Title: Philosopher kings? : the adjudication of conflicting human rights and social values /
Authors: Christie, George C.
Publisher: Oxford University Press,
Year: 2011
Subjects: Human rights Cases
Abstract: 'Philosopher Kings' examines the attempts by courts to sort out conflicts involving freedom of expression, including religious expression on the one hand and rights to privacy and other important social values on the other.
Contents: "Rights" discourse -- Structural impediments to consistent application of "universal" human rights -- The enlarged view of rights in contemporary constitutions and human rights conventions : the notion of defeasible rights -- Litigation involving a conflict of rights, each of equal value -- The epistemology of judicial decision making -- The unsuccessful attempt to find a philosophical "north star" to aid in judicial decision making -- The use of balancing tests and factor analysis : the inevitable tendency to resort to bright-line tests -- An overview of case-by-case adjudication, its possible goals, and the influence of legal traditions -- The optimal conditions for case-by-case adjudication and its limits -- Case-by-case adjudication of contentious human rights controversies -- What if we must choose?