The rule of law regarding human rights is more the exception than the rule when focus is on actual practices and the overall situation has worsened recently - based on the sources used. Protecting human rights may be a universal value on paper but not in practice. Also, the role of international courts in this regard is also modest although there are strong variations. The difference can be explained by how long hey have existed, the participatory scope but primarily by the severity in the challenges facing them. These courts are intervening variables working within broader driving forces. The most important of these drivers is type of regime in various states and there is a high correlation between democracies and a positive human rights situation. Economic development may be an other important driver, but this is not always the case. Other agents than international courts may also make a differnec for human rights.