Course

International Human Rights Law and Advocacy - LAWS3182

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Undergraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 3

Enrolment Requirements:

Prerequisite: Completion of 78 UOC in LAWS courses.

Excluded: JURD7582

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

This course involves an examination of the fundamental legal standards and institutions of international human rights lawthrough the medium of contemporary human rights concerns. It will familiarize you with the basic principles of internationalhuman rights law and the mechanisms for its enforcement, and also provide an exploration off the role of internationalhuman rights norms in domestic legal systems (with a focus on Australia).

This course is part of a general offering of human rights and social justice topics within the UNSW Law School and aims toprovide students with an introductory engagement with the substance, institutions and techniques of international humanrights law.

The specific topics covered vary from year to year and may include: narratives of the history of human rights;universalism and cultural relativism; the United Nations human rights system; regional and subregional systems for theprotection of human rights; techniques of interpretation of human rights; the nature of State obligation; death penalty;freedom of expression; economic, social and cultural rights; gender and human rights; disability and human rights; therights of indigenous peoples under international law; human rights and terrorism: clash between rights and security;domestic implementation of international human rights in Australia; refugees: international standards and protections;international law of equality and non-discrimination.

There will also be a number of guest speakers during the course.

Main Topics
  • What are human rights?
  • Framework of the international human rights system
  • Major international human rights instruments and monitoring and implementation mechanisms
  • The UN human rights treaty bodies, generally and with specific reference to Australia
  • The nature of State obligations under international human rights law
  • Interpreting rights: techniques and sources
  • The death penalty and human rights law
  • Freedom of expression
  • Economic, social and cultural rights
  • Human rights violations by private actors
  • Domestic implementation of human rights in Australia (including the work of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights).
More information can be found on the Course Outline Website.
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