International Human Rights Law and Practice

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Ten week evening course - CPD accredited

6 October - 8 December 2008

In today’s legal, policy and business worlds, international human rights law affects the way all of us work, either explicitly or implicitly. A knowledge of international human rights standards is increasingly required. Therefore those involved in the legal professions – whether as barristers, solicitors, employed lawyers or judges – and those involved in government, public policy and business, need to have a solid understanding of the breadth and depth of human rights principles. So too do increasing numbers of those involved in NGOs and in civil society work generally.

International human rights law is a subject that barely featured on university curricula just a few years ago, and it remains hard to find guidance on the subject that is easily accessible, clear, authoritative and up-to-date. No other course in the UK offers the range of expertise and depth of understanding of human rights law that will be available on this programme. The course will provide an indispensable guide to this new and burgeoning field of law. A certificate of attendance from the Centre for the Study of Human Rights at LSE will be awarded to those who have successfully completed the course.

What past participants say

"The course was an excellent introduction to the concepts and key issues in the human rights discourse"

"I have a Masters in human rights and felt this course offered an in-depth overview of the key rights topics and gave me the legal focus that I was seeking"

"The course provided an up to date and sophisticated picture of the political context - a crucial part of the law of human rights that other courses don’t cover"
 

Course components

• The history and philosophy of human rights and the relationship between human rights and a democratic society
• The international (and regional) institutional framework for promoting and protecting human rights and how human rights work
• Economic, social and cultural rights and how they are enforced
• Civil and political rights and how they are enforced
• Human rights as democratic values: participatory rights in practice
• Equality and protection from discrimination
• Minority rights, the right to self-determination and third-generation rights
• Rights in the private sphere: non-state actors, paramilitary organisations, regulating business and other private relationships
• Humanitarian law, war crimes and the law of war
• Protecting against terrorism: a new challenge for human rights

Why take this course?

• Delivers a comprehensive understanding of internationally recognised human rights instruments and standards
• Explains how human rights standards work and shows how they can be applied in practice
• Offers access to leading human rights practitioners and academics
• Provides a coherent account of international human rights institutions
• Shows the relevance of international human rights law to domestic law
• Identifies how human rights standards influence the development of law and policy
• Improves critical awareness of key issues in contemporary human rights
   

Teachers

Professor Conor Gearty, who will oversee and teach part of the course, is the Director of the Centre for the Study of Human Rights at LSE, and an internationally renowned expert on human rights. He will be joined by a team of leading barristers and distinguished academic experts: Professor Christine Chinkin; Professor Andrew Clapham; Jonathan Cooper OBE; Edward Fitzgerald CBE, QC; Professor Christopher Greenwood CMG, QC; Professor Paul Hunt; Karon Monaghan QC and Dr Margot Salomon.

The course convener is Jonathan Cooper OBE (pictured), a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers and editor of the European Human Rights Law Review. He is an internationally recognised expert in human rights education and training.
 

Fees and administration

The course fee is £1,970. The Centre is able to offer five subsidised places, at £985, in support of those who would otherwise be unable to take the course. The deadline for applications for a subsidised place has now passed and no further applications can be considered. The Centre is regrettably not able to provide any additional assistance, financial or practical, in the securing of travel to, or accommodation in, London.

This course is currently running and closed to new applicants. The next possible start date is Autumn 2009, and the speakers may be subject to change

More information about the course (PDF)

Frequently asked questions about the course

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