One way to protect national sovereignty whilst securing sufficient problem-solving under conditions of globalisation is to apply a principle of Subsidiarity. This paper brings this strategy to bear on one case: it explores Subsidiarity – somewhat unconventionally - as a constitutional principle for international human rights law. A central philosophical question is whether human rights treaties are at all compatible with subsidiarity: Why, if at all, should such treaty organs exist with the powers they have over domestic and regional [and in principle global] legislators, executives and judiciaries? What are the problems, for which such treaties appear to be plausible steps toward a solution? A central part of the paper is to use answers to this question to explore the best account of subsidiarity for international human rights review - be it for legislation at the domestic, regional or global levels.
