Fundamental principles in the field of international and national protection of human rights. Main human rights protection mechanisms at universal and regional level. In-depth analysis of the following selected areas of protection: genocide, right to life, death penalty, prohibition of torture. Introduction to international humanitarian law of the armed conflicts and to international criminal justice.
a) I. Bantekas and L. Oette, International Human Right Law and Practice, Cambridge University Press, 2020, limited to the excerpts specified in the detailed programme for the exam available on Moodle;
b) online contents from the website of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (the relevant links are specified in the detailed programme for the exam available on Moodle);
c) Malcolm Shaw, International Law, Cambridge University Press, 2017, limited to the following parts: Chapter 6 pp. 210-220 and 255-283, Chapter 7 (in full), and Chapter 20 pp. 891-905 and 911-922;
d) S. Marks and A. Clapham, International Human Rights Lexicon, 2005, limited to the following two essays: “Death penalty” and “Torture”;
e) E. Crawford and A. Pert, International Humanitarian Law, Cambridge University Press, 2020, limited to the following parts: Chapter 1 pp. 1-7, Chapter 2 (in full), and Chapter 3 Section 3 (pp. 62-76);
f) update section edited by Prof. Bultrini and made available on Moodle immediately after the end of the course.
Learning Objectives
Theoretical and practical understanding of the main legal and political aspects of the international and national protection of human rights. Acquiring the practical capability of finding the way among the principal instruments/ mechanisms for the protection of human rights and of using them to correctly interpret current events in this field.
Acquiring basic notions of international humanitarian law of the armed conflicts and of international criminal justice, with a view to acquiring the capability of correctly putting in a legal context actual events pertaining to armed conflicts and international crimes.
Prerequisites
Very good knowledge of the English language (B.2 recommended).
Students are strongly advised to take this course after the international law course or at least to attend the two courses in parallel. In any case, basic notions of international law, especially with regard to the sources of international law, are indispensable in order to fully understand the contents of a course on human rights and armed conflicts.
Teaching Methods
Frontal although partly interactive lectures.
Type of Assessment
The exam is written and will consist of 3 open questions and 10 multiple-choice questions. Open questions are aimed at verifying the student's ability to explain, in a sufficiently precise and complete manner, the most important concepts from the subject matter, that are highlighted and dealt with during the course. Conceptual and where appropriate terminological accuracy is a key aspect of the assessment at the exam. The examination method is explained in details in a dedicated note available on the e-platform Moodle.
Course program
i. Basic notions of international law
ii. The right to self-determination
iii. Genesis of the international protection of human rights
iv. Introduction to the protection of human rights
v. The United Nations protection system
vi. Effectiveness of the United Nations protection mechanisms and more general remarks in this area
vii. Regional protection systems (including the European Union)
viii. Territorial reach of human rights obligations
iv. Selected thematic areas: genocide, right to life, death penalty, prohibition of torture
x. Introduction to international humanitarian law of the armed conflicts: purpose and basic notions
xi. Introduction to international criminal justice
xii. General conclusions: the issue of universality of human rights and future prospects