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 2020 (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. It can be purchased at Unibooks and all major bookstores. The Law Library has multiple copies available for loan and on reserve.

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	Introduction to Human Rights Law #2
Week 3	Cultural Relativism, and the Meaning and Use of Human Rights Law
Week 4	The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
Week 5	the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Week 6	Immigration Detention
Week 7	Australian and the Twin Covenants
Week 8	OPCAT
Week 9	The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Week 10	The UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities
Week 11	International criminal courts and HUman Rights Law
Week 12	Critiquing Human Rights Law

Due to the current COVID-19 situation modified arrangements have been made to assessments to facilitate remote learning and teaching. Assessment details provided here reflect recent updates.

The assessment has been modified as follows:

Assessment Task	Task Type (Group or Individual)	Due	Weighting	Length	Redeemable	Course Learning Outcome
Formal Group Participation	Group	Assigned during semester	5%	15 minutes in total	No	5
Quiz	Individual	Monday 30th March 2.45-4pm	5%	10 multiple choice questions	No	2, 3
Legal Reports	Individual	Tuesday 14th April 2pm	30% (2 x 15%	2 x 650 words (no footnotes)	No	2, 3 and 5
Optional Submission	Group 2-3 people	Monday, 2pm, week 9	20% (redeemable by essay)	1500 words maximum	Yes	2, 3, 4, 5, and 6
Essay option or Presentation option	Individual	Monday 2pm, Week 14 (Monday 15th June 2pm) Essay for Presentation Option (due Friday 19th June)	60% (or 40% for Essay +Optional Submission	3500 Essay (60%or 40%) Presentation (60%) 2000 words + written reflection+ visual material	No	1,2,3,4,5 and 6

Part 1 - Participation (10%)
Students must:
¨ Attend at least 9 of 12 teaching weeks (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.

The assessment of participation aims to assess the following course aims: Knowledge, Intellectual and Social Skills, Attitudes and Values.

Seminar questions over the semester are designed to improve students’ ability to critically engage with Human Rights Law. Participation marks provide a basis for assessing students’ ability to intelligently discuss and debate Human Rights Law. Participation marks chiefly assess students’ oral communication skills and seminar preparation. There will be extensive use of small group discussions, to encourage students to work co-operatively together in groups, and participation marks will be awarded on the basis of contribution to small group discussion as well as participation in the larger class.

A guide to the award of participation marks is as follows:

Zero (0) – no evidence of preparation or contribution to small group or larger class discussion

Poor (1-4) – evidence of some preparation but no or very little contribution to small group or larger class discussion; poor quality of contribution displaying little understanding of the issues and demonstrating poor oral communication and legal skills.

Good (5-7) – evidence of good preparation, active contribution to small group discussion; contribution of a quality that displays a reasonable to good understanding of the law, and good oral communication and legal skills.

Excellent (7.5-10) – evidence of thorough preparation, active contribution to small group discussion and participation in the larger class; high level understanding of the law and critical analysis, evidence of excellent oral and legal skills.


Part 2

Formal Group  task (5%)
During the first weeks of semester, 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%)
This part of the assessment scheme involves a ten-question Online quiz assessing students' understanding of international human rights law and its machinery.

Legal reports (30%)
Students must submit a 650 word report on how human rights law relates to a current news item and a 650 report on their observations and analysis of a court/tribunal matter.
Instructions will be handed out at the beginning of semester.

Both pieces must be submitted Tuesday 14th April at 2pm.


Part 3 Group Submission option (20%; redeemable)
You have the following choices for Part 4:
(i) Research Essay Option (60% - or 40% in combination with Optional Group Submission)
A 3500 word essay from a set list of topics provided at the beginning of the course.

Essays must:
Be submitted electronically via Turnitin by Monday, week 14, at 2pm. This date is not negotiable. 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 Word Limit Policy
Words in excess of the word limit will not be read. Note that substantive footnotes will be included in the word count.

Conform to the Late Submission Policy
Essays handed in after the due date will not be read or graded. Extensions are only available on medical or compassionate grounds (see below).

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 (substantive footnotes will be included in the word count)

Be double-spaced and paginated

Have a bibliography appropriate for the topic

These requirements are non-negotiable.


(ii) Presentation Option (60%)
This option is for those students who would like to pick their own topic and present it to the class in week 13. It is not compatible with the submission option.

Apart from making a presentation to the class, students must hand up a 2000 word paper on Friday week 14 at 2pm. 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 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, overheads etc.

Presentations can be done individually or in groups. Each individual presentation will take a maximum of 20 minutes. This means that if there is a group of 3 students for example, the group will be allocated an hour for its presentation. This time must be managed carefully: ¼ of the time must be put aside for class interaction.

One week prior to the presentation the presenter(s) must hand up a one-page outline to the course co-ordinator in order to inform her of the proposed set-up.

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 overheads, 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.


Essays will be graded as follows:
Fail 0-49
Does not address the question
Does not develop coherent and rational arguments
Demonstrates fundamental errors of understanding of key legal principles and concepts
Minimal evidence of research to support argument
Absence of legal analysis
Demonstrates limited analytical and evaluative skills

Pass 50-64%
Adequate articulation of argument
Demonstrates a basic understanding and application of analytic concepts and theoretical concepts
Minimal adherence to citation style
Adequate relevant research informing the argument
Basic understanding of that reading
Insufficient legal analysis
Adequate skills in written expression and presentation

Credit 65-74
Demonstrates a high level of understanding of the relevant legal materials
Shows a thorough understanding of relevant legal materials
Demonstrates some critical legal thinking and evaluative skills
Adequate legal analysis
Adequate skills in written expression and presentation

Distinction 75-84
High standard of understanding of the relevant legal materials with some original and sophisticated perspectives
High level of insight and legal analysis
Broad ranging legal research skills
Evidence of high level of critical legal thinking
Well developed analytical and evaluative skills
Developed skills in written expression and presentation

High Distinction 85-100
Outstanding level of understanding and interpretation
Compelling, well-supported and tightly structured legal arguments
Broad ranging research and original and sophisticated thinking
Highly developed written communication skills

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: Assignments which exceed the allocated length (word length or page limit) will be subject to a penalty of 5% of total marks possible per 100 words or part thereof (ie with a word limit of 3,000, an essay graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is 3001 words long, for a final grade of 58%, 10% if it is 3101 words long, etc). Words are calculated including all footnotes and headings within the text but excluding cover page information. Quotations and all referencing information are included in the word count.

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 Honesty

Academic dishonesty is a serious act of academic misconduct. All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy.

Academic dishonesty is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic dishonesty (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 honesty 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.