Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this module, a student, who has attended lectures and engaged with directed readings, will be able to:
(a) Describe and evaluate procedural requirements for bringing a rights complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
(b) Understand the ‘place’ of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in the Irish legal system.
(c) Engage with debates on the challenges facing the ECtHR, from legitimacy, scope, over-reach and a range of other critiques.
(d) Critically analyse the jurisprudence of the ECtHR in relation to a range of substantive rights, focusing on issues of interpretation and evolution of rights under the ECHR.
(e) Distinguish, apply and critique the case law of the ECtHR.
Indicative Module Content:
Substantive topics for 2023 will be (subject to any amendment):
(1) The ECHR, ECtHR, institutional competencies and relationship with Irish law;
(2) the right to life;
(3) freedom from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment;
(4) the ECHR and criminal law;
(5) the ECHR and LGBTQ+ rights;
(6) the ECHR and migration at sea
(7) freedom of expression and hate speech
(8) freedom of thought, conscience and religion & the right to education
(9) the application of the ECHR to armed conflict situations and other emergencies ‘threatening the life of the nation’
(10) the right to privacy (Art.8) - surveillance aspects.