Course Overview
Despite the decades since the adoption of the UDHR, and despite the proliferation of treaties, international human rights bodies and activism, human rights abuses persist in the world. This course aims to introduce participants to various contemporary human rights issues, including the main features of the international normative framework, the strengths and flaws of the international monitoring mechanisms, and selected human rights topics such as the limits to human rights, the (abuse of) emergency powers, women’s rights, children’s rights, prohibition of discrimination, freedom of expression, and other issues of the day.
The course starts with a short introduction to the origins and key concepts of human rights law, as well as the overiew of the normative framework, then it goes on to investigate the challenges stemming from the implementation and compliance gap. This part of the classes will also explore the institutional weaknesses of the international human rights bodies, including the scarce human resources, increasing workload, independence and impartiality of the members of these bodies. Finally, the course explores issues of specific concern under contemporary human rights law. In addition to substantive knowledge of human rights, participants will develop analytical and critical thinking and independent research skills.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to the following:
Develop the ability to interpret human rights treaties
Be able to think critically about complex concepts and topics
Develop the ability to critically reflect on and effectively communicate their reflections on human rights issues
Critically assess the work of human rights protection mechanisms, as well as the mechanisms’ strengths and weaknesses
Undertake independent research
Develop presentation skills
Develop individual opinions and arguments, and to communicate the outputs in oral form to their peers
Course Content
Part One: Introduction
Origins of human rights
Normative framework: universal and regional human rights treaties
Concepts: reservations, positive and negative obligations, methods of interpretation (judicial activism v judicial restraint), etc.
Part Two: Implementation, Compliance, Monitoring
Transposition of international obligations into domestic law
Compliance deficit
Enforcement of human rights treaty commitments: international and regional protection mechanisms
Part Three: Substantive Challenges
A range of current legal, interdisciplinary and practical perspectives such as
Reservations to human rights
State of emergency
Death penalty Freedom of expression
Equality and non-discrimination
Domestic violence
The rights of LGBTQI persons
Rights of older people
Other issues of concern
Women’s rights
Sexual and reproductive rights
Human rights defenders and activists
(Flexible; will be adapted to new developments and the participants’ specific interest)
Instructional Method
Material for this course will be presented using multiple teaching approaches, depending on the developmental level of the students and the subject matter to be presented. These techniques will include lectures enhanced by the use of supportive materials such as slides, illustrations and videos; and classroom discussions with the aim to contribute to the exchange of opinions and perspectives, as well as to engage students in a more intensive treatment of the subject matter. Furthermore, students will be required to carry out individual research relating to their contribution, and orally present the results to be reflected upon and discussed by their peers and the instructor.
Required Course Materials
There is a vast literature on human rights. Further readings and questions will be posted in due course. As a reference, the sources below may be useful.
RELEVANT CHAPTERS FROM THE FOLLOWING BOOKS
D. Shelton (ed), The Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law (Oxford, 2015)
J. Katz Cogan, I. Hurd, I. Johnstone (eds), The Oxford Handbook of International Organizations (Oxford, 2016)
C.P.R. Romano, K.J. Alter, Y. Shany (eds), The Oxford Handbook of International Adjudication (Oxford, 2015)
Rhona K. M. Smith, International Human Rights Law (8th ed., Oxford, 2018)
Daniel Moeckli, Sangeeta Shah and Sandesh Sivakumaran (eds), International Human Rights Law (3rd ed., Oxford, 2018)
L.A. Sicilianos, M.A. Kostopoulou, The Individual Application Under the European Convention on Human Rights: Procedural Guide (Primento Digital Publishing, 2019)
C.M. Buckley, K. Kamber, P. McCormick, with contribution of D. J. Harris, The European Convention on Human Rights – Principles and Law (2022)
OTHER SOURCES
Decisions of the various international human rights tribunals (e.g. Human Rights Committee, European Court of Human Rights, Court of Justice of the European Union) available on their websites
Max Planck Encyclopaedia of Public International Law
[https://opil.ouplaw.com/home/mpil ]
Knowledge Sharing platform of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR-KS),
https://ks.echr.coe.int/en/web/echr-ks/
Scholarly blogs, e.g.
https://strasbourgobservers.com/
https://www.echrblog.com/
https://www.ejiltalk.org/category/human-rights/
Assessment
Assessment of participants will be undertaken through a variety of methods including reflection about issues of concern, problem-solving exercises, presentations, and group work. The actual methods depend to a large extent on the developmental level and number of participants. Thus, students will be assessed on (i) their presentations, (ii) team work, and (iii) class activity. Grading is according to the assessment scheme of the host institution.