CONVENTION RIGHTS

There are nowadays a lot of conventions designed to protect the rights of various groups; children, refugees and so on. The content of most of them is unobjectionable, so countries are keen to sign up to them, and to pledge to uphold them. The question then becomes whether a convention right is the same as a legal right.

Sometimes it is. Some countries have a rule whereby a convention signed by the Government automatically becomes part of domestic law. In others (the U.K. for instance), conventions have no domestic legal effect at all, though there is a presumption that they will be upheld. In a third group, the domestic legal effect is somewhere in between.

In Denmark conventions have no domestic legal effect. So at regular intervals, politicians suggest incorporating them into Danish law. The latest of these attempts took place this week, but the suggestion was rejected by the Government. Their justification is that Danish Governments all commit themselves to uphold the conventions, so no more is needed. Commentators and legal experts are not convinced, and say that only formal incorporation into Danish law will guarantee the rights in question.

My guess is that the conventions will eventually be incorporated. Just not yet.

Walter Blotscher