11 February-24 March 2015 (E03515) | Closed
Instructor: Dr. Gerd Oberleitner
What is the role of international courts and tribunals in protecting and promoting human rights? To many, it seems self-evident that courts are the best guarantors for human rights: they punish perpetrators, end impunity, deter potential wrong-doers and (re-)establish justice. They bring the individual into the international arena, intrude in formerly “domestic affairs” and allow victims to claim financial compensation. To others, the adjudication of human rights suffers from severe drawbacks: the potential of courts to prevent human rights abuses is limited, they do not respond to structural injustice, they are ill-suited for systematic and gross human rights violations, they put justice over reconciliation and they do little to effectively remedy the suffering of victims.
International courts are as manifold as the advantages and setbacks they have come to stand for: some allow only states as parties, while others are open to individuals. Some are established permanently on treaty basis, while some are set up by the Security Council or are of a hybrid nature. Some grant damages, while some give advice. Some seem do function, while others don’t. They work under the constraints of international law and in the emerging triangular relationship of international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international criminal law. Their proliferation over the past decades seems to speak for their added value, but what is their impact on human rights?
This e-learning course explores the multitude of international courts and tribunals which have been set up – since the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals after World War II – to adjudicate on human rights in the broadest sense, including violations of the law of armed conflict and international criminal law. It provides information and case studies on the working of such courts, from the International Court of Justice to ad hoc and hybrid criminal tribunals and from the regional human rights courts to the International Criminal Court. The course critically explores the role and value of such courts in promoting and protecting human rights as well as the advantages and drawbacks of entrusting international courts with human rights issues.
This certificate course is inter-disciplinary in its approach and draws on reading from international relations and international law. Knowledge of human rights, international humanitarian law and international criminal law is beneficial, but not a prerequisite.