Implementing International Human Rights Norms in the Domestic Context: The Role of a National Institution

Human rights standards can be introduced into the domestic legal system in a number of ways; by constitutional entrenchment, by legislation, particularly through bills of rights and charters, by interpretation in the courts, and by the activities of various institutions which have a role or responsibility in the promotion and protection of human rights. Human rights are also actively advanced, domestically as well as internationally, by non-governmental organizations. This paper is concerned specifically with those institutions whose specific mandate is defined in terms of the promotion and protection of human rights at the domestic level, and with the interaction of those institutions with the other institutions and contexts mentioned.