The Limits of Positive Obligations in Human Rights Law : From Protection to Coercion
Stoyanova, Vladislava LU and McGrogan, David (2026) In Hart Studies in Constitutional Theory- Abstract
- This open access book is a crucial intervention in the debate concerning positive human rights obligations.
There is nowadays no dispute in human rights doctrine over whether rights entail positive duties on the part of the state at the level of principle. But there has been surprisingly little academic commentary devoted to the question of whether there are, or should be, limits placed on how far those obligations extend. Similarly, there has been little scholarly attention paid to the question of how causation can be reasonably attributed in the context of violations of positive obligations. And there are very few sociological explanations provided as to why positive human rights obligations appear to be expanding without... (More) - This open access book is a crucial intervention in the debate concerning positive human rights obligations.
There is nowadays no dispute in human rights doctrine over whether rights entail positive duties on the part of the state at the level of principle. But there has been surprisingly little academic commentary devoted to the question of whether there are, or should be, limits placed on how far those obligations extend. Similarly, there has been little scholarly attention paid to the question of how causation can be reasonably attributed in the context of violations of positive obligations. And there are very few sociological explanations provided as to why positive human rights obligations appear to be expanding without principled limits in the first place.
This volume assembles the work of a range of leading scholars in international human rights law to fill these gaps in the literature. Each of its 11 substantive chapters addresses an aspect of positive obligations with a particular focus on issues concerning limits. Taken together, they provide the first serious attempt to grapple critically with the subject of the limits, causality and scope of positive obligations theoretically and doctrinally. This makes the book essential reading for scholars of human rights law. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/ca5b24ab-a588-48bd-ba50-b496d566b7fb
- editor
- Stoyanova, Vladislava LU and McGrogan, David
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-05-27
- type
- Book/Report
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Public international law, Human rights, Folkrätt, Mänskliga rättigheter
- in
- Hart Studies in Constitutional Theory
- pages
- 188 pages
- publisher
- Hart/Bloomsbury
- ISBN
- 978-1-50999-145-7
- 978-1-50999-149-5
- 978-1-50999-148-8
- 978-1-50999-147-1
- DOI
- 10.5040/9781509991471
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- ca5b24ab-a588-48bd-ba50-b496d566b7fb
- date added to LUP
- 2025-03-28 13:08:20
- date last changed
- 2026-06-01 15:08:30
@book{ca5b24ab-a588-48bd-ba50-b496d566b7fb,
abstract = {{This open access book is a crucial intervention in the debate concerning positive human rights obligations.<br/><br/>There is nowadays no dispute in human rights doctrine over whether rights entail positive duties on the part of the state at the level of principle. But there has been surprisingly little academic commentary devoted to the question of whether there are, or should be, limits placed on how far those obligations extend. Similarly, there has been little scholarly attention paid to the question of how causation can be reasonably attributed in the context of violations of positive obligations. And there are very few sociological explanations provided as to why positive human rights obligations appear to be expanding without principled limits in the first place.<br/><br/>This volume assembles the work of a range of leading scholars in international human rights law to fill these gaps in the literature. Each of its 11 substantive chapters addresses an aspect of positive obligations with a particular focus on issues concerning limits. Taken together, they provide the first serious attempt to grapple critically with the subject of the limits, causality and scope of positive obligations theoretically and doctrinally. This makes the book essential reading for scholars of human rights law.}},
editor = {{Stoyanova, Vladislava and McGrogan, David}},
isbn = {{978-1-50999-145-7}},
keywords = {{Public international law; Human rights; Folkrätt; Mänskliga rättigheter}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{05}},
note = {{Book Editor}},
publisher = {{Hart/Bloomsbury}},
series = {{Hart Studies in Constitutional Theory}},
title = {{The Limits of Positive Obligations in Human Rights Law : From Protection to Coercion}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781509991471}},
doi = {{10.5040/9781509991471}},
year = {{2026}},
}