Suchergebnisse

Courts, Codes, and Custom explores the role of legal tradition in shaping state policy toward international human rights and environmental law. Examining the institutional and cultural characteristics within a state's legal tradition across ten case studies, the book shows the importance of domestic legal factors to understanding state policy toward international law.

The USA and Australia have historically had similar foreign policies. Over the past several decades, however, a divergence has occurred between the two countries in one key area: policy toward international human rights law. This article examines the reason for this divergence and theorizes that Australia has been a more active participant in the international human rights regime because of its legal tradition, which facilitates the internalization of international law into society's cultural perceptions about appropriate standards of behavior. The article concludes that while they share the same origins, there are differences in the US and Australian legal traditions that explain the two states' differing policies on international human rights law.