Judge Dennis Davis
Lemkin and Lauterpacht and the Origins of International Human Rights Law
Summary
The lecture delves into the lives of two significant figures, Raphael Lemkin and Hersch Lauterpacht, both of whom emerged from the same region, now central to the Ukraine-Russia conflict. They were pivotal in shaping international human rights law after World War II, offering hope against the atrocities of the Holocaust. Their work emphasized the dignity of individuals and highlighted the importance of the state in addressing inequality and poverty. However, in the current political climate, these foundational principles are under threat, raising concerns about the resilience of human rights and constitutional democracy.
Judge Dennis Davis
Dennis Davis is a judge of the High Court of South Africa and judge president of the Competition Appeals Court of South Africa. He has held professorial appointments at the University of Cape Town and University of the Witwatersrand, as well as numerous visiting appointments at Cambridge, Harvard, New York University, and others. He has authored eleven books, including Lawfare: Judging Politics in South Africa.
Yes, I do, as a matter of fact. May not be genocide, it may not be a crime against humanity, but I think it’s an awful.
Most certainly. If you regard the fact as part of international human rights law is the socioeconomic rights, the fact that people are deliberately preventing food from getting where it’s needed is a crime of its own, but it’s certainly a breach of international law. It will be interesting if one could develop a case like that but who are you going to hold accountable.
On one level, yes, by the Ukrainians and others. But are we really going to have an international trial where Putin is going to be held to account? I very much doubt it. The problem is that you get victors’ international law, but unless someone is vanquished, very little else happens in that particular regard.