Most cited papers in International Law and Human Rights
What are the most cited papers in International Law and Human Rights?
The most cited paper in International Law and Human Rights is "Do Human Rights Treaties Make a Difference?" (Oona A. Hathaway, 2002), with 1,357 citations. Next come "Critique of the Power of Judgment" (1,261) and "Why Do Nations Obey International Law?" (1,186).
Showing 50 of 99 papers. Every paper with more than 274 citations is listed.
| # | Paper | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Do Human Rights Treaties Make a Difference? Oona A. Hathaway · The Yale Law Journal | Jun 2002 | 1,357 |
| 2 | Critique of the Power of Judgment Immanuel Kant, Paul Guyer · Cambridge University Press eBooks | 11 Sep 2000 | 1,261 |
| 3 | Why Do Nations Obey International Law? Harold Hongju Koh, Abram J. Chayes, Antonia Handler Chayes et al. · The Yale Law Journal | Jun 1997 | 1,186 |
| 4 | The Justice Cascade: How Human Rights Prosecutions are Changing World Politics Judith Blau · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews | Sep 2012 | 1,183 |
| 5 | Words, Images, Enemies: Securitization and International Politics Michael C. Williams · International Studies Quarterly | 7 Nov 2003 | 1,143 |
| 6 | The socialization of international human rights norms into domestic practices: introduction Thomas Risse, Kathryn Sikkink · Cambridge University Press eBooks | 5 Aug 1999 | 1,143 |
| 7 | The Emergence of Global Administrative Law Benedict Kingsbury, Nico Krisch, Richard B. Stewart · SSRN Electronic Journal | 2005 | 1,088 |
| 8 | From Apology to Utopia: The Structure of International Legal Argument Vaughan Lowe, Martti Koskenniemi · Journal of Law and Society | 1990 | 1,076 |
| 9 | On compliance Abram J. Chayes, Antonia Handler Chayes · International Organization | 1993 | 1,000 |
| 10 | Why Africa's Weak States Persist: The Empirical and the Juridical in Statehood Robert Howard Jackson, Carl G. Rosberg · World Politics | Oct 1982 | 996 |
| 11 | Human Dignity and Judicial Interpretation of Human Rights Christopher McCrudden · European Journal of International Law | Sep 2008 | 979 |
| 12 | Sticks and Stones: Naming and Shaming the Human Rights Enforcement Problem Emilie Marie Hafner-Burton · International Organization | Oct 2008 | 929 |
| 13 | Towards Relative Normativity in International Law? Prosper Weil · American Journal of International Law | Jul 1983 | 755 |
| 14 | The Humanization of Humanitarian Law Theodor Meron · American Journal of International Law | Apr 2000 | 674 |
| 15 | Fifty Years Later: The Significance of the Nuremberg Code Evelyne Shuster · New England Journal of Medicine | 13 Nov 1997 | 673 |
| 16 | International Law in a World of Liberal States Anne-Marie Slaughter · European Journal of International Law | 1995 | 653 |
| 17 | Hard and Soft Law in International Governance Kenneth Wayne Abbott, Duncan Snidal · International Organization | 2000 | 644 |
| 18 | Trials and Errors: Principle and Pragmatism in Strategies of International Justice Jack Snyder, Leslie Vinjamuri · International Security | 2004 | 640 |
| 19 | Feminist Approaches to International Law Hilary Charlesworth, Christine M. Chinkin, Shelley Wright · American Journal of International Law | Oct 1991 | 620 |
| 20 | The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand G. Ramcharan | 2002 | 605 |
| 21 | Beyond Legalism: Towards a Thicker Understanding of Transitional Justice Kieran McEvoy · Journal of Law and Society | 20 Nov 2007 | 603 |
| 22 | The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Andrew Clapham · SSRN Electronic Journal | 4 Aug 2012 | 602 |
| 23 | Do International Human Rights Treaties Improve Respect for Human Rights? Eric Neumayer · Journal of Conflict Resolution | 4 Nov 2005 | 585 |
| 24 | Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Malcolm Langford, Jeff A. King · Cambridge University Press eBooks | 19 Jan 2009 | 583 |
| 25 | Justice, Legitimacy, and Self-Determination: Moral Foundations for International Law Richard Burchill · Perspectives on Politics | Jun 2005 | 566 |
| 26 | Regime-Collisions: The Vain Search for Legal Unity in the Fragmentation of Global Law Günther Teubner, Andreas Fischer-Lescano · SSRN Electronic Journal | 10 Jan 2006 | 536 |
| 27 | NATO, the UN and the use of force: legal aspects Bruno Simma · European Journal of International Law | 1999 | 527 |
| 28 | The Constitutional Structure of International Society and the Nature of Fundamental Institutions Christian Reus‐Smit · International Organization | 1997 | 515 |
| 29 | Transitional Justice as Global Project: critical reflections Rosemary Nagy · Third World Quarterly | 11 Jan 2008 | 512 |
| 30 | Of Planets and the Universe: Self-contained Regimes in International Law Bruno Simma · European Journal of International Law | Jun 2006 | 492 |
| 31 | The Fate of Public International Law: Between Technique and Politics Martti Koskenniemi · Modern Law Review | 2007 | 480 |
| 32 | Rawlsian Global Justice Andrew Kuper · Political Theory | Oct 2000 | 463 |
| 33 | Beyond Impunity: Can International Criminal Justice Prevent Future Atrocities? Payam Akhavan · American Journal of International Law | 2001 | 446 |
| 34 | Neotrusteeship and the Problem of Weak States James D. Fearon, David D. Laitin · International Security | Apr 2004 | 441 |
| 35 | International Law, International Relations and Compliance Kal Raustiala, Anne-Marie Slaughter | 2002 | 431 |
| 36 | Justice Lost! The Failure of International Human Rights Law To Matter Where Needed Most Emilie Marie Hafner-Burton, Kiyoteru Tsutsui · Journal of Peace Research | 25 Jun 2007 | 426 |
| 37 | Explaining the Deterrence Effect of Human Rights Prosecutions for Transitional Countries1 Hun Joon Kim, Kathryn Sikkink · International Studies Quarterly | Dec 2010 | 402 |
| 38 | The Discursive Process of Legalization: Charting Islands of Persuasion in the ICC Case Nicole Deitelhoff · International Organization | 2009 | 398 |
| 39 | The Impact of Human Rights Trials in Latin America Kathryn Sikkink, Carrie Booth Walling · Journal of Peace Research | 25 Jun 2007 | 395 |
| 40 | The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law Achilles Skordas | 2012 | 394 |
| 41 | The Rise of World Constitutionalism Bruce Ackerman · Virginia Law Review | May 1997 | 394 |
| 42 | Hard Vs. Soft Law: Alternatives, Complements, and Antagonists in International Governance Gregory Shaffer, Mark A. Pollack · Minnesota law review | 2010 | 391 |
| 43 | International Law and International Relations Theory: A Dual Agenda Anne-Marie Burley · American Journal of International Law | Apr 1993 | 390 |
| 44 | Domestic Judicial Institutions and Human Rights Treaty Violation Emilia Justyna Powell, Jeffrey K. Staton · International Studies Quarterly | Mar 2009 | 384 |
| 45 | The Law and Procedure of the International Court of Justice 1960-1989 Hugh Thirlway · British Yearbook of International Law | 1995 | 382 |
| 46 | Judicial Independence in International Tribunals Eric A. Posner · eYLS (Yale Law School) | 2005 | 382 |
| 47 | THE LAW OF PEOPLES, SOCIAL COOPERATION, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE Samuel Freeman · Social Philosophy and Policy | 2006 | 375 |
| 48 | Sovereignty and Human Rights in Contemporary International Law William Michael Reisman · American Journal of International Law | Oct 1990 | 373 |
| 49 | The evolution of international law: Colonial and postcolonial realities Antony T. Anghie · Third World Quarterly | Jul 2006 | 367 |
| 50 | Human Rights: A New Standard of Civilization? Jack Donnelly · International Affairs | 1998 | 365 |
Citations are OpenAlex's own counts, from its 2026-09-23 snapshot, so the ranking can differ from Google Scholar or Web of Science. A paper is listed for a field when OpenAlex files it under one of the field's topics; retracted papers and papers whose citation count cannot be traced to citing works are left out, and a preprint and the article it became are shown once. Release dates are OpenAlex's: where a source gave only a month or a year, that is what is shown. How the lists are chosen.