Human Rights and the Digital State (LAWS90227)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Not available in 2025
About this subject
Overview
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A deep transformation of the State is underway. Fueled by digital technologies that are changing its operation, nature and power, the Digital State is emerging. More than 75 years after “barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind” triggered the development of a system of international human rights norms and institutions to protect individuals against the overwhelming power of the State, this subject considers the role that human rights law can play today to protect us from the threats posed by the Digital State. While the emphasis will be on the Digital State, this subject will also explore how the Digital State relies on, and is sometimes in direct competition with, digital corporations which have sometimes outpaced and outmaneuvered it and, in the case of Big Tech, even appear to aspire to ‘digital statehood’. Throughout this subject, we will study the response of international human rights mechanism, the human rights community and broader social justice movements to these developments and attempt to imagine not only how human rights can be protected in the digital era, but how the Digital State can play a pivotal role in enabling the realization of human rights in the 21st century.
Indicative list of principal topics:
- The key characteristics of the Digital State, its appeal and how it differs from its predecessor.
- Digital State case studies from a diverse array of countries and political systems in areas such as criminal justice, immigration, identification and social protection and their specific, contextualized, human rights risks.
- The Digital State and recurrent human rights concerns, including: access barriers, lack of transparency, lack of reason-giving, discrimination, alienation and challenges related to redress and accountability.
- The role of the private sector in designing, enabling and profiting from the Digital State and the ascendancy of Big Tech and its challenge to the State, law and human rights.
- The response to the Digital State by UN human rights mechanisms and global human rights standard-setting relevant to the Digital State.
- Litigating the Digital State and non-judicial advocacy strategies by human rights and social justice organizations and movements.
- Fulfilling human rights in the 21st century: embracing the Digital Welfare State?
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have a sophisticated understanding of the digital transformation of the State and some of the main human rights challenges posed by the Digital State.
- Have a sophisticated understanding of the legal, political and practical challenges ensuring human rights accountability in the Digital State.
- Understand how the Digital State poses a particular danger to the human rights of those individuals living in poverty or who are otherwise marginalized in society.
- Understand the relationship between the Digital State and corporations and its implications for the application of human rights norms.
- Gain insight into the increasing power of Big Tech and its apparent appeal to a form of statehood and how this could undermine the protection of human rights.
- Be aware of the workings of key UN human rights mechanisms as they relate to the debate on digital technologies and human rights.
- Be able to think strategically about judicial and non-judicial avenues for the human rights movement to promote human rights accountability in the Digital State.
- Appreciate the potential ways in which the digital transformation of the State may allow us to better protect and fulfil human rights.
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Students must meet one of the following prerequisite options:
Option 1
Admission into a Melbourne Law Masters program
Option 2
Admission into the MC-JURISD Juris Doctor
AND
One of
| Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAWS50049 | Human Rights Law and Practice | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| LAWS50041 | Public International Law |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
June (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
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: 4 March 2025
Assessment
| Description | Timing | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Option 1: Take-home examination
| 19 - 22 May 2023 | 100% |
Option 2: Research paper on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 7 June 2023 | 100% |
Attendance Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance is required. | During the teaching period | N/A |
Additional details
Note: Students must choose assessment from the options listed above. If an option contains parts, all parts must be completed if that option is chosen.
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
Not available in 2025
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a 'first in' basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of waitlisted places in subjects will be given as follows:
- To currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students with a satisfactory record in their degree
- To other students enrolling on a single subject basis, eg Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Melbourne Law School may reserve places in a subject for incoming international cohorts or where a subject is core to a specialisation with limited alternate options.
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Further information
- Texts
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
- Links to additional information
- 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.
Please note Single Subject Studies via Community Access Program is not available to student visa holders or applicants
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If subject coordinator approval is required prior to enrolment, or for further information about the pre-requisites for Community Access Program study, please contact us:
- prospective CAP student enquiries;
- existing CAP student enquiries (if you have a current Unimelb login).
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
Last updated: 4 March 2025