Outline of the Course

Lecture 1: Introduction. The sources of international HR Law

Lecture 2: The universal system of protection. Relevant international organizations (UNO, ILO, WHO, etc). The role of HR NGOs

Lecture 3: UN charter-based protection. The role of the GA, SC, ICJ and ECOSOC. The UN HR Council and its special procedures

Lecture 4: UN Treaty-based protection. Relevant HR treaties and control mechanisms

Lecture 5: Case studies. Individual complaint procedure (ICCPR, ICERD, etc.)

Lecture 6: Regional mechanisms of HR protection. Universality and regionalism. Cultural relativism

Lecture 7: European HR organizations (OSCE, and the Council of Europe). Major human rights instruments

Lecture 8: The European Convention of Human Rights. Material and procedural standards. The genesis of the Strasbourg system

Lecture 9: European Court of Human Rights case studies

Lecture 10: The future of the European system: current problems and reforms

Course Goals / Learning Outcomes:

The participants gain a basic orientation in the complex system of international human rights protection. They understand the tasks and functioning of various universal and regional control mechanisms.

Reading List

Mandatory Reading
Christian TOMUSCHAT: Human rights: between idealism and realism, Academy of European law, European University Institut, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2003
R. St. J. MACDONALD, F. MATSCHER, H. PETZOLD (eds.): The European System for the Protection of Human Rights, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1993
Michael GEISTLINGER & Erwin KONJECIC: Public International Law at Central European Universities, Karolinum, Prague, 2000
Recommended Literature
David ROBERTSON: A dictionary of human rights, London, 2004
Walter KÄLIN, Lars MÜLLER, Judith WYTTENBACH: The face of human rights, Müller Publishers, Baden, 2004
Andrew CLAPHAM: Human rights obligations of non-state actors, Oxford University Press, 2006
Henry J. STEINER, Philip ALSTON (eds.): International Human Rights in Context, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1996
Sandra FREDMAN (ed.): Discrimination and Human Rights. The Case of Racism, Academy of European Law, European University Institute, Oxford University Press, 2001
René PROVOST: International Human Rights and Humanatarian Law, Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative law, Cambridge University Press, 2002
Gudmundur ALFREDSSON & Asbjorn EIDE: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A Common Standard of Achievement, Martinus Nijhoff Publisher, Kluwer Law International, 1999
R. BERNHARDT (ed.): Encyclopedia of Public International Law, Volume I-IV, 1992-2000