Council of Europe

Definition and development of human rights and popular sovereignty in Europe - Science and technique of democracy Council of Europe

What role do the people play in defining and developing human rights? This volume explores the very topical issue of the lack of democratic legitimization of national and international courts and the question of whether rendering the original process of defining human rights more democratic at the national and international level would improve the degree of protection they afford. The authors venture to raise the crucial question: When can a democratic society be considered to be mature enough so as to be trusted to provide its own definition of human rights obligations?