Canada's Human Rights System and the International Covenants

臺灣在2009年批准公民與政治權利國際公約及經濟、社會、文化權利國際公約」這兩大人權公約,吸引了國際社會許多目光,並將討論焦點集中在臺灣將如何在內國落實兩公約,以及臺灣法院如何具體保障兩公約所規範的人權。在此一關鍵時刻,臺灣如何從其它國家學習國際人權法內國化的經驗,變得非常重要。加拿大在三十幾年前就已經批准了兩公約,而加拿大最高法院更是以積極將國際人權標準適用在加拿大內國法上而聞名國際。臺灣大學法律學院很榮幸能邀請到British Columbia大學的William W. Black教授和我們分享加拿大落實兩公約的經驗。在他的演說裡,Black教授描述了三種加拿大在國內如何實踐兩公約的機制,這些富有啟發性的討論,將使臺灣國際人權法的內國化有更具體及細緻的理解。

Taiwan's ratification of the two United Nations human rights Covenants in 2009 has attracted a great deal of attention from the international community. All eyes are on how Taiwan will implement the two Covenants domestically and if the Taiwanese courts will protect those rights guaranteed in them. At this crucial moment, it is important for Taiwan to learn the experiences of other countries with regard to their domestic incorporation of international human rights instruments. Canada has ratified both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) for more than thirty years, and its Supreme Court is famous for its ceaseless efforts to incorporate universal human rights standards into the Canadian law. The College of Law, National Taiwan University, is honored to have Professor William W. Black from the University of British Columbia to share with us the Canadian experience of adopting these two important human rights Covenants. In this lecture, Professor Black describes three mechanisms that Canada has used to implement these Covenants domestically. His insightful discussion is a significant contribution to a more nuanced understanding of how international human rights can be effectively implemented in a domestic legal system.