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Full-Text Articles in Human Rights Law
Rehabilitating Territoriality In Human Rights, Austen L. Parrish
Rehabilitating Territoriality In Human Rights, Austen L. Parrish
Articles by Maurer Faculty
For many years, territorial principles anchored an international system organized around nation-states. Recently, however, the human rights movement has sought to change the state-centric focus of international law and overcome the limitations of a system where the territorial state is the primary actor. The field of human rights has promoted a new legal orthodoxy that places the person at the center of the international legal system. Within this orthodoxy, non-state actors play a prominent role, unilateral domestic lawsuits are promoted, and territorial borders give way when necessary for humanitarian intervention. In contrast, territorial conceptions of international law are viewed as …