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Contemporary Issues in International Human Rights - LAWS4181
UNSW Library

 
Faculty: Faculty of Law
 
 
School:  Faculty of Law
 
 
Course Outline: See below
 
 
Campus: Kensington Campus
 
 
Career: Postgraduate
 
 
Units of Credit: 8
 
 
EFTSL: 0.16667 (more info)
 
 
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 2
 
 
Enrolment Requirements:
 
 
Prerequisite: Academic Program must be either 9200, 9210, 9230, 9240, 5740, or 5760
 
 
Fee Band: 3 (more info)
 
 
Further Information: See Class Timetable
 
 

Description

This course involves a study of the fundamental legal principles and institutions of international human rights, through the medium of contemporary human rights concerns. The course begins with an examination of the human rights framework in international law and the mechanisms for enforcing human rights including consideration of the position of the United Nations in this era of reform. The course also focuses on gross human rights violations and the responsibility of the international community to protect, the death penalty, refugee protections and discrimination law among other contemporary topics. The course will be taught by Justine Nolan and Gillian Moon and will benefit from the input of several guest speakers on discrete topics. This course is part of a general offering of human rights and social justice topics within the UNSW Law School and aims to provides students with an introductory approach to select human rights issues.

This course may be taken as part of the Master of International Law and International Relations.


LLM Specialisations

International Law; Human Rights and Social Justice.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

None

Course Objectives

Aims of the course are:
  • To examine and analyse the main legal concepts and principles of international human rights law
  • To assess the effectiveness of avenues for enforcement of international human rights principles and law
  • To develop the skills necessary for communicating and debating the role human rights play in the development of law and society
At the end of this course, you should be able to:
  • Have a sound knowledge of the main legal concepts and principles of international human rights law
  • Explain in your own words the meaning of legal concepts, doctrines and principles we have studied
  • Analyse the primary sources of human rights law
  • Demonstrate an ethical understanding of the nature of human rights law and be aware of on-going and future issues in the area of human rights
  • Demonstrate your ability to think critically and to justify your ideas in a reasoned manner, rather than purely by way of dogmatic assertions or emotional responses communicate effectively in speaking and in writing

Main Topics

  • What are human rights?
  • Historical context of human rights
  • Contemporary concerns: cultural relativism vs universality of rights
  • Framework of the human rights system
  • Human rights enforcement
  • UN reform
  • Equality and non-discrimination: gender, indigenous and disability discrimination
  • Refugee law
  • Genocide and the responsibility to protect. Case study: Rwanda
  • Death Penalty: an aberration on the right to life?

Assessment

Class participation Performance and participation in class 15%
Short answer questions One per week. 500 words (max.) each 15%
Research essay 5,000 - 5,500 words 70%
 

Course Texts

Prescribed
See Resources below.

Recommended
None

Resources

Course Materials will be available from the UNSW Bookshop but will be mailed to all postgraduate students. Additional materials will be distributed during classes. The further reading listed each week is optional and is not contained in the Course Materials. It is available online or at the UNSW Law School Library references.

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© The University of New South Wales (CRICOS Provider No.: 00098G), 2004-2011. The information contained in this Handbook is indicative only. While every effort is made to keep this information up-to-date, the University reserves the right to discontinue or vary arrangements, programs and courses at any time without notice and at its discretion. While the University will try to avoid or minimise any inconvenience, changes may also be made to programs, courses and staff after enrolment. The University may also set limits on the number of students in a course.