The University of New South Wales

go to UNSW home page

Postgraduate Handbook

PRINT THIS PAGE
Law, Rights & Development - LAWS4192
Aerial view

 
Faculty: Faculty of Law
 
 
School:  School 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: 7
 
 
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

Economic development is vital to the livelihood of billions of people. This course explores the interaction between international human rights law and development. It considers political and economic theories of development; the 'right' to development; the role of 'political' laws in development (good governance and rule of law programs, free and fair elections, and democratization); the role of laws on human rights, labour and the environment; the role of corporations and privatization; developmental displacement of populations; the boundary between emergency relief and development; and developmental issues specific to women and children. 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 and development issues.

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


LLM Specialisation

Human Rights and Social Justice.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

None

Course Objectives

This course aims to:
  • Examine and analyse the main legal concepts and principles of international human rights law
  • Examine the interaction between international human rights and development
  • Develop the skills necessary for communicating and debating the role law, rights and development play in the general growth 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 and its interaction with development
  • Explain in your own words the meaning of legal concepts, doctrines and principles we have studied
  • Analyse the primary sources of human rights law and the theories of development
  • Demonstrate an ethical understanding of the nature of human rights law and development policies and be aware of on-going and future issues in this area
  • 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

  • Introduction to international human rights law
  • Overview of law and development
  • International economic law and development
  • Corporations and their impact on rights and development
  • International environmental law and its impact on rights and development
  • Governance and Development
  • Migration, displacement, conflict and development
  • Gender and development

Assessment

Class participation Attendance, preparation and contribution to the class 15%
Short answer questions 500 words (max.) each; 3 questions 15%
Research essay  5,000 - 5,5000 words 70%
 

Course Texts

Prescribed
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.

Recommended
See above

Resources

Refer to Course Outline provided by lecturer at the beginning of session.

URL for this page:

© 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.