Welcome!

This is a course about human rights, with a main focus on the European Court of Human Rights (Council of Europe). Partially, we will also look at human rights protection by the European Court of Justice (European Union).

Credits will be awarded to those students who will actively attend the seminars - there are 12 classes in total, one absence is allowed by the faculty but since we are very kind, we give you one more "free pass". That means that if you come to 10 out of 12 classes and if you participate actively, you will fullfil A) one of the conditions for passing the course. Further conditions for passing a course are B) a midterm test and C) active participation in two group presentations.

We will provide you with readings for every class and we expect you to read them in order to prepare for our class discussion.

Primary course material: Fiona de Londras & Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou, (2018) Great Debates in the European Convention on Human Rights, (Palgrave MacMillan)

Great Debates

Week by week, we will also give you further materials, mostly case-law of the European courts.

Further sources:

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ammended)
• ICCPR
• ICESCR
• Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
• German Basic Law (art. 1 - 19)
• Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
• The Czech Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms
• US Constitution + Ammendments
• Constitutions Finder