LW920-7-SP-CO:
The Inter-American System of Human Rights
PLEASE NOTE: This module is inactive. Visit the Module Directory to view modules and variants offered during the current academic year.
2023/24
Essex Law School
Colchester Campus
Spring
Postgraduate: Level 7
Inactive
Monday 15 January 2024
Friday 22 March 2024
15
26 September 2019
Requisites for this module
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The module on the Inter-American system of human rights is open to both LLMs and MA students. It will be offered during the second term of the academic year (January to March 2020). The aim of this module is primarily to introduce master students to the law in action of the Inter-American System of Human Rights.
Although it is difficult to claim any American uniqueness in relation to western human rights culture, the module aims to bring an insight into American legal consciousness, which is not always simply a reproduction, mimesis or transplant of international human rights law or of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. As a result, the module aims to familiarise students with the type of human rights law arguments that penetrate and work within the Inter-American System as well as with the socio-legal context that surrounds the working of the System.
The module will familiarise students with the Inter-American system through the case law of the Commission and the Court, reports of the Commission, other relevant documents of the Organisation of American States, and key scholarly materials. The module will look at advocacy, practice and jurisprudence in the region.
If possible, and depending on their availability, persons with in-depth knowledge on the OAS system, either because they work for NGOs litigating before the system, or because they work for the Commission or the Court, or have done it in the past, will be invited to share their views with the class on selected issues. These speakers will provide students with different perspectives on the functioning of the system, which will enrich their approach to it, and illustrate the gaps and challenges ahead.
Who should take this module?
* Students interested in working in any of the states of the American Continent, even if that specific State (i.e. US or Canada) has not ratified the American Convention or any other of the OAS human rights treaties.
* Students willing to work for an international organisation such as the United Nations or for an international, regional or local NGO with a focus on a country in the Americas or the Americas region as a whole.
* Students interested in particular topics that have been the object of important developments in the system. Examples of such areas are: disappearances as a multiple human rights violation, torture, transitional justice, access to justice, the situation of indigenous rights, remedies and reparations and the right to health among others. The jurisprudence of the system in these areas is simply ground-breaking.
The sessions will be dynamic. While Professor Sandoval and Dr. Palacios Zuloaga will share their knowledge with the class, all students taking the module for credit or auditing it are expected to participate actively during class. Students will also have the opportunity to make a presentation during the module on a subject related to the themes of each class.
Students will have the opportunity to be involved in litigation before the system by assisting the module director in some of the cases she is currently involved in or could learn more about the system by assisting the Human Rights Law Implementation Project in the part that concerns the Americas, in particular the study of factors that enable or hinder implementation of decisions by the System in Guatemala, Canada and Colombia. More on this project can be found here.
There will be other opportunities to work on the System and enhance your knowledge. Professor Sandoval and Dr. Palacios Zuloaga will inform the class about them when available.
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
Coursework / exam |
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Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Clara Sandoval-Villalba, email: csando@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Clara Sandoval and Dr Patricia Palacios-Zuloaga
lawpgtadmin@essex.ac.uk
Yes
No
Yes
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
Of 18 hours, 18 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
Essex Law School
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