Courting Rights

Over the years people living with or affected by HIV have sometimes successfully claimed the protection of the law. In other instances courageous activists have challenged the law to embody the human rights protections they deserve. This volume presents 30 summaries of court or tribunal proceedings aimed at defending or securing the human rights of people living with or vulnerable to HIV. With an emphasis on cases from developing countries this volume examines key litigation efforts to advance a human rights-based approach to HIV on three fronts: discrimination access to treatment and prevention and care for prisoners. Understanding the ways in which litigation has been used in the struggle for human rights successfully or otherwise helps legislators jurists advocates and policy makers to understand and use the law optimally in the response to AIDS.