Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professors E. Campbell and Reynolds

J.D. Seminar 764 (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

Statelessness stems from the absence of a legal identity. Without a legal identity persons are denied civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. As a result, such individuals often face restricted access to education; limited freedom of movement; situations of prolonged detention; inability to seek formal employment; and non-access to property ownership and health care. Life for stateless persons is dehumanizing, marginalizing, and has been described as being buried alive or as legal death. This course will offer students an opportunity to gain insight into a substantial and pressing international concern, which is gaining prominence on the agenda of states, international organizations and NGOs; provide opportunities for students to reflect on the effectiveness of the human rights system, in particular by exploring the friction between the aspiration and the challenge of protecting the rights of non-nationals; and allow students to appreciate the contemporary meaning of nationality, the mechanisms of acquisition and loss of nationality, and the measures that are needed to ensure the prevention and reduction of statelessness as well as the protection of stateless persons.