International Human Rights Law LLM

About the Course

The programme is designed to enable successful candidates to become human rights practitioners, advocates and critical scholars. Students will be taught by leading academics with a wide range of expertise in human rights practice, policy, activism and governmental, international and non-governmental organisations.

The course is aimed at graduates from all over the world who are keen to develop an expertise in the evolving discipline of international human rights law. Students will have the opportunity to critically engage with many of the human rights issues that feature strongly in public debate today.

Aims

• To enable graduates to develop an expertise in the corpus and complexities of international human rights law.
• To equip graduates with critical and analytical skills in the complex field of international human rights law.
• To enable graduates to demonstrate through original research the application of knowledge, practical understanding and critical appreciation that can contribute to the discourse on international human rights law.

Enquiries

Jenny King, Senior PG Programme Administrator 
Brunel Law School
Brunel University
Email j.king@brunel.ac.uk
Tel +44 (0)1895 267316
Fax +44 (0)1895 810476
Web www.brunel.ac.uk/law

Course Director: Dr Holger Sutschet

Special Features

Research centres
The Law School benefits from active research centres which regularly host research seminars and workshops. Many of these have been on the topic of international human rights. LLM students will be expected to actively participate in the activities of relevant research centres, in particular the Human Rights and Cultural Diversity Research Centre.

Extra-curricular activities
The Law School offers students numerous opportunities to participate in extra-curricular activities, including a Reading Group, a Law Film society, mooting and debating societies and research workshops organized by the research centres based at the School. LLM students are expected to play a leading role organising and participating in these activities.

Research skills
The Law School offers an elaborate scheme of research and writing skills sessions designed to facilitate students’ learning and to equip them with appropriate transferable skills. Some of the modules in this programme also integrate skills training, for example on how to answer essay questions, make use of electronic legal databases and cite legal authorities.

Course Content

Note: modules are subject to withdrawal at the School's discretion.

Typical Modules

Core

Fundamentals of International Human Rights Law
The module provides a detailed overview of international human rights law in context. Students will study and assess the development and impact of the international system for the protection of human rights; its principles and rules. The module examines the role of the United Nations in standard setting and implementation. Students will have the opportunity to evaluate the efficacy of the international human rights project to date and to recommend strategies for improvement.

Regional Protection of Human Rights
The module provides a detailed overview of regional protection of human rights law in context. Students will study and assess the development and impact of regional systems for the protection of human rights. The module examines both the implementation and enforcement of regional human rights and compares and contrasts universal and regional systems of protection. Students will have the opportunity to assess the efficacy of regional human rights projects to date and to recommend strategies for improvement.

Dissertation
After the taught modules have been completed in May, if you are taking the LLM you will work on your 15,000-word dissertation under the supervision of a member of staff on a topic related to international human rights, agreed between yourself and the Programme Director. Candidates must demonstrate research skills, showing evidence of engagement with both primary and secondary sources, reasoning skills, writing skills, and display originality in the application of knowledge and established practices. Students are also required to demonstrate the ability to plan and execute the research project under the guidance of a supervisor. The dissertation is due at the end of September.

Options (two from)

Public International Law
Students will be provided a detailed overview of the International Legal System in order to study and assess the development and practice of International law generally. This is achieved through analysis of current issues in international law, leading to an evaluation of the efficacy of the International Legal System and recommendation of strategies for improvement.

The Migrant, the State and the Law
This module will provide a critical and theoretical overview of the central features of migration and refugee law and policy and the interaction between the two. Students will study the legal and political processes behind the construction of the migrant and the refugee as ‘others’ in relation to the state. The module examines the formulation, implementation and enforcement of refugee and migration law and policy at the international, regional and state level. Students will evaluate the potential for law and human rights protection standards to account for the protection of migrants and refugees and will develop a critical understanding of the law as an instrument of exclusion.
 
Minority and Indigenous Rights
This module provides a critical overview of the human rights standards relating to minorities and indigenous peoples in a legal, political and social context. The module will examine the processes that underlie the adoption of international protection standards relating to minorities and indigenous peoples. Students will have the opportunity to critically evaluate the current level of human rights protection of minorities and indigenous peoples, indentifying the continuing challenges to their recognition and protection under prevailing human rights law.

International Human Rights Law and Islam
Students will examine the diversity within the Sharia principles and approaches towards human rights: think critically about the overall relationship of the Sharia with modern international law and human rights law; examine the role and relationship of Sharia with several of the controversial subjects within human rights law – these include the Sharia and women’s rights, the Sharia and Child rights, Islam and family law, Islam and minority rights, Islam and the prohibition of terrorism; critically examine the issue of reform and greater compatibility of the Sharia with human rights values.

International Criminal Law
During the last decade ICL has developed rapidly. This module takes up these developments to provide a comprehensive analytical coverage of substantive ICL delineating its relationship to international human rights law and international criminal justice. This module will examine mainly substantive aspects of ICL and will complement with the procedural and enforcement aspects examined in the International Criminal Justice and Comparative Criminal Justice modules.

Main themes: General principles of ICL, genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, crime of aggression, criminal jurisdiction, immunities, enforcement of ICL.

International Criminal Justice
This module will provide students with an overview of the establishment of the system of international criminal justice and its enforcement mechanisms through the work of international criminal courts and tribunals (ie Nuremberg Tribunal, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court) and other hybrid tribunals (ie the Special Court of Sierra Leone, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon). It will also assess the role of international criminal courts and tribunals in promoting respect for international human rights standards (ie fair trial rights), and will examine alternative means of international justice (ie truth and reconciliation commissions and amnesty).

Main themes: From Nuremberg to the International Criminal Court. Victims’ participation, admissions of guilt and witness proofing. Investigation, prosecution and fair trials at international criminal tribunals and the ICC. Alternative means of justice.

Comparative Criminal Justice
This module will provide students with a detailed overview of the essential elements of pre-trial and trial criminal procedures in common law and civil law systems, giving them the opportunity to compare and contrast legislation, case law and the law in action, with a view to obtaining a better understanding of their own legal system and conceptualising solutions to complex criminal procedure issues.

Main themes: criminal justice institutions, police interrogation, police searches, surveillance and telephone interceptions, plea bargaining, pre-trial detention, trial by jury and trial by professional magistrates, fair trial guarantees.

Counter-terrorism and Human Rights
This module will provide students with an understanding of domestic and international approaches to counter-terrorism adopted after September 11th, with an emphasis on their impact on human rights and national security. The comparative analysis of counter-terrorism strategies adopted by the United States, the United Kingdom, France and India will bring to the surface divergent approaches to fighting international terrorism.

Through the study of Islamic law’s approach to terrorism and the concept of Jihad more specifically this module will also offer invaluable clarifications of this complex issue for everyone aspiring to work in this area. This module will then take students from the comparative level to the international one, by looking at terrorism through the lens of international criminal law. The module will conclude with the study of piracy and its interconnections with international terrorism.

Main themes: Domestic approaches to counter-terrorism (US, UK, India and France – detention without trial, house arrests, torture, rendition, electronic surveillance, stop and search, military commissions, secret evidence, intelligence services); Jihad, terrorism and Islamic law; terrorism and international criminal law; terrorism and piracy.

Teaching and Learning

The faculty places great emphasis on the creation of a unique learning experience. In addition to attending seminars and preparing coursework and exams, students will also learn by participating in research centre activities and research trips, contributing to newsletters, making oral presentations, attending law film screenings as well as participating in debating events and reading group sessions.

Assessment

The faculty places great emphasis on the creation of a unique learning experience. In addition to attending seminars and preparing coursework and exams, students will also learn by participating in research centre activities and research trips, contributing to newsletters, making oral presentations, attending law film screenings as well as participating in debating events and reading group sessions.

Assessment methods in this programme range from coursework, seen examinations and a dissertation (15,000 words) to oral presentations and assessment by contribution in seminars.

Employability

Brunel University has always placed great emphasis on developing graduates who can be innovative, adding value to society through their work. Brunel students become the kind of graduates whom employers want to recruit and as a result they currently enjoy the 13th highest starting salaries in the UK. This success is down to several factors:

• creative and forward-looking subjects
• an award-winning careers service
• the entrepreneurial spirit 

Careers

Brunel University has always placed great emphasis on developing graduates who can be innovative, adding value to society through their work. Brunel students become the kind of graduates whom employers want to recruit and as a result they currently enjoy the 13th highest starting salaries in the UK. This success is down to several factors:

• combining academic study with work experience
• creative and forward-looking subjects
• an award-winning careers service
• working while they study
• the entrepreneurial spirit 

The human rights programme is suitable for students who are looking for career opportunities in human rights advocacy or in governmental and non-governmental human rights organisations at the national and international level, as well as for students interested in pursuing an academic career. 

Fees for 2012/13 entry

Home/EU students: £7,130 full-time

International students: £12,650 full-time

Read about funding opportunities available to postgraduate students

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements for 2012 Entry

The normal requirement for admission will be a good undergraduate honours degree in law (or overseas equivalent). We welcome applications from overseas students.

Entry Requirements for 2011 Entry (click to expand)

English Language Requirements

• IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
• TOEFL Paper test: 580 (TWE 4.5)
• TOEFL Internet test: 92 (R20, L20, S20, W20)
• Pearson: 59 (51 in all subscores)

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.