Abstract

Vulnerability is an ethical, philosophical and social concept which has recently gained momentum in international human rights adjudications (both regional and universal) as an autonomous concept. This article, after identifying the sources of the notion in international human rights law, gives an account of how the introduction of this new notion is paving the way for welcome improvements to the current interpretation of posiitve obligations to prevent, redress and fulfill, bringing a more nuanced approach to the human rights project, insofar as it enables a context-sensitive assessment of violations of rights and ethically strengthens the argument in favour of social justice. The Article concludes proposing, under the results form the practical use and the heuristic functions of the notion in international human rights adjudications a re-qualification for the notion in terms of a human rights principle.