Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professor Christina Cerna

LL.M Seminar 483 (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This course will examine specific issues in international human rights law drawn from the current decisions of international human rights supervisory bodies. The course will be divided into two halves. The first half of the course will consist of lectures and discussions on seven specific issues as illustrated by cases decided by international jurisdictional bodies. For example, we will examine the decisions of the International Court of Justice (Breard, LaGrand) and the Advisory Opinion of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (OC-16) on an alien’s right to consular assistance, in the context of the creation of international human rights norms and the problems arising from a multiplicity of international jurisdictions. We will examine the two decisions (Section and Grand Chamber) of the European Court of Human Rights on the Refah Partisi case as regards the compatibility of Islam and democracy in the context of the universality of human rights debate. We will examine decisions of the European Commission and Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission in an attempt to trace the changing definition of “torture” in the context of the Guantanamo detainees case. The second half of the course will be dedicated to the oral presentation of research papers and discussion of these paper topics.

Prerequisite: International Law I (or an equivalent course in Public International Law). Recommended: a basic course in human rights.