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Human Rights and Terrorism (LAWS70091)
Graduate coursework level 7Points: 12.5Not available in 2017
Overview
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Since 11 September 2001, there has been a universal trend towards new laws and new measures against terrorism. Also, international organisations, including the United Nations, have adopted new instruments against international terrorism, including conventions, protocols and resolutions. Many of the resulting counter-terrorism measures have an impact upon the enjoyment of human rights, sometimes within the scope of permissible limitations but often also resulting in clear human rights violations. This subject addresses the international law framework for countering terrorism and provides a stock-taking and assessment of the human rights implications.
Principal topics include:
- Terrorism and international law
- Do terrorists violate human rights, and can they be held accountable?
- Which human rights are affected by counter-terrorism measures by States and how they are affected
- Is the prohibition against torture absolute?
- Treatment, detention and trial of terrorism suspects
- Freedom of expression, association and assembly
- Terrorist listing and sanctions against individuals and entities
- ‘Profiling’ as a method to identify potential terrorists
- Refugee and immigration law in the era of terrorism
- The phenomenon of ‘foreign terrorist fighters’ and legal responses to it
- The erosion of the right to privacy in the name of countering terrorism; surveillance
- Strategic approaches to preventing and combating terrorism
- Human rights after the ‘long decade’ since 9/11 of 2001
- A human rights assessment of the counter-terrorism measures of a particular country.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have an advanced and integrated understanding of the international legal framework for countering terrorism and of its impact upon human rights, including of recent developments in this field of law and practice
- Be able to critically examine, analyse, interpret and assess the operation of this legal framework
- Be an engaged participant in debate regarding emerging and contemporary issues in the field, such as terrorist listings, terrorist profiling, the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters, the use of surveillance in preventing terrorism, and the impact of counter-terrosim measures upon migration and asylum
- Have a sophisticated appreciation of the factors and processes driving the production of new international instruments to combat terrorism
- Have an advanced understanding of conducting a human rights impact analysis of counter-terrorism measures
- Have the cognitive and technical skills to generate critical and creative ideas relating to counter-terrorism measures and their impact upon the enjoyment of all categories of human rights
- Have the cognitive and technical skills to independently examine, research and analyse existing and emerging legal issues relating to the human rights compatibility of international or national counter-terrorism measures
- Have the communication skills to clearly articulate and convey complex information regarding terrorism, counter-terrorism and human rights to relevant specialist and non-specialist audiences
- Be able demonstrate autonomy, expert judgment and responsibility as a practitioner and learner in the field of the law of counter-terrorism and human rights.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Melbourne Law Masters Students: None
JD Students: None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Additional details
Take-home examination (5,000-6,000 words) (100%)
A minimum of 75% attendance is a hurdle requirement.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
Not available in 2017
Time commitment details
136-150 hours The pre-teaching period commences four weeks before the subject commencement date. From this time, students are expected to access and review the Reading Guide that will be available from the LMS subject page and the subject materials provided by the subject coordinator, which will be available from Melbourne Law School. Refer to the Reading Guide for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences.
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students. Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist printed materials will be made available free of charge from the Melbourne Law School prior to the pre-teaching period.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
- Links to additional information
law.unimelb.edu.au
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
Last updated: 3 November 2022