Student Opportunities
Courses
In addition to the International Human Rights Clinic, NYU School of Law offers a wide range of courses on international human rights law. These cover the universal and regional legal regimes as well as the impact of human rights law on national legal systems, international economic institutions, war crimes tribunals, truth commissions, and the United Nations.
The course descriptions provided here are some of those that focus in particular detail on human rights law. There are numerous other courses taught that deal with human rights law in a broader context or with human rights problems through the lens of U.S. or comparative constitutional law.
Prospective students should also consult the complete and up-to-date course listing found on the NYU School of Law web site.
Recent and Forthcoming Human Rights Courses
Human Rights Courses (Fall 2008)
International Law
Philip G Alston
This is an overview course which aims to give students a sense of traditional theories of international law as well as, perhaps more importantly, a sense of how the doctrine, institutions and methodologies of international law have responded to the dramatic changes that have affected the international community over the past two decades or so. Topics may include: the nature and sources of international law, the application of international law in domestic courts, recognition of states and governments, territorial disputes, the law of the sea, jurisdiction, state responsibility for breaches, the law of treaties, human rights, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the use of armed force. The course content will also be responsive to major current developments in the field. Fall 2009 Syllabus
Economic and Social Rights Seminar
Philip G Alston
This seminar examines in depth the category of human rights known as economic and social rights. These rights, which include rights such as the rights to food, health, housing and education, and also labor rights, are an integral part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have been recognized in many state constitutions, and are increasingly subject to judicial implementation. Nevertheless, they continue to be contested and neglected by governments. The seminar will explore their philosophical foundations; the key legal issues that arise in relation to states’ treaty obligations; the strengths and weaknesses of the principal international and regional monitoring bodies; and the extent to which these rights have been rendered justiciable by courts at the national and international levels. The issue of whether the international community has any sort of meaningful obligation to provide assistance in cases of gross denial of economic and social rights will also be considered.
Law & Society in China Seminar
Jerome A Cohen
This seminar is designed to introduce contemporary China’s legal system in its historical setting. It will focus on law’s contributions to China’s modernization, especially the roles of legal institutions in dealing with social and economic problems. Among the topics to be discussed are: lawmaking, national and local; the accountability of government officials; access to justice and court reform; criminal process, with particular attention to death penalty adjudication; the relevance of the legal system to the challenges of environment, labor and health; alternative dispute resolution; emergence of constitutional law; varied functions of lawyers and lawyer-substitutes; and legal education for a society in rapid transition.
Human Rights of Women
Fareda Banda
This course examines the concept of women's human rights and the international legal protections of such rights. It is located within the framework of international law and feminist legal theories. The general objective of this course is to introduce you to approaches and concepts that will enhance your ability to explore strategies and opportunities for protecting women’s rights at the national and international level. Women’s international human rights law is an evolving area that is also deeply contested. The course will therefore focus on the diversity of viewpoints and approaches to give you a fuller understanding of the debates and issues. This will assist/challenge you in formulating strategies that are better informed and more focused on actual goals and the potential for their realization.
Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts
Eyal Benvenisti
The aim of this course is to explore the potential and limits of the law governing the conduct of hostilities. We will examine the evolution of The Hague rules of land warfare, the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, their application in current conflicts, including the war on terrorism, as well as their interface with international human rights law, while focusing on specific questions such as the right to participate in hostilities, the choice of weapons, the distinctions between combatants and civilians, the treatment of detainees and POWs and belligerent occupation. We will also look at the modalities for enforcing this law and in particular assess the effectiveness of war crimes trials as one of the modalities.
Global Aviation Law and Policy
Alan Khee Jin Tan
This course provides an insight into international civil aviation and the legal and regulatory issues facing the airline industry. Issues raised include public air law, liberalization of the airline industry, low-cost carriers, competition/antitrust issues, aviation and the environment, terrorism and aviation security, and passenger claims for death or injury on board aircraft. The emphases will be on emerging aviation markets, particularly in Asia, as well as Europe and the U.S. In lieu of the take-home examination, students may write papers on a relevant aviation topic or their home regions (e.g. South America, Africa, Asia). The course is designed to be legal in focus, but with a business and industry flavour. Hence, we will explore co-operative practices such as code-sharing, alliances and mergers, together with their legal and regulatory implications. The challenges posed by troubled economies, fuel price volatility, government protectionism and ongoing terrorism threats will provide contemporary backdrops for analyses.
Transnational Regulation
Fabrizio Cafaggi
The weaknesses of regulatory States as agents for global regulation has stimulated the emergence of new regulatory regimes. Their features can be hardly recognized with the lenses of the traditional public/private divide. They require a new approach and pose important challenges to market regulation and democratic principles. The analysis will concern both the governance of the regulators, its forms, accountability regimes, and the regulatory activity. Who designs these regimes? Is their regulatory activity subject to judicial review? Are the instruments and modes of the review comparable to those deployed in regulatory States? The course will combine the GAL ( global administrative law) approach with an analysis of purely private regimes. The introductory part will focus on the constitutional foundations of global regulation and the role of adjudication. In particular the dimensions of accountability, effectiveness and enforcement will be analyzed. Does the absence of democratic participation represent an accountability deficit? How can governance of these regulatory bodies contribute to reduce the deficit? Are these regimes effective? How do they differ from those traditionally defined by international law? The course will then analyze some regimes selected because they present different or even contrasting features. Global financial regimes, product and food safety, technical standards, and e-commerce will be examined and then compared. Comparative institutional analysis will provide some answers to the different nature of these transnational regimes and the challenges they pose to the current institutional framework in particular the lack of a consistent body of international contract law to perform regulatory functions rather than to facilitate market exchanges. In the final part some conclusions will be drawn on the role of transnational regulation and its relationship with the role of regulatory States.
International Organizations
Jose Enrique Alvarez
This course examines how intergovernmental organizations, from those of the UN system to the World Trade Organization, are changing the traditional sources of international obligation. It will examine the "law-making" and/or law-enforcement aspects of such entities as the UN Security Council and General Assembly, the International Civil Aviation Organization and other UN specialized agencies, and international financial institutions such as the IMF. The legal impact of institutionalized forms of dispute settlement associated with such organizations will also be examined, including entities in the International Labor Organizations, the WTO Appellate Body, and the International Court of Justice. The central focus will be on the effects on the international legal process and not on the internal law of these organizations (such as the privileges and immunities of international civil servants). The course complements but does not overlap substantially with basic survey courses on international law, human rights, or international trade.
International Enviromental Law
Jacob Werksman
The seminar will begin by outlining the main characteristics of international environmental problems and explore how various disciplines, including natural science, economics, law and political science contribute to and assess the effectiveness of responses to these problems. After a broad survey of international environmental law the course then addresses key areas which draw out major innovations and controversies in international environmental governance, including global warming and emissions trading, GMOs and biosafety, ozone depletion and compliance, and trade in endangered species. Case Studies will engage students in selected aspects of a treaty negotiations or the settlement of a dispute. Class participation is required.
Transitional Justice
Paul Van Zyl
The course deals with legal, moral, social and political questions that arise in countries emerging from massive conflict or from periods of authoritarian or repressive rule. The course will focus on the strategies available to new democratic governments in order to confront a legacy of human rights abuse. These strategies include prosecutions, truth commissions, reparation programs, institutional reforms and reconciliation programs. The course will examine the precise nature of the international law obligations that arise following the commission of gross violations of human rights. It will also explore the real constraints embryonic democracies face in attempting to comply with these obligations. The course will cover a historical period from the commencement of the Nuremberg Trials until recent efforts to pursue accountability by the International Criminal Court and in a number of different domestic jurisdictions. Taking this class is a prerequisite for the Spring 2009 seminar, Case Studies in Transitional Justice. In lieu of an exam, students will be required to write a research paper on a topic chosen in consultation with the Professor. Fall 2009 Syllabus
History & Theory of International Law Seminar
Robert Howse
This seminar consists in a close reading of classic and contemporary texts that explore the central questions concerning the relationship between power and right in international politics: the justification of war and the issue of "just war", the role of law in achieving and sustaining peace and stability, the morality of empire, the meaning or possibility of "global democracy" and "global justice". We will consider classic writings by Thucydides, Grotius, Vattel, Rousseau and Kant; and twentieth century readings from works by Alexandre Kojeve, Carl Schmitt, Leo Strauss. Finally we will examine contemporary debates about justice and law in international relations, through a series of more recent writings by Rawls, Walzer, Pogge, Teitel, Koskenniemi, Sen, Kingsbury, Waldron and others.
International Arbitration
Donald Donovan
This course will examine the law and practice of international arbitration. We will spend the first class on an introduction to the field. We will then look more closely at the intersection of international law, national law, and private contract that makes up the governing legal regime for international commercial arbitration, including as applied to the arbitration agreement, arbitral procedure, and the arbitral award. We will conclude with several classes on arbitration under the Washington (ICSID) Convention and bilateral and multilateral investment treaties.
International Arbitration: Investment Arbitration
Andreas F Lowenfeld
The course will cover the law and practice of international arbitration, focused on investor-State disputes under NAFTA, ICSID, WTO, and other controversies involving governments. The first nine weeks will be devoted to readings and discussion concerning the reasons for increasing resort to arbitration in international transactions; the evolution of arbitration in Anglo-American and international law; drafting and enforcement of agreements to arbitrate; defenses to arbitration and arbitrability; selection of arbitrators and the task of arbitrating; procedure in arbitration; the arbitral award; and recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards under international treaties and national law. The last five weeks of the course will be devoted conduct of actual cases, with students writing briefs, conducting hearings, giving testimony, or drafting awards.
Foreign Investment: Law and Policy Seminar
Jose Enrique Alvarez
The course examines the laws, particularly the international investment agreements (including the NAFTA's Chapter Eleven), that purport to regulate incoming foreign direct investment (that is, capital moving across borders intended to establish active management of an enterprise such as greenfield investment or a merger with or acquisition of a national enterprise). This is not a course about portfolio investment and no economics knowledge is assumed. Attention will be given to the pros and cons of the emerging investment regime, especially given critiques of globalization and doubts about the connections between foreign investment and economic development. It would be helpful if students have some prior knowledge of international law. Students will be expected to write short (one-two page) weekly reaction papers but those wanting an additional course credit will be able to write an additional research paper on a topic approved by the instructor.
International Law in Federal Courts Seminar
Samuel Estreicher
Seminar will explore "leading edge" issues in international law litigation in the federal courts, with particular emphasis on the Alien Tort Act, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, choice of law issues, and grounds for resisting arbitration awards, choice of law clauses and forum selection causes. Text is Born & Rutledge, International Civil Litigation in United States Courts (4th edition) and Documents Supplement.
Law and Religion in Comparative Perspective Seminar
Pratap Bhanu Mehta
Secular Constitutional states have to wrestle with an important question: How do we draw the boundaries between the secular and the religious? Is this distinction self evident? How do different constitutional practices deal with this distinction? How does law shape and regulate the meanings and definition of religion in different democracies. What explains these differences? In examining these relationships we will also asking broader questions about the nature of different states, and the place of religious argument in modern democracies. The materials will be drawn from one of the richest and arguably most complex constitutional traditions to wrestle with this question: India. But significant comparisons will be made with the US, Europe and other countries. Topics will include regulation of religious speech and institutions, conversion, rights of religious minorities, religion and gender, meaning of religion.
Law and Global Governance Seminar
Richard B Stewart and Eyal Benvenisti
Globalization has led to a broad transfer of policy making authority from the domestic to the global sphere. This power shift has facilitated review by global authorities of domestic decisions, but has also shielded many global policy making processes from domestic monitoring and reviewing mechanisms. The seminar will examine the roles of domestic courts and institutions, global tribunals and arbitration panels, global monitoring bodies and other global organizations, private organizations and NGOs in responding to the accountability gaps and opportunities created by globalization. They have done so by developing and applying new norms of Global Administrative Law to both global and domestic bodies in order to promote participation, transparency and reason giving and protect disregarded interests. Examples will be drawn from a variety of fields, including human rights, environmental protection, and regulation of trade and investment. Additional sessions will be scheduled for the end of the semester for presentation and discussion of student papers.
Law and Society in Africa Seminar
Fareda Banda
Chronic poverty, war, famine, disease, failed states and persistent human rights violations. Is this your view of Africa? This course seeks to examine critically the way in which images and narratives of the continent are constructed and disseminated. Part of this engagement with Afro-pessimism involves looking at an “Africanist perspective” (itself a term requiring definition and interrogation) on theories and issues that have global reach. In so doing the course is not an attempt at generating “positive spin” or propaganda for the continent. The course will cover topics including the history of African states from before colonization to the coming of independence, the development of laws, customary and general, and the challenges and opportunities presented by plural legal systems.
International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Scholarship Seminar
Ryan Goodman
The principal goal of the seminar is to provide students with an opportunity to develop a single piece of original scholarship and to consider how their work might form part of their broader scholarly agenda. The course also provides an introduction to scholarship on international humanitarian and human rights law in general, and gives students an opportunity to learn more generally about the scholarly enterprise. Students will have an opportunity to present their work in progress in a workshop setting. The seminar will be especially valuable to students who are interested in academic careers. Admission to the seminar is by permission of the instructor. Students who wish to enroll should email a resume, a transcript, and a brief statement explaining their interest in the course and describing the international human rights or humanitarian law topic that will serve as the basis of their research paper. Please include "Scholarship Seminar" in the subject heading, and send your information to Robert Gatto (gattor@exchange.law.nyu.edu), by July 6.
Transnational Law
Robert Howse
Transnational law considers the problem of legal order in our contemporary age of globalization from a pluralist perspective, examining how legal rules and institutions are evolving--at the domestic, regional and international levels--to create new rights and responsibilities that transcend national boundaries: rights and responsibilities not only of states (as comprehended in classic international law) but also of individuals; groups such as ethnic minorities and peoples; and other collectivities, such as multinational corporations. Topics include human rights and humanitarian law; international criminal law (including transnational dimensions of domestic criminal justice such as universal jurisdiction, and extradition and the relationship of domestic tribunals to international and hybrid tribunals); international economic law, corporate social responsibility and global justice; legal issues related to internal conflict and failed states; problems of displacement of and protection of persons and peoples; and transnational legal issues that arise post-conflict and following regime change.
IILJ LLM Thesis
Benedict W Kingsbury
This course is open only to those students who have been specially admitted to the combined 4-year JD-LLM Program in International Law, and have already completed the JD component of that program at NYU. This is the vehicle by which these students receive credit for the very substantial thesis to be written during the LLM year. Such students should also enroll in the same course in the Spring schedule.
Hauser Colloquium: Interdisciplinary Approaches to International Law
Goodman, Ryan
The interdisciplinary study of international law has grown enormously in recent years and appears likely to continue to do so. This colloquium is intended to provide students with the opportunity to enmesh themselves in this scholarly enterprise by bringing to the seminar a cross-section of leading academics engaged in some of the most interesting new work. Our distinguished faculty speakers will generally present a work in progress. Students will be expected to submit brief "reflection" pieces commenting on the presented work and will also have the opportunity to question the presenter during the session. Some sessions of the colloquium will be reserved for meetings without outside speakers. Admission to the colloquium is by permission of the instructor. Students who wish to enroll should submit a resume, transcript, and a brief statement by email explaining their interest. Please include "Hauser Colloquium" in the subject heading, and send your information to Robert Gatto (gattor@exchange.law.nyu.edu), by July 6. Fall 2009 Speaker Schedule
Global Fellows Forum
Richard B Stewart
All Hauser Global Fellows and Research Scholars are required to participate in the Forum and present a research paper for comment by one or more faculty commentators and general discussion. Final papers of sufficient quality will be published in the Hauser Global Working Papers series.
Human Rights Courses (Spring 2008)
Advanced International Law
Benedict W Kingsbury
This is a general course on international law which includes more advanced discussions of theory and doctrine. It is designed for two groups. One is students who have already taken an introductory international law course at NYU (such as Prof Weiler's course for 1Ls) or elsewhere. The other is students seriously interested in international and global issues who have not taken international law already - basics of international law will be covered -- but this will be more challenging than a survey course. This course is not suitable for those seeking merely a first acquaintance with the area. It develops maginative conceptual and practical analysis of aspects of the substance and dynamics of international law and global governance, with considerable attention to international and national institutions, treaties, responsibility, remedies, jurisdiction, immunities, and the tensions between traditinoal international law and contemporary governance. For course materials see the IILJ website, http://iilj.org/courses/InternationalLawCourse.asp
Case Studies in Transitional Justice
Paul Van Zyl
A range of case studies, historical and contemporary, of countries seeking justice for mass atrocity, will be examined in the class. The class will explore the legal, political and practical challenges that face those seeking to achieve accountability and analyze both successes and failures in this regard. Examples of some of the countries considered include Iraq, Afghanistan, Peru, East Timor, Ghana, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Argentina, Colombia, Cambodia and Liberia. Students will select one case study for their semester paper.
Children's Rights in International Law
Philip G Alston
The seminar focuses on both the theory and practice of children’s rights with particular reference to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (which has 193 States parties). The course will consider whether children really should be treated as rights-holders and whether this approach is more effective than the alternatives. Consideration will be given to the key legal concepts and the framework of rights reflected in the CRC. Specific issues will include whether it is productive to think in terms of children’s rights to education, housing or health care and how such rights can be 'enforced'; children’s rights in the criminal justice context including the death penalty; corporal punishment; whether child labor should or could be banned worldwide; efforts to end the involvement of children in armed conflict; and child sexual exploitation. We will also consider the pros and cons of US ratification of the Convention. Spring 2009 Syllabus
Global Fellows Forum
Richard B Stewart
All Hauser Global Fellow and Research Scholars are required to particpate in the Forum and present a research paper for comment by one or more faculty commentators and general discussion. Final papers of sufficient quality will be published in the Hauser Global Working Papers series.
Institute for International Law and Justice Colloquium
Benedict W Kingsbury J.H.H. Weiler
This Colloquium each Spring examines major theoretical issues in international law, including topics concerning democracy, global justice, global governance, and relations of international law and politics. In Spring 2009 it focuses particularly on human nature, virtues and vices in international law. Papers are presented each week by leading scholars from around the world, for a list see the IILJ website, http://iilj.org/courses/2009IILJColloquium.asp. Students are assigned to write three reaction papers which go to the speakers ahead of the public discussion sessions (Thursdays), as well as completing a short related research paper by the end of the semester, and also meet separately as a group in an intensive seminar with the instructors(Tuesdays). The aim is to deepen students's critical understanding of major scholarly projects and to support the writing of conceptually grounded papers. Some prior knowledge of international law or legal philosophy is essential.
International and Regional Trade Law: The Law of the WTO and NAFTA
J.H.H. Weiler
The WTO is at the legal center of globalization. NAFTA is the prototype for an eventual Free Trade of the Area of the Americas. This course has professional and intellectual objectives. Professionally it aims to equip you to handle the principal WTO and NAFTA legal disciplines with proficiency and confidence. Intellectually it aims to understand globalization and its discontents in a critical and rigorous manner eschewing the bombast of the fierce public debate about these issues. This is a demanding course requiring regular attendance, consistent preparation and class room engagement. Do not enroll if you plan to coast but the rewards are commensurate with the effort. Non American LLMs should not be scared away by the high demands of this course. They typically do as well in this course as their US counterparts.
International Human Rights
Philip G Alston
The course provides a general introduction to the role of human rights in the 21st century. It examines the historical origins of the concept, its international legal context and its normative structure. Themes that run throughout the course include cultural relativism, the relationship between rights and duties, the 'public-private' distinction, changing conceptions of statehood and sovereignty, and responses to terrorism. The course concentrates on the United Nations system, dealing with both Charter-based and treaty-based arrangements. In order to illustrate the functions and processes of institutions we look at issues such as summary executions, disappearances, arbitrary detention, homosexuality, democratization, and the human rights responsibilities of non-state actors such as corporations. Spring 2009 Syllabus
International Law (for 1Ls only)
J.H.H. Weiler
An introductory course to the institutions, doctrines and methodologies of international law. A foundation course for all subsequent specializations in international legal disciplines. Emphasis will be put on learning the "operating system" rather than specific "applications" and on international lawyering skills. The methods of international law will be illustrated in two main areas: Use of Force (including terrorism, war in Iraq etc.) and international economic law (emphasis on international trade disciplines.) Laptops are not allowed in the classroom with the exception of a rotating roster of three 'Designated Note Takers' whose notes will be reviewed by the Course TAs and posted on Blackboard. This will enable all other students to give their entire attention to the legal materials and the class discussion surrounding these. (We are in the business of legal education, not stenography.) Not for the faint hearted but the intellectual and professional rewards are commensurate with the effort.
Law and Institutions in Africa
Tunde Ogowewo
This course considers the role of institutions in Africa at national and regional level. It aims to show how institutions hold the key to Africa’s success or failure. It examines the extent to which the fault lines that are to be found in most of Africa (failed leadership, damaging corruption, a docile citizenry, an elite with a weak sense of noblese oblige, ethnic and religious tensions, natural resources that are a source of friction and that provide opportunities for waste) are features of a failure of institutions. It examines the emergence, design, and functioning of the institutions that define public and private space: within the context of the former, it examines constitutional law arrangements and the role of key organs of State; in regard to the private sphere, it examines issues of corporate governance (with accountability issues similar to those encountered in the public sphere) and property rights.
Law and Society in East Asia
Frank K Upham
The course will introduce several issues in contemporary Japanese and Chinese law and legal systems. While some attention may be paid to the legal systems of Hong Kong and Taiwan, the focus will be on the People’s Republic of China and Japan. To the extent possible, the topics will be organized thematically, rather than by country. In other words, we will address themes such as dispute resolution, the nature of the judicial system, the role of law in economic growth, or criminal justice as problems facing every society and use the examples of China and Japan to illustrate distinct approaches to what are universal issues. The mode of evaluation, i.e., in class exam, take-home, or short papers, will depend on the number of students and will be announced by the first class.
Legal Issues Related to Weapons of Mass Destruction
Mattias Kumm
This seminar examines legal frameworks and questions of legal policy concerning weapons of mass destruction. The focus will be on nuclear weapons, including the legality of their use, stationing, development, proliferation and questions relating to their ultimate abolition.
War, Crime and Terror: Legal and Moral Dimensions of the Counter-Terrorism Efforts of the US and other Countries
Tom Gerety
War, Crime, and Terror: Moral, legal and policy dimensions of the counter-terrorism efforts of the United States and other countries. The U.S. government has thus far insisted on an aggressive war powers/emergency powers approach to the threat of terrorism. Others have argued that terrorism is a species of international crime and that the criminal law can be adjusted to respond adequately and fairly. This seminar will read widely in cases and commentary on these and related questions. Among other themes, we will devote time to the examination of 'just war' theory with its insistence on proportionality and reasonableness in the use of state violence. We will seek analogies and precedents from past emergencies for the moral and legal dilemmas we now face.
Human and Constitutional Rights in Europe
Mattias Kumm
The last fifty years in Europe have seen the emergence of a common European constitutional tradition. This common tradition is distinct in interesting ways from the US constitutional tradition with regard to the institutions charged with the protection of rights as well as the structure of rights reasoning and the outcomes produced. This seminar focuses on the protection of rights as they are enforced by national highest courts, the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice. Topics will include: Constitutional Courts in Europe, the relationship between national and transnational human rights guarantees, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, rights and the 'war on terror, indirect effect/state action, social and economic rights.
History & Theory of International Law
Rob Howse
This seminar consists in a close reading of classic and contemporary texts that explore the central questions concerning the relationship between power and right in international politics: the justification of war and the issue of "just war", the role of law in achieving and sustaining peace and stability, the morality of empire, the meaning or possibility of "global democracy" and "global justice". We will consider classic writings by Thucydides, Grotius, Vattel, Rousseau and Kant; and twentieth century readings from works by Alexandre Kojeve, Carl Schmitt, Leo Strauss. Finally we will examine contemporary debates about justice and law in international relations, through a series of more recent writings by Rawls, Walzer, Pogge, Teitel, Koskenniemi, Sen, Kingsbury, Waldron and others.
Treaties and Responsibility: Selected Topics in the Current Work of the U. N. Intl Law Commission
Santiago Martin Villalpando
This seminar will study the UN International Law Commission (ILC) and its role in international law-making. The seminar will introduce students to the mandate, structure and working methods of the ILC, and examine various key fields of international law, as considered by the ILC (such as treaty law, responsibility of States and international organizations, diplomatic protection, aspects of international criminal law, etc.) Students should write a substantial research paper (20-30 pages) due by the end of the Spring semester(to be turned in by email to the instructor). All students are required to attend class regularly and to participate actively. This includes making class presentations of specific course materials. Participation will be weighed in the final grade.
Global Regulation and Governance
Armin Von Bogdandy
Global regulation and governance. How to understand and to develop global governance from a legal standpoint? Firstly, in the seminar we will discuss the main legal approaches to the study of phenomena of global regulation and governance, such as the Global Administrative Law Approach, Constitutionalism, the New Institutional Law Approach, and the Public Law Approach on the basis of seminal texts representing these approaches. Secondly, we will study individual examples, such as the OECD PISA assessments, the UN Security Council's sanction listings and the Kyoto Emissions Trading Regime. A choice of possible topics will be presented among which students might select their own writing projects. These will be presented and discussed in later sessions of the seminar. You should be prepared to read 30 to 40 pages for each session. Some understanding of international law is required.
International Law Thesis for LL.M. in International Legal Studies
Mattias Kumm
This course offers to students enrolled in the full-time LLM in International Legal Studies who are seriously interested in academic careers in international law an opportunity to write a substantial high-quality thesis (typically 60 pages/20,000 words) on an international law topic. Applicants must submit to Leslie Jenkins VH 404B (leslie.jenkins@nyu.edu) by October 31 a detailed and well thought out thesis proposal, a short statement of reasons for wishing to undertake a thesis, an unofficial transcript of courses taken at NYU and other universities, a list of the student's current and proposed courses, and a CV. The number of places available is strictly limited. Decisions will be notified by November 30.
Human Rights Courses (Fall 2008)
International Law
Mattias Kumm
This course provides a basic introduction to international law as it has developed after World War II. Topics covered include: The sources and functions of International law, the relationship between national and international law, the subjects of international law, bases of jurisdiction, the law of treaties, state responsibility, the use of force and human rights.
Law & Society in China: An Introduction
Jerome Cohen
This seminar is designed to introduce contemporary China’s legal system in its historical setting. It will focus on law’s contributions to China’s modernization, especially the roles of legal institutions in dealing with social and economic problems. Among the topics to be discussed are: lawmaking, national and local; the accountability of government officials; access to justice and court reform; criminal process, with particular attention to death penalty adjudication; the relevance of the legal system to the challenges of environment, labor and health; alternative dispute resolution; emergence of constitutional law; varied functions of lawyers and lawyer-substitutes; and legal education for a society in rapid transition.
Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts
Eyal Benvenisti
The aim of this course is to explore the potential and limits of the law governing the conduct of hostilities. We will examine the evolution of The Hague rules of land warfare, the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, their application in current conflicts, including the war on terrorism, as well as their interface with international human rights law, while focusing on specific questions such as the right to participate in hostilities, the choice of weapons, the distinctions between combatants and civilians, the treatment of detainees and POWs and belligerent occupation. We will also look at the modalities for enforcing this law and in particular assess the effectiveness of war crimes trials as one of the modalities.
Islamic Law and Human Rights
Ziba Mir-Hosseini
This course will introduce students to discourses on Islamic law and human rights, examining the areas of tension between the competing paradigms of universalism and relativism as well as the religious and the secular. It critically examines the proposed Islamic human rights schemes, and engages with the arguments of their proponents and critics. Attention will be given to reformist interpretations of Islamic law from the latter part of the 20th century, which aim to establish common ground between the two paradigms.
Property & Inequality: Development & Legal Change in South Asia
Bina Agarwal
This seminar is designed to help students acquire a historical and contextualized perspective on legal change and the application of law in developing countries, especially in multi-ethnic, multi-religious regions such as South Asia. Inherited wealth constitutes one of the most important sources of economic inequality in the region. In turn, social and economic inequalities create chasms between de jure and de facto rights. We will study the evolution of property systems, especially inheritance laws, as shaped by pre-colonial and colonial interpretations of custom and religious texts, as well as modern ideas of equal citizenship rights. Questions include: Can inheritance laws in multicultural societies be made socially equal, especially for women? What underlies the divergence between law and practice, and ownership and control? How do class, caste, gender, and social norms create inequalities in substantive rights? And how can the gaps between de jure and de facto rights be bridged?
International Environmental Law
Richard Stewart, Jacob Werksman, Katrina Wyman
The seminar will begin by outlining the main characteristics of international environmental problems and explore how various disciplines, including natural science, economics, law and political science contribute to and assess the effectiveness of responses to these problems. After a broad survey of international environmental law the course then addresses key areas which draw out major innovations and controversies in international environmental governance, including global warming and emissions trading, GMOs and biosafety, ozone depletion and compliance, and trade in endangered species. Case Studies will engage students in selected aspects of a treaty negotiations or the settlement of a dispute. Class participation is required.
Transitional Justice in Times of Transition
Paul Van Zyl
The course deals with legal, moral, social and political questions that arise in countries emerging from massive conflict or from periods of authoritarian or repressive rule. The course will focus on the strategies available to new democratic governments in order to confront a legacy of human rights abuse. These strategies include prosecutions, truth commissions, reparation programs, institutional reforms and reconciliation programs. The course will examine the precise nature of the international law obligations that arise following the commission of gross violations of human rights. It will also explore the real constraints embryonic democracies face in attempting to comply with these obligations. The course will cover a historical period from the commencement of the Nuremberg Trials until recent efforts to pursue accountability by the International Criminal Court and in a number of different domestic jurisdictions. Taking this class is a prerequisite for the Spring 2009 seminar, Case Studies in Transitional Justice.
Institute for International Law and Justice Fellowship Seminar: Fragmentation and Defragmentation of International Law
Eyal Benvenisti
The goal of this seminar is to acquaint the participants with theoretical perspectives on the international lawmaking processes. We will focus on the various actors – strong and weak states, international and national courts, interest groups, NGOs and international lawyers – and examine their motivations and the strategies they develop to promote their conflicting or converging interests. We will discuss primarily the evolution of international law since the end of the Cold War, in areas such as collective security, trade, foreign investment and migration, but participants will be invited to examine also the evolution of international norms in earlier times. This seminar is open only to IILJ Scholars (2L and above), and to LLM students who have substantial background in international law. Please contact the professor. No-one should list this seminar as a priority in the lottery.
Law and Security Colloquium
David Golove, Stephen Holmes
This colloquium will deal with the broad set of legal issues arising from 9/11 and the war against terrorism. Of special interest to the conveners are problems associated with international law-enforcement cooperation, preserving the government's capacity for self-correction under emergency conditions, the stablization and reconstruction of failed states, the gradual democratization of previously autocratic Islamic states, and the role of international law and multilateral institutions in counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation. The colloquium aims to foster productive discussion on these issues between legal academics and government officials with practical experience.
Chinese Attitudes Toward International Law
Jerome Cohen
This seminar will introduce the attitudes and practices of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) toward public international law and its institutions in a variety of contexts. After reviewing China’s role in the traditional East Asian order and the gradual intrusion of Western international law into the Sinocentric world, we will consider contemporary PRC views regarding such basic issues as the recognition of governments and establishment of diplomatic relations, the definition of Chinese territory (especially the Taiwan and Diaoyutai/Senkaku islands disputes), the law of the sea and territorial airspace, the determination of Chinese nationality, defense of human rights, treatment of aliens including foreign business, extradition, and diplomatic and consular privileges and immunities. We will also analyze PRC participation in international efforts to suppress crime and corruption. Students will not be expected to have background knowledge of China/international law.
The United Nations and Other International Organizations
Jose Enrique Alvarez
The seminar will examine the impact the post WWII move to inter-state organizations, from those of the UN system to international financial institutions, has had on the traditional sources of international law, the law-making actors, and the way international norms are enforced. One of the principal texts will be the professor's book, International Organizations as Law-Makers (available in paperback, Oxford University Press 2005). Students will be expected to write occasional reaction papers in response to the readings and will have an opportunity to write in addition a longer research paper for additional course credit on a topic approved by the instructor.
Hauser Globalization Colloquium: Global Governance and Legal Theory
Benedict Kingsburg, Richard Stewart
Distinguished guest scholars present discussion papers on the theory and practice of global regulatory governance and the potential for law to address deficiencies and legitimacy deficits in current global governance arrangements. Students write papers on the use of administrative and other public law tools to address current problems of accountability, participation, transparency, and responsiveness in global governance. Permission of the instructors required for enrollment. Email a statement of interest and CV to Prof Stewart's assistant, Basilio Valdehuesa: valdehuesa@juris.law.nyu.edu. For additional course information and enrollment procedures, see http://iilj.org/courses/GlobalizationandItsDiscontentsColloquium.asp
Global Fellows Forum
Richard Stewart
All Hauser Global Fellow and Research Scholars are required to particpate in the Forum and present a research paper for comment by one or more faculty commentators and general discussion. Final papers of sufficient quality will be published in the Hauser Global Working Papers series.
Human Rights Courses (Spring 2008)
International Law (for 1Ls only)
Joseph Weiler
An introductory course to the institutions, doctrines and methodologies of international law. A foundation course for all subsequente specializations in iternational legal disciplines. Emphasis will be put on learning the "operating system" rather than specific "applicatoins" and on international lawyering skills. The methods of international law will be illustrated in two main areas: Use of Force (including terrorism, war in Iraq etc.) and international economic law (emphasis on internaitonal trade disciplines.) Laptops are not allowed in the classroom with the exception of a rotating roster of three 'Designated Note Takers' whose notes will be reviewed by the Course TAs and posted on Blackboard. This will enable all other students to give their entire attention to the legal materials and the class discussion surrounding these. (We are in the business of legal education, not stenography.) Not for the faint hearted but the intellectual and professional rewards are commensurate with the effort.
International Law
Benedict Kingsburg
An introductory course which progresses into more advanced discussions, designed to train students in the use of international law techniques and to develop imaginative conceptual and practical analysis of aspects of the substance and dynamics of international law. We ordinarily cover: the creation and the development of international law; custom and treaties; state responsibility for breaches; judicial and non-judicial remedies; international criminal law; human rights; jurisdiction and immunities; act of state doctrine; the role of international law in U.S. courts; the functions, limits and decisions of the International Court of Justice and other international tribunals; the roles of the United Nations and other international institutions; and the use of force. We will discuss legal aspects of some major current international controversies.
International Human Rights
Philip Alston
The course provides a general introduction to the role of human rights in the 21st century. It examines the historical origins of the concept, its international legal context and its normative structure. Themes that run throughout the course include cultural relativism, the relationship between rights and duties, the 'public-private' distinction, changing conceptions of statehood and sovereignty, and responses to terrorism. The course concentrates on the United Nations system, dealing with both Charter-based and treaty-based arrangements. In order to illustrate the functions and processes of institutions we look at issues such as summary executions, disappearances, arbitrary detention, homosexuality, democratization, and the human rights responsibilities of non-state actors such as corporations. Spring 2008 Syllabus.
International Investment Law
Rob Howse
Foreign investment has long been recognized as one of the pillars of the global economy, and is now a focus on significant public attention as many states -- especially in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union -- view it as the key to rescuing their economies. This course will examine the international community's regulation of foreign investment, focusing upon the norms that have emerged over the past seventy years to govern this process. We will first discuss the sources of law involved in the foreign investment process. The course will then consider the protections required by international investors, e.g., those concerning establishment of new enterprises, transfers of profits, employment of personnel, and expropriation. We will also discuss the increased focus on responsibilities of investors in the areas of human rights and environmental and labor standards.
Chinese Business Law
Donald Clarke
Introduction to the legal regime governing business activity in China, both foreign-related and domestic. Tee course covers both legal institutions and regulations in specific areas such as real estate, foreign investment, and business organization.
International Litigation (J.D.) or (LL.M.)
Andreas Lowenfeld and Linda Silberman
The course explores in a litigation context current developments in international law, public and private, civil procedure, international arbitration, and comparative law and procedure. The first part of the course is devoted to readings and discussions of international transactions, including jurisdiction to prescribe, jurisdiction of courts, enforcement of judgments, litigation with governments, transnational discovery and the relative merits of adjudication and arbitration. The second part of the course is devoted to litigation of actual pending cases, with students preparing briefs, conducting oral arguments, and serving as judges or arbitrators. The seminar is most successful with a mixture of foreign and U.S.-trained participants, and an effort will be made to achieve an approximate balance. The grade will based on class participation, work on a substantial appellate brief, oral argument, and service as judge.
Case Studies in Transitional Justice
Paul Van Zyl
A range of case studies, historical and contemporary, of countries seeking justice for mass atrocity, will be examined in the class. The class will explore the legal, political and practical challenges that face those seeking to achieve accountability and analyze both successes and failures in this regard. Examples of some of the countries considered include Iraq, Afghanistan, Peru, East Timor, Ghana, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Argentina, Colombia, Cambodia and Liberia. Students will select one case study for their semester paper.
International Commercial Arbitration
Richard Hulbert and Linda Silberman
The course covers the basics of the law and practice in international commercial arbitration, including drafting arbitration clauses in international transactions and enforcement of arbitral agreements; preparing and presenting cases before arbitral tribunals, including issues of witnesses, experts, discovery and evidence; recognition, enforcement and setting aside of arbitral awards; the course reviews the major international arbitral institutions and their latest rules of procedure; reviews court decisions on arbitration, and the relationship between international arbitration and national court systems; analyzes the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and other bilateral treaties and conventions dealing with international arbitration.
Childrens' Rights in International Law
Philip Alston
The seminar focuses on both the theory and practice of children’s rights and especially the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (which has 193 States parties). The course will consider whether children really should be treated as rights-holders and whether this approach is more effective than the alternatives. Consideration will be given to the key legal concepts and the framework of rights reflected in the CRC. Specific issues will include whether it is productive to think in terms of children’s rights to education, housing or health care and how such rights can be 'enforced'; children’s rights in the criminal justice context including the death penalty; corporal punishment; whether child labor should or could be banned worldwide; efforts to end the involvement of children in armed conflict; and child sexual exploitation. We will also consider the pros and cons of US ratification of the Convention. Spring 2008 Syllabus.
War, Crime and Terror: Legal and Moral Dimensions of the Counter-Terrorism Efforts of the US and other Countries
Tom Gerety and Aziz Huq Zahirul
War, Crime, and Terror: Moral and legal dimensions of the counter-terrorism efforts of the United States and other countries. The U.S. government has insisted on an aggressive war powers/emergency powers approach to the threat of terrorism. Others have argued that terrorism is a species of international crime and that the criminal law can be adjusted to respond adequately and fairly. This seminar will read widely in cases and commentary on these and related questions. Among other themes, we will devote the most time to the examination of 'just war' theory with its insistence on proportionality and reasonableness in the use of state violence. We will seek analogies and precedents from past emergencies for the moral and legal dilemmas we now face.
International Financial Architecture
Rob Howse
This seminar explores our international financial architecture with a particular focus on the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The seminar will focus on first principles. What is the international financial architecture? Why do we have it? What are the IMF and World Bank designed to do? What do they actually do? Do we need them to do anything? If so, what? How do these institutions relate to other institutions and mechanisms important for international finance, such as the G-7 (collectively and individually), the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the World Trade Organization, and international securities, accounting and insurance bodies, or for that matter, domestic bankruptcy courts?
Rule Making in a Global World
Catherine Kessedjian Marie-Françoise
In the world we live in today, norms are created by all sorts of different bodies and no more by States only. They are created at different geographical levels: global, regional and local, hence engendering potential conflicts. We are also concerned with norms that are not only legal but also infra-legal or supra-legal such as standards or ethics. This seminar will essentially look at the rule making processes, starting with the actors, looking at the methods by which the norms are created, studying how the different interests at stake are being incorporated or not into the norms. Legal pluralism will also be discussed, together with the texture of the norms and a potential hierarchy to be established between the norms. Examples will be drawn from all kinds of activities, be it commercial law, investment law, dispute resolution mechanisms and, if students are interested, even family law.
Chinese Law and Society: Advanced Topics
Jerome Cohen and Chenguang Wang
This seminar is designed to make available the insights and experiences of one of China's leading legal scholars and educators, Dean Chenguang Wang of Tsinghua University Law School, NYU's first Global Professor from China. It will be conducted in dialogue format and focus on law's contributions to China's modernization, especially the roles of legal institutions. Among the problems to be discussed are: lawmaking, national and local; the accountability of government officials; access to justice and court reform; criminal process, with particular attention to death penalty adjudication; the relevance of the legal system to the challenges of environment, labor and health; alternative dispute resolution; emergence of constitutional law; varied functions of lawyers; and legal education for a society in rapid transition.
Institute for International Law and Justice Colloquium
Benedict Kingsburg and Joseph Weiler
This Colloquium examines major theoretical issues in the theory of international law, including topics concerning democracy, global justice, global governance, and relations of international law and politics. Papers are presented each week by leading scholars from around the world. Students participate in these public discussion sessions, and also meet separately as a group to discuss the issues with the colloquium faculty. The aim is to deepen students's critical understanding of major scholarly projects and to support the writing of conceptually grounded papers in the field. Some prior knowledge of international law or legal philosophy is essential.
Human Rights Courses (Fall 2007)
International Law
Philip Alston
This is an overview course which aims to give students a sense of the more traditional theories of international law but also, perhaps more importantly, a sense of how the doctrine, institutions and methodologies of international law have responded to the dramatic changes that have affected the international community over the past two decades or so. Topics may include: the nature and sources of international law, the application of international law in domestic courts, recognition of states and governments, territorial disputes, the law of the sea, jurisdiction, state responsibility for breaches, the law of treaties, human rights, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the use of armed force. The course content will also be responsive to major current developments in the field. Fall 2007 Syllabus
Transitional Justice
Paul Van Zyl
The course deals with legal, moral, social and political questions that arise in countries emerging from massive conflict or from periods of authoritarian or repressive rule. The course will focus on the strategies available to new democratic governments in order to confront a legacy of human rights abuse. These strategies include prosecutions, truth commissions, reparation programs, institutional reforms and reconciliation programs. The course will examine the precise nature of the international law obligations that arise following the commission of gross violations of human rights. It will also explore the real constraints embryonic democracies face in attempting to comply with these obligations. The course will cover a historical period from the commencement of the Nuremberg Trials until recent efforts to pursue accountability in Sierra Leone, Peru and East Timor. Taking this class is a prerequisite for the Spring 2008 seminar, Case Studies in Transitional Justice.
European Union: Economic Law
Josef Drexl and Eleanor Fox
This course will begin with the constitutional and institutional framework of the European Union, which is now a union of 27 nations. It will examine how the Union operates; it will look at how the European legislature works and how the power to legislate is delineated. It will then proceed to examine the role of fundamental and human rights protection in the economic context. The course will deepen knowledge as to the economic law of the EU by analyzing the four "free movement" principles, the so-called "fundamental freedoms", by looking at specific internal market legislation and by introducing to Community competition law.
Constitutional Law of the United Nations
Thomas Franck and TBA
The constitutional development of the United Nations as shown by interpretations of the Charter in practice.
Recourse to Force in International Law
Thomas Franck and Miriam Sapiro
This seminar will examine the law of the U.N. Charter and its development through judicial decisions and practices over the past half-century insofar as it pertains to the use of military force by states acting individually and collectively, and by "coalitions of the willing" acting under the auspices of the Security Council. Military actions to be studied include those responding to threats to the peace, acts of aggression and gross violations of human rights.'
IILJ: Scholars Seminar: Globalization, Justice and the Remaking of International Law
Rob Howse
In the post-cold war period, global order is being reshaped by the discourses and practices of universal human rights and humanitarianism, and of economic globalization. This has important implications for how international law is conceived and theorized. The aim of this seminar is to consider what these implications are. Examining a range of methodologies and approaches in international legal scholarship, we will attempt to deepen our critical understanding of those organizing concepts and structures--e.g. human rights, the "market"--that are vying to remake contemporary legal order at the global level, considering both tensions and synergies (including whether the notion of humanity or universal human rights can be the basis for global economic justice and socio-economic development). The readings for this course will be drawn from a reader/textbook in progress by the instructor and Ruti Teitel, and include both diverse perspectives from legal scholars and views from other disciplines.
Chinese Attitudes Toward International Law
Jerome Cohen and Chenguang Wang
This course will introduce the attitudes and practices of the People's Republic of China (PRC) toward public international law and its institutions in a variety of contexts. After reviewing China's role in the traditional East Asian order and the gradual intrusion of Western international law into the Sinocentric world, we will consider contemporary PRC views regarding such basic issues as the recognition of governments and establishment of diplomatic relations, the definition of Chinese territory (especially the Taiwan and Diaoyutai/Senkaku islands disputes), the law of the sea and territorial airspace, the determination of Chinese nationality, defense of human rights, treatment of aliens including foreign business, extradition, and diplomatic and consular privileges and immunities. We will also analyze PRC participation in the WTO and in international efforts to protect intellectual property, curb environmental pollution, and suppress crime and corruption. Students will not be expected to have background knowledge of China/international law.
Human Rights Courses (Spring 2007)
Human Rights Advocacy for JDs
Margaret Satterthwaite and Smita Narula
This new course will explore multifaceted approaches to human rights advocacy in both domestic and international settings. It will combine a focus on practical skills with critical interrogations of the professional practices of human rights lawyers and the human rights movements in which they participate. Skills will be taught using simulations; critical engagement will be fostered through discussion of scholarly articles as applied to real-life scenarios.
Human Rights Advocacy for LLMs
Margaret Satterthwaite and Smita Narula
This new course will explore multifaceted approaches to human rights advocacy in both domestic and international settings. It will combine a focus on practical skills with critical interrogations of the professional practices of human rights lawyers and the human rights movements in which they participate. Skills will be taught using simulations; critical engagement will be fostered through discussion of scholarly articles as applied to real-life scenarios.
Case Studies in Transitional Justice
Paul van Zyl
A range of case studies, historical and contemporary, of countries experiencing transition, will be discussed in the class. In each case documents relating to the specific country will be made available to the students prior to the class. Examples of some of the countries considered include Peru, East Timor, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, Burma and Zimbabwe. Students will select one case study for their semester paper.
War, Crime and Terror: Legal and Moral Dimensions of the Counter-Terrorism Efforts of the U.S. and other Countries
Tom Gerety and Aziz Huq
War, Crime, and Terror: Moral and legal dimensions of the counter-terrorism efforts of the United States and other countries. The U.S. government has insisted on an aggressive war powers/emergency powers approach to the threat of terrorism. Others have argued that terrorism is a species of international crime and that the criminal law can be adjusted to respond adequately and fairly. This seminar will read widely in cases and commentary on these and related questions. Among other themes, we will devote the most time to the examination of 'just war' theory with its insistence on proportionality and reasonableness in the use of state violence. We will seek analogies and precedents from past emergencies for the moral and legal dilemmas we now face.
Human and Constitutional Rights in Europe
Mattias Kumm and Victor Ferreres Comella
The last fifty years in Europe have seen the emergence of a common European constitutional tradition. This common tradition is distinct in interesting ways from the U.S. constitutional tradition with regard to the institutions charged with the protection of rights as well as the structure of rights reasoning and the outcomes produced. This seminar focuses on the protection of rights as they are enforced by national highest courts, the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice. Topics will include: Constitutional Courts in Europe, the relationship between national and transnational human rights guarantees, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, rights and the 'war on terror, indirect effect/state action, social and economic rights.
Anthropology of Human Rights
Sally Merry
This course examines the origins of human rights thinking in Europe and the U.S. and its contemporary elaboration and dissemination in the post-World War II period. This includes an analysis of its institutional grounding in United Nations institutions and non-governmental organizations. The course examines the opposition between culture and rights along with current theoretical efforts to negotiate an intermediate space. The course discusses the way particular concepts of culture and rights are deployed in the global production and localization of human rights ideas and examines human rights as a practice, a discourse, and a form of global law. Specific areas of focus include indigenous rights and women's rights. The course discusses approaches to transnational, deterritorialized, and multi-sited ethnography.
Human Rights Courses (Fall 2006)
Comparative Constitutional Law: The South African Experience
Richard Goldstone
This course will examine the importance and utility of comparative constitutional law (constitutional borrowing) in constitutional adjudication. Particular attention will be devoted to constitutional developments in South Africa since its transition to a constitutional state in 1994. The key documents and decisions which will be examined will be those relating to the protection of civil liberties, economic and social rights, affirmative action and freedom of expression.
International Human Rights Law
Philip Alston
The course provides a general introduction to the role of human rights in the 21st century. It examines the historical origins of the concept, its international legal context and its normative structure. Themes that run throughout the course include cultural relativism, the relationship between rights and duties, the 'public-private' distinction, changing conceptions of statehood and sovereignty, and responses to terrorism. The course concentrates on the United Nations system, dealing with both Charter-based and treaty-based arrangements. In order to illustrate the functions and processes of institutions we look at issues such as summary executions, disappearances, arbitrary detention, homosexuality, democratization, and the human rights responsibilities of non-state actors such as corporations.
Constitutional Law of Europe: The E.U., its Member States and the ECHR
Mattias Kumm
This course examines the basic structures of the law of the European Union and the European Convention of Human Rights and its impact on its Member States. We will study legal texts, decisions and doctrines in their respective political contexts asking questions such as: What are the requirements of a transnational rule of law? To what extent should national courts recognize E.U. Law as the supreme law of the land? In which way does the establishment of a common market require the making of political choices and who makes them? What requirements must decisions by transnational institutions meet to be legitimate? Do European institutions meet them? How should Human Rights be protected in Europe? What are the respective roles of Member States, the ECJ and the ECHR? Substantive rights issues we will look at include the protection of freedom of religion and rights issues connected to antiterrorism measures.
Transitional Justice in Times of Transition
Paul van Zyl
The course deals with legal, moral, social and political questions that arise in countries emerging from massive conflict or from periods of authoritarian or repressive rule. The course will focus on the strategies available to new democratic governments in order to confront a legacy of human rights abuse. These strategies include prosecutions, truth commissions, reparation programs, institutional reforms and reconciliation programs. The course will examine the precise nature of the international law obligations that arise following the commission of gross violations of human rights. It will also explore the real constraints embryonic democracies face in attempting to comply with these obligations. The course will cover a historical period from the commencement of the Nuremberg Trials until recent efforts to pursue accountability in Sierra Leone, Peru and East Timor.
Taking this class is a prerequisite for the Spring 2006 seminar, Case Studies in Transitional Justice.
Children's Rights in International Law
Philip Alston and John Tobin
The seminar focuses on both the theory and practice of children’s rights and especially the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (which has 192 States parties). The course will consider whether children really should be treated as rights-holders and whether this approach is more effective than the alternatives. Consideration will be given to the key legal concepts and the framework of rights reflected in the CRC. Specific issues will include whether it is productive to think in terms of children’s rights to education, housing or health care and how such rights can be 'enforced'; children’s rights in the criminal justice context including the death penalty; corporal punishment; whether child labor should or could be banned worldwide; efforts to end the involvement of children in armed conflict; and child sexual exploitation. We will also consider the pros and cons of U.S. ratification of the Convention.
Recourse to Force in International Law
Thomas Franck and Miriam Sapiro
This seminar will examine the law of the U.N. Charter and its development through judicial decisions and practices over the past half-century insofar as it pertains to the use of military force by states acting individually and collectively, and by "coalitions of the willing" acting under the auspices of the Security Council. Military actions to be studied include those responding to threats to the peace, acts of aggression and gross violations of human rights.
Law of War and International Criminal Courts
Richard Goldstone
The objectives of the course will be to explore the theoretical and practical significance of the prosecution of war criminals for the enforcement of international humanitarian law. A historical survey of international humanitarian law and the prosecution of war criminals will be considered, with emphasis on post-World War II developments including the International Military Tribunals (Nuremberg and Tokyo) and the two U.N. ad hoc international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The substantive jurisdiction and procedural law of the ad hoc tribunals will be discussed, highlighting theoretical and practical problems associated with the international prosecution of war criminals. The course will conclude with a consideration of the problems associated with the establishment and early cases of the International Criminal Court.
Human Rights Courses (Spring 2006)
Case Studies in Transitional Justice
Paul van Zyl
A range of case studies, historical and contemporary, of countries experiencing transition, will be discussed in the class. In each case documents relating to the specific country will be made available to the students prior to the class. Examples of some of the countries considered include Peru, East Timor, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, Burma and Zimbabwe. There will be no exam. However, students will select one case study for their semester paper, which may be submitted for either A or B writing credit.
Economic and Social Rights
Philip Alston
This seminar examines in depth the category of human rights known as economic and social rights. These rights, which include rights such as the rights to food, health, housing and education, and also labor rights, are an integral part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have been recognized in many state constitutions, and are increasingly subject to judicial implementation. Nevertheless, they continue to be contested and neglected by governments. The seminar will explore their philosophical foundations; the key legal issues that arise in relation to states?treaty obligations; the strengths and weaknesses of the principal international and regional monitoring bodies; and the extent to which these rights have been rendered justiciable by courts at the national and international levels. The issue of whether the international community has any sort of meaningful obligation to provide assistance in cases of gross denial of economic and social rights will also be considered.
Human Rights Accountability
Philip Alston
The focus is on the diverse roles played by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Accountability is defined both in terms of the extent to which the two institutions are answerable to their various constituencies, and of any responsibilities they might for promoting respect for human rights. Although much vilified by anti-globalization groups and other parts of civil society, the paradox is that the Bank and the Fund are also energetically courted by some of the same groups in order to secure their support for initiatives designed to promoted human rights, environmental sustainability, gender equity and other objectives. Case studies focus on privatization and water, the Bank’s role in funding large-scale extractive industries, the Fund’s promotion of global standards in diverse areas, challenges of involuntary resettlement for dam-building, corruption, and conditionality.
Human Rights: Advanced Research
Philip Alston
This seminar is designed for students who already have a background in human rights law. Each student will be writing a substantial research paper and the goal of the seminar will be to contribute to thinking about the issues raised and critiquing drafts. In terms of topics the focus will be flexible but my preference will be for students interested in studying some aspect of the issue of Summary Executions as defined within international law. Students who wish to be admitted will need to send a brief outline of their proposed topics, along with an indication of their background in the field, to the instructor by the end of October 2005. Admission will be by permission of the instructor and no more than 10 students will be admitted.
Selected Problems in United Nations Law: State-Building, Governance, and Accountability
Simon Chesterman
This seminar examines the normative framework within which international organizations operate through detailed study of legal issues arising in the exercise of quasi-governmental powers by the United Nations. This new governance practice makes it important to analyse and refine the rules and institutions that channel and constrain the exercise of this power, and to strengthen the remedies available when it is abused. State-building through external intervention will be the primary empirical focus, though the course will also consider less coercive and extensive engagement in national governance structures through humanitarian relief, development assistance, and electoral supervision. Key themes to be explored are the sources and content of norms governing activity in this area, the forms of accountability for the actors concerned, and the costs, benefits, and practicality of possible reforms.
The Anthropology of Human Rights
Sally Merry
This course examines the origins of human rights thinking in Europe and the U.S. and its contemporary elaboration and dissemination in the post-World War II period. This includes an analysis of its institutional grounding in United Nations institutions and non-governmental organizations. The course examines the opposition between culture and rights along with current theoretical efforts to negotiate an intermediate space. The course discusses the way particular concepts of culture and rights are deployed in the global production and localization of human rights ideas and examines human rights as a practice, a discourse, and a form of global law. Specific areas of focus include indigenous rights and women's rights. The course discusses approaches to transnational, deterritorialized, and multi-sited ethnography.
Human Rights Courses (Fall 2005)
International Human Rights
Philip Alston
The course provides a general introduction to the role of human rights in the 21st century.It examines the historical origins of the concept, its international legal context and its normative structure. Themes that run throughout the course include cultural relativism, the relationship between rights and duties, the 'public-private' distinction, changing conceptions of statehood and sovereignty, and responses to terrorism. The course concentrates on the United Nations system, dealing with both Charter-based and treaty-based arrangements. In order to illustrate the functions and processes of institutions we look at issues such as summary executions, disappearances, arbitrary detention, homosexuality, democratization, and the human rights responsibilities of non-state actors such as corporations.
Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts
Eyal Benvenisti
The aim of this course is to explore the potential and limits of the law governing the conduct of hostilities. We will examine the evolution of The Hague rules of land warfare, the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, their application in current conflicts, including the war on terrorism, as well as their interface with international human rights law, while focusing on specific questions such as the right to participate in hostilities, the choice of weapons, the distinctions between combatants and civilians and belligerent occupation. We will also look at the modalities for enforcing this law and in particular assess the effectiveness of war crimes trials as one of the modalities.
Transitional Justice
Paul van Zyl and Alexander Boraine
The course deals with legal, moral, social and political questions that arise in countries emerging from massive conflict or from periods of authoritarian or repressive rule. The course will focus on the strategies available to new democratic governments in order to confront a legacy of human rights abuse. These strategies include prosecutions, truth commissions, reparation programs, institutional reforms and reconciliation programs. The course will examine the precise nature of the international law obligations that arise following the commission of gross violations of human rights. It will also explore the real constraints embryonic democracies face in attempting to comply with these obligations. The course will cover a historical period from the commencement of the Nuremberg Trials until recent efforts to pursue accountability in Sierra Leone, Peru and East Timor. Taking this class is a prerequisite for the Spring 2005 seminar, Case Studies in Transitional Justice.
Recourse to Force in International Law
Thomas Franck and Miriam Sapiro
This seminar will examine the law of the U.N. Charter and its development through judicial decisions and practices over the past half-century insofar as it pertains to the use of military force by states acting individually and collectively, and by "coalitions of the willing" acting under the auspices of the Security Council. Military actions to be studied include those responding to threats to the peace, acts of aggression and gross violations of human rights.
Toward a New Democracy: The South African Model
Alexander Boraine
The course deals with South Africa's transition from apartheid to a new democracy. The focus will be on the apartheid laws which deprived Black South Africans of fundamental human rights. Attention will also be given to the new Constitution which was the result of 4 years of negotiations between former enemies. In addition, emphasis will be placed on the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act which was the Act governing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. A special feature will be consideration of South Africa's amnesty law. There are a number of unique features of South Africa's transition to democracy and these will be considered. South Africa's Constitutional Court is regarded in many parts of the world as one of the best of its kind and a study will be made of how it came about and the first major legal decisions taken by the Court.
Legal Restraints on the War on Terrorism
Eyal Benvenisti
Democracies fighting terrorism face several dilemmas: to what extent should they restrict civil liberties, allow ethnic profiling, use force to preempt terrorist attacks or subject suspected terrorists to harsh measures to elicit information. This course will address the responses to these dilemmas offered by the law of the U.S. and other democracies, and by international law. In addition to examining the normative aspects, we will focus on the crucial role played by domestic and international courts in reviewing governmental policies.
