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Degree Course in

Global Politics and Euro-Mediterranean Relations

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INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

Academic Year 2022/2023 - Teacher: Calogero Alfio PETTINATO

Expected Learning Outcomes

This course aims at providing students with the fundamental concepts on the international protection of human rights as well as the necessary methodological tools to understand and solve the main problems relating to the interpretation and application of relevant rules in this sector.

Course Structure

Academic teaching with a progressive interaction with students, also based upon a case-law analysis.

Required Prerequisites

Knowledge of the fundamental notions of international law.

Detailed Course Content

General Issues.

Sources of international human rights law: international customary and jus cogens rules, treaties, acts of international organizations and soft law.

Interaction between different international legal sources and their relationship with domestic legal systems.

The interpretation of human rights international legal principles and rules, with particular regard to treaties.

Subjective scope of application of international human rights rules: entities subject to international human rights obligations and beneficiaries of human rights.

The United Nations’ system of protection of human rights, mainly the U.N. Universal Declaration on Human Rights of 1948 and the U.N. Covenants on civil and political rights and on economic, social and cultural rights of 1966.

The most relevant case-law on the protection of a few selected human rights, such as: the right to life and death penalty; the prohibition of torture, inhuman and cruel treatment; freedom of thought, conscience and religion and freedom of expression.

Compliance, monitoring mechanisms and complaint procedures. Enforcement of international human rights law.

Textbook Information

SHELTON D. L., Advanced Introduction to International Human Rights Law, Cheltenham-Northampton, 2020; or

PUSTORINO P., Introduction to International Human Rights Law, TMC Asser Press, 2023 (forthcoming).
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