Table 1 Description of global health law instruments
Category A | Binding instruments: binding formal norms negotiated by authoritative stakeholders (i.e. governments). Examples: UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control | Hard Law |
|---|---|---|
Category B | Interpretive instruments: instruments used to interpret what the treaty means – considered part of the treaty law. Examples: (Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comment No. 15 (2013) on the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health) | Soft law |
Category C | Non-binding instruments: voluntary formal norms backed by an authoritative body that are not binding (no obligation to uphold the norms). Examples: WHO Global Strategies, Action Plans or Frameworks for Actions. Codes such as the International Code of the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes |