Unit information: Human Rights Law in 2013/14

Unit name	Human Rights Law
Unit code	LAWDM0014
Credit points	30
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Professor. Greer
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	University of Bristol Law School
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This unit considers the central ideas, processes and institutions under the European Convention on Human Rights within a broad historical, sociological, political and philosophical framework. In most seminars, issues of conventional law and basic values will hold equal sway. The subject is treated as a series of interlocking debates about fundamental moral and political questions - and their legal ramifications - rather than as a system of rules devoid of context. Issues covered include liberty, privacy, right to life, torture, freedom of expression, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the Human Rights Act 1998.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit, a successful student will be able to explain:

a) the purpose and overall design of the ECHR; b) the role of the European Court of Human Rights; c) key decisions of the ECtHR

Students should also be able to critically appraise the judgments of the ECtHR in relation to wider debates about issues related to core ECHR rights, eg abortion, terrorism, discrimination, and to come to provisional, reasoned conclusions about how they might best be understood and the problems they present resolved.

This unit is also intended to improve the following benchmark skills – critical analysis of legal texts, judicial opinions, and written argumentation.

Teaching Information

Eleven fortnightly 2 hour seminars.

Assessment Information

One three-hour closed book examination in May/June, in which students answer 3 questions from a choice of 7 or 8 questions (67%) plus 3,000 woord essay (33%).

Reading and References

Textbooks:

• Harris, O’Boyle, Bates & Buckley, Harris, O’Boyle & Warbrick: Law of the European Convention on Human Rights, 2nd edn. (Oxford University Press, 2009) is the most thorough.

• White & Ovey, Jacobs, White and Ovey: The European Convention on Human Rights, 5th edn. (Oxford University Press, 2010) provides a broader overview.

Critical commentaries etc:

• J. Christoffersen & M. Madsen (eds), The European Court of Human Rights Between Law and Politics (Oxford University Press, 2011)

• E. Bates, The Evolution of the European Convention on Human Rights: From its Inception to the Creation of a Permanent Court of Human Rights (Oxford University Press, 2010).

• G. Letsas, A Theory of Interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights (Oxford University Press, 2007).

• S. Greer, The European Convention on Human Rights: Achievements, Problems and Prospects (Cambridge University Press, 2006).

Collections of cases and materials:

• Janis, Kay & Bradley, European Human Rights Law: Text and Materials 3rd edn. (Oxford University Press, 2008)
• Mowbray, Cases and Materials on the European Convention on Human Rights, 2nd edn. (Oxford University Press, 2007), 3rd edn. due February 2012.

Collections of documents:

• Ghandhi, International Human Rights Documents, (7th edn., 2010).

• Brownlie & Goodwin-Gil, Basic Documents on Human Rights (6th edn, 2010).

• Smith, Core Documents on European and International Human Rights (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010).

Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights can be found (unbound) in the Wills Library at KC 29 and (bound) in the European Human Rights Reports (EHRR) at KC 29.E8. Decisions of the European Commission of Human Rights can be found in Decisions and Reports (D&R) KC 30 and in the Yearbook KC1.E7. Judgments of the Court and decisions of the Commission, plus indexes to the case law and thematic fact sheets, can also be found on the Court’s HUDOC database: http://www.echr.coe.int/ECHR/EN/hudoc.