The purpose of this publication is to present the recent case law of the Supreme Court of India in matters concerning the protection of human rights. India, as one of the few post-colonial countries in Asia, not only signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (document which is not legally binding), but also ratified the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights committing to a legal guarantee of rights accommodated in this document.
India is referred today as the state with a system of government the most similar to the democratic ones – as defined in Western Europe. At the same time, the state is very active in the United Nations, striving to change the composition of the permanent members of the Security Council and asking to take into account the increasing role of Asian countries in the international forum.
As it seems, both legal scholars and policy makers have finally dropped the idea of creating a universal catalogue of human rights, and global system for their protection. Presented judgements of the Supreme Court of India primarily illustrate the divergent views as the possibility of using western models and applying them in the local legal system. In addition, it is presented how differently – from the Western culture perspective – issues of human rights are solved by the judicature of India.