European Human Rights

This course, which is taught over one semester, is primarily concerned with the growing body of jurisprudence emerging from the European Commission and Court of Human Rights and, to a lesser extent, the European Court of Justice, under the European Convention on Human Rights. The historical development of human rights law in Europe will be examined and consideration will be given to the status of the Convention in the domestic law of member states of the Council of Europe. Particular attention will be paid to its legal status and impact in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The case law of the Court of Human Rights will be examined in a thematic way and the various interpretative approaches adopted by the Court will be appraised critically. The European Social Charter and the increasingly significant Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe will also be considered.