Adherence and Contextualization: Towards a Methodological Framework for the Interpretation and Application of Human Rights Norms

Abstract

This chapter provides a synthesis of the analyses of this book and seeks to answer its central research question. The first part of this chapter categorizes the ways in which the ICTs have interpreted and applied international human rights norms. Based on the foregoing chapters, two approaches have been identified. The first is adherence to IHRL and the second is the contextualization of human rights norms based on the specific circumstances in which the ICTs operate. These approaches are not mutually exclusive. Quite the contrary, they constitute the two pillars upon which the ICTs should build their procedural practice regarding their interpretation and application of human rights norms. Often, the ICTs can only truly adhere to IHRL by properly contextualizing their interpretation and application of human rights norms. This chapter first discusses the specific contextual factors that have most significantly impacted on the ICTs’ interpretative practice. Second, three manners in which to distinguish between different modalities of contextualization are identified: the methods of contextualization, its effects, and the quality of its justification. This will result in an overview of the main parameters of the ICTs’ contextualization practice and, importantly, its strengths and pitfalls. The analysis culminates in the construction of a methodological framework that recommends several interpretative steps and parameters that should guide the ICTs’ interpretation and application of human rights norms in their procedural practice.