Course Descriptions
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
The course will start with a discussion of the place of economic, social and cultural rights within contemporary international human rights law. It will outline the legal and historical sources of esc rights, followed by a discussion of the duty of states to implement these rights and an analysis of the nature of state obligations for esc rights and a description of the international monitoring system for esc rights.
The course will also briefly review of the current debate on international obligations in the context of the controversial right to development.
Among the substantive esc rights, the course will address
- property as an esc rights,
- the right to work and the rights in work,
- the right to social security and to an adequate standard of living with a special focus on the right to food
- the right to the highest attainable standard of health
- the right to education and rights in education
- cultural rights, including the right of everyone to benefit from advances in science and technology, authors’ rights and its distinction from the more general intellectual property rights, and the cultural rights of minorities and indigenous peoples.
EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
The course begins with international standards in the field of human rights, including the role of human rights in international law covering such topics as: subjects and sources, state responsibility, reservations, and derogations. This course will review the individual petition system and the mechanisms for supervision of the commitments of the state parties under the European Convention, including: the functioning of the European Court of Human Rights, and the role of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to supervise the enforcement of the judgements of the Court. This course will focus on the role of legal practitioners in the implementation and application of this regional treaty. An in-depth study will be made of human rights litigation in domestic courts and international tribunals. With the help of the European Digest relating to the Strasbourg Case, the course will analyze the interpretation and application of the provisions laid down in the European Convention. In addition, the course will analyze the extent to which norms of international human rights have penetrated areas of criminal law and criminal proceedings, civil and administrative proceedings, family law, and immigration law.
INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW
A study of international principles and rules regulating the conduct of international and otherarmed conflicts; the complimentary nature of human rights and humanitarian law in the historical development of restraints in armed conflict; the distinction between rules governing recourse to armed coercion and those governing the conduct of armed hostilities; the protections afforded by the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Protocols to combatants and noncombatants, including civilians, POWs, the wounded and the sick; the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross; and key decisions of international bodies finding criminal responsibility for humanitarian law violations.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
The history of international criminal investigations and tribunals starts with the post-WWI experiences. These were followed by the post-WWII experiences in Europe and the Far East - not only the IMT and IMTFE, but also subsequent proceedings in these two regions. These experiences were continued through national German prosecutions. In addition, a limited number of national prosecutions ensued in France, Israel, Italy, Canada, and Australia.
The international community undertook efforts since WWII to develop an International Criminal Court and a Code of International Crimes. The latter ended with a 1996 International Law Committee project. The former continued until the establishment of the International Criminal Court in 1998. A number of other institutions were formed as well as part of post-conflict justice in Kosovo, East Timor, and Sierra Leone, with a similar prospect developing for Cambodia and Iraq.
This course will examine that historical evolution, and the tensions between the pursuit of justice and realpolitik in the achievement of political settlements.
HUMAN RIGHTS & DEVELOPMENT
A recent study carried out by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) for the OECD states firmly: “The trend is clear. Both bilateral and multilateral donor agencies have adopted or are in the process of adopting or refining human rights in development policies”. This assertion is of course to be welcomed, but what does it mean in reality? Is development practice changing, and what changes are we actually witnessing?
The human rights and development course will provide an overview of present debates on the inter linkages and will attempt to provide both theoretical and practical guidance in getting development ‘right’. The course will assist in internalizing the intrinsic values of human rights in development programming, and will provide examples, and work through group exercises to demonstrate the usefulness of the human rights framework in mitigating power excess and elite capture. A substantive part of the course will moreover be devoted to the application of the human rights-based approach to programming in respect of ‘regular’ development programs such as micro-finance programs, decentralization processes, and/or poverty reduction strategies. As such it invites students to profoundly reflect upon the why and how of their actions beyond the questions of what should be done.
REGIONAL APPROACHES TO HUMAN RIGHTS LAW: AFRICA, AMERICA & ASIA
The first component of the course will concern the Inter-American Human Rights System. It will review the development of the system, and how the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and Inter-American Court of Human Rights discharge their respective mandates of protection. With respect to the Inter-American Commission, it will focus on the individual petition system, on site visits and special country reports, and thematic rapporteurships. One of the issues we will examine across the various areas of the Commission's competence is the resources it offers for enhancing the protection of women's human rights. This component will also discuss the approaches the system offers with respect to economic, social and cultural rights. With respect to the Inter-American Court, we will examine both its advisory and contentious forms of jurisdiction, and highlight some innovations in its recent jurisprudence. In practical terms, this component will highlight the question of efficacy, including with respect to how the work of the regional human rights system can be integrated into strategies at the national level, which is where it must ultimately find effect.
The second part of the course will explore the African regional system for the protection of human rights, developed under the auspices of the African Union (AU) and its predecessor, the Organization of African Unity. It will cover the question whether there is a unique African concept of human rights; the structures in place for the protection of human rights in Africa, under the AU and its development programme, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD); the norms recognized in the various instruments; and the jurisprudence of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The third part of the course will be focused on regional human rights initiatives in Asia. Asia differs from the other two regions in that there is a conspicuous absence of any region-wide human rights regime; event nascent institutional apparatus upon which such a regime might be established are few and unspecialised. In this part we will explore what few initiatives have been made (including both state based and civil society based proposals) and examine the reasons why they have failed or at least have not been taken further. The thorny problem of the claim to there being certain 'Asian values' that distinguish the region such that universal human rights norms do not apply there, or apply differently, will be critically examined and both the philosophical and practical ramifications of the various arguments assessed.
To close the course, students will participate in an activity designed to compare and contrast procedural and substantive approaches of the American and African systems, and to reflect on the lessons that might be learnt thereby for the establishment of a regional human rights regime for Asia.
ELECTION, OBERVATION AND THE RIGHT TO POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
This course will deal with the evolution of the right to political participation. We will examine, in depth, the various human rights instruments that have emerged since 1948 and selected decisions and declarations of national courts and international human rights bodies. Classes will cover key concepts associated with: voting rights; consideration of rules governing party formation, registration; adjudication of electoral disputes; collective right to democratic governance; evolution of international electoral observation; evaluating the quality of elections; and the special case of post-conflict elections. There also will be discussions of individual country cases. Reading assignments will provide background for the specific topics that will be discussed in class.
TERRORISM & HUMAN RIGHTS
Increased global focus on combating terrorism has resulted in significant stresses on the system of international human rights law, leading many to call for a recalibration of the "balance" between rights and security. Well-settled human rights principles are now openly challenged by some policy makers and governments in political discourse and in the courts. This short course will examine the tensions between political, military and legal efforts to combat terrorism and well-established international human rights law and principles. Students will be exposed to the central questions in the current debate about terrorism and human rights, including: Is torture ever justified to combat terrorism? Can suspected terrorists be held in preventive detention? What is the significance of calling the current struggle against global terrorism a "war"? Is security vs. rights a "zero sum game"? What role do human rights play in combating terrorism? Is terrorism a human rights violation? How has the global "war on terrorism" impacted the promotion of human rights and human rights defenders?
UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM
In the last half a century, the international community has agreed on extensive human rights standards set forth in more than 1000 instruments, including treaties and declarations, covering civil and political as well as economic, social and cultural rights. Some of the treaties enjoy wide ratifications. While States carry the primary responsibility under international law for implementation, several international and regional organizations have in place an increasing number of monitoring institutions for scrutinizing national performances.
It is suggested that the human rights movement has, historically speaking in a short period, been very successful in terms of popular support and in the realization of the international standards, although there is still a long way to go. The mainstreaming of human rights has allowed human rights considerations to increasingly count in international debates relating to international peace and security, trade, multinational companies, children, development, the environment, and so on. Many States take human rights into account in their foreign policies. Non-governmental organizations, like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, play a crucial role in keeping the debate honest and open. The press nowadays reports on human rights issues on a regular basis.
Furthermore, it is suggested that international law regulation, mainly based on treaties to which States have agreed, is a good way of overcoming political, religious and cultural differences and perceptions the world over. Important aspects of an international law approach are the universality and objectivity of application, with all countries expected to abide by the same rules, no matter whether they fit into political alliances or not. It is the underlying assumption of the UN Charter that respect for these rules will make the world a better and more peaceful place. We should analyze, discuss and test each topic in the course schedule below, as a matter of both law and politics, during the days we have together.
WOMEN & INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
This course addresses the challenges of achieving the international legal protection of the human rights of women. It reviews how international and regional human rights conventions, especially the American Convention on Human Rights, have been applied to prevent, punish and remedy the violations of women's rights in different tribunals. It examines how the norm of the prohibition of all forms of discrimination against women has been applied, and how it might be more effectively applied in particular sectors. It explores how feminist theories, empirical data and narratives might be used to expose women's experiences of injustice. The course aims to go beyond a formalistic understanding of international legal obligations in order to examine different approaches to fostering compliance with the human rights of women in different cultures and religious traditions.
