Foundations in Human Rights
MODULE CODE
CREDIT VALUE
Module Aims
Aim 1
This module is intended to introduce students to the various ways in which domestic, European and International law institutions and legal frameworks recognise and enforce human rights. It will discuss the historical and present role played by various international bodies, including the UN and the European Court of Human Rights, and will discuss various procedural aspects, limitations and proposals for institutional reform. This institutional material will provide a background to wider debates. A range of broad issues that have arisen in debates over the nature, range, purpose and limits of recognised human rights. It will challenge students to enter into these debates in a fluent and informed way; to display skills in the analysis and interpretation of the issues; to demonstrate through seminar discussions their argumentation skills in developing and debating pertinent questions at a general level and enhance their application skills in discussing the potential applicability of different models of human rights to varying social, economic and political contexts.
Module Content
The material to be covered, which largely consists of questions and issues, is as follows:
• The legal frameworks: the various ways in which domestic, European and international law institutions and institutional processes and associated legal frameworks both recognise and enforce human rights
• The nature and jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights
• The institutional sources of human rights law
• The UN’s role in maintaining human rights, peace and security
• The range of international monitoring and supervision regimes including the major international treaties and bodies
• The procedural and substantive law relevant to bringing human rights claims before domestic, European and international bodies
• Proposals for institutional reform to meet current limitations in the recognition and enforcement of human rights
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, a student will be able to:
Teaching Methods
A student’s ability to articulate, in writing, legal analysis and argument, identify and apply legal sources to a fictitious practical scenario, and work within time/word/presentational constraints, will be assessed by a written assignment. Additionally, a student’s ability to research and marshal legal evidence in support of an argument, express legal analysis and technique, whilst respecting and responding to the viewpoints of others, will be assessed via a group presentation.
Assessment Methods
This module is assessed through one Legal Brief and one Presentation.
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Compulsory
Optional
