Course Syllabus

Textbook Information:

Title: International Human Rights Law and Practice
Authors: Ilias Bantekas; Lutz Oette
Cambridge University Press, 3rd Ed, June 2020
ISBN 9781108711753

Read Bantekas & Oette, International Human Rights Law and Practice
online, or download in secure EPUB or secure PDF format

 

Professor Walter J. Walsh, University of Washington School of Law, Autumn 2022

 

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS

 Law B596, 4 cr, Autumn 2022

Tu & Th, 3.30-4.50 pm, Room 116, William H. Gates Hall, plus 1 hour asynchronous

 

Course Description

            Examines international treaty and customary law protecting fundamental human rights against abuse by governments.  Major international systems studied include UN, Council of Europe, European Union, Inter-American, and African Union.  Readings include international and American judicial opinions, treaties, and studies by human rights groups and scholars. JD, LLM, MJ, MA, PhD students encouraged, also all graduate students and advanced undergraduates.  Satisfies most interdisciplinary Graduate Certificates including International Humanitarian Response.  Asynchronous virtual classroom Distance Learning option accommodates all time zones.

            Content: This course introduces students to western and non-western theories of human rights.  In addition to reading foundational documents such as the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1791) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), students will read materials that give theoretical treatment to contemporary human rights problems or evaluate specific events, debates, and practices.  Your textbook is Ilias Bantekas & Lutz Oette, International Human Rights Law and Practice (3^rd Edition, Cambridge 2020).  You can pick up your hard copy of the textbook, or have it shipped, from the UW University Bookstore or else order from Cambridge or other online booksellers.  You can order the digital copy of your textbook directly, or by visiting the UW University Bookstore website and clicking on the link to this course.  Be sure to acquire the 2020 Third Edition.  On our UW Canvas course webpage, all our textbook readings for each class are linked to the corresponding  treaties, documents, web pages, and illustrative leading cases of international human rights bodies.  Also linked to our textbook readings are deep video lectures on those same human rights topics by prominent world jurists including several judges of the International Court of Justice and the various regional human rights courts.  See the schedule of our assigned readings and corresponding audiovisual lectures on the attached Syllabus.  All additional material for class projects will be posted on our UW Canvas course webpage as needed.

            Format and Method:  For three fourths of your credit hours in this course, in person classes will be offered which will include class discussion; for the other one fourth of your credit hours, asynchronous Canvas Modules are required to be completed before the corresponding synchronous classes.  All students must complete the associated asynchronous Canvas Class Module and post virtual reactions to the readings and audiovisual materials before our classroom discussions, and engage in virtual exercises and problems that require the application of these texts to current human right issues.  You must follow our synchronous class reading schedule and regularly make your written postings on our UW Canvas course Discussion Boards before each class, so that all students will gain the full benefits of participating in our classroom.

            Pedagogical Goals and Objectives: In this course the student will be introduced to various competing but influential theories of human rights and will also learn how international human rights are protected and enforced.  By the end of the course you should have the capacity to draw on the theoretical discourses and formal legal materials we will cover in this course to address all human rights problems.  There will be course modules, discussion posts, and a final examination.  Goals include:

            Understanding competing theories of human rights

            Familiarity with international bodies enforcing human rights

            Rethinking the traditional concept of state sovereignty in accordance with international human rights norms

            Appreciating the role of human rights advocacy and the role of human rights defenders and practitioners

            Familiarity with international human rights treaties and instruments

            Knowing how to access remedies and redress for victims of human rights violations

            Understanding the relationship between international and domestic human rights protections

            Instructor: Associate Professor Walter J. Walsh teaches comparative law and constitutional history at the University of Washington School of Law and in the Law, Societies and Justice (LSJ) Program.  He holds law degrees from University College Dublin (BCL), Yale University (LLM), and Harvard University (SJD), where he wrote his doctoral dissertation on early human rights advocacy, and has practiced and taught law in Europe and in the United States.  He has also trained in his native Dublin, Ireland, at the Incorporated Law Society, and in Strasbourg, France, at the Institut Internationale des Droits de l’Homme.  Professor Walsh is a founding faculty member and teaches each summer in the LSJ European Law & Society Program at the UW Rome Center.  Professor Walsh was selected to attend the University of Washington's 2020 Technology Teaching Fellows Institute, which generously supported the development of this innovative International Human Rights course as a distance learning course.

            Student Learning Technologies (UW-IT) Support:  Contact help@uw.edu or 206-221-5000 for UW NetID and general networking support. UW-IT also maintains a help desk at the Odegaard Undergraduate Library.  Valuable tips for successful online and distance learning practices are set out at UW Academic Support Programs Online Learning.

            Access and Accommodations:  To request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact Disability Resources for Students (DRS), at 011 Mary Gates Hall or 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu.  If you have a letter from DRS, please provide the letter to the Instructor so you can discuss the accommodations you might need in this class.

            Religious Accommodations:  Washington state law requires that the University of Washington develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/).  Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).

            Assessment:

i) International Human Rights Course Class Modules and Canvas Quizzes (30% of final grade), required Canvas Quizzes based on the reading assignments and linked audiovisual material.   For maximum points, you must complete all Canvas Quizzes based on your assigned reading, watching, and browsing in each Class Module before you contribute to our Canvas Discussion Board by 2pm Pacific Standard Time same day as our synchronous afternoon class.  Your Canvas Quizzes count for up to 300/1000 points.

            PLUS

ii) International Human Rights Course Required Discussion Board Posts (20% of final grade), after you have completed all your assigned reading, watching, browsing and Canvas Quizzes, you must then post your required Canvas Discussion Board virtual response to our reading assignments and linked audiovisual material, no later than 2 pm PST same day as our synchronous afternoon class.  In your minimum 100 words Canvas Discussion Board post before each synchronous afternoon class, you must virtually discuss, explain, critique, or compare the theories and practices of human rights we will cover later that day.  Your Discussion Board posts and responses count for up to 200/1000 points.

            PLUS

iii) Final Examination (50% of final grade), a 3-hour open-book final exam, two equally weighted questions, one problem and one essay, each worth up to 250/1000 points so in total up to 500/1000 points.

            For all registration inquiries, please contact UW law school Academic Services at mylaw@uw.edu and Professor Walsh at wawa@uw.edu . . . 

* * * * *

Professor Walter J. Walsh, University of Washington School of Law, Autumn 2022

 

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS

Law B596, 4 cr, Autumn 2022

Tu & Th, 3.30-4.50 pm, Room 116, William H. Gates Hall, plus 1 hour asynchronous

 

Course Description

            Examines international treaty and customary law protecting fundamental human rights against abuse by governments.  Major international systems studied include UN, Council of Europe, European Union, Inter-American, and African Union.  Readings include international and American judicial opinions, treaties, and studies by human rights groups and scholars. JD, LLM, MJ, MA, PhD students encouraged, also all graduate students and advanced undergraduates.  Satisfies most interdisciplinary Graduate Certificates including International Humanitarian Response.  Asynchronous virtual classroom Distance Learning option accommodates all time zones.

 

WEEK 1

Tu, 9/27, read, complete Course Module 1 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website 

International Protection of Human Rights (Law B596)

and in our class:

Chapter 1. International Human Rights Law and Notions of Human Rights: Foundations, Achievements and Challenges

1.1 Table of Contents, Introduction & Chapter 1, IHRL&P @ 1-5. ToC (large font)

1.2  The Development of Human Rights and International Human Rights Law, IHRL&P @ 6-24. Trindade, Access of Individuals to International Justice (video lecture) and American Declaration of Independence (1776) and Declaration des Droits de l'Homme (1789) and US Bill of Rights (1789) and Janis, The Invention of 'International Law': Jeremy Bentham and his 1789 Refashioning of the Classical 'Law of Nations' (video lecture) and Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and UN, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (video documentary) and UN Audiovisual Library of International Law: Human Rights

WARNING: Do NOT even try to watch all of these detailed video lectures in their entirety!  Watch ONLY the selected extracts of all assigned audiovisual links as you are specifically instructed in the accompanying Course Module!

1.3  Current Challenges, IHRL&P @ 24-29.

1.4  The Idea of Human Rights: Theories and Critiques, IHRL&P @ 30-36.

1.5  Universal Human Rights: Contestations and Practices, IHRL&P @ 36-49. Anghie, History and International Law (video lecture) and Brilmayer, Cultural Relativism: The Basic Problem and Some Complexities (video lecture)

1.6  Illustrative Case:  The Nuremberg Trials (1945-49) and Sadat, The Legacy of the Nuremberg Trials: Seventy Years Later (video lecture)

 

Th, 9/29, read, complete Course Module 2 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 2. International Human Rights Law: The Normative Framework $CANVAS_COURSE_REFERENCE$$CANVAS_COURSE_REFERENCE$/files/folder/000Library%20Textbook%20Scans

2.1/2  Sources (Treaties, Custom, General Principles, Jus Cogens and Erga Omnes, Judicial Decisions, Opinio Juris, Soft Law), IHRL&P @ 50-72. International Court of Justice (ICJ) Statute Article 38 and Greenwood, The Sources of International Law (video lecture) and UN Treaty Depositary and Hampson, Reservations to Human Rights Treaties (video lecture) and Mendelson, Customary International Law (video lecture) and Peoples & Prilliman, Customary International Law (CALI lesson) and Trindade, Jus Cogens in Contemporary International Law (video lecture) and Tams, Obligations Erga Omnes in International Law (video lecture) and Galvao Teles, Obligations and Rights Erga Omnes in the Case-Law of the International Court of Justice (video lecture)

2.3  Principles, Rights, Obligations and Scope of Application, IHRL&P @ 73-84. Trindade, General Principles of Law as a Source of International Law (video lecture) and Milanovic, The Extraterritorial Application of Human Rights Treaties (video lecture)

2.4  Implementation, IHRL&P @ 84-92.

2.5  State Responsibility and Human Rights Treaties as Self-contained Regimes, IHRL&P @ 93-94. UN Universal Human Rights Instruments

2.6  Practical Application: The Role of Law Reform, IHRL&P @ 95-102. Hossain, International Law and the Challenge of Change (video lecture)

2.7  Illustrative Case: Advisory Opinion on Reservations to the Genocide Convention (ICJ 1951) and International Court of Justice (ICJ)

 

WEEK 2

Tu, 10/4, read, complete Course Module 3 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 3. Human Rights in Practice $CANVAS_COURSE_REFERENCE$$CANVAS_COURSE_REFERENCE$/files/folder/000Library%20Textbook%20Scans

3.1/2  Civil Society, IHRL&P @ 103-106.

3.3  Social Movements, IHRL&P @ 106-108.

3.4  NGOs, IHRL&P @ 108-117.

3.5  Human Rights Defenders, IHRL&P @ 117-122. UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

3.6  Legal Professionals and Human Rights, IHRL&P @ 122-125.

3.7  Health Professionals and Human Rights, IHRL&P @ 126-127.

3.8  Human Rights Field Officers, IHRL&P @ 127-131.

3.9  Human Rights Strategies, IHRL&P @ 131-155. Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition and Human Rights Education and Training Materials and Resources and UN List of Human Rights Issues

3.10  Illustrative Cases: First Trial of the Northern Star (Belfast 1794) and Trial of the King v. Hurdy Gurdy (Dublin 1794) and Trial of Captain Henry Whitby (New York 1812) and People v. Philips (New York 1813)

 

Th, 10/6, read, complete Course Module 4 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 4. The United Nations Charter System $CANVAS_COURSE_REFERENCE$$CANVAS_COURSE_REFERENCE$/files/folder/000Library%20Textbook%20Scans

4.1/2  The Human Rights Dimension of the Charter, IHRL&P @ 156-161. UN Charter (1945)

4.3  The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, IHRL&P @ 161-162. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

4.4  The UN Human Rights Council (HRC), IHRL&P @ 162-173. UN Human Rights Council and Schmidt, The Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council and its Interaction with Other Human Rights Procedures (video lecture)

4.5  UN Special Procedures, IHRL&P @ 173-181. UN Special Procedures and UN Human Rights Bodies and Rodley, UN Treaty and Charter-based Human Rights Bodies: Competitive or Complementary? (video lecture)

4.6  The UN General Assembly (UNGA) and Human Rights, IHRL&P @ 181-183. UN General Assembly

4.7  The UN Security Council (UNSC), IHRL&P @ 183-193. UN Security Council and Bothe, Limitations on the Powers of the Security Council? The Role of Human Rights (video lecture) and Sicilianos, The European Court of Human Rights Facing the Security Council: Towards Systemic Harmonization (video lecture)

4.8  Illustrative Cases:  Latest Communications to UN Special Procedures and Replies Received (2020) and UN Human Rights Documents and DiFelice, United Nations Research (CALI lesson)

 

WEEK 3

Tu, 10/11, read, complete Course Module 5 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 5. The UN Human Rights Treaty System $CANVAS_COURSE_REFERENCE$$CANVAS_COURSE_REFERENCE$/files/folder/000Library%20Textbook%20Scans

5.1/2  Common Features of International Human Rights Treaty Bodies, IHRL&P @ 194-200. UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies and Connors, The UN Human Rights Treaty Body System (video lecture)

5.3  Reporting Procedure, IHRL&P @ 200-211. UN Human Rights Treaty Body Database and UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies Reporting Training Package

5.4  General Comments/Recommendations, IHRL&P @ 211-214. UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies General Comments

5.5  Complaints Procedures and Jurisprudence of Treaty Bodies, IHRL&P @ 214-238. UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies Complaints Procedures and Schmidt, Explaining the Human Rights Treaty-Based Complaints Procedures at the UN Level (video lecture)

5.6  Illustrative Cases:  Latest Communications to UN Treaty Bodies and Decisions Rendered (2020) and UN HCHR Universal Human Rights Index Database

 

Th, 10/13, read, complete Course Module 6A online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 6A. Regional Human Rights Treaty Systems:  Europe

6.1/2.A The Council of Europe Human Rights System (ECHR), IHRL&P @ 239-264. European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (1950) and Council of Europe (CoE ECHR) and European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and Motoc, The European Court of Human Rights and General International Law (video lecture) and Nussberger, Change and Continuity in International Human Rights Law: The Example of the European Convention of Human Rights (video lecture) and Bernhardt, The Role of the Judge in International and European Law with Special Emphasis on the European Court of Human Rights (video lecture) and Motoc, The Influence of the European Court of Human Rights on Human Rights Regimes in Central and Eastern Europe (video lecture)

6.2.B  The European Union Human Rights System (CFREU), IHRL&P @ 264-267. European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFREU) (2000) and European Union Court of Justice (ECJ) and Lambrinidis, European Union Human Rights Foreign Policy (video lecture)

Walsh, Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFREU) (2000)

Dignity

Freedoms

Equality

Solidarity

Citizens’ Rights

Justice

Read 3  Wild cards: Preamble, Article 50 CFREU, Article 51 CFREU

6.2.C  Illustrative Cases:  Latest and Pending Cases of the ECtHR (2020) and Table of Key Cases of the ECtHR (2020) and Latest Cases of the ECJ (2020)

 

WEEK 4

Tu, 10/18, read, complete Course Module 6B online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 6B. Regional Human Rights Treaty Systems:  Inter-American, Africa, Arab, Asia

6.3  The Inter-American Human Rights System, IHRL&P @ 267-280. Trindade, The Human Person and International Justice (video lecture) and American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR) (1969) and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Mandate and Rodriquez-Pinzon, the Inter-American Human Rights System: The Inter-American Commission (video lecture) and Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) and Martin, The Role and Jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (video lecture)

6.4  The African Human Rights System, IHRL&P @ 280-297. African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) (1981) and Heyns, Human Rights Law in Africa (video lecture) and African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACmHPR) and African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACtHPR) and Viljoen, The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights: An Introduction (video lecture)

6.5  The Arab Human Rights System, IHRL&P @ 41-45 & 297-298. Arab_Charter_on_Human_Rights (ArCHR) (2004) and Arab Court of Human Rights Report

6.6  Towards an Asian Human Rights System?, IHRLP @ 298-299. ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (ASEAN DHR) (2012) and ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICmHR)

6.7  Comparison of Regional Systems, IHRL&P @ 300-303. Collins & Brownfield, Regional International Organizations (CALI lesson)

6.8  Illustrative Cases:  Latest and Pending Cases of the IACtHR (2020) and Latest and Pending Cases of the ACtHPR (2020)

 

Th, 10/20, read, complete Course Module 7 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 7. Individual Complaints Procedures

7.1/2  Admissibility, IHRL&P @ 304-327. ECtHR, Admissibility (video lecture)

7.3  Merits, IHRL&P @ 327-330.

7.4  Decisions by Human Rights Treaty Bodies, IHRL&P @ 220-222 & 330-332. Ando, International Human Rights Protection and the Human Rights Committee (video lecture)

7.5  Implementation of Decisions and Judgments, IHRL&P @ 333-337. Avtonomov, The Consideration of Individual Communications by Treaty Bodies within the System of the UN (video lecture)

7.6  Additional Procedural Options, IHRL&P @ 338-344.

7.7  The Interplay between Domestic, Regional and International Proceedings, IHRL&P @ 345-349 & 408-410. Wedgwood, Human Rights Bodies: The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, The Human Rights Council and Regional Human Rights Bodies (video lecture) and Tigroudja, Universal and Regional Systems of Protection of Human Rights: Harmonization, Complementarity or Fragmentation? (video lecture)

7.8  Illustrative Case & Midterm Practice Exam: Argument in Suy Bi Gohore v.  Ivory Coast (ACtHPR 2020) and Summary of Judgment in Suy Bi Gohore v. Ivory Coast (ACtHPR 2020) and Jackson, Introduction to Human Rights Research (CALI lesson & Midterm Practice Exam)

 

WEEK 5

Tu, 10/25, read, complete Course Module 8 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 8. Civil and Political Rights

8.1  Introduction, IHRL&P @ 217-222 & 350-351. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (1966) and Buergenthal, A Brief History of International Human Rights Law (video lecture) and UN Human Rights Committee (HRCtee) and Wedgwood, The Work of the UN Human Rights Committee Enforcing the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (video lecture)

8.2  The Right to Life, IHRL&P @ 351-365. UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions

8.3  The Right to be Free from Torture and Other Ill-treatment, IHRL&P @ 224-227 & 365-380. Convention Against Torture (CAT) (1984) and UN Committee Against Torture (CtAT) and Optional Protocol (2002) and UN SubCommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT)

8.4  The Right to Liberty and Security of Person, IHRL&P @ 380-389. UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

8.5  The Right to a Fair Trial, IHRL&P @ 389-395.

8.6  Enforced Disappearances as Multiple Human Rights Violation, IHRL&P @ 395-403. Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CPED) (2006) and UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED)

8.7  Qualified Rights, with a Particular Focus on Freedom of Expression, IHRL&P @ 403-411. UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression and UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Assembly and Association and UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief

8.8  Illustrative Case:  Velasquez Rodriguez v. Honduras (IACtHR 1988)

 

Th, 10/27, read, complete Course Module 9 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 9. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

9.1/2  Brief Historical Context of ESC Rights, IHRL&P @ 412-416. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (1966) and UN Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

9.3  Progressive Realization and the Nature of State Obligation, IHRL&P @ 416-420.

9.4  Resource Implications: The Obligation to Utilize ‘Maximum Available Resources', IHRL&P @ 421-426.

9.5  Minimum Core Obligations, IHRL&P @ 426-428.

9.6  Justiciability of ESC Rights, IHRL&P @ 234-237 & 429-436. UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)

9.7  Extraterritoriality of ESC Rights, IHRL&P @ 436-437.

9.8  Indicators and Benchmarks for Measuring Compliance, IHRL&P @ 437-442.

9.9  The Right to Health, IHRL&P @ 443-447 & 893-896. UN Toolkit on the Right to Health and UN Special Rapporteur on Physical and Mental Health and Burci, International Law and Infectious Disease Control (video lecture)

9.10  The Right to Water, IHRL&P @ 447-450. UN Toolkit on the Right to Water and Sanitation

9.11  The Right to Education, IHRL&P @ 450-453. UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education

9.12  The Right to Food, IHRL&P @ 453-457. UN Toolkit on the Right to Food

9.13  Cultural Rights, IHRL&P @ 457-462. UN Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights

9. 14  Illustrative Case: Argument in Vavricka v. Czech Republic (ECtHR  1 July 2020) (Grand Chamber) and Summary of Proceedings in Vavricka v. Czech Republic (ECtHR 2020)

 

WEEK 6

Tu, 11/1, read, complete Course Module 10 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 10. Group Rights: Self-determination, Minorities and Indigenous Peoples

10.1/2  The Nature of Collective rights, IHRL&P @ 463-478.

10.3  Minorities as a Subject of Human Rights, IHRL&P @ 478-490. UN Rights of Minorities and UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues and Leidekker, The Council of Europe's Work on the Protection of Minorities (video lecture)

10.4  Indigenous Peoples: Is there a Need for Additional Protection?, IHRL&P @ 490-507. UN Rights of Indigenous Peoples and UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Wiessner, The Rights and Status of Indigenous Peoples (video lecture)

10.5  Illustrative Case:  Argument in Kalina and Lokono Peoples v. Suriname (Part II) (IACtHR 2015) and Kalina and Lokono Peoples v. Suriname (IACtHR 2015)

 

Th, 11/3, read, complete Course Module 11 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 11. The Human rights of Women

11.1/2  Normative Framework, IHRL&P @ 227-230 & 508-526. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (1979) and Optional Protocol (1999) and UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CtEDAW) and Acar, The General Framework and the Monitoring Mechanism of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (video lecture)

11.3  Conceptual Development, IHRL&P @ 526-535. Tigroudja, Elimination of Discrimination against Women (video lecture) and Charlesworth, Feminist Approaches to International Law (video lecture)

11.4  Women’s Human Rights and Domestic Contexts: ‘Honour Crimes’ in the English Legal System, IHRL&P @ 535-543.

11.5  Illustrative Cases:  Recent Jurisprudence (UN CtEDAW 2020)

 

WEEK 7

Tu, 11/8, read, complete Course Module 12 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 12. Children’s Rights

12.1/2  Childhood: A Non-static Concept, IHRL&P @ 544-546.

12.3  The Need for a Specialized Protection Regime, IHRL&P @ 547-549.

12.4  Fundamental Principles, IHRL&P @ 549-567. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (1989) and Optional Protocol I (2000) and Optional Protocol II (2000) and Optional Protocol III (2011) and UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CtRC) and Amann, Child Rights, Conflict, and International Criminal Justice (video lecture) and Waschefort, International Law and Child Soldiers (video lecture)

12.5  Children’s Right to be Free from Poverty, IHRL&P @ 567-576.

12.6  Illustrative Case: Paradiso and Campanelli v. Italy (ECtHR 2017)

 

Th, 11/10, read, complete Course Module 13 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 13. The Recognition and Protection of the Human Rights of Vulnerable Groups and Persons

13.1/2  Vulnerability and International Human Rights Law, IHRL&P @ 577-581.

13.3  Vulnerable Groups and Persons, IHRL&P @ 78-79 & 222-224 & 230-233 & 534-535 & 581-618. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) (1965) and UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and Sicilianos, The Application of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: Challenges Ahead (video lecture) and OHCHR and the Human Rights of LGBTI People and UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) (2006) and Optional Protocol (2006) and UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CtRPD) and Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) and UN High Commissioner for Refugees and ECtHR, Asylum (video lecture) and International Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and their Families (ICRMW) (1990) and UN Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) and Goodwin-Gill, Migrants' Rights (video lecture)

13.4  Illustrative Case:  Hernandez-Montiel v. INS (US 9th Cir 2000)

 

 WEEK 8

Tu, 11/15, read, complete Course Module 14 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 14. The Right to Development and Sustainable Development

14.1/2  From Human Development to Sustainable Development, IHRL&P @ 619-628.

14.3  The Right to Development (RTD), IHRLP @ 628-643. UN Human Right to Development and UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development

14.4  Global Partnerships for the Financing of Development, IHRL&P @ 643-648.

14.5  From the MDGs to the SDGs, IHRL&P @ 649-654.

14.6  Sovereign Debt and the Enjoyment of Fundamental Rights, IHRL&P @ 654-667. UN Independent Expert on the Effects of Foreign Debt

14.7  Illustrative Case:  Khosa v. Minister of Social Development (South Africa 2004)

  

Th, 11/17, read, complete Course Module 15 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 15. Victims’ Rights and Reparation

15.1/2  The Development of the Right to Reparation, IHRL&P @ 668-672.

15.3  The Right to Reparation in International Human Rights Law, IHRL&P @ 672-678. d'Argent, Reparation in Situations of Shared Responsibility (video lecture)

15.4  The Right to Reparation in International Humanitarian Law, IHRL&P @ 678-679.

15.5  The Right to Reparation in International Criminal Law, IHRL&P @ 679-681. Swart, Reparations in International Criminal Law (video lecture)

15.6  The Right to Reparation and Violations by Non-state Actors, IHRL&P @ 681-682.

15.7  The Right to Reparation for Historic Injustices and Violation, IHRL&P @ 682-683.

15.8  The Notion and Legal Significance of the Term ‘Victim’, IHRL&P @ 684.

15.9  The Procedural Right to an Effective Remedy, IHRL&P @ 685-689. Alvarez, The Human Right of Property (Part I) (video lecture) and Alvarez, The Human Right of Property (Part II) (video lecture) and Karamanian, The Right to Property under International Law (video lecture)

15.10  The Substantive Right to Reparation, IHRL&P @ 689-702.

15.11  The Double-edged Sword of Victim’s Politics, IHRL&P @ 702-705.

15.12  Negotiating, Litigating and Administering Reparations: Experiences from the Holocaust and World War II Reparations, IHRL&P @ 705-708. Sadat, The Legacy of the Nuremberg Trials: Seventy Years Later (video lecture)

15.13  Reparation in Action: Litigating Human Rights Cases, IHRL&P @ 708-717.

15.14  Illustrative Case: Loayza Tamayo v. Peru (IACtHR 1998)

 

WEEK 9                                                        

Tu, 11/22, read, complete Course Module 19 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 19. Human Rights Obligations of Non-state Actors

19.1/2  The Status of NSAs in Human Rights Law, IHRL&P @ 539-542 & 681-682 & 832-838. Clapham, Rethinking the Role of Non-State Actors under International Law (video lecture)

19.3  Multinational Corporations in the Human Rights Architecture, IHRL&P @ 838-857. UN Working Group on Transnational Business and Human Rights and Vasciannie, Human Rights Law in the Carribean (video lecture)

19.4  Human Rights Obligations of International Organizations, IHRL&P @ 857-869. Collins, Intergovernmental Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations (CALI lesson)

19.5  National Liberation Movements and Armed Rebel Groups, IHRL&P @ 869-877.

19.6  Illustrative Case:  BCB Holdings v. Belize (Carribean CJ 2013)

 

Th, 11/24:

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

WEEK 10

Tu, 11/29, read, complete Course Module 16 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 16. The Application of Human Rights in Armed Conflict

16.1/2  The Fundamental Premises of IHL, IHRL&P @ 718-723. Greenwood, Introduction to International Humanitarian Law (video lecture) and UN ODC Military/Armed Conflict Approaches to Countering Terrorism (class module)

16.3  Rights and Obligations in Humanitarian Law, IHRL&P @ 724-726. Sassoli, Introduction to International Humanitarian Law (video lecture)

16.4  Humanitarian Law as Lex Specialis to Human Rights Law, IHRL&P @ 726-728. Sassoli, International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law (video lecture)

16.5  Why Human Rights Bodies Find the Application of Humanitarian Law Problematic, IHRL&P @ 728-731. UN Office on Genocide Prevention Legal Framework of International Law on Atrocity Crimes

16.6  Human Rights in Situations of Military Occupation, IHRL&P @ 731-739. Geneva Convention IV Protecting Civilian Persons in Time of War (1949) and Protocol I on International Armed Conflicts (1977) and Protocol II on Internal Armed Conflicts (1977) and Meron, Reflections on the Prosecution of War Crimes by International Tribunals: A Historical Perspective (video lecture) and Rusinova, Human Rights in Armed Conflicts (video lecture) and Vincent, The Administrative Challenges to be Faced in Setting Up an International War Crimes Court and the Lessons Learned (video lecture)

16.7  The Relevance of the Law to Battlefield Conditions, IHRL&P @ 739-750. Geneva Convention I on Armed Forces in the Field (1949) and Geneva Convention II on Armed Forces at Sea (1949) and Geneva Convention III on Prisoners of War (1949)

16.8  Illustrative Case: Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Wall Case) (ICJ 2004) and DiFelice, Finding International Court of Justice Opinions (CALI lesson)

 

Th, 12/1, read, complete Course Module 17 online, and virtually discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 17. Human Rights and International Criminal Justice

17.1/2  Relationship between International Criminal Law and Human Rights, IHRL&P @ 751-755. UN Genocide Prevention Office Legal Framework of International Law on Atrocity Crimes

17.3  Individual Criminal Liability under International Law, IHRL&P @ 755-757. Keith, The International Court of Justice and Criminal Justice (video lecture)

17.4  The Enforcement of International Criminal Law, IHRL&P @ 757-761. International Criminal Court (ICC) and Sadat, Interpreting the Statute of the International Criminal Court (video lecture) and Song, The International Criminal Court at a Glance (video lecture) and Bensouda, The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court: Successes, Challenges and the Promise of International Criminal Justice (video lecture) and Goldstone, The Future of International Criminal Justice (video lecture)

17.5 Universal Jurisdiction, IHRL&P @ 761-765. Van den Herik, International Criminal Law and Domestic Courts (video lecture)

17.6  Peace vs. International Criminal Justice, IHRL&P @ 765-775. Bulut, Tribunals and Truth Commissions (CALI lesson)

17.7  Core International Crimes, IHRL&P @ 775-781. O'Keefe, The Concept of an 'International Crime' (video lecture) and Genocide Convention (1948) and UN Office on Genocide Prevention and Schabas, Genocide and International Law (video lecture) and Murphy, Crimes against Humanity (video lecture)

17.8  The Place of Immunities in Human Rights and International Criminal Justice, IHRL&P @ 782-784. Akande, The Immunity of State Officials from Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction (video lecture) and Greenwood, Immunities of the Head of State under International Law (video lecture) and Tladi, Immunities and the Obligation to Cooperate Under the Rome Statute (video lecture)

17.9  Illustrative Cases: The Gambia v. Myanmar (ICJ pending) and Investigation into Bangladesh/Myanmar (ICC pending)

 

WEEK 11

Tu, 12/6, read, complete Course Module 18 online, and discuss on our UW Canvas course website, and in our class:

Chapter 18. Human Rights and Counter-terrorism

18.1/2  The Legal Nature of Terrorism, IHRL&P @ 785-789. UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism

18.3  The Discussion on Underlying or Root Causes, IHRL&P @ 789-792.

18.4  The Obligation of States to Protect their Populations from Terrorism, IHRL&P @ 792-796.

18.5  Human Rights in Counter-terrorism Operations, IHRL&P @ 796-804. UN Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism

18.6  The Right to Life in Counter-terrorism Operations, IHRL&P @ 804-809. UN ODC Counter-Terrorism and Right to Life (class module and IHR Course Review) and Tladi, Use of Force in Self-Defense against Non-State Actors in International Law (video lecture)

18.7  Attempts to Justify Arbitrary Detention, IHRL&P @ 809-813. UN ODC Counter-Terrorism and Arrest and Detention (class module and IHR Course Review) and ECtHR, Terrorism (video lecture)

18.8  Unlawful Extraditions and Illegal Renditions of Suspected Terrorists, IHRL&P @ 813-821.

18.9  Legal and Other Strategies Regarding Disappeared Terrorist Suspects, IHRL&P @ 821-831.

18.10  Illustrative Case:  Finogenov v. Russia (ECtHR 2011)

Concluding Reflections

 

            End of Quarter

 

FINAL EXAM

            

            Assessment:

i) International Human Rights Course Class Modules and Canvas Quizzes (30% of final grade), required Canvas Quizzes based on the reading assignments and linked audiovisual material.   For maximum points, you must complete all Canvas Quizzes based on your assigned reading, watching, and browsing in each Class Module before you contribute to our Canvas Discussion Board by 2 pm Pacific Standard Time same day as our synchronous afternoon class.  Your Canvas Quizzes count for up to 300/1000 points.

            PLUS

ii) International Human Rights Course Required Discussion Board Posts (20% of final grade), after you have completed all your assigned reading, watching, browsing and Canvas Quizzes, you must then post your required Canvas Discussion Board virtual response to our reading assignments and linked audiovisual material, no later than 2 pm PST same day as our synchronous afternoon Zoom class.  In your minimum 100 words Canvas Discussion Board post before each synchronous afternoon Zoom class, you must virtually discuss, explain, critique, or compare the theories and practices of human rights we will cover later that day.  Your Discussion Board posts and responses count for up to 200/1000 points.

            PLUS

iii) Final Examination (50% of final grade), a 3-hour open-book final exam, two equally weighted questions, one problem and one essay, each worth up to 250/1000 points so in total up to 500/1000 points.

 

            For all registration inquiries, please contact UW law school Academic Services at mylaw@uw.edu and Professor Walsh at wawa@uw.edu . . . 

 

            Office hours:  My in-person office hours are immediately after our class every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon (5.00-5.30 pm PST), or else make an office or Zoom appointment at any other time convenient to you by texting my cell phone at (206) 321-6348.  My office in the University of Washington School of Law is Room 308, William H. Gates Hall, 4293 Memorial Way NE, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. 

                                                                                                                                                                                   WJW