Efficiency and International Human Rights Law: Some Preliminary Thoughts

This chapter explores the question of whether and if so how different disciplines may be enriched from the theories and practices of other disciplines. In this instance, the paper explores how lessons may be shared between law and economics on the one hand and international human rights law on the other. The paper addresses the question of the suitability and benefits to international human rights law of the law and economics methodology. This is in response to the emerging narrative that attributes considerable adverse human rights impacts to liberal economic methodology. The lesson from this section is to highlight the tension between the "sacredness of the market" and the "sacredness of humani dignity". From this tension, the paper assesses some of the ways in which economic theory may be employed to enrich international human rights law and vice versa, that is to say, how international human rights principles and lessons may be employed to enrich our understanding and application of economic theory. The chapter then interrogates one of the most recent developments in the international human rights law field, i.e., business and human rights as a reflection of this reconciliation between microeconomic methodology and human rights principles.