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Master of Human Rights Law (MC-HUMRLAW)
Masters (Coursework)Year: 2019 Delivered: On Campus (Parkville)
About this course
- Overview
- Entry and participation requirements
- Attributes, outcomes and skills
- Course structure
- Further study
Contact
Melbourne Law School
Currently enrolled students:
Future students:
Coordinator
Hilary Charlesworth
Coordinator
John Tobin
Overview
Award title | Master of Human Rights Law |
---|---|
Year & campus | 2019 — Parkville |
CRICOS code | 088072A |
Fees information | Subject EFTSL, level, discipline and census date |
Study level & type | Graduate Coursework |
AQF level | 9 |
Credit points | 100 credit points |
Duration | 12 months full-time or 24 months part-time |
The specialisation in human rights law offers the widest range of human rights subjects in Australia. Many world-renowned experts teach in the program, offering students exciting opportunities to examine a range of human rights instruments, institutions, theories and practices in contemporary context. The program is particularly relevant to lawyers currently working, or planning to work, in the field of human rights, as well as those with a non-law background working in development agencies and other human rights-related organisations in Australia and around the world.
Links to further information
Entry requirements
1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed:
• a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent) leading to admission to practice, at honours standard, or equivalent; or
• a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent) leading to admission to practice, or equivalent, and two years of documented relevant professional experience; or
• an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline; and two years of documented relevant professional experience; or
• an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline; and successful completion of four subjects in a cognate graduate diploma; and one year of documented relevant professional experience.
Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.
2. In assessing or ranking applications, the Selection Committee will consider:
• prior academic performance; and if necessary
• the professional experience
3. The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Academic Board rules on the use of selection instruments.
4. Applicants are required to satisfy the university’s English language requirements for graduate courses. For those applicants seeking to meet these requirements by one of the standard tests approved by the Academic Board, performance band 6.5 is required.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The Melbourne Law Masters welcomes applications from students with disabilities. The inherent academic requirements for study in the Melbourne Law Masters are:
- The ability to attend a minimum of 75% of classes and actively engage in the analysis and critique of complex materials and debate;
- The ability to read, analyse and comprehend complex written legal materials and complex interdisciplinary materials;
- The ability to clearly and independently communicate in writing a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and to critically evaluate these;
- The ability to clearly and independently communicate orally a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and critically evaluate these;
- The ability to work independently and as a part of a group;
- The ability to present orally and in writing legal analysis to a professional standard.
Students who feel their disability will inhibit them from meeting these inherent academic requirements are encouraged to contact Student Equity and Disability Support.
Intended learning outcomes
Graduates of the Master of Human Rights Law will:
- Have an advanced and integrated knowledge of international and domestic legal and institutional frameworks for the protection and promotion of human rights
- Be able to understand and critically examine the interrelationships between international, regional and domestic histories, philosophies, policies and practices of human rights law
- Be an engaged, informed and open-minded participant in debates about the contested universality of international human rights and its application in diverse domestic jurisdictions
- Be able to make a sophisticated assessment of the practical effectiveness of different mechanisms for implementing or enforcing human rights, including domestic and regional courts, specialised tribunals, national human rights institutions, human rights treaty bodies, international institutions and specialised agencies, nongovernmental organisations and international criminal courts
- Have an advanced appreciation of the relationship between law and politics, at the international and domestic levels, in the field of human rights law
- Have the cognitive and technical skills to independently examine and critically evaluate current issues by reference to international and domestic human rights standards
- Be able to analyse, interpret and assess the challenges posed to the implementation of international human rights obligations in the context of globalisation, particularly the increased threat to human rights presented by non-state actors and efforts to develop and strengthen accountability protocols and other mechanisms
- Be able to demonstrate autonomy, expert judgment and responsibility as a practitioner and advocate in the field of human rights law.
Graduate attributes
-
Advanced understanding of the changing knowledge base in the relevant area(s) of law
The specialist focus of the Melbourne Law Masters, the constant review and renewal of subjects and courses to ensure coverage of recent developments, the range and expertise of instructors from Australia and around the world, and regular advice from MLM advisory boards combine to ensure that courses and subjects reflect emerging knowledge and ideas. -
Ability to investigate, evaluate, synthesise and apply existing knowledge in the relevant area(s) with creativity and initiative
Small classes, a discussion-based environment and the emphasis on quality teaching and learning create an environment in which knowledge is exchanged, critically examined and adapted to current circumstances. -
Well-developed problem solving abilities, characterised by flexibility of approach
Most subjects approach knowledge by reference to various issues or problems. Students are required to critically analyse problems and identify and develop a range of appropriate solutions through class discussion, individual study and assessment tasks. -
Advanced competencies in legal research and analysis
Class preparation and class discussions are designed to enhance these skills, which are tested in all forms of assessment. All graduates of an LLM will have demonstrated, through subject assessment, the ability to use their research skills to plan, develop and execute substantial research-based project(s) and/or piece(s) of scholarship. -
Capacity to effectively communicate complex legal ideas and theories, orally and in writing, to a variety of audiences
Classroom discussion and formal presentations provide an opportunity to hone oral communication skills, and written assessment tasks are graded in part on written communication skills. -
Appreciation of the design, conduct and reporting of original research
Research papers and other research tasks are expected to attain a degree of creativity, originality and discovery that befits a postgraduate program of the highest quality, and students are encouraged and assisted to publish original work of a high standard in refereed journals. -
Capacity to manage competing demands on time and ability to work with a high level of autonomy and accountability
The demanding nature of graduate study requires effective time-management skills from all students and an ability to work independently and be accountable for commitment to study and output, as demonstrated through class attendance, engagement and assessment. The rigour of our programs, whether undertaken part-time or full-time, ensures that all successful graduates have enhanced time-management skills and the ability to work with relative autonomy. -
Profound respect for truth and intellectual integrity, including the ethics of scholarship
Some subjects have a substantive ethical component. All instructors have a respect for intellectual integrity and are skilled scholars or practitioners in their own right. -
Appreciation of the way in which knowledge provides a foundation for leadership
Instructors in the Melbourne Law Masters are leaders in their fields, and many subjects involve visiting academics, exposing students to a wider array of leaders in a range of legal fields. The Law School is committed to the significance of knowledge, which informs all regular programs and a wide range of additional activities. -
Capacity to value and participate in teamwork
Small class sizes and an intensive teaching format are valuable in encouraging group dynamics and teamwork. -
Understanding of the significance and value of knowledge to the wider community
Law and legal knowledge are a community resource. In some subjects, this perspective is covered explicitly by the syllabus and the manner in which issues are treated in class. In addition, our diverse student body ensures that a range of perspectives on the way law impacts on the community are identified and analysed. -
Capacity to engage with issues in contemporary society
Our programs focus on the most up-to-date legal knowledge, analysing current issues and problems through the curriculum design, classroom discussion and assessment tasks. International students are also invited to participate in extracurricular activities to aid understanding of Australian law and legal institutions. -
Advanced working skills in the use of new technology
The most advanced IT infrastructure is available to Melbourne Law Masters students in the Law Library, the Moot Court Room, classroom settings and for private study.
Course structure
Students must complete eight subjects in total. All students must complete the subject International Human Rights Law.
Students who do not have a law degree from a common law jurisdiction must complete Fundamentals of the Common Law, as well as seven subjects from the prescribed list.
Students with a law degree from a common law jurisdiction must complete at least seven subjects from the prescribed human rights law subjects and may choose an eighth subject from those available in the Master of Laws (excluding Fundamentals of the Common Law and the Minor Thesis).
Subject options
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
LAWS70382 | Business and Human Rights | May (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS90058 | Comparative Human Rights Law | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70413 | Criminal Law, Poverty and Justice | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS90018 | Development, Labour and Human Rights | July (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS90087 | Disability Human Rights Law | May (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS70386 | Environmental Rights | October (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS70025 | Equality and Discrimination at Work | August (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS70446 | International Equality Law | May (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS70217 | Fundamentals of the Common Law |
February (On Campus - Parkville)
March (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
LAWS70422 | Human Rights and Armed Conflict | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70452 | Human Rights and Climate Change | July (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS90044 | Human Rights and Economic Globalisation | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70091 | Human Rights and Terrorism | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS90045 | Human Rights and Universality | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70391 | Human Rights at Work | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70360 | Human Rights Beyond Borders | September (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS70186 | Human Rights Advocacy | August (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS70114 | Human Rights of Groups | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70171 | Human Rights, Women and Development | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70454 | Human Rights: From Morality to Law | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70264 | International Human Rights Law |
February (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
LAWS70120 | International Law and Children's Rights | October (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS70067 | International Legal Internship |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
LAWS70365 | International Migration Law | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70366 | International Refugee Law | October (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS70394 | International Refugee Law:Refugee Rights | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS90098 | Islam and Human Rights | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70367 | Law of Democracy | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70430 | Poverty, Human Rights and Development | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS90049 | Reimagining Human Rights Law | May (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS70461 | Sexual Violence and Armed Conflict | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70403 | Statehood in International Law | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70122 | Investment, Regulation and Development | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70118 | Women, War and Peacebuilding | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70453 | Human Rights and Culture | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS70451 | Health Law and Human Rights | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS90121 | Economic and Social Rights | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS90122 | Human Rights in Asia: Current Issues | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS90123 | No longer available | ||
LAWS90124 | Women, Peace and Security | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS90160 | Human Rights and Global Justice | December (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS90154 | International Law and the City | Not available in 2019 | 12.5 |
LAWS90155 | NGOs and International Development | May (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Further study
A student who completes a masters degree in the Melbourne Law Masters is eligible to apply for entry to the PhD program.
Last updated: 17 July 2021