Laws and Outlaws: Five Cases that Changed the World

• Week 1
  The gap between the idea of justice as fair play and justice under the law. What happens when the two clash in the courts—mindful of the standards set by the 1949 Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
  • Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963)
  • World Justice Project, “Rule of Law Index”
• Week 2
  R v. Dudley and Stephens (Britain, 1884). In dire circumstances, when life is at stake, can "necessity" justify killing another for survival?
  • Adam Cohen, “The 1884 cannibalism-at-sea case that still has Harvard talking,” Harvard Magazine (2025)
• Week 3
  Trial of Mahatma Gandhi (R v. M.K. Gandhi, British India, 1922). In challenging colonial rule, is the crime of sedition ("exciting disaffection") excusable when it could lead to public disorder and may turn violent?  
  • V.M. Govindu, “The great trial of 1922,” The India Forum (2022)
  • S.B. Kher, ed., “The Great Trial”, The Law and the Lawyers (1962)
• Week 4
  The Nuremberg Trials (Germany, 1945-1946). Is compliance with "superior orders," issued under the law, a defense to the charge of committing war crimes and genocide?
  • Britannica, “Nuremberg trials” (2026)
  • Marc Bassets, “The world is experiencing a new era of impunity 80 years after the Nuremberg trials,” El Pais (2025)
  • Peace Palace Library, “The Nuremberg Trials”
• Week 5
  Brown v. Board of Education (United States, 1954). Can "separate but equal" be consistent with the principle of equality in the justice system?
  • Legal Defense Fund, “Brown v. Board of Education: the case that transformed America”
  • D. Becton-Consuegra, “65 years after Brown v Board: our still-segregated schools impede equity,” PBLWorks (2019)
  • Francis Fukuyama, “The problem of American equality,” New York Times (2026)
• Week 6
  The Rivonia Trial (State v Nelson Mandela and Others, South Africa, 1963-1964). In an official system of apartheid, enforced by a minority in the social and political order, is it legitimate for courts to hold armed resistance as "terrorism?"    
  • Douglas Linder, “The Nelson Mandela (Rivonia) Trial: An Account,” Famous Trials
  • L. Findley and L. Ogbu, “South Africa: From Township to Town,” Places Journal (2011)

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

• Appreciate how across the world’s political systems, clashes between what is understood as “just” and what is legal are pervasive
• Recognize that landmark cases—particularly trials—can reshape not only local/national societies but have a global impact
• Engage with current discussions about dignity, freedom, and equality as universal markers, in the ever-present tension between law and justice

• Lectures
• Participation in class discussions
• Readings and other supplementary resources accessed through Canvas
• Reflective essay (applicable only to certificate students)

No textbook is required. We will provide all course materials online.