International Human Rights Law | LAWS3168 | University of Southampton

Module overview

Following the atrocities of World War II, states internationally agreed to safeguard the inherent dignity of every human being by protecting inalienable rights to which all members of the human family were equally entitled. Those rights, recognised as ‘human rights’, are still relevant today as they remain heavily violated worldwide and require protection.

Various mechanisms have been established at the international and regional levels to monitor human rights’ implementation. Furthermore, various actors have come into play. Human rights law is not limited to interactions between states and international organisations anymore; it also involves the civil society and must face challenges raised by non-state actors. These interactions, embedded in issues of poverty, terrorism and democracy, have created a rich and fascinating corpus of law: this is what the module International Human Rights Law will explore.

This module is designed for you to understand the pillars of human rights law; to identify its key institutions and instruments; and to acquire a transferrable set of research skills. The precise content of the module will be influenced by staff’s on-going research in relevant areas and by topical developments in this field.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

the scope of international human rights law: indivisibility of rights and key actors.
the history and sources of international human rights law;
the key mechanisms of protection of international human rights law;

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

formulate an effectively reasoned and structured argument supported by appropriate references;
demonstrate skills of self-management including an ability to reflect on the content and quality of your own work;
make critical judgments about international materials and relevant literature.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

apply the legal rules and principles studied on the module to factual scenarios;
analyse academic literature on international human rights law and situate your argument in relation to the arguments or positions advanced in that literature.
construct legal arguments through the analysis of relevant legal materials and literature;

Syllabus

This module will introduce you to international human rights law. Subject to availability of staff and their research expertise, we will explore the history and sources of international human rights law. We will cover various supranational mechanisms of protection through which international human rights law operates. We will examine the scope of this discipline by studying substantive rights and key actors in their implementation.

SYLLABUS

A – History and sources of international human rights law

B – Mechanisms of human rights protection in the United Nations and in regional systems

C – Scope of international human rights law: indivisibility of rights and key actors

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching Methods include

1.Lectures will provide you with knowledge and information within a structured context – reading is required in preparation.

2.Tutorials will require that you prepare answers to a list of questions supplied in advance – they allow you to maximise your performance in the summative assessments.

Learning Activities include

Directed reading, assisted by reading lists and (sometimes) availability of materials on Blackboard;
Accessing electronic resources in the form of international legal instruments, journal articles and primary materials;
Reviewing and evaluating complex material
Tackling and solving factual problems of international human rights law
Formulating and presenting in oral form (through class participation) and in written form (assessed essay) reasoned and structured arguments
Reading groups
Debates
Completion of summative assessment

Study time
Type	Hours
Revision	29
Preparation for scheduled sessions	70
Follow-up work	7
Tutorial	8
Lecture	20
Completion of assessment task	16
Total study time	150

Resources & Reading list

General Resources

Electronic Resources. Extensive use of electronically available resources – journal articles available via ‘Heinonline’, international treaty texts available from the UN’s website, cases from legal databases/institutions’ websites

Blackboard. All reading lists/ lecture hand-outs etc. are made available via ‘Blackboard’

Textbooks

Ilas Bantekas, Lutz Oette (2016). International Human Rights Law and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Alison Bisset (ed) (2016). Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents. Blackstone's Statute Series.

Assessment

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Examination Essay or problem question

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Examination	100%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Examination	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Examination	100%