Domestic legal institutions and international law: the UN Women’s Rights Treaty and the Netherlands

Comstock, Audrey L.

doi:10.4337/9781788113205.00037

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…The highest threshold includes a national plebiscite, while the lowest is reliant only on the executive's decision. Most states require domestic legislative approval for treaty ratification (Comstock 2022). It can be difficult to find instruments that are sound and effective.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An additional path for signature to advance rights before ratification is when states look to signed treaties for advice on domestic policy: "Governments are held to account in public forums such as the CEDAW Committee for failing to honor their commitments adequately" (Htun and Weldon 2018, 557). A state unready to ratify can look to signature for direction on policy making in the interim and may sign earlier (Comstock 2022). Pierre-Marie Dupuy (1990, 434) writes of "soft" law such as signature as "reference models which anticipate internationally-grounded State obligations emerging in the near future" for the "national legislature and national legislation."…”

Section: Discusses Howmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…He found "no clear difference" based on legal status and concluded that "CEDAW is valuable in the domestic context : : : even though CEDAW may not be binding law in the jurisdiction concerned, grounding domestic subjective legal rights in that jurisdiction" (543-44). During a period of difficulty ratifying CEDAW in the Netherlands, the Dutch government advanced aspects of CEDAW following signature before the legislature was ready to ratify (Comstock 2019). Given the prominence of domestic courts and judiciaries in implementing human rights treaties, it is important to note states' practices in using CEDAW in domestic courts before ratification (Keith 2002;von Stein 2005;Hathaway 2007;Powell and Staton 2009).…”

Section: Discusses Howmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet, looking toward treaty law, scholars are, for the most part, more skeptical about the potential influence of nonbinding commitment through signature and usually focus on binding ratification when studying human rights law commitment and compliance (see, for example, Keith 1999;Goodman and Jinks 2003;Neumayer 2005;Hathaway 2007;Vreeland 2008;Simmons 2009). Given the ratification delays associated with domestic politics (Haftel and Thompson 2013;Kelley and Pevehouse 2015), the notoriety of some states signing but not ratifying human rights treaties (Baldez 2014), and some recent optimistic findings about the impact and distinct timing of treaty signature (Comstock 2021(Comstock , 2022, the role of nonbinding treaty signature merits a closer look.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Signing CEDAW and Women’s Rights: Human Rights Treaty Signature and Legal Mobilization

Comstock

2023

Law Soc. Inq.

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Can commitment to international human rights law promote human rights when the commitment is not yet legally binding? I argue that treaty signature can be used by non-governmental organizations and other rights actors to mobilize around rights standards and hold states accountable in the lead up to binding treaty ratification. Using the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW) as a case, I argue that CEDAW signature can have a positive impact on women’s rights. I find overall support for the argument that, following signature, states are significantly and positively associated with higher women’s rights. The findings hold across numerous robustness checks. Using an illustrative case of CEDAW signature and mobilization in the United States, I demonstrate that activists drew on the treaty following signature in the absence of ratification. The argument and results contribute to the study of international law and women’s rights mobilization, highlighting the importance of signature commitment as a tool for advancing women’s rights in advance of treaty ratification.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discusses Howmentioning

confidence: 99%