Human Rights Law LLM

This module introduces students to the foundational aspects of international human rights law as well as its practice and reasoning. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of how human rights law has been developed in the universal and various regional contexts. The module’s contextual approach includes both the human rights protected and the different functions of the bodies monitoring the respective human rights treaties.

Written work on a legal topic of your choice resulting from individual research and normally based upon material falling within the area covered by the degree for which you are registered.

This module begins with a consideration of the historical origins and philosophical underpinnings of economic and social rights (ESR). Key themes that will be developed throughout the course include perceptions of the nature of such rights and the related question of the extent to which such rights are, and should be, justiciable.

You will evaluate the different ways in which ESR are protected and implemented, both domestically and internationally. The module will consider litigation and judicial enforcement of ESR in various jurisdictions.

The module will equip you with the knowledge and understanding necessary to engage in, and critically analyse, the debates surrounding ESR that exist both amongst legal commentators and at a broader societal level.

This module will examine theories of equality to understand how equality is conceptualised, protected and promoted in law. It will also examine the interaction of individuals with protected characteristics including gender, race, disability and sexuality as both victims and defendants with the criminal justice system. It will critically evaluate the discrimination and barriers to justice they experience and the extent to which law and policy effectively prevents discrimination and promotes justice for these groups. 

This module will introduce you to the law and practice related to international human rights. You will be encouraged to explore the foundations of international human rights law. The global, regional and national mechanisms of human rights protection will be introduced and evaluated.

A selection of substantive human rights will be examined and contemporary challenges to human rights protection will be discussed.

This module gives a broad-based introduction to the philosophical foundations of human rights and criminal justice, emphasising the moral and political underpinnings of legal rules, doctrines and principles. It considers key issues and questions in contemporary debates surrounding human rights and criminal justice through the contrasting lenses of two rival philosophical perspectives, utilitarianism and liberal deontology. 

Global Data Protection Law explores the obligations of data controllers and processors, the rights of data subjects, and the powers of data protection authorities across international, regional, and national data protection laws. It analyses the differences between those data protection laws and critically evaluates their effectiveness in balancing the protection of personal data with other values and interests.

An introduction to international criminal law issues, with particular emphasis on institutions (such as Nuremberg and Tokyo IMTs, the ad hoc Tribunals and the International Criminal Court) as well as substantive and procedural aspects of international criminal law.

The module focuses on the institutional developments in international criminal law as well as the definition and application of the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression. Principles of liability and defences will also be covered.

International Environmental Law is a foundations module on international environmental law (IEL). It will provide a broad overview of IEL and allow you to develop a number of research-related skills.

At the start of the course, you will study the basic principles of IEL. The next block of seminars cover some major multilateral environmental agreements, primarily concerned with pollution, climate change, and biodiversity. You will develop an in-depth knowledge of these instruments: their key mechanisms, institutional architecture, and related legal/policy frameworks.

In the final set of seminars, you will apply this knowledge by researching how contemporary and emerging issues of IEL are addressed through the law. The selected topics will cut across two or more environmental treaties and so you will develop a deep understanding about the connections between different areas of the law.

This module deals with key aspects of the international system for the regulation of foreign investment. The module focuses mainly on issues arising from investor-host state relations under Bilateral Investment Treaties or BITs but also touches upon international investment contracts. Special attention will be given to the means of regulating investment using BITs, including standards of treatment, such as fair and equitable treatment, full protection and security, national treatment and MFN, and breaches thereof, the taking of foreign property and the settlement of investment disputes by means of third party dispute settlement.

Attention will focus on the substantial and procedural aspects of international investment arbitration with specific reference to ICSID, as well as ad hoc arbitration, using UNCITRAL arbitration rules or the rules of other relevant arbitral fora.

This module looks at principles and laws governing unilateral and multilateral resort to force by states under the United Nations Charter and in customary international law. Instances where force is permissible will be considered as well as the more controversial claims to use force.

This module considers how business increasingly conducts its operations with responsibility to its stakeholders and to society at large. It examines the emergence of the business and human rights regime, which forms the basis for addressing both legal developments and voluntary initiatives across a spectrum of business and industry sectors and different types of business, operating both globally and locally.  

This module critically considers the concept of ‘fair (criminal) trial’ in theory and practice. International human rights law, particularly as it derives from Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, will naturally be central to this inquiry. But the law of human rights is neither our starting point nor our final destination. More ambitiously, this module draws on criminal justice, socio-legal, and comparative approaches and perspectives in order to place the law and practice of English and Welsh criminal trials in their broader legal, political, social, and moral contexts.

Although some points of law and practice will be treated in detail, developing an exhaustive account of English criminal trials is not the principal objective. Rather, we will use these details as examples and case-studies to illustrate methodological issues, broader themes and trends in criminal policy, and international comparisons highlighting the ways in which western democracies have attempted, successfully or otherwise, to meet the challenges of integrating human rights law into their domestic criminal trial processes.

The module aims to provide a thorough grounding in the application of international law standards to minorities and indigenous peoples. There is a strong focus on the decisions of international and European courts and international human rights bodies.

International law recognises a human right to seek asylum. Nonetheless, states are increasingly labelling asylum seekers as “illegal” immigrants and responding to asylum seekers through the criminal law. This interdisciplinary module combines international law with theoretical insights from criminology to explore state responses to asylum seekers.

The module will explore the rights of the child in international human rights law, focusing on topics such as the concepts of childhood and the best interests of the child, family rights and the right to family life, education, child soldiers, child labour, gender and the rights of the girl child.

This module aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the risks and harms that the digital environment and technologies pose to the effective exercise of human rights. The module enables students to critically reflect upon the potential, and limitations, of human rights law and reasoning to accommodate and address such risks and harms posed by technology. While doing so, students will engage with applying human rights-based and ethical approaches to technology.

This module explores this emerging field of international law, which is seeing growing prominence within international legal research, international law and policymaking. States, international organisations, NGOs and community actors are increasingly addressing the effects of disasters in terms of human rights law, refugee law, and international humanitarian law, particularly when it comes to laws regarding humanitarian assistance.  

This module examines the legal constraints of international and national warfare. It traces the historical and contextual development of the law and focuses upon the principles which govern warfare. During the module, you will also study the mechanisms for the enforcement and the implementation of international humanitarian law.

International law of the sea regulates the order of the oceans. It is one of the oldest branches of public international law and one of the most dynamic areas of law.

Topics cover: maritime boundary disputes and delimitation, exploration of hydrocarbons in contested waters, the use of marine genetic resources from maritime spaces beyond national jurisdiction, maritime terrorism, and the protection of human lives at sea.

This module studies the key characteristics of multilateral and regional trade law. The multilateral context reviews World Trade Organisation Law in light of contemporary challenges to multilateral trade, while the regional dimension considers the relationships within and between various regional blocs, and how these blocs fit into the broader multilateral trade law regime. These matters are studied in the context of the global economy, paying attention to whether the current system of international trade rules addresses the challenges presented by increasing globalisation.

This module examines some of the relationships between law and development. After examining both the notion of development per se and the right to development as a human right, the module moves on to cover a number of individual issues where the relationship between law, development and human rights can be explored.

Subjects covered include:

• the concept of development and the role of international law in promoting "development"
• the regulation of aid
• the WTO and developing countries
• intellectual property and access to medication
• the protection of traditional knowledge
• agriculture
• food aid and food security
• sustainable development
• gender and development

This module takes an interdisciplinary approach, combining philosophical, doctrinal, and socio-legal perspectives to examine the question “what conduct is a legitimate target for the criminal law?”. The first half of the course critically considers several theories of criminalisation which offer ‘in principle’ justifications for criminalising conduct. The second half examines other factors relevant to criminalisation decision-making, including: human rights, enforceability, discrimination, and politics.

Though some English and Welsh criminal offences will be examined in detail, the main objective of the module is to provide you with the critical tools with which you will be able to scrutinise the legitimacy of criminal offences in any jurisdiction.

This module examines the international institutional law and general international law governing the United Nations, including the central organs (for example the Security Council and General Assembly), subsidiary organs (such as the UNEP and the UNDP), and the specialised agencies (for example, the WHO, UNESCO, ICAO). 

It considers:

• the UN's constitutional basis
• its legal personality and powers
• membership and budgetary matters
• representation and decision making
• sanctions regimes
• the UN's military options
• issues of responsibility, accountability and immunities
• the UN's contribution to the development and enforcement of international law