Course Description
Study of international human rights law and international and regional organizations, states, and private actors in the field. Examines instruments and institutions forming sources of human rights law (UN system, including Charter and treaties, European, African and Inter-American human rights regimes), the role of NGOs, and interaction between domestic and international law.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate law students will not be doing any extra work beyond
that required of the Juris Doctor students. J.D. students are
post-baccalaureate students and the workload expected of them is
the same workload expected of post-baccalaureate graduate students.
Athena Title
International Human Rights
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
To help students place human rights law in its legal, political, and moral context and to provide students with an understanding of the instruments, organizations, and arrangements - both international and domestic - that affect the articulation, implementation and enforcement of human rights.
Topical Outline
I. The Origins of International Human Rights Law II. The Core International Human Rights Treaties and Norms 1. Civil and Political Rights 2. Women's Rights 3. Economic and Social Rights 4. Problems of Cultural Relativism III. International Implementation and Enforcement 1. Treaty Bodies 2. UN Charter Bodies 3. Regional Human Rights Bodies IV. National Implementation and Enforcement 1. Human Rights in National Courts 2. The Problem of Torture 3. Balancing Human Rights and National Security V. Mass Violations of Human Rights, International Criminal Law, and Transitional Justice
Syllabus
Public CV