Transition from Commitment to Compliance: The Efficacy of International Human Rights Tribunals

Abstract

The fact that international law is characterized by the lack of unified system of sanctions and central enforcement authorities certainly weakens the normative character of international human rights obligations as well. After a brief description of the theoretical and practical problems relating to compliance with international law, this paper focuses on the contemporary challenges the international human rights mechanisms are confronted with. It is argued that in spite of the lack of centralized enforcement, the last decades witnessed the intensification and diversification ofcompliance procedures. Nevertheless, the persistent gap between commitment and actual compliance calls into question the efficacy of international human rights bodies. The paper analyses the weaknesses of the execution of the decisions of human rights tribunals, notably at universal level and in the European regional system. It is argued that despite the efforts to strengthen international supervision, all international human rights tribunals rely on national implementation. Thus, compliance ultimately depends on the political will of the States. Despite the relative strength of the oversight mechanism in the field of human rights, compliance has remained a domestic issue.