Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

How can we best protect human rights? How do we define what is a human right and what is not? We examine these questions within countries and at the international level. We will look at the courts-based approach versus systems that give politicians the final say. Students with credit for POL 339 Selected Topics in Comparative Government and Politics under the title Protecting Human Rights may not take this course for further credit.

COURSE DETAILS:

How can we best protect human rights? How do we define what is a human right and what is not? We will examine these questions at the domestic and international level, and from the perspective of constitutional law and political science. First, we will compare how different countries grapple with the trade-offs between the public interest and individual rights. We will look at the courts-based approach (e.g. in Canada and the US) and systems which give politicians the final say (e.g. the UK). We will also assess critiques of the Western human rights paradigm.

We will then move this debate to the international level: examining the impact of treaties, such as the Genocide Convention, and courts, such as the International Criminal Court. Throughout this course you will look at the big picture: is “human rights” a useful concept, and if so, which systems best protect rights? You will also examine the content of human rights law, giving you skills in interpreting legal texts and applying legal principles to individual cases. Throughout the semester, you will work on your own research project, with classes on research design and peer review of each other’s drafts.

There will be a 3 hour class once a week, plus a 1 hour tutorial once a week. Tutorials start in Week Two.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: