Unit information: European Human Rights Law in 2011/12

Unit name	European Human Rights Law
Unit code	LAWD30121
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Emeritus Professor. Greer
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	University of Bristol Law School
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This unit considers the European Convention on Human Rights, and the associated case law, in the context of wider debates about the nature of human rights. Topics include: origins of the human right ideal; structure of the ECHR; general issues in the nature and interpretation of human rights; and the following Articles: Article 2 - Life; Article 3 - Torture; Article 5 - Liberty; Article 6 - Fair Trial; Article 8 - Private Life; Article 9 - Religion; Article 10 - Expression; Article Article 14 - Equality; and Article 15 - derogation.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit, a successful student will be able to explain:

a) the purpose and overall design of the ECHR; b) the role of the European Court of Human Rights; c) key decisions of the ECtHR

Students should also be able to critically appraise the judgments of the ECtHR in relation to wider debates about issues related to core ECHR rights, eg abortion, terrorism, discrimination, and to come to provisional, reasoned conclusions about how they might best be understood and the problems they present resolved.

This unit is also intended to improve the following benchmark skills – critical analysis of legal texts, judicial opinions, and written argumentation.

Teaching Information

10 two hour seminars

Assessment Information

One three-hour closed book examination in May/June, in which students answer 3 questions from a choice of 7 or 8 questions.

Reading and References

Textbooks:

• Harris, O’Boyle, Bates & Buckley, Harris, O’Boyle & Warbrick: Law of the European Convention on Human Rights, 2nd edn. (Oxford University Press, 2009) is the most thorough.

• White & Ovey, Jacobs, White and Ovey: The European Convention on Human Rights, 5th edn. (Oxford University Press, 2010) provides a broader overview.

Critical commentaries etc:

• J. Christoffersen & M. Madsen (eds), The European Court of Human Rights Between Law and Politics (Oxford University Press, 2011)

• E. Bates, The Evolution of the European Convention on Human Rights: From its Inception to the Creation of a Permanent Court of Human Rights (Oxford University Press, 2010).

• G. Letsas, A Theory of Interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights (Oxford University Press, 2007).

• S. Greer, The European Convention on Human Rights: Achievements, Problems and Prospects (Cambridge University Press, 2006).

Collections of cases and materials:

• Janis, Kay & Bradley, European Human Rights Law: Text and Materials 3rd edn. (Oxford University Press, 2008)

• Mowbray, Cases and Materials on the European Convention on Human Rights, 2nd edn. (Oxford University Press, 2007), 3rd edn. due February 2012.

Collections of documents:

• Ghandhi, International Human Rights Documents, (7th edn., 2010).

• Brownlie & Goodwin-Gil, Basic Documents on Human Rights (6th edn, 2010).

• Smith, Core Documents on European and International Human Rights (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010).

Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights can be found (unbound) in the Wills Library at KC 29 and (bound) in the European Human Rights Reports (EHRR) at KC 29.E8. Decisions of the European Commission of Human Rights can be found in Decisions and Reports (D&R) KC 30 and in the Yearbook KC1.E7. Judgments of the Court and decisions of the Commission, plus indexes to the case law and thematic fact sheets, can also be found on the Court’s HUDOC database: http://www.echr.coe.int/ECHR/EN/hudoc.