Content: the course is designed to provide a broad introduction to the conceptual and legal issues raised by the development of a global human rights regime. The aim is not to train “human rights experts”, but to give  the tools to help think one’s way through some of the complexities of international human rights law.

The course will focus on the internationalization of human rights, and assess how states have responded to the challenges it raises. How did an idea that was initially consigned to a few European states become the ideology of choice of the international community? How deep does the globalization of rights go? What constraints does international law impose on the diffusion of human rights? Can there be proper enforcement of international human rights norms in a world of power politics and sovereign states? How are human rights being transformed as a result of being globalized, and how is international law changing as a result of adopting human rights?

Teaching concept: to provide an immersive, student-centered, participatory, interactive teaching experience that stimulates thinking about core dilemmas of international human rights law, whether to practice in the field or simply understand its implications for other branches of the law.