Content, progress and pedagogy of the module

• To supplement the student’s knowledge and skills in a way that may form part of the student’s choice of educational and professional profile

Learning objectives

Knowledge

• International human rights law, including as an intrin- sic part of public international law
• The concept of human rights from a legal point of view, including considerations on universal applicabil- ity
• The legal and institutional human rights framework of the United Nations, complete with comparative refer- ences to the principal regional systems
• Admissibility criteria as adopted by relevant treaty monitoring bodies concerning individual communica- tions (complaints)
• The meaning and content of positive state obligations and of limitations on substantive human rights, includ- ing the concept of “state discretion” or “margin of ap- preciation”
• The role of human rights in specific contexts, for ex- ample the ‘war on terror’
• The question of human rights under pressure and that of  the “shrinking space “ for human rights advocates in promoting human rights   

Skills

• Explaining the legal standing of human rights in inter- national law and outlining generally their relationship with other bodies of public international law
• Analysing and applying concepts and terminology inte- gral to the course
• Identifying legal problems in regional and international human rights and applying relevant sources of law in solving these
• Describing the impact and status of human rights in national law
• Researching, presenting and analyzing decisions, gen-
• eral comments, concluding observations and recom- mendations adopted by human rights treaty monitoring bodies. Also applicable to illustrative national case law and case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECrtHR)
• Presenting and analyzing the content of substantive provisions as contained in UN human rights instru- ments, considering also both the question of positive State obligations and possible limitations on human rights
• Communicating issues relating to international human rights law in a clear and well-structured manner, using the applicable terminology.

Competences

• explain issues pertaining to international refugee law and reflect and analyze  critically
• assess and analyse rules and regulations as well as the consequences of the rules
• qualify identified legal issues within international refugee law
• be able to work problem-oriented by independently composing a problem and working in an analytical and structured manner
• become responsible for own learning, development and specialization within the frames international refugee law
• become able to  provide advice on the content of human rights law and the consequences of violating this legal framework

Type of instruction

• Workshops

Students are expected to physically show up to class to participate in group and project work.

Extent and expected workload

• 270 hours

Exam

Exams