Although the protection of human rights has seen a rapid growth in many areas, little attention has been paid in scholarly literature to the place of human rights in the discipline of international law. This book is an attempt to fill that gap. The inquiry is divided into two principal areas of discussion. Firstly, it looks at the relationship of human rights and humanitarian norms with customary law. Secondly, it concerns itself with the relationship of human rights and humanitarian norms with the law of state responsibility. The author examines how the contemporary human rights and humanitarian law meshes with the general principles of international law and particularly with the principles governing the international responsibility of States. The author clarifies the status of international human rights and humanitarian norms in public international law, and examines the sources, evidence, and process of creation of such rights.