The revolutionary past

Decolonizing law and human rights

Peter Fitzpatrick

pp. 117-133

in: Pierfrancesco Biasetti, Ferdinando G. Menga (eds), Human rights in a plural ethical framework, Metodo 2 (1), 2014.

Abstract

Combining a radical revision of the historical formation of occidental law with perspectives derived from decolonial thought, this paper advances a deconstruction of occidental law. That deconstruction is then brought to bear on human rights. Although occidental law and human rights are shown in this way to be imperial in orientation, that same deconstruction reveals resistant elements in law and in human rights. These are elements which the decolonial can draw on in its commitment to intercultural transformation.