International Human Rights and Criminal Law
MODULE CODE
CREDIT VALUE
DELIVERY
Module Aims
Aim 1
To examine the law as it applies to the guarantee and promotion of human rights and civil liberties and facilitate the use of a range of legal sources, both primary and secondary, to analyse the balance drawn between the protection of liberty and the pursuit of competing interests and enforcement of human rights at international, European and domestic levels. To introduce the substantive and procedural aspects of International Criminal Law and develop an understanding of the key elements of international crimes, and the competences of the main international courts and tribunals, within the context of geopolitical issues affecting the development of this area of law.
Module Content
• The three generations of human rights
• The enforcement of human rights at the international, European and national level (such as the Human Rights Act 1998 in the UK)
• Substantive human rights, from a list of the following:
• The right to life
• Freedom from torture
• Right to privacy
• Freedom of expression
• Freedom of association and assembly
• The history and development of International Criminal Law
• The ad hoc tribunals with focus on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
• History and development of the International Criminal Court
• Core international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, aggression, torture.
• Geopolitical issues affecting the development and efficiency of International Criminal Law
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, a student will be able to:
Teaching Methods
Campus delivery will be organised around lectures and workshops. Lectures will introduce new legal ideas and concepts and build an outline of the structure of legal rules and principles. Further reading of cases and statutes in secondary and primary legal sources will consolidate and expand the breadth of knowledge and depth of understanding. Small group workshops will allow students to test their level and range of understanding and reflect formatively on areas of strength and weakness. Workshops will also develop and support general legal techniques and skills in support of legal reading, analysis, writing, drafting and note taking, legal problem solving through IRAC type techniques, as well as test formative knowledge and understanding. Summative assessment will focus on the accuracy of synoptic knowledge across the whole syllabus and evaluate legal problem-solving skills and the ability to create structured legal arguments that draw reasoned conclusions through factual scenarios that raise key legal issues from the syllabus. Module support materials (lecture outlines lecture recordings, Office Mix presentations, Power-points slides,
workshop questions, cases, case materials, technique and skills materials, exemplar assessments) will be located on a dedicated module virtual learning environment, which will also be used as the repository for assessment submission, student communication, and e-discussion boards.
Assessment Methods
This module is assessed through two Essays.
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Compulsory
Optional
