Course Catalogue

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The incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law by virtue of the Scotland Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998 provides a relevant justification for this course as does Committee of Ministers Recommendation Rec (2004) 4. We will examine critically key aspects of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and the work of other monitoring bodies of the Council of Europe.

10 2-hour seminars.

This course is only available to LLB students.

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Group essay (35%); individual problem-based assignment (drafting a judgment) (65%).

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course aims to develop an understanding of the European Convention on Human Rights and related European human rights monitoring bodies; and also certain 'transferable' or 'key' skills in students: ie, communication, problem-solving, working with others, improving one's own learning and performance, and IT.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ understand the enforcement machinery under the European Convention of Human Rights

■ critically evaluate key jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and

■ gain an awareness of other Council of Europe instruments in the field of human rights including the Torture Convention, European Social Charter, and Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities

■ use the law library and IT to research primary and secondary sources in human rights (including the effective use of computers for advanced research

■ present both oral and written legal arguments on matters concerning human rights

■ take responsibility for their own learning, (including access to IT databases), (that is, to manage the development of own learning by managing time and tasks, learning both independently and with others, using library research skills, and assessing individual performance)

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.