NOM212: Human Rights Law

The purpose of the Thematic Unit is to familiarise students with the concept of human rights and the mechanisms of their protection. The conceptual and historical delimitation of the concept of human rights is the starting point, emphasising the importance of the principle of their indivisible and inalienable nature and its interdependence with the various categories of human rights. After this brief introduction, the Thematic Unit examines the universal protection of human rights, as enshrined in both the UN treaty system for the protection of human rights and the extra-conventional UN system for the protection of human rights. Furthermore, the Thematic Unit addresses the issue of human rights protection on the European continent in the context of both the Council of Europe and the European Union, in order to demonstrate inter alia the essential differences between the two institutions and compare the limited scope of human rights protection in EU law with regard to the one provided by the ECHR system. We will focus on one of the issues at stake, EU's accession to the ECHR and its implications with regard to EU human rights protection. An attempt will also be made to understand the key features and functioning of the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and their interaction with the UN, the regional human rights systems, civil society and the governments with which they work together so as to carry out their challenging mission. Finally, the Thematic Unit concludes with the study of specific substantive rights, such as the right to life and prohibition of torture.