Rutgers Law

601:736. Safeguarding human rights - a European perspective

Gerd Oberleitner

Rutgers University, August/September 2016

Course description

The course provides in-depth information on the European human rights system from the perspective of international law, engages with current human rights problems from a European perspective and allows learners to develop an advanced understanding of human rights law. It provides an overview of the European human rights system and covers the substance, scope and limits of the European Convention on Human Rights. Course participants will be introduced to the functioning and role of the European Court of Human Rights and will discuss the execution and impact of the Court’s judgments. Course participants will work on case studies in the areas of the right to life, liberty and security; freedom of expression and opinion; private life; and terrorism and human rights. The Course also covers European human rights standards, mechanisms and institutions for the protection and promotion of social rights, the prevention of torture and the protection of minorities, and discusses the role of human rights in the European Union, both internally and in the Union’s external action, including the current European refugee and asylum crisis.