IGOs, High Courts, and Human Rights Protections

• In Event: Comparative Judicial Politics

Abstract

Recent research in international relations reveals the influential role of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) in socializing states to new norms and values, thereby changing state behavior. This paper examines whether the interpretation and protection of rights by domestic courts are influenced by state participation in intergovernmental organizations. The primary contention is that increased participation in IGOs leads to greater exposure by the state to international norms and legal conventions. This paper evaluates the impact of IGO membership networks on domestic high courts through a separation of powers framework. As such, this paper seeks to isolate the direct impact of IGO membership and executive policy preference as well as the indirect impact of socialization pressures on court protections of human rights.

Author

• Rebecca Ann Reid, University of Texas al El Paso