| Unit name | European Human Rights Law |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0120 |
| 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 |
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. COURSE OBJECTIVES: To consider critically the central cases, principles, processes, and institutions relating to the European Convention on Human Rights within a broad inter-disciplinary framework.
SEMINAR TOPICS
1. The European Convention on Human Rights 2. Article 2, ECHR 3. Article 3, ECHR 4. Articles 5, 6 & 15, ECHR 5. Article 8, ECHR 6. Article 9, ECHR 7. Workshop 8. Article 10, ECHR 9. Article 14, ECHR 10. Beyond the ECHR 11. Revision
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.
eleven fortnightly seminars
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 ONE 3,000 word essay (33%).
• White & Ovey, Jacobs, White and Ovey: The European Convention on Human Rights, 5th edn. (Oxford University Press, 2010): provides a broad overview. • Harris, O’Boyle, Bates & Buckley, Harris, O’Boyle & Warbrick: Law of the European Convention on Human Rights, 2nd edn. (Oxford University Press, 2009). • 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). • Letsas, A Theory of Interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights (Oxford University Press, 2007). • Greer, The European Convention on Human Rights: Achievements, Problems and Prospects (Cambridge University Press, 2006). • Føllesdal et al (eds), Constituting Europe: The European Court of Human Rights in a National, European and Global Context (Cambridge University Press, 2013).
