Aix-Marseille University
2024-2025 (Fall Semester)
Course’s Title:
International Human Rights Law / Master I
Professors:
Prof. Ludovic Hennebel – AMU/ Vice-Chair of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ludovic.hennebel@univ-amu.fr)
Prof. Hélène Tigroudja – AMU/ Member of the United Nations Committee on Civil and Political Rights, Special Rapporteur on New Communications and Interim Measures (helene.tigroudja@univ-amu.fr)
Requirements:
Students need to be comfortable with English legal vocabulary and legal and political papers published in high-profile academic journals. International decisions (judgments, advisory opinions, views) are longer than (French) domestic ones. Therefore, prior knowledge of public international law/international adjudication process is an asset.
The readings are compulsory and must be done prior to the session (with direct link provided in the syllabus). Even if they are not analyzed in details during the session, they are part of the course and therefore, can be submitted to questions in the final exam.
Organization:
This course amounts 18 hours and is based on 9 sessions of 2h each.
Prof. Tigroudja will deliver lectures 1 to 4.
Prof. Hennebel will deliver lectures 5 to 9.
Language:
English
Assessment:
Written final exam: multiple choice exam / true/false items
General bibliography:
While readings for each session are indicated and compulsory, the following resource could be used as a general reference for understanding the course and digging into some of the topics that will be addressed (freely accessible online version): Ph. Alston, International Human Rights (2024)
Description:
This "International Protection of Human Rights" course focuses on major issues related to the theory and practice of international human rights law (IHRL). Adopting a comparative-based approach, the course explores the whole picture of current international law aimed at the direct protection of humankind, both individuals and groups. The course aims to critically reflect upon the evolution of IHRL. It offers an introduction to the human rights law's mechanisms, at the universal and regional levels, as well as critical analysis of issues and human rights problems such as: the prohibition of discrimination; the protection of human rights during times of emergency (such as fight against organised crime or armed conflicts); the protection of human rights in detention; the prohibition of torture and ill-treatments; the protection of the right to belief and to practice a religion; the free speech; the personal autonomy and the dignity of human beings; the protection of indigenous peoples; and business and human rights.
Sessions 1-2: The international human rights law’s mechanisms: unity and fragmentation
Historical perspective of the development of international human rights law at universal/regional levels especially from 1945 (UN Charter) and 1948 (American Declaration on Human Rights and Duties and Universal Declaration of Human Rights) and analysis of the legal coexistence of the variety of human rights treaties and mechanisms of implementation.
Readings:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
https://youtu.be/hTlrSYbCbHE
What are the universal human rights ?
https://youtu.be/nDgIVseTkuE
You can find information on these human rights bodies online:
Human Rights Committee: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CCPR/Pages/CCPRIntro.aspx [official website of the Committee]; http://www.bayefsky.com/ [academic website on the UN committees - this website publishes the jurisprudence of the committees]
European Court of Human Rights: http://www.echr.coe.int [excellent website, you can find tones of information on the Court, how it works, etc.] + http://hudoc.echr.coe.int [jurisprudence database of the Court - easy to use, complete, powerful …]
Inter-American Bodies: Inter-American Commission: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/ [not always easy to use, but this website is indeed a useful resource] - Inter-American Court: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/index.php/en [official website of the Court, with most of the documents in both Spanish and English]
African Bodies: African Court on Human and People’s Rights: http://en.african-court.org/ - African Commission: https://www.achpr.org/
Sessions 3 & 4: The legal regime of international human rights law: restriction, derogation, renunciation
These two sessions aim at providing an overview of the institutional architecture for the international and regional protection of human rights as well as some basic concepts in order to better understand the human rights legal regime.
Human rights are qualified as universal and equal but some of them may be restricted under certain circumstances (legality/legitimate aim and necessity), while others as prohibition of torture or prohibition of slavery are affirmed as absolute. Under no circumstances (war, fight against terrorism or any other emergency situation) a State has the right to derogate from absolute rights. Based on the case-law of international human rights organs, the purpose of these sessions is to explore the legal regime of the restriction of rights as freedom of speech or freedom to practice his/her religion; the conditions to derogate from rights when a State faces with a situation of emergency such as an armed conflict and the conditions to renounce/be deprived of their rights.
Readings:
- Article 15 of the European Convention of Human Rights/ Article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 27 of the American Convention on Human Rights [Documents available (in English) on the official website of the European Court: https://www.echr.coe.int/Pages/home.aspx?p=home / Inter-American Court: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/index.php/en and UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: https://www.ohchr.org/FR/Pages/Home.aspx].
- ECHR (GC), Ukraine v. Russia (Crimea). Judgment of 25 June 2024;
- Human Rights Committee. Bratsylo v. Russia (2024)
Session 5: How to deal with grave and systematic violations of human rights ?
Serious and systematic violations of human rights generally refer to particularly severe abuses and practices that radically deny human dignity. These practices, such as enforced disappearances, cases of torture, arbitrary or summary executions, slavery and trafficking in human beings, are tackled by human rights bodies and are sometimes dealt with under a particular legal regime. The session will examine some of these practices and analyse the responses given by human rights protection institutions.
Session 6: Human Rights and ethical debates
The jurisprudence of international human rights law regularly raises a series of issues and major social debates. Human rights are thus sometimes used to channel, from a legal point of view, the discussion of values. The course session aims to address the link to be established between international human rights law as a legal tool and its contribution to certain major societal issues. These include the case law on reproductive rights, the case law on certain religious issues (including the wearing of religious symbols), and the case law on personal autonomy and personal self-determination.
Session 7: Are human rights universal ?
If human rights are most often presented as universal, what kind of universalism are we talking about? Some debates oppose the universalism of human rights to relativism and particularism that would be more respectful of cultural diversity and legal pluralism. The session will aim to examine some of the facts of these major debates and will explore in particular whether human rights can be considered today as the tool of Western imperialism or even as the instrument of neo-colonialism.
Session 8: What are the challenges of human rights ?
Human rights are constantly evolving and naturally come up against societal challenges and societal changes. This last session will be devoted to the challenges of human rights, particularly in relation to the theme of business and human rights, or artificial intelligence.
Session 9: Wrap-up
The session is left open, and its content will depend on the rhythm and pace of other courses. A slot for questions and answers (Q&A) on the substance of the course and/or the final exam will be organized.
