Regulatory Arbitrage in Relation to International Human Rights

Minhat, Marizah; Abdullah, Mazni; Dzolkarnaini, Nazam

Abstract

The adoption of the United Nations (UN) Charter in 1945 marked the legalization of international human rights. Despite the legalized status of human rights, their violation by states is not uncommon. This article questions why a state might violate international human rights. Analyzing this issue from an economic perspective, this article advances regulatory arbitrage theory to rationalize a state’s violation of human rights. It discusses regulatory arbitrage-type behaviours among state actors that derogate from the obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. Defending state sovereignty, minimizing regulatory or compliance costs, and prioritizing economic achievement are identified as rational arbitrage actions that circumvent international human rights. We call for competent and credible governance mechanisms that can increase the cost of arbitrage to disincentivize state violation of international human rights.

Citation

Minhat, M., Abdullah, M., & Dzolkarnaini, N. (2019). Regulatory Arbitrage in Relation to International Human Rights. Journal of Human Rights, 18(5), 579-596. https://doi.org/10.1080/14754835.2019.1647097

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 29, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Sep 12, 2019
• Publication Date: Sep 12, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jul 9, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 17, 2019
• Print ISSN: 1475-4835
• Electronic ISSN: 1475-4843
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 579-596
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14754835.2019.1647097
• Keywords: international human rights; regulatory arbitrage; violation; state sovereignty
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/1946933