International Human Rights Law (809M3)

30 credits, Level 7 (Masters)

Autumn teaching

This core module will provide you with advanced knowledge about key approaches and issues in international human rights law. It's focused on the interplay between human rights law at the domestic, regional and international levels.

We begin by assessing the development of the body of international legislation around human rights that started to form after World War II. 

You go on to reflect upon the theoretical critiques (e.g. liberal, feminist, cultural relativist) that have been addressed to the concept of rights. We will also evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of human rights institutions charged with the adjudication and implementation of human rights.

The aim of this module is to prepare you for specialist optional modules in the Spring Term, as well as for dissertation research.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 30 hours of contact time and about 270 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2023/24. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to COVID-19, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let our applicants know of material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.