COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
LAW 428	C	8	4	0	0	4	6

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	NA
Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	Dr. Eglantina Farruku efarruku@epoka.edu.al
Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	NA
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	NA
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Elective
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered)	Integrated second cycle study program in Law
Classroom and Meeting Time:
Code of Ethics:	Code of Ethics of EPOKA University Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
Attendance Requirement:
Course Description:	The course aims to provide a basic introduction to international human rights, their conceptual and historical foundations, as well as the main international legal instruments and institutions aimed at protecting and promoting human rights worldwide. The course will offer a variety of disciplinary perspectives on the subject of human rights starting most prominently from international law, but including also history, philosophy, social anthropology and theories of international relations. Throughout the course, concrete case studies will be used to illustrate the range of human rights problems as well as the utility of the accountability paradigm to current international and national events and problems. The combination of theoretical approaches, legal analysis and an investigation into specific historical events and concrete case studies will enable students to acquire key skills in the application of human rights to their research and practice in a variety of areas. Current affairs and student interests will also shape the topics to be discussed as case studies under the core syllabus below.
Course Objectives:	The course begins by examining the philosophical and political bases for the international human rights movement, probing the ongoing debate over universality, culture and human rights. The course introduces the main United Nations and regional systems (with an emphasis on Latin America) for human rights protection and promotion and, in so doing, provides a tool for analyzing conflict and various forms of interventions attempting to promote peace and justice. Further, students become acquainted with the methodology of human rights fact-finding, with attention given to learning and practicing interview techniques and planning investigations

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE

1	Develop analytical skills to question and appraise human rights policies and practices at the international and national levels;
2	Enhance understanding of fact-finding methodology and develop interview skills
3	Gain substantive knowledge of the international law and policy of human rights and consider prevailing trends in the human rights field and of the challenge and contribution of critics;
4	Perceive improvements, discern ambiguities and identify contradictions in the human rights movement;
5	Draw useful conclusions about the roles of various state and nonstate actors in the identification of rights and in their promotion and enforcement; and
6	Identify potential roles for oneself in the promotion of human rights.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Introduction to International Human Rights Law
2	The Long and the short duree of human rights
3	The universality debate of human rights
4	Strategies and tools for application of human rights norms.
5	The Role of NGOs
6	Intervention and Human Rights
7	Doing Human Rights Investigations
8	Midterm
9	Redress of Past Grievances: Truth Commissions
10	Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
11	Globalization and the responsibility of transnational corporations for human rights
12	Terrorism and human rights
13	The future of human rights
14	Review; Debrief for the semester

Prerequisite(s):
Textbook(s):	Columbia University Human Rights Program, 25 Essential Human Rights Documents. (hereafter “Red Book”). David Forsythe, Human Rights in International Relations (New York: Cambridge, 2000). Julie Mertus, American University Human Rights Reader (2002) (customized text prepared with Foreign Affairs). Dermot Groome, The Handbook of Human Rights Investigations (Northborough, MA: Human Rights Press, 2001) (phone: 508-393-4503). Richard Falk, Human Rights Horizons: The Pursuit of Justice in a Globalizing World (New York: Routledge, 2000). Priscilla Hayner, Unspeakable Truths: Confronting State Terror and Atrocity (New York: Routledge, 2001
Additional Literature:	Journal Articles
Laboratory Work:
Computer Usage:
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	Knowledge and understanding of substantive and procedural law
2	Legal analysis and reasoning
3	Identify, explain, and apply the major sources of international human rights law and their defining features
4	Identify, explain, and analyze the major international enforcement mechanisms for international human rights
5	Identify, explain, and analyze the nature and legal characteristics of human rights (individual vs collective; negative vs positive rights; civil and political vs economic and social)
6	Identify, explain, and critically analyze the application of human rights law and norms to address human rights violations and abuses
7	Knowledge and understanding of the debates surrounding the purpose, legitimacy, and efficacy of international human rights norms and their application; application and evaluation of human rights law from these various perspectives (e.g. traditional, feminist, Third World Approaches to International Law, etc.)

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Integrated second cycle study program in Law Program
1	Fitimi dhe përdorimi i njohurive të avancuara në fushën e drejtësisë dhe jurisprudencës, mbështetur në tekstet mësimore, materialet dhe burimet e tjera shkencore.	3
2	Fitimi i njohurive rreth çështjeve dhe problematikave të fushës së drejtësisë, së bashku me analizën e aspekteve historike, shoqërore e politike.	3
3	Fitimi i njohurive rreth organizimit të shtetit.	3
4	Fitimi i njohurive rreth kapaciteteve të analizës lidhur me konceptet dhe ndarjet kryesore të degëve të së drejtës.	5
5	Përmirësimi i aftësive për të punuar së bashku me disiplinat kryesore të shkencave sociale dhe disiplinat e tjera të cilat janë të lidhura me drejtësinë.	4
6	Fitimi i njohurive rreth drejtësisë duke përthithur terminologjinë profesionale të fushës.	4
7	Përcaktimi i ngjarjeve dhe temave komplekse, nëpërmjet zhvillimit të diskutimeve dhe bërjes së sugjerimeve të reja në përputhje me hulumtimet e fushës.	5
8	Fitimi i aftësive në përdorimin e programeve kompjuterike dhe të teknologjisë së informacionit me qëllim arritjen e qasjes në dijen aktuale.	5
9	Përmirësimi i të menduarit kritik dhe aftësive në kryerjen e hulumtimit në mënyrë të pavarur.	5
10	Fitimi i njohurive për të folur në një gjuhë të huaj në një nivel të mjaftueshëm për të komunikuar me kolegët dhe për të kuptuar zhvillimet bashkëkohore në fushën e drejtësisë dhe të jurisprudencës.	5
11	Fitimi i aftësive për të respektuar vlerat shoqërore, shkencore dhe etike gjatë mbledhjes dhe interpretimit të të dhënave që kanë të bëjnë me zhvillimet shoqërore dhe atyre në drejtësi.	5
12	Ndërgjegjësimi në lidhje me rëndësinë e të drejtave të njeriut dhe mjedisit.

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Midterm Exam(s)	1	30
Term Paper	1	30
Final Exam	1	40
	Total Percent:	100%

ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)

Activities	Quantity	Duration(Hours)	Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	16	4	64
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	14	4	56
Mid-terms	1	16	16
Assignments			0
Final examination	1	14	14
Other			0
Total Work Load:			150
Total Work Load/25(h):			6
ECTS Credit of the Course:			6

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER

The students achieved to identify, explain, and analyze the nature and legal characteristics of human rights (individual vs collective; negative vs positive rights; civil and political vs economic and social)