ABSTRACT
In the last decades of the twentieth century the nature of international politics appeared to undergo a marked change. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights spells out most of the main rights that must be protected but it is not binding in international law. The European Convention on Human Rights established the European Court of Human Rights to hear individual complaints about violations of the Convention. Council of Europe an international organization founded in London in May 1949 to facilitate co-operation in various areas between most European states. The assembly of the Council of Europe elects the judges of the European Court of Human Rights. While the Universal Declaration on Human Rights was the UN's major initiative in the field of human rights, it also attempted to influence international behaviour in other important areas. The fundamental problem clearly is the continuing battle between national sovereignty and the principle of human rights.
