Cambridge University Press The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Commentary and Guide to Practice

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is the first comprehensive review of the contributions of this important institution to understanding arbitrary detention today. The Working Group is a body of five independent human rights experts that considers individual complaints of arbitrary detention, adopting legal opinions as to whether a detention is compatible with states' obligations under international law. Since its establishment in 1991, it has adopted more than 1,200 case opinions and conducted more than fifty country missions. But much more than a jurisprudential review, these cases are presented in the book in the style of a treatise, where the widest array of issues on arbitrary detention are placed in the context of the requirements of multilateral treaties and other relevant international standards. Written for both practitioners and serious scholars alike, this book includes five case studies and a foreword by Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu. Review 'This meticulously researched volume is the first book to review the extensive jurisprudence and reporting of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention since its creation in 1991. Authored by Jared Genser, one of the leading human rights lawyers in the world and someone who I had the pleasure of working with on many of his most challenging cases during my time as High Commissioner, the book is written to be highly accessible even for those without legal background. Importantly, Genser weaves into the narrative his experiences having successfully taken dozens of cases to the Working Group over his career, explaining how he has combined its opinions with focused political and public relations advocacy to secure the release of his clients from prison. This rare combination of serious scholarship with real world application is as powerful as it is inspiring, making this book a must read for anyone wanting to secure the release of political prisoners today.' Prince Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2014–2018)'Jared Genser is the leading attorney in the world on arbitrary detention in international law and established this reputation during the years I was a Member and Chair-Rapporteur of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. His book makes an important contribution to understanding international law on arbitrary detention and offers a wealth of materials and clear and convincing analysis of the law and the major challenges that arbitrary detention poses to the international community today …' Mads Andenas Q.C., Universitetet i Oslo and University of London, and former Member and Chair-Rapporteur, UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and Director, British Institute of International and Comparative Law'The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is a groundbreaking work of legal scholarship. The book is the first to describe and analyze the activities of this little-known but very important tribunal at the United Nations, which has the power to issue legal decisions that a person or group is being held in violation of international law. It is also a long overdue how to guide for lawyers, human rights defenders, and civil society activists about how to secure these important legal judgments … The book is more than an academic treatise because its author, Jared Genser, whose important work I have followed over the years, rests his analysis in his rich and proven experience as one of the most effective international human rights lawyers in the world at freeing political prisoners.' Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1997)'I've been arrested more than twenty times, repeatedly tortured, and have served more than three years in prison under various authoritarian rulers of The Maldives… After being convicted of manufactured terrorism charges, I hired this book's author, Jared Genser, to serve as my pro bono counsel … In October 2015, [the Working Group] issued Opinion No. 33/2015, a scathing