Human rights considerations of the common heritage of mankind principle

Abstract

This dissertation looks into the connection between collective human rights and the
common heritage of mankind principle. With the common heritage principle linked to
human rights, the concept of formal equity could be surpassed in favour of material
equity. The principle would have the possibility of prescribing human right
obligations and help spreading human rights into fields of international law it haven’t
entered before. For this purpose the paper examines the elements of the principle for
possible human rights considerations. The second part analyses the legal subjectivity
of mankind, to determine the possibility of legal realization of the principle
prescribing human rights obligations. The dissertation lays some of the groundwork
for future studies, establishing the link between collective human rights and the
common heritage of mankind principle and identifying issues for further research.