Human Rights Law

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Christophe Deprez

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

This course aims to provide a general overview of the main institutional, substantive and procedural aspects of the branch of the law dealing with the protection of human rights, as well as of the key practical issues associated with human rights litigation. To this end, the course will build on the basic knowledge already acquired in this field by students, directly or indirectly, throughout their curriculum. The approach will be inclusive: for each section of the course, the contribution and the specifics of all spheres of human rights protection (domestic, regional, universal) will be covered. Yet, the sphere of the Council of Europe (European Convention on Human Rights) will be of particular relevance.
The course will be divided into five major sections:
I.- General introduction
II.- Human rights institutions and mechanisms
III.- Human rights: substantive aspects
IV.- Human rights: procedural aspects
V.- Conclusion.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

- Basic knowledge of key principles of public international law;
- Ability to use English as a working language.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The teaching method for this course will vary.
Lectures will be the basis of sections I and II (general introduction and institutional aspects).
For section III (substantive aspects), a reader with key pieces of doctrinal literature and case law (judgments of the Strasbourg Court in particular) will be made available. Students will be expected to read the relevant portions of the reader thoroughly at home, with a view to becoming familiar with the relevant human rights and associated judicial interpretation on their own. For each of the (six) specific human rights covered, a quiz will be made available online, in order for students to be able to test their knowledge of the topic. Furthermore, office hours will be determined for each specific human right, when students will be welcome to come and ask any remaining questions in connection with the relevant topic.
Section IV (procedural aspects) will be based on a combination of both practical exercises and traditional lectures. Before each class, students will be asked to prepare one or several practical exercises (taking the form of questions, situations, or procedural issues that the human rights practitioner may face). These concrete situations will serve as a starting point for the lectures.
Finally, section V (conclusion) could be the opportunity to hear from a guest, human rights practitioner - lawyer, member of a NGO or judge (to be confirmed).

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

Recommended or required readings

Reader with case law and literature (section III of the course)

Assessment methods and criteria

The evaluation method will be twofold:
* 40 % of the final grade: a paper taking the form of a short (2,500 words maximum) commentary of a recent and significant decision in the area of human rights. The decision to comment on will be determined by the teacher. As an alternative, the teacher may offer students to participate - on a voluntary basis - in an actual human rights procedure. Participation in this form of law clinic cannot be guaranteed and will depend on concrete opportunities that would emerge during the semester.
* 60 % of the final grade: a take-home exam for which students will be invited - by consulting any type of resources they wish - to resolve one or several practical exercises and to give their opinion on one or several general issues pertaining to the protection of human rights.

  
  

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

Students are encouraged to acquire this collection of relevant material:
Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents (10th ed., 2016)

Contacts

Christophe Deprez (Christophe.Deprez@ulg.ac.be)