Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School
The mission of the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School is to inspire critical engagement with the human rights project and to inform developments in the field through impartial, innovative, and rigorous research. Founded by Professor Henry J. Steiner in 1984, it is one of the oldest centers of human rights legal scholarship in the United States.
As a center for scholarship, HRP plans events and directs international conferences and workshops which produce original scholarship or advance particular areas of international human rights law. In hosting visiting fellows, HRP draws advocates and scholars from around the world to conduct primary research. Since its inception, the Program has been a leader in cutting edge research and the publication of human rights monographs and collaborative edited volumes, reports, law journal articles, working papers, conference proceedings, and other publications in its field.
Sub-Collections
Below is a list of in-print works in this collection, presented in series order or publication order as applicable.
Sort by title, author, format, publication date, or price » | The International Rule of Law Movement: A Crisis of Legitimacy and the Way Forward Promoting the rule of law is at the heart of the United Nations’ mission. Critically evaluating rule of law initiatives from a contemporary global perspective, The International Rule of Law Movement explains which measures work and which fail, and why. It proposes better models for instituting justice and the rule of law in fragile states. | |
 | Reconsidering the Insular Cases: The Past and Future of the American Empire Over a century ago the United States Supreme Court decided the “Insular Cases,” which limited the applicability of constitutional rights in Puerto Rico and other overseas territories. Essays in Reconsidering the Insular Cases examine the history and legacy of these cases and explore possible solutions for the dilemmas they created. | |
 | Security in Paraguay: Analysis and Responses in Comparative Perspective The perception of rising insecurity has plagued Paraguay over the past decade as the country has continued its transition from authoritarian to democratic rule. At the same time, reforms of the penal code and the code of criminal procedure have been implemented, leading many to attribute the rising sense of insecurity to the new, rights-based approach to criminal justice. In Security in Paraguay, the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School assesses the disparity between the sensation of insecurity and actual levels of urban crime. | |
 | Children and Transitional Justice: Truth-Telling, Accountability and Reconciliation Children are increasingly a focus of international and national courts and truth commissions. This book includes analysis of the recent involvement of children in transitional justice processes in Liberia, Peru, Sierra Leone, and South Africa, and emphasizes how children must be engaged during post-conflict transition. | |
 | Litigating Health Rights: Can Courts Bring More Justice to Health? This book examines the potential of litigation as a strategy to advance the right to health by holding governments accountable for these obligations. It asks who benefits both directly and indirectly—and what the overall impacts on health equity are. Included are case studies from Costa Rica, South Africa, India, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. | |
Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library
I Tatti Renaissance Library
Loeb Classical Library
Murty Classical Library of India