Course Leader: Adrienne Komanovics
Home Institution: Corvinus University of Budapest
The objective of this course is twofold. First, it investigates whether human rights are actually in a state of crisis, in view of the contemporary social, legal, and political challenges to the protection of human rights. The democratic backsliding, the rise of so-called illiberal democracies in many countries of the world have had adverse effect for the enjoyment of a wide range of internationally protected human rights. In addition, the international monitoring mechanisms created by human rights treaties provide weak external constraint against excesses and abuses as the monitoring bodies are underresourced and ineffective, often clinging to the principle of subsidiarity and of the margin of appreciation. Such bodies too often apply the lowest-denominator approach to human rights standards.
Second, and strongly related to the first issue, the course intends to investigate various issues raised by crisis situations. The fight against the Covid-19 pandemic has led to the introduction of emergency measures by many States, which often led to a broad range of human rights violations. Several States have derogated from their human rights treaty obligations, adopted rules and practices to silence opponents and critics or adopted unchecked powers to suspend laws and rule by governmental decree. Lockdown measures have led to expansive police and military presence in many countries as well as to escalating rates of domestic violence. The pandemic has had a pervasive impact on people’s lives and livelihoods and vulnerable groups have been particularly affected by the outbreak of the pandemic.
With this dual interpretation of the term “human rights in crisis”, the course aims to investigate the effectiveness of human rights systems as well as to explore issues of specific concern under contemporary human rights law.
On completion of the course, participants will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a substantial range of the concepts, values, rules and principles of international human rights law, as well as critical awareness of current legal issues and developments. Furthermore, through case studies, students will be able to undertake analysis, evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas, and to demonstrate self direction and originality in tackling advanced legal problems. An integral aspect of the course is the development of legal and other study skills, which will enhance the participants' ability to reason, explain, and present an argument. Finally, participants will be able to demonstrate the ability to exercise initiative, learn independently, communicate their knowledge and conclusions clearly and unambiguously, as well as construct and develop a persuasive legal argument.
Part One: Normative framework
Origins of human rights
Theory of human rights
Universal and regional human rights treaties
Implementation and enforcement of human rights treaty commitments
Assessment: strengths and weaknesses
Part Two: Specific issues
(Subject to change; will be adapted to new developments and the participants’ specific interest)
The rise of inter-State cases (CERD, ECHR)
State of emergency (in general)
The Covid-19 pandemic
Equality and non-discrimination
Domestic violence
The rights of LGBTQI persons
Human rights and technology
Other issues of concern
The teaching method to be used is a combination of various instructional techniques, depending on the developmental level of the students and the subject matter to be presented. These techniques will include lectures, whereby a large amount of information can be conveyed to a large group of people in a short amount of time; as well as using the question-and-answer technique in order to assess the students' acquisition of particular information and to stimulate thought and encourage divergent thinking. In addition, classroom discussions will contribute to the exchange of opinions and perspectives, with a view to engage students in a more intensive treatment of the subject matter. Finally, students will be required to read legislation and cases, as well as prepare presentations, and to actively participate in the classes.
RELEVANT CHAPTERS FROM THE FOLLOWING BOOKS:
OTHER SOURCES
https://strasbourgobservers.com/
https://www.ejiltalk.org/category/human-rights/
https://voelkerrechtsblog.org/symposium/covid-19-and-new-human-rights/
SELECTED ARTICLES
Anna Bunn, Unwanted Distribution of Children’s Images and the Right to Development. 84(2) Modern Law Review (2021), pp. 334–370
Sandra Duffy, Contested Subjects of Human Rights: Trans- and Gender-variant Subjects of International Human Rights Law, 84(5) Modern Law Review (2021), pp. 1041–1065
Ilias Trispiotis, Religious Freedom and Religious Antidiscrimination, 82(5) Modern Law Review (2019), pp. 864–896
Elspeth Guild, Promoting the European way of life: Migration and asylum in the EU. European Law Journal, 2021; pp. 1–16
Hilpold P., Opening up a new chapter of law-making in international law: The Global Compacts on Migration and for Refugees of 2018. European Law Journal 2020; 26:226–244
Jaskiernia, Jerzy, Challenges Posed by the COVID-19 Pandemic to the Protection of Human Rights. Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations 56 no. 4 (2020).
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), Impact of COVID-19 on violence against women and girls and service provision: UN Women rapid assessment and findings, 2020. URL: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2020/Impact-of-COVID-19-on-violence-against-women-and-girls-and-service-provision-en.pdf
Adrienne Komanovics, Inter-State Human Rights Litigation – The Possibilities and Limitations of Collective Enforcement. Submitted for the 6th Coimbra International Conference on Human Rights 2021, not yet published
Başak Çalı and Esra Demir-Gürsel, The Council of Europe’s Responses to the Decay of the Rule of Law and Human Rights Protections: A Comparative Appraisal. European Convention on Human Rights Law Review, Volume 2 (2021): Issue 2 (Sep 2021), pp. 165–179
Emre Turkut, The Venice Commission and Rule of Law Backsliding in Turkey, Poland and Hungary. European Convention on Human Rights Law Review, Volume 2 (2021): Issue 2 (Sep 2021), pp. 209–240
Assessment of participants will be undertaken through a variety of methods including reflection about issues of concern, problem-solving exercises, presentations, project work and group work. The actual methods depend to a large extent on the developmental level and number of participants. Emphasis is laid on engaging students as much as possible and encouraging interactivity. Participants will be invited to split into smaller groups to discuss specific issues and detailed content of submissions. Grading is according to the assessment scheme of the host institution.