This volume contains papers presented at the conference The Role of the Judiciary in the Protection of Human Rights, held in Cairo, December 1996 under the auspices of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt and the British Council. It incorporates the experiences and thinking of an international group of judges and legal practitioners as to the relationship between courts, judges and human rights. It provides diverse perspectives on the importance of the judiciary in the protection of universally recognized human rights, and highlights the mechanisms which make it possible for the judiciary to play a vital role, as well as the obstacles which can act to diminish it.