The Community Participation in International Law

Abstract

Usually, subjects other than States and International Organizations (such as communities) could not legitimately act in the international legal instrument (treaties, recommendations, etc.) implementation. Nevertheless, for different reasons, some roles have been given to communities.The purpose of this study is to show, as thoroughly as possible, the ways in which communities play a role in the implementation of international legal instruments, in the fields of human rights, environment, health, cultural properties and intellectual property. The result of this analysis is that the UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage deserves special attention because of the central role given to community participation in its implementation.