Enhancing the Right to Health in Nigeria through Judicial Intervention

Bibliographic Data

ID16767784
AuthorsJennifer Heaven Mike (0000-0002-1716-9158, American University of Nigeria, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume67
Issue3
Pages409-430
Publication date2023-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of African Law (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0221-8553 • E-ISSN: 1464-3731
PublisherCambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/s0021855323000116
OpenAlexW4379986439
LanguageEN
References cited12

Human rights are best protected when they enjoy the binding enforceability of the law. Recognizing the binding status of human rights in national constitutions and legal systems is central to demanding accountability, compelling actions and sanctioning violations. Conferring human rights with legal recognition also empowers people and provides the option of pursuing remedies. Furthermore, the duty of the state to protect and respect human rights is triggered when they receive prescription under the law. In Nigeria, however, certain rights pertaining to economic, social and cultural rights do not receive the binding force of constitutional law. This article argues that the judiciary can act as an alternative and complementary recourse to advance and secure the commitment to the right to health. Drawing on a comparative perspective from countries where the judiciary has proactively upheld this right, it maintains that the Nigerian judiciary can take action to enhance the legal and judicial implementation of the right to health

Accountability · Duty · Fundamental rights · Human rights · Intervention (counseling) · Law and economics · Political science · Reservation of rights · Right to health · Right to property · Sociology · Human Rights and Development · International Law and Human Rights · Law · Medicine · Torture, Ethics, and Law

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