Protecting Human Rights: An Examination of Judicial Independence and Treaty Compliance

Identifier

490

Author

Maegan Kay Traynom

Date

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Political Science

Committee Chair

Robert Blanton

Committee Member

Nicole Detraz

Committee Member

Shannon Blanton

Abstract

States agree to many human rights protections through treaty ratification. Often, however, states do not comply with the treaties they have ratified and human rights are abused. This study focuses on the role of the judiciary in holding the state accountable to their obligations under human rights treaties. Specifically, examining whether having an independent judiciary positively correlates with being compliant with human rights treaties. This is done through an exploratory case study of Brazil, which examines both its general court system and its military court system. While the general court system is very indepedent, the military court system is not. This clearly affects human rights practices in the area of physical integrity rights, leaving Brazil noncompliant with many human rights treaties.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

Recommended Citation

Traynom, Maegan Kay, "Protecting Human Rights: An Examination of Judicial Independence and Treaty Compliance" (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 395.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/etd/395