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This is an advanced international human rights law course in which students engage in research on cutting-edge issues in human rights law and policy for non-governmental organizations and inter-governmental organizations under the supervision of the professor. The course will build on the students' substantive knowledge of international human rights law, expose students to issues that arise in human rights practice; develop skills in strategic decision-making, problem-solving, research, and effective writing; and provide experience in the interplay of theory and practice in this field of law. Research may include fact-gathering from contacts within the organizations and from the organizations' contacts in the country or countries in question. The course has two components: a classroom component of two hours per week, and regular meetings with each individual student. Class sessions will address issues that arise in human rights advocacy, including strategic decision-making; standard-setting; interpretation and application of law; choice of remedies; ethical issues in human rights lawyering; and aspects of human rights law practice on behalf of governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations. The regular meetings with individual students provide guidance on questions of law, strategy, research and writing as they arise.
*Evaluation: Students are graded on the basis of the research and writing done for the organization whose project they have undertaken, and on their participation in classroom discussions.
Enrollment in the course is through application, and the forms are available from the Special Assistant to International and Comparative Law Programs in Waterman Hall.
Prerequisite: International Human Rights (with minimum grade of B).
Current Topics in International Law
This seminar will provide a vehicle for exploring "hot topics" in international law. Though the specific focus may shift from year to year, this Spring Semester we will examine economic and social rights in international law through the lens of post-Katrina advocacy; challenges to the prohibition of torture in a post-9/11 world; developments in international human rights norms on sexual orientation and gender identity; recent UN Security Council responses to threats to peace and security; and the extra-territorial application of treaties (e.g. to Guantanamo, Kosovo, Iraq), among other topics. The course will include several short international law research exercises and a final project involving review and assessment of one or more of the syllabus topics.
International Human Rights
This seminar provides an introduction to international human rights law and procedures. It examines what are "human rights" and explores the law of treaty interpretation, how human rights law is incorporated into domestic legal systems, and the role of international governmental organizations, international and regional courts, and non-governmental organizations in protecting human rights. Students also learn how to research international law, and how to write legal analysis based on international law.
Satisfies perspective requirement.
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