Telephone: (08) 831 35777
Email: laura.grenfell@adelaide.edu.au
Office: Room 3.27, Ligertwood Building.

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

(1) Compare and assess the various theories proposed as the basis for the protection of human rights

(2) Analyse primary sources ie. treaties and cases, with an understanding of the system of public international law and domestic public law

(3) Analyse secondary materials with a critical understanding of the principles of human rights law;

(4) Assess the structure, major institutions and jurisprudence of the international human rights system;

(5) Communicate clearly and concisely about principles of human rights law in both written and oral forms ;

(6)  Identify social and cultural diversity and the operation of Australian human rights law and public international law in that context.

Course Readings for Human Rights Law 2024 (Available week by week on Canvas)

Philip Alston and Ryan Goodman, International Human Rights (OUP 2013). (Note that this is a large book and very expensive. The Law Library has multiple copies available for loan and on reserve.)

MyUni will be used to post announcements, materials (including slides) and assignment tasks. It will contain copies of
the Course Outline, Seminar Guide and Course Materials. Students are expected to check MyUni regularly.

This course will be taught in two-hour lectures and one hour seminars. This will include some lecture material, some discussions and various activities to engage student learning. The method of teaching will be highly interactive, with students expected to participate. There will be some opportunities for students to lead discussions, as well as group exercises.

It is expected that the relevant reading materials will be read (thoroughly) prior to each class.

Class attendance is critical to your learning in this course. The communication skills developed in class by regularly and actively participating in discussions are considered to be most important by the School and are highly regarded by employers and professional bodies.

In addition to attending formal classes it is anticipated that students will do substantial independent work to prepare for classes and to complete the course assignments. The University expects full time students (those undertaking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies.

Tentative Schedule:

Week 1	Introduction to Human Rights Law
Week 2	Factfinding and Advocacy in Human Rights Law
Week 3	The Philosophical and Political Emergence of Human Rights Law
Week 4	The Sources of International Human Rights Law
Week 5	The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
Week 6	The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
Week 7	Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights Law
Week 8	Youth Justice and Human Rights Law
Week 9	Rights in Detention
Week 10	The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Week 11	Deaths in Custody and OPCAT
Week 12	A World Court of Human Rights? Critiquing Human Rights Law

Assessment Task	Task Type (Group or Individual)	Due	Weighting	Length	Redeemable	Course Learning Outcome
Participation	Individual	Throughout semester	10%	Throughout semester	No	5
Group Presentation	Group	Assigned during semester	5%	3-5 minutes max per 2 persons	No	5
Quiz	Individual	Tuesday Week 5	5%	10 multiple choice questions	No	2, 3
Legal Analysis	Individual	Wednesday 2pm first week of mid-semester break	20% (2 x 10%)	2 x 500 words (max) (no footnotes)	No	2, 3 and 5
Optional Submission to an Inquiry	Group 2-4 people	Monday 2pm Week 9	20% (redeemable by Final Research Essay)	1200 words maximum	Yes	2, 3, 4, 5, and 6
Final Research Essay or Presentation option	Individual	Final Research Essay - Wednesday 2pm SWOTVAC week; Essay for Presentation Option -  Monday 2pm first week of exams	60% (or 40% - see above) 60%	Final Research Essay =3000 words (max) ; Presentation Essay = 2000 words (max) + 1-2 page written reflection+ visual material	No	1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

Participation(10%; individual)

Students must:

¨ Attend at least 9 of 12 seminars (unless you are excused for medical or other serious personal reasons). Students will be penalised 5% of the overall mark for non-attendance of the minimum number. (Work commitments will not be considered an excuse to avoid this penalty). 

¨ Participate in the seminar discussion. It is not expected that all comments are ‘correct’, but participation must be based on your reflective reading of the course materials.


Group Presentation  (5%; group)
During the first weeks of semester, all students will be assigned a task to be undertaken as a small group during the semester. Students will be asked to be creative in presenting assigned human rights issues to the class.

Quiz on International Law aspects of Human Rights (5%; individual)
This part of the assessment scheme involves a ten-question Online quiz assessing students' understanding of international human rights law and its machinery.

Legal analysis (20%) (individual)
Students must submit 2 x 500 word (max) analysis on how human rights law relates to a current news item. Each analysis is worth 10%. Instructions will be handed out at the beginning of semester.

Optional Submission to an Inquiry (group) (20%; redeemable)
You have the following two choices for the final part of the assessment:

(i) Research Essay Option (60% - or 40% in combination with Optional Submission) (individual)
A 3000 word (max) essay from a set list of topics provided by week 4 of the course.

Essays must:
Be submitted electronically via Turnitin. (Students must retain a copy of the essay submitted.)

Conform to the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (copies are available at the Library’s reserve desk – an electronic copy can be consulted at http://www.law.adelaide.edu.au/library/resources/style/

Conform to the Law School's Word Limit Policy

Conform to the Law School's Late Submission Policy

Not have been previously submitted for any other course without prior approval from the course co-ordinator.

Be adequately referenced. (A reduction of 5 percent will apply for inadequate referencing.)

Be footnoted

Be double-spaced and paginated

Include a bibliography appropriate for the topic

These requirements are non-negotiable.


(ii) Final Presentation Option (60%) (individual)
This option is for those students who would like to pick their own topic and present it to the class. It is not compatible with the Optional Submission.

Apart from making a presentation to the class, students must hand up a 2000 word (max) paper. Out of the 60%, this paper will be worth 40%. Please note that students writing this paper must follow all the directions re essays as outlined above.


The Final Presentation
The presentation option is designed to allow students to think more creatively about human rights law. Students are encouraged to think of various mediums for the presentation of their topic – video, roleplay, powerpoint presentation etc.

The presentation will take a maximum of 15 minutes: ¼ of the time must be put aside for class interaction.

One week prior to the presentation the presenter must hand up a one-page outline to the course co-ordinator in order to inform her of the proposed set-up. Students are encouraged to speak to the course coordinator beforehand, to seek assistance in developing their topic.

Students will receive 20% out of the 60% mark for this presentation:

10% for a 1-2 page written reflection on the presentation, the skills involved and whether the criteria stated below were met. This should be submitted with the written paper upon submission.

10% of the mark will be graded on the visual material used in the presentation (eg the powerpoint presentation, the handouts etc.). This material should be submitted to the marker at the end of the presentation.

Presentation Assessment Criteria:
The presenter must adhere to the time restrictions;
The presenter must engage the class in discussion through well targeted questions (allocating 5 minutes for this engagement)
The presenter must make eye contact with the class;
The presenter must use visual aids to assist the discussion of the topic eg video, powerpoint, overheads, handouts etc;
The presenter must speak at a steady pace so that the presentation is easy to follow;
The presenter must present the issues with clarity and demonstrate an understanding of the topic through the quality of their observations and comments
The presenter must flag how the presentaiton topic fits into the course as a whole.

The reflection piece must be a critical self-assessment as to whether these above criteria were met.


2. General Assessment Criteria
Depth of legal analysis and level of critical examination of the legal issues raised.
Level of legal insight and innovative thought.
Clarity of expression.
Logical planning and sequence.
Demonstrated understanding of the relevant legal material eg international conventions, jurisprudence of treaty bodies, legislation, cases.
Correct application of relevant material, in particular the primary sources.
Overall presentation, including grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Use of resources in formulating the paper including proper acknowledgement and correct referencing.

All assessments will be submitted and monitored through text or code comparative software (e.g. Turnitin) where possible.

Late Submission:

5% of the total mark possible will be deducted for every 24 hours or part thereof that it is late, including each day on a weekend. For example, an essay that is submitted after the due date and time but within the first 24 hour period, and that has been graded at 63%, will have 5% deducted, for a final grade of 58%. An essay that is more than 24 hours late will lose 10%, etc. Hard copy submissions made after 5.00pm on a Friday will be assumed to have been submitted on the next business day and will be penalised accordingly.

Word Length:

5% of the total mark possible for a written assessment will be deducted for every 100 words (or part thereof) by which it exceeds a stipulated word limit. For example, a 3,000 word essay graded at 63% will have 5% deducted if it is between 3,001 and 3,100 words long for a final mark of 58%. If the essay is between 3,101 and 3,200 words long, 10% will be deducted for a final mark of 53%, etc. Word limits include all words in the text, in headings, in quotations, but exclude citations in footnotes. Any separate cover page, table of contents, bibliography or list of sources is excluded from the word limit. If the word limit is misstated, this may be regarded as academic dishonesty.

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

• assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
• detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
• sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
• reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
• comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
• automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
• the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

Student feedback The course is constantly being updated and revised to reflect the evolution of the law, to respond to student feedback, and to engage with the latest teaching practices. Student feedback is collected each time the course is run, including through SELT reports. Previous SELT reports, and staff feedback on them, are posted on the course MyUni site for students to view and consider.

The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the University of Adelaide.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

Lex Salus Program

Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our Facebook page, website and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support

The University’s Student Life Counselling Support service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.

Academic Integrity

All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Integrity Policy. Academic Misconduct is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic Misconduct (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia. Academic Integrity is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.