PART ONE: FOUNDATIONS AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

LESSON 1. Introductory concepts regarding human rights. - 1. Terminological and conceptual approaches to human rights. - 2. The State’s discretionary power regarding the treatment of its population. 3. The codification of human rights: declarations and revolutions.

LESSON 2. Historical background to the internationalisation of human rights. - 1. The minimum standard of rights for foreigners. - 3. International treaties relating to ‘odious practices’ and the protection of minorities. - 4. The system of minority protection and mandates established by the League of Nations.- 5. Intervention on humanitarian grounds.

PART TWO: THE UNIVERSAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS. THE UNITED NATIONS

LESSON 3. The internationalisation of human rights. – 1. From absence at Dumbarton Oaks to emergence in San Francisco. – 2. The incorporation and significance of human rights in the United Nations Charter. – 3. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: genesis, legal nature and legal-political significance. – 4. From promotion to international protection and international human rights law.

LESSON 4. The protection of human rights under international conventions within the United Nations. - 1. On the drafting of the International Covenants on Human Rights within the United Nations. - 2. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: recognised rights. - 3. Safeguard mechanisms. - The Human Rights Committee 4. Admissibility. 5. Fact-finding. Opinion on the merits. Publication and follow-up.

LESSON 5. Non-conventional protection of human rights within the United Nations. 1. The work of the Commission on Human Rights: strengths and weaknesses. 2. From the Commission on Human Rights to the Human Rights Council. 3. The Human Rights Council. 4. Analysis of practice.

LESSON 6. The protection of individuals in situations of threat. 1. From ‘refugee crises’ to international migration. 2. The international regulation of refugee status. 3. The right to seek territorial asylum and related concepts. 4. Analysis of practice.

LESSON 7. The link between human rights and international peace and security. -

1. The evolution of the concept of “international peace and security”. - 2. The Security Council’s characterisation of “threats to international peace and security”. - 3. Coercive military action by the United Nations for humanitarian reasons. - 4. The establishment of international tribunals by the Security Council.

PART THREE: REGIONAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN EUROPE

LESSON 8. The Council of Europe: A leading drafter of human rights treaties. – 1. General assessment of the human rights treaties adopted. – 2. The European Convention on Human Rights: the crown jewel of human rights (ECHR). – 3. On the drafting of the ECHR.- 4.- The nature of the recognised rights and freedoms.- 5.- Limits and restrictions on the enjoyment of recognised rights.- 6. Safeguard mechanisms. -7. On the European Union’s (non-)accession to the ECHR.

LESSON 9. The European Court of Human Rights. - 1. From the European Commission of Human Rights to the European Court of Human Rights. - 2. Organisation: judges and chambers. - 3. Standing to bring proceedings. - 4.- Applications by individuals: admissibility and procedure. - 5. Effects and enforcement of ECtHR judgments.

LESSON 10. Human rights and fundamental freedoms in the European Union. - 1. Introduction. - 2. The case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. - 3. The legal formalisation of the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the EU. – 4. Protected rights and established guarantees. – 5. The requirement for Member States and third countries to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. – 6. On the Statute of Citizenship of the Union.

PART FOUR: REGIONAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AROUND THE GLOBE

LESSON 11. The Inter-American system for the protection of human rights. 1. Introduction: The establishment of the system by the Organisation of American States (OAS). - 2. The American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. - 3. The American Convention on Human Rights and Additional Protocols. - 4. Other inter-American conventions on human rights.

LESSON 12. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. 1. The key body and driving force of the Inter-American system for the protection of human rights. 2. The progressive adoption of monitoring instruments. 3. Conventional protection mechanisms. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights. 4. Jurisprudential trends of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. 4. Extra-conventional protection mechanisms.

POSSIBLE SEMINARS/PRACTICAL SESSIONS:

• State policies on, regarding, or against human rights.
• The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
• The protection of human rights by the International Court of Justice of the United Nations.
• The international response to so-called ‘refugee crises’.
• Serious and systematic human rights violations through the use of armed force.
• Analysis of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. Selected cases.

 CB1, CB2, CB3, CB4. Generales: A1, A3, A4, A5.

B7, B11, B12, B13

B7, B11, B12, B13

Alston, Philip and Mégret, Frédéric (eds.), The United Nations and Human Rights: A Critical Appraisal, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2020;

Bobbio, Norberto, The Age of Rights, Polity Press, Cambridge, 1996;

Janis, Mark W., Kay, Richard S. and Bradley, Anthony W., European Human Rights Law: Text and Materials, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2008;

 Peers, Steve, Hervey, Tamara, Kenner, Jeff and Ward, Angela (eds.), The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: A Commentary, 2nd ed., Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2021

C. Villán Durán y C. Faleh Pérez, "Manual de Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos", 2016

Hathaway, James C., The Rights of Refugees under International Law, 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2021

1. Passing the exam (70%)
2. Case-laws, participation and seminars (30%)

A minimum of 4.5 in the final test is required for all other criteria to be taken into account.