Strengthening the rule of law: the necessity of protecting human rights defenders from criminalisation

Abstract This article draws an explicit and much needed connection between Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) and the principle of the rule of law, arguing that the growing criminalisation of HRDs undermines the rule of law, especially in liberal states that claim to uphold strong rule of law commitments. HRDs are central to promoting human rights, exposing injustice, challenging discrimination and corruption, and pushing for accountability. When they are criminalized, their ability to carry out this work is severely restricted, creating a downward spiral: criminalisation weakens the rule of law, which in turn enables further repression and legal decline. The article addresses a gap in the existing literature by bringing together work on the rule of law with scholarship on HRDs and their criminalisation. It adopts both doctrinal and socio-legal methods and engages with feminist and post-colonial critiques to argue that HRDs operate within, and promote, a substantive understanding of the rule of law grounded in justice, equality, and human rights. The article concludes by arguing for resistance to the criminalisation of HRDs and outlies social and institutional strategies to support HRDs and strengthen the rule of law.