Where modules run over two terms as a 30 credit module, SIL students will attend and be assessed on the contents of term 1. Please note that some modules reflect this with an additional "A" in their module code, but this is not the case for all of them due to special assessment arrangements for SIL students.
All assessments are graded on a pass/fail basis.
HUMAN RIGHTS IN EUROPE I: THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS (ECHR)(LAWSG152A) Credit value: 15 credits (6 ECTS)
Assessment method for UCL Master students: 3,000 word coursework essay
Assessment method for SIL students: 3,000 word coursework essay
Module Overview
Module summary
Human rights law has acquired a central role in Europe. The Council of Europe, the main supranational human rights organisation in the region, is considered to be very effective and paradigmatic at international level, primarily because of the role of the European Court of Human Rights that monitors compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights. The European Union, which was not traditionally a human rights organisation, has started to grant human rights a much more central role than it used to. The aim of the module is to investigate both jurisdictions, looking at the substantive law and its monitoring, philosophical issues on its interpretation, as well as the politics on matters such as immigration and social rights.
This module explores the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights. It examines key areas of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, regarding a) the procedure before the European Court b) general methods of interpretation and standards of review used by the European Court of Human Rights (margin of appreciation, proportionality, balancing, autonomous concepts) c) principles and policies on core rights of the Convention (right to life, freedom of expression and right not to be tortured). Although it does not cover the case law on all the rights of the Convention, reference will be made to cases that illustrate the use of general interpretive principles.
Module syllabus
1. Introduction to the Strasbourg system
2. The monitoring system: the application process
3. General principles of interpretation: an overview
4. Intentionalism, textualism and evolutive interpretation
5. The margin of appreciation
6. Proportionality and balancing
7. Social rights and the integrated approach
8. Positive obligations
9. Freedom of expression
10. Remedies, compliance and impact on national legal systems
Recommended materials
There is no set text for the module. Various articles and book chapters will be assigned for each seminar and posted on Moodle (virtual learning environment).
Preliminary reading
P Craig, G de Burca, EU Law, OUP, 2011, 5th edition, Chapter 11
G Letsas, A Theory of Interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights, 2nd edition, OUP, 2009
R McCrea, Religion and the Public Order of the European Union, OUP, 2010
S Greer, The European Convention on Human Rights: Achievements, Problems and Prospects, Cambridge University Press, 2006
C Gearty, V Mantouvalou, Debating Social Rights, Hart, 2011
Other information: N/A
Prizes for this module: There are currently no prizes available for this module.
