areas of law.

Britta van Beers (Edited by), Luigi Corrias (Edited by), Wouter G. Werner (Edited by)

9781107048188, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 February 2014

328 pages, 3 b/w illus. 1 table
23.5 x 16 x 2.4 cm, 0.6 kg

The concepts of humanity, human dignity and mankind have emerged in different contexts across international law and biolaw. This raises many different questions. What are the aims for which 'humanity' is mobilised? How do these aims affect the ensuing interpretations of this concept? What are the negative counterparts of humanity, mankind and human dignity? And what happens if a concept developed in one particular context is taken up in another? By bringing together research from international law, biolaw and legal theory, this volume answers such questions by analysing how the concepts overlap and contradict each other across the disciplines. The result is not an examination of what humanity is but rather what it does and what it brings about in a variety of contexts.

1. Probing the boundaries of humanity Britta van Beers, Luigi Corrias and Wouter Werner
Part I. Crimes against Humanity: 2. Crimes against humanity: a category hors concours in (international) criminal law? Harmen van der Wilt
3. Humanity's exemplary justice: from Hostis to Hostia Humani Generis Edwin Bikundo
4. The inhuman stain: representing humanity in international criminal law Luigi Corrias
5. Crimes against humanity, simple crime, and human dignity Roger Brownsword
6. Crimes against the human species ('Type II crimes against humanity explained') George Annas
Part II. Human Rights and Human Dignity: 7. Human remains in French law: the snare of personification Florence Bellivier
8. Not in our name! Losing humanity in current human rights discourse Wouter Veraart
9. Deciding what is humane: towards a critical reading of humanity as a normative standard in international law Rene Urueña
10. The promise of human dignity, and some of its juridical consequences, especially for medical criminal law Jan C. Joerden
Part III. The Commons of Mankind: 11. The concept of humanity and biogenetics Bartha M. Knoppers and Vural Özdemir
12. Interdependencies, conceptualizations of humanity and regulatory regimes Ellen Hey
13. The protection of human dignity in research involving human body material Kristof Van Assche and Sigrid Sterckx
14. The many faces of humanity: some concluding remarks Britta van Beers, Luigi Corrias and Wouter Werner.

Subject Areas: Medical & healthcare law [LNTM], International human rights law [LBBR], Public international law [LBB], Law [L]