Human Rights Law and Practice (LAWS50049)

International human rights law is a rapidly developing specialty area of public international law, which presents legal advocates with a very particular set of theoretical and practical challenges. Among them are issues associated with the origins of rights; the purported ‘universality’ of human rights; the treatment of marginalised groups (like refugees, women, children, the elderly, indigenous peoples, sexual minorities, and people with disabilities); the challenges associated with enforcing human rights at the international, regional and domestic level; the justiciability of economic and social rights; the balancing of conflicting rights and the application of human rights law during periods of armed conflict. There is also the vexed question of how to hold private actors, especially multi-national corporations, accountable for violations of human rights.

The focus of this subject is on how international human rights law either responds to, or being developed to respond to, these challenges. It is principally concerned with the core international human rights treaties and the work of United Nations Charter institutions, particularly the Human Rights Council and its Special Procedures. The subject aims to equip students with the skills necessary to engage with the international human rights system, so that they are able make a contribution to addressing the challenges associated with the protection of international human rights in the years to come.