Module LAW3541: PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

Department: Law

LAW3541: PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

Prerequisites

• The Individual and the State (LAW1081), UK Constitutional Law (LAW1091), Legal Philosophy (LAW2311)

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To provide an introduction to the philosophical approaches to human rights law.
• To develop critical awareness of the idea, norms and practice of human rights law.
• To gain understanding of the relevance of philosophy for the study of human rights law.
• To develop research and methodological skills necessary to the study of human rights law.

Content

• In the last decade, a wide spectrum of philosophical approaches has come to address the phenomenon of human rights law. The history of ideas, normative moral and political theory, legal theory, social theory, global history: all have recently examined human rights as a distinctively legal phenomenon – its origins, substantive content, its institutions, its judicial practice, its procedures – through their respective theoretical and methodological lenses. The module aims to give students a comprehensive overview of those approaches.
• The following topics will normally be taught:
• The relationship between human rights and natural rights.
• The nature of human rights as rights.
• The role of morality in human rights law.
• The origins of human rights conventions and courts.
• The nature of human rights adjudication.
• The role of subsidiarity in human rights law regimes.
• The relation between human rights law and democracy.
• The relation between human rights law and the international legal and political system.

Learning Outcomes

• Students should be able to identify, reconstruct and distinguish philosophical approaches to human rights law.
• Demonstrate understanding of the relevance of philosophy to the study of human rights law.
• Demonstrate a familiarity with the relevant literature in the philosophy of human rights law.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of selected areas of substantive and procedural of human rights law.

• Situate human rights law and institutions within their context, in particular its, philosophical, sociological and historical contexts.
• Develop a broad understanding of alternative methodologies to approach human rights law.
• Effectively formulate and present theoretical and methodological arguments both orally and in writing.
• Understand the limits to our own knowledge and how this might influence our analysis and interpretation of human rights law.

• Students should be able to demonstrate developed research and writing skills, including the ability to work independently and to take responsibility for their own learning.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Students will be given the opportunity to consolidate, develop, present and apply the knowledge acquired through independent study. Students will be encouraged to utilise the wide range of learning resources, including electronic sources, available within the university in order to make a contribution to their learning and assessment as well as enable them to acquire key and subject-specific skills.
• Lectures and seminars each make a distinct contribution to the modules learning outcomes. Lectures will offer a large overview (both theoretical and methodological) of the various approaches in the philosophy of human rights law (history of ideas, normative moral and political theory, legal theory, social theory, global history) that the field now comprises. Two-hour seminars will provide students with the opportunity to exercise their oral skills through presentations and debate.
• Students will be assessed by an in-class presentation and a summative essay. For both the in-class presentation and the summative essay, students can choose to concentrate on an argument/approach covered in the module or not provided that it is related to the philosophy of human rights law broadly construed. While it is encouraged that students make use of the readings/discussions, any theoretical and methodological approach to human rights law can be adopted.
• The assessments will test knowledge and understanding across the entire module. They will also test the ability to focus on the relevant philosophical and legal issues and organise knowledge and argument appropriate to the topics raised. The summative essays will provide the means for students to demonstrate their acquisition of subject knowledge and the development of their problem-solving skills.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Group presentation in seminar of an essential reading; A critical reflection (max 2,000 words) of an essential seminar reading (not to be same one that is presented)

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University