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Unit of Study LAW10472 - International Human Rights Law (2016)

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Unit Snapshot

  • Pre-requisites

    96 credit points in any SCU units

Unit description

This unit is designed for lawyers and students who have an interest in the means by which international human rights law is enforced. The emphasis in the unit is on illustrating how international human rights instruments are able to afford victims with remedies, both in the international domain, and via domestic courts. The comparative method will be used to illustrate how different jurisdictions have responded to the challenge of incorporating international human rights instruments into their respective domestic domains.

Unit content

TOPIC 1: Cultural Relativism and Human Rights

TOPIC 2: The United Nations System for Protecting Human Rights

TOPIC 3: European Human Rights Law A. The Council of Europe and its Instruments for the Protection of Human Rights. B. The European Union and Human Rights

TOPIC 4: Domestication of European Human Rights Law by the United Kingdom: Comparisons with Australia

TOPIC 5: The Inter-African System for protecting human rights

TOPIC 6: The Inter-American System of Human Rights

TOPIC 7: Domestic Protection of International Human Rights Law in New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and India

TOPIC 8: Towards an Australian Bill of Rights?

Availabilities

Not currently available in 2016

Learning outcomes and graduate attributes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

GA1: Intellectual rigour, GA2: Creativity, GA3: Ethical practice, GA4: Knowledge of a discipline, GA5: Lifelong learning, GA6: Communication and social skills, GA7: Cultural competence
Learning outcome count Learning outcome description GA1 GA2 GA3 GA4 GA5 GA6 GA7
1 Demonstrate knowledge of the basic history, theory, and ethics that have underpinned the emergence of international human rights law and the functioning of UN human rights system.
2 Explain and compare the human rights activities of the European Union and the Council of Europe, the African Human Rights Commission, and the Inter-American System for the protection of human rights, and recognise and apply selected substantive principles of law enforced by these bodies.
3 Critically analyse how the European Convention of Human Rights has been domesticated in the United Kingdom, and the powers of the United Kingdom courts to enforce these rules.
4 Assess and contrast the basic legal principles under which international human rights instruments have been domesticated in Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, India, and Australia.
5 Identify the emerging differences between Australian and UK administrative law that result from the latter's decision to incorporate the ECHR and examine the prospects of an Australian bill of rights.
6 Demonstrate their skills in legal research, critical analysis and the written presentation of research and argument.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of the basic history, theory, and ethics that have underpinned the emergence of international human rights law and the functioning of UN human rights system.
    • GA4:
  2. Explain and compare the human rights activities of the European Union and the Council of Europe, the African Human Rights Commission, and the Inter-American System for the protection of human rights, and recognise and apply selected substantive principles of law enforced by these bodies.
    • GA4:
  3. Critically analyse how the European Convention of Human Rights has been domesticated in the United Kingdom, and the powers of the United Kingdom courts to enforce these rules.
    • GA1:
  4. Assess and contrast the basic legal principles under which international human rights instruments have been domesticated in Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, India, and Australia.
    • GA4:
  5. Identify the emerging differences between Australian and UK administrative law that result from the latter's decision to incorporate the ECHR and examine the prospects of an Australian bill of rights.
    • GA4:
  6. Demonstrate their skills in legal research, critical analysis and the written presentation of research and argument.
    • GA6: