Kurzus nemzetközi vendég- és részidős hallgatóknak

Kar

Társadalomtudományi Kar

Szervezet

TÁTK Nemzetközi és Európai Tanulmányok Tanszék

Kód

IRB112

Cím

Human Rights seminar

Tervezett félév

Tavaszi

Meghirdetve

2024/25/2

ECTS

5

Nyelv

en

Oktatás célja

General description of the course The course discusses socialization, history and foundational theories of human rights and their main criticisms, and the justifications for limitations by analyzing academic essays and actual judicial cases. The goal of the course is to familiarize students with basic concepts of human rights, the origins, the fundamental debates, theoretical approaches, together with the practice of interpreting and balancing rights and decide moral dilemmas. We read and discuss academic and polemic texts as well as legal texts and cases, identify and form opinions based on the readings. The following schedule includes all the mandatory and recommended readings as well as the list of assignments. Readings are available online or uploaded to Coospace. Expected outcome The syllabus is designed in a way to develop some specific skills of the students. By the end of the course to students are expected: to be able to find, to understand and to analyze primary and secondary sources about human rights: primary sources include judicial decisions, opinions and recommendations of domestic and international human rights protection mechanisms etc., secondary sources include academic literature and shorter pieces written by human rights experts; to be familiar with the basic terminology of human rights law; to understand the most important concepts of human rights law; to have a clear image about the structure of the domestic and the international human rights protection system; to be able to communicate their ideas about human rights both orally and in non-verbal forms based on previous independent and semi-guided research.

Tantárgy tartalma

Class 1 - What are human rights? The term ‘human rights’ is ubiquitous. It is used by legal scholars, practicing lawyers, political philosophers, advocacy groups, political talking heads and so on. Do they all talk about the same thing when they discuss human rights? Is ‘human rights’ a legal concept, a moral category or a rhetorical tool? What makes a right a human right? Mandatory reading for class 1: Andrew Clapham: Looking at Rights, in Human Rights. A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2007) p. 1-22 Recommended readings for class 1: András Sajó – Renáta Uitz: Rights, in The Constitution of Freedom (Oxford University Press, 2017) Aryeh Neier: What are Rights?, in The International Human Rights Movement. A History (Princeton University Press, 2012), p. 57-92. Guglielmo Verdirame: Human Rights in Political and Legal Theory, in Scott Sheeran – Sir Nigel Rodley (eds.) Routledge Handbook of International Human Rights Law (Routledge, 2013), p. 25-47. M. Christian Green - John Witte: Religion, in Dinah Shelton (ed.) Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2013), p. 9-31 Siegfried Van Duffel: Moral philosophy, in Dinah Shelton (ed.) Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2013), p. 32-53. Assignment: In-class discussion Is it morally, politically, and legally justifiable to grant certain privileges to minority groups (positive discrimination / affirmative action) who have been victims of discrimination if a past history of discrimination results in current stereotyping and / or discriminative practices? If so, under what circumstances? Please, watch the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUhReMT5uqA&list=RDCMUCLv7Gzc3VTO6ggFlXY0sOyw&start_radio=1&t=169 Please consult other freely available but reliable sources about this topic and collect information to substantiate your argument.   Class 2 – History of human rights law There is so much talk about human rights treaties, human rights organizations, human rights movements etc. that we take the importance of human rights for granted. However, in the history of humankind the emergence and proliferation of the idea that humans are born with legally enforceable rights and these rights require protection by institutionalized mechanisms is a very recent idea. Human rights law did not appear out of thin air; every element added to the system of human rights was a reaction to specific historical events. What historical events shaped the evolution of human rights law and what are the milestones of this development? Mandatory readings for class 2 Eric A. Posner: The History of International Human Rights Law, in The Twilight of Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2014) p. 9-27 Recommended readings for class 2 Wiktor Osiatynski: The Historical development of Human Rights, in Scott Sheeran – Sir Nigel Rodley (eds.) Routledge Handbook of International Human Rights Law (Routledge, 2013), p. 9-23 Andrew Clapham: The Historical Development of International Human Rights, in Human Rights. A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2007) p. 23-56 Michael O’boyle - Michelle Lafferty: General Principles and Constitutions as Sources of Human Rights Law, in Dinah Shelton (ed.) Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2013), p. 194-222 Gerd Oberleitner: Humanitarian Law as a Source of Human Rights Law, in Dinah Shelton (ed.) Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2013), p. 275-294 Janelle M Diller: Social Justice, Rights, and Labour, in Dinah Shelton (ed.) Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2013), p. 295-324. Péter Kovács: The Protection of Minorities under the Auspices of the League of Nations, in Dinah Shelton (ed.) Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2013), p. 325-342. Assignment: In-class discussion Human rights have a dominant position in contemporary political and legal discourse. This fact is often portrayed as the culmination of a long tradition. However, Samuel Moyn challenges this narrative and argues that human rights in their current form are the products of much more recent political events. Watch the following video and make a list of all the reasons why Prof. Moyn thinks that the mainstream narrative of the history of human rights is mistaken. Do you agree with this criticism? The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqtFJZB27M8   Classes 3 and 4 – The subject(s) of (human) rights Who exactly have human rights? The answer may seem obvious at first sight: humans. However, it is enough to take a quick glance at the historical evolution of human rights to see that responding to this basic question is actually not that easy. When the first solemn declarations of rights were born many people were not regarded as human beings. There were times when citizenship was a necessary precondition to have fundamental rights. Nowadays it is not unusual to find provisions in constitutional charters and international documents regulating not only individual rights but also group rights and even the rights of whole generations. The advancement of artificial intelligence poses a pressing need to reconsider what we mean by the concept of human being. Can we extend the category of human rights in order to protect nature? Mandatory readings for class 3 United State Supreme Court, Dred Scott v Sandford, 60 US 393 (1857), read the following excerpt: https://billofrightsinstitute.org/e-lessons/dred-scott-v-sanford-1857-excerpts-from-majority-and-dissenting-opinions Please read both the majority opinion written by Justice Taney and the dissenting opinion written by Justice Curtis. Hannah Arendt: The Decline of the Nation-State and the End of the Rights of Man, in The Origins of Totalitarianism (Hancourt Brace and Co., 1973) page 290-302. Recommended readings for class 3: Linda Bosniak: Persons and Citizens in Constitutional Thought, International Journal of Constitutional Law, Vol. 8, No. 1 (2010) Malcolm N. Shaw: The Subjects of International Law, in International Law, Sixth ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2008) p. 195-264. Assignment for class 3: In-class discussion Please consult freely available but reliable sources about the Dred Scott v. Sandford case. Collect information and prepare arguments to answer the following questions: On what do Justice Taney and Justice Curtis disagree? How does Taney’s position commit a great injustice against African Americans? What does he say to try to justify this injustice? In what ways can bad rulings, like the Dred Scott case, negatively impact society? Watch the following video: Migrants and Refugees: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umqvYhb3wf4&t=1s Can you think of any other example of contemporary forms of dehumanization (denial of full humanness in others)?  - O - Mandatory readings for class 4 Francisca Pou Giménez: The Rights of Rivers and Forests and Apex Court Dynamics in Colombia: On Natural and Institutional Environments, ICONnect blog, 13 June 2018, available at: http://www.iconnectblog.com/2018/06/the-rights-of-rivers-and-forests-and-apex-court-dynamics-in-colombia-on-natural-and-institutional-environments-i-connect-column/#_edn2 Saskia Stucki – Juan C. Herrera: Habea(r)s Corpus: Some Thoughts on the Role of Habeas Corpus in the Evolution of Animal Rights, ICONnect blog, 4 November 2017, available at http://www.iconnectblog.com/2017/11/habears-corpus-some-thoughts-on-the-role-of-habeas-corpus-in-the-evolution-of-animal-rights/ John Frank Weaver: What Exactly Does It Mean to Give a Robot Citizenship?, Slate, 6 November 2017, https://slate.com/technology/2017/11/what-rights-does-a-robot-get-with-citizenship.html Recommended readings for class 4 Judit Sándor: Bioethics and Basic Rights: Persons, Humans, and Boundaries of Life, in Michel Rosenfeld – András Sajó (eds.) Oxford Handbook of Comparative Constitutional Law (Oxford University Press, 2012) Karen Hulme: International Environmental and Human Rights, in Scott Sheeran – Sir Nigel Rodley (eds.) Routledge Handbook of International Human Rights Law (Routledge, 2013), p. 109-125 Assignment for class 4: group work and in-class discussion Form 3 groups by the end of class 3. Each group is required to do some background research on specific topics and make a list of the most serious challenges, the most innovative ideas and the most interesting recent developments concerning human rights. Students are not required to hold a presentation, but they are expected to be able to summarize their findings and to generate discussion in class. Group A – Protection of the rights of animals and human rights Group B – Environmental protection and human rights Group C – Artificial intelligence and human rights Please consult freely available online materials. Online news portals and magazines can be useful sources of information. However, particularly reliable materials include: documents issued by international organizations (e.g. United Nations, Council of Europe, European Union etc.), reports written by international human rights NGOs (see e.g. https://www.humanrightscareers.com/magazine/international-human-rights-organizations/), short articles published on human rights blog pages, e.g. Oxford Human Rights Hub (https://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/), Verfassungsblog (https://verfassungsblog.de),  ICONnect blog (http://www.iconnectblog.com/), Constitutionnet (https://constitutionnet.org/) and so on.   Class 5 – Civic duties The human rights regime is based on the premise that people are born with certain inalienable rights. But do they also have some natural duties toward the state or the society? Constitutional charters and even international documents often oblige persons to serve in the military, to pay taxes, to go to school and so on. Where do these duties come from? What is their legal foundation? How duties are related to human rights? Mandatory reading: Giuseppe Franco Ferrari: Duties, Bocconi Legal Studies Research Paper No. 3123820, 2015 Recommended readings: Ben Saul: In the Shadow of Human Rights. Human Duties, Obligations, and Responsibilities, Columbia Human Rights Law Review, vol. 32, no. 3 (2001) Eric R. Boot: Human Duties and the Limits of Human Rights Discourse (Springer, 2017) Makau Wa Mutua: The Banjul Charter and the African Cultural Fingerprint. An Evaluation of the Language of Duties, Virginia Journal of International Law, vol. 35, no. 2 (1995) Assignment: in-class discussion Please, watch the following video and make a list of all the justifications of compulsory voting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-w5fKfIYp4 Do you think that voting should be made mandatory? Do you know of any country in which citizens are legally obliged to vote?   Class 6 – Negative and Positive Rights Traditionally we make a distinction between two large categories of human rights depending on their structure. While negative rights (such as freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, prohibition of torture and so on) prohibit the state from interfering with the liberty of persons, positive rights (e.g. right to social benefits, right to housing) require active contribution from the state. This distinction is commonly used as a justification for the weak enforcement of positive rights on the grounds that the budget of the state is limited, and the political branches have a wide discretion to decide on the adequate allocation of financial resources. Is this categorical distinction correct? Is it true that negative and positive rights are fundamentally different? Does the underenforcement of positive rights constitute an insurmountable difficulty? Mandatory readings: Andrew Clapham: Food, Education, Health, Housing and Work, in Human Rights. A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2007) p. 119-142. Please, read at least one of the following materials: Csaba Győry: Fighting Prison Overcrowding with Penal Populism – First Victim: the Rule of Law: New Hungarian Law “Suspends” the Execution of Final Court Rulings, VerfBlog, 2020/3/12, available at: https://verfassungsblog.de/fighting-prison-overcrowding-with-penal-populism-first-victim-the-rule-of-law/ Indian Supreme Court, Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation (1986 AIR 180). Read only the following short summary: https://www.escr-net.org/caselaw/2006/olga-tellis-ors-v-bombay-municipal-council-1985-2-supp-scr-51 Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, 1 BvL 1/09 (Hartz IV case). Read only the following short summary: https://www.escr-net.org/caselaw/2020/hartz-iv-gfcc-judgment-first-senate-09-february-2010-1-bvl-109-1-bvl-309-1-bvl-409 Recommended readings: Cécile Fabre: Social Rights in European Constitutions, in Gráinne de Búrca – Bruno de Witte (eds.) Social Rights in Europe (Oxford University Press, 2005) Keith D. Ewing: Economic Rights, in Michel Rosenfeld – András Sajó (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Constitutional Law (Oxford University Press, 2012) Jeff King: Constitutions as Mission Statements, in Denis J. Galligan – Mila Versteeg (eds.): Social and Political Foundations of Constitutions (Cambridge University Press, 2013) Wiktor Osiatynski: Rights and Needs, in Human Rights and Their Limits (Cambridge University Press, 2009) p. 105-143. Assignment: Semi-structured in-class debate The right to housing should be qualified as a human right. This statement will be central topic of the debate. Students will be assigned two different roles randomly. Some of them will be asked to support this statement, the others will have to challenge it. Students do not need to collaborate to get prepared for the discussion. They will have 10 minutes to collect their thoughts and come up with a couple of good arguments individually. No prior research is required. Every student is expected to participate in the debate, but no student can speak more than three times.   Class 5 – Human rights movements The effective protection of human rights is often associated with official instruments (such as constitutional bill of rights or human rights treaties) and formalized mechanisms (e.g. constitutional court or international human rights courts). Nevertheless, social movements fighting for the recognition of rights preceded the legal forms of human rights protection and they still play an important role even nowadays. Mandator reading: There is no mandatory reading for this class. Recommended readings: Aryeh Neier: The Worldwide Movement, in The International Human Rights Movement. A History (Princeton University Press, 2012), p. 233-257. Neil Stammers: Social Movements and the Social Construction of Human Rights, Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 21, No. 4 (1999) Jenny S Martinez: The Anti-Slavery Movement and the Rise of International Non-Governmental Organizations, in Dinah Shelton (ed.) Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2013) Assignment: In-class group presentation Form three groups by the end of class 4. Each group is required to find an example of a social movement which significantly contributed to the protection of human rights. Make a visual presentation (PPT, Prezi, explainer video etc.) and submit it at least 2 days before class. Be prepared to summarize your presentation in class in approximately 10-15 minutes.   Class 6 – Human rights litigation Ordinary courts and constitutional courts have an important role of the effective protection of human rights. However, judges usually cannot initiate their own proceedings. It is the task of individual lawyers, law firms, human rights NGOs and sometimes even corporations to find the right clients and to bring carefully selected cases to court to provoke structural changes in society. This is called strategic litigation. Mandatory reading: The brief history of the Brown v Board of Education case (desegregation) litigated before the US Supreme Court, https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/history-brown-v-board-education-re-enactment The role of the NAACP and Thurgood Marshall in the litigation of the Brown case: https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/justice-thurgood-marshall-profile-brown-v-board Thurgood Marshall's Closing Statement before the US Supreme Court (dramatization!), https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/osi04.soc.ush.civil.marshallsj/simple-justice-5-marshalls-closing-statement/ A court judgment to be specified later. Recommended readings: Steven A. Boutcher – Holly J. McCammon: Social Movements and Litigation, in David A. Snow - Sarah A. Soule - Hanspeter Kriesi - Holly J. McCammon (eds.) The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Social Movements, 2nd ed. (Wiley Blackwell, 2019) p. 306-321. Gerald N. Rosenberg: The Hollow Hope. Can Courts Bring About Social Change? (University of Chicago Press, 1993) Tom Ginsburg – Mila Versteeg: Why Do Countries Adopt Constitutional Review? Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization, Vol 30., No. 3 (2014) Helen Duffy: Strategic Human Rights Litigation: Understanding and Maximising Impact (Hart, 2018) You can also find many short articles about specific human rights cases on the website of OpenGlobalRights: https://www.openglobalrights.org/strategies/strategic-litigation/ In-class activity A human rights lawyer will join us to talk about an important case that (s)he personally or his/her organization litigated before a domestic or international court. Students will be required to read the court judgment that will be specified later.   Class 7 – National Human Rights Institutions Despite the ever-growing body of international human rights law, it is primarily the responsibility of the states to protect and enforce the rights of their own peoples. Ordinary courts and constitutional courts have a significant role in this domain as it was discussed in Class 6. But what other types of instruments and mechanisms can be put in place to achieve the effective protection of human rights on the national level? Mandatory reading EU Agency for Fundamental Rights: Strong and Effective National Human Rights Institutions. Challenges, Promising Practices and Opportunities, 2020, available at: https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2020-strong-effective-nhris_en.pdf Read only the following parts of the document: What are human rights institutions? p. 5-7 NHRIS in the EU – Diversity and Developments, p. 27-32, 34-37 Challenges for NHRIS – Moving from Establishment to Impact, p. 42-65 Recommended reading Thomas Pegram: Diffusion Across Political Systems: The Global Spread of national Human Rights Institutions, Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 3 (2010) Assignment: in-class individual presentation Find a NHRI in your own country or in any other country of the world that you find interesting for some reason. Get prepared to present briefly (maximum 5 minutes) the NHRI of your choice by focusing on the following questions: What competences does it have? Who has the right to initiate its proceedings? What types of decision can it make? Are these decisions mandatory? Do you think its independence from the political branches is guaranteed? Do you think it is an effective human rights protection mechanism?   Class 8 – International human rights instruments and institutions When the national institutions fail, international organizations offer subsidiary protection of human rights. We could a witness a boom human rights treaties and organizations after the Second World War and the body of human rights law has been growing ever since. What are the sources of international human rights law and what mechanisms exist to enforce the law? Mandatory reading: Eric A. Posner:  The Law and Institutions of Human Rights, in The Twilight of Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2014), p. 28-58. Recommended readings Aryeh Neier: International Human Rights Law, in The International Human Rights Movement. A History (Princeton University Press, 2012), p. 93-116. Christof Heyns – Magnus Killander: Universality and the Growth of Regional Systems, in Dinah Shelton (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2013) Jo Pasqualucci: Americas, in Daniel Moeckli – Santeega Shah – Sandesh Sivakumaran (eds.) International Human Rights Law, 2nd edition (Oxford University Press, 2010), p. 398-415 Steven Greer: Europe, in Daniel Moeckli – Santeega Shah – Sandesh Sivakumaran (eds.) International Human Rights Law, 2nd edition (Oxford University Press, 2010), p. 416-439 Christof Heyns – Magnus Killander: Africa, in Daniel Moeckli – Santeega Shah – Sandesh Sivakumaran (eds.) International Human Rights Law, 2nd edition (Oxford University Press, 2010), p. 441-457 Assignment: in-class group presentation Form three groups by the end of Class 3. Each group will have to present in-class one regional human rights regime: Group A – Organization of American States (http://www.oas.org/en/) Group B – Council of Europe (https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal) Group C – African Union (https://au.int/) Students should focus on the following main questions: What are the most important human rights treaties adopted under the aegis of that regional organization? What are the main bodies of the organization charged with the task of monitoring the Member States’ compliance with the treaties? What are the most significant shortcomings of these organizations in terms of human rights protection and what challenges do they face? Students are required to consult the webpages of the regional organizations and they are strongly encouraged to read at least those recommended readings which are directly relevant to their topic. Each group will have approximately 15-20 minutes to hold a presentation.   Class 9 – Does Human Rights Law Work? The adoption and the ratification of human rights treaties are important but not sufficient to ensure the effective protection of human rights. Effectiveness depends on the states’ willingness to comply with human rights standards, on the existence of mechanisms capable of detecting human rights violations and enforcing the states’ obligations and on many other factors. Does the continuous growth of the body of international human rights law imply the increase of the level of protection? Why do countries join international human rights organizations and why do they ratify human rights treaties? Do they actually respect their treaty obligations and what happens if not? What impact can law exercise in practice on the level of human rights protection? Mandatory reading: There is no mandatory reading for this class. Recommended readings Dinah Shelton: Enforcement and Remedies, in Scott Sheeran – Sir Nigel Rodley (eds.) Routledge Handbook of International Human Rights Law (Routledge, 2013), p. 663-681. Eric A. Posner: The Twilight of Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2014), p. 59-122. Aryeh Neier: Accountability, in The International Human Rights Movement. A History (Princeton University Press, 2012), p. 258-284. Eric Neumayer: Do International Human Rights Treaties Improve Respect for Human Rights?, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 49, No. 6 (2005) James R. Hollyer – B. Peter Rosendorff: Do Human Rights Agreements Prolong the Tenure of Autocratic Ratifiers?, Journal of International Law and Politics, Vol. 44, Issue 3 (2012) Samuel Moyn: Not Enough. Human Rights in an Unequal World (Cambridge University Press, 2018 Assignment: in-class discussion Please watch the following video: Eric Posner, Twilight of Human Rights Law:           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd9vuHSNFyA&t=221s Please answer the following questions based on the video and your own opinion: What are the reasons why countries join international organizations and ratify human rights treaties other than a genuine commitment to human rights protection? Do you think that international human rights law improved the protection of human rights worldwide in the last few decades? What solutions can you imagine to better ensure the states’ compliance with human rights standards? Please consult the following two websites: The ratification of certain UN human rights treaties by countries: https://indicators.ohchr.org/ Universal Human Rights Index: https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/search-human-rights-recommendations Please answer the following questions: What is the correlation between the number of UN human rights treaties ratified by a state and its human rights index? Did you find any surprising example? What factors can have an impact on the level of human rights protection other than international human rights organizations and treaties?   Class 10 – Universalism vs Relativism Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” The recognition of every human being as the subject of certain inalienable rights is arguably one of the most remarkable developments in history. However, this universal understanding of human rights has faced serious challenges. Developed countries and international organizations are often accused of imposing a particular “Western interpretation” of human rights on the countries of the Global South which is regarded as a sort of oppression or colonialization. At the same time, human rights activists keep calling for international intervention to stop human rights abuses in developing countries. Are human rights truly universal? Should countries with different cultural backgrounds be allowed to interpret human rights differently? Where is the line between a cultural relativism and the justification of human rights abuses? What is the responsibility, if any, of Western countries and international human rights organizations? Mandatory materials: Watch the following short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X760IHr_67g Antony Anghie: International Human Rights Law and a Developing World Perspective, in Scott Sheeran – Sir Nigel Rodley (eds.) Routledge Handbook of International Human Rights Law (Routledge, 2013), p. 109-125 Recommended readings Wiktor Osiatynski: Rights and Cultures, in Human Rights and Their Limits (Cambridge University Press, 2009) p. 144-186. Makau Mutua: Savages, Victims and Saviors. The Metaphor of Human Rights, Harvard International Law Journal, Vol. 42, No. 1 (2001) Mashood A. Baderin: Human Rights and Islamic Law, in International Human Rights and Islamic Law (Oxford University Press, 2005) Assignment: Reflection paper Watch the following short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orJtBuC7Uiw&t=29s Keep in mind that this video is an excerpt from an American comedy which was intended to be provocative. Please write a short reflection paper on the following statement: Those countries which do not prohibit female genital mutilation should be held responsible for the violation of human rights. In your paper, please address the following questions: Is female genital mutilation can be justified in certain countries on the grounds of cultural traditions? Is it the responsibility of the state to stop a cultural tradition if it amounts to the violation of human rights? What kind of enforcement mechanisms may be adequate to stop female genital mutilation if a state is unwilling to act? What is the role of the Western states in suppressing cultural traditions that are incompatible with human rights standards? The paper should not be longer than 5 pages, TNR 12, double space, normal margins. The rules of academic honesty apply. Papers shall be submitted at least 2 days before Class 10.

Számonkérés és értékelés

Requirements Students are expected to come to class prepared. The syllabus is built on the active participation of students which requires adequate preparation before class. The different types of assignments correspond to the expected outcomes of the course listed above. Reading assignments: All students are required to read the mandatory readings and they are strongly encouraged to read the recommended materials. The mandatory readings include primary and secondary sources. Students are expected to dedicate enough time to the careful reading of these materials to fully understand not only the vocabulary but also the meaning of the text. This applies to other types of materials indicated in the syllabus (e.g. videos) as well. Participation: Active in-class participation is required. Students are expected to be proactive and to contribute to in-class discussions. In some cases, students will be asked to work in groups before class and to prepare a presentation or to get prepared to a semi-structured in-class debate. Students can skip classes in accordance with the Academic Regulation for Students. Classes, where students are assigned to hold a presentation cannot be missed. Written assignment: Students are required to submit a maximum 5-page long reflection paper for Class 10 (group exercise related to the in-class simulation). Evaluation 1) Active participation: in-class discussions, individual presentations, groups works and semi-structured in-class debates. Every student is required to actively participate in the discussions. To enhance in-class discussions and active participation several alternative forms of participation will be provided e.g. group works and semi-structured in-class debates. The alternative forms of participation will correspond to specific assignments explicitly indicated in the syllabus. The evaluation will take into account on the one hand, how prepared students are and how solid their knowledge is, and on the other, the originality of their ideas and their critical thinking. In case of group works students will be evaluated collectively as a group, i.e. every member of the group will get the same evaluation. 2) Written assignment Students are required to submit a maximum 5-page long reflection paper for Class 10. The evaluation will take into consideration: whether the paper is well-structured, whether it is based on previous independent and semi-guided research, whether it uses the primary and secondary sources (including the mandatory and the recommended readings) indicated in the syllabus, whether the students use the relevant concepts of human rights law correctly, whether the text is comprehensible, whether the students’ ideas are communicated clearly, whether the text contains original ideas and proves the students’ ability to think critically. Course evaluation: Participation in discussions: 40 % Group work: 40 % Reflection paper: 20 % Issues other than those discussed in the syllabus are regulated by the Academic Regulation for Students.

Irodalomjegyzék

List of readings are uploaded to the coospace scene.

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