1. Knowledge, understanding and insight
After this course, you have obtained knowledge of and insight in a number of core issues of European protection of fundamental rights:
- Institutional issues (e.g. relationship between the ECtHR and the ECJ; relationship between, respectively, the ECHR and the EU Charter and the constitutional protection of fundamental rights in the member states; the effect of the guiding principles of subsidiarity, effectiveness and attribution; the procedure before the ECtHR and the differences with the procedures before the ECJ; admissibility issues).
- Main principles and legal aspects of European fundamental rights law (e.g. structure of fundamental rights provisions; positive/negative obligations; interpretation methods; requirements for restriction).
- Main substantive debates on fundamental rights law (e.g. proliferation of rights; civil and political rights vs. socio-economic rights).
- Selected issues of human rights and related legal and normative issues (right to life and integrity, non-refoulement, private life and data protection, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of demonstration and assembly, internet freedom, social and economic rights, human rights in states of emergency).
2. Contextual embedding and normative perspectives
After the course, you are able to:
- Interconnect legal questions relating to European fundamental rights to institutional and political issues of sovereignty and responsibility (e.g. understanding the reason for setting certain admissibility criteria or the use of the margin of appreciation doctrine)
- Interconnect issues of European fundamental rights law to philosophical, moral and theoretical principles of fundamental rights protection (e.g. human dignity, personal autonomy, democratic participation).
- Understand the political and academic debates on the interaction between ECHR, EU and national fundamental rights protection and formulate arguments to contribute to those debates.
- Identify and define the different non-legal arguments relevant to the legal solution of concrete cases on fundamental rights (e.g. institutional and moral arguments related to European decision-making in cases concerning the freedom of speech for politicians).
- Grasp the core of philosophical and theoretical debates on, amongst others, the universality of fundamental rights and the proliferation of these rights.
3. General academic and legal skills and competences
The aim of this course also is to train your general academic and legal skills and competences. After this course, you are able to:
- Explain the interrelationship between complex legal issues and developments, as well as form and express an opinion on fundamental rights questions based on both legal-doctrinal arguments and arguments derived from disciplines such as legal theory, legal philosophy, the political and social sciences and international relations studies.
- Solve complex cases combining elements of national, Convention and Charter law; difficult structural or interpretative questions; and ‘hard cases’, demanding value judgments to be given as part of legal reasoning.
- Defend a position (both orally and in writing) by using legally sound and persuasive arguments in complex debates on European fundamental rights issues.
- Co-operate in finding arguments to solve complex fundamental rights cases and defend their position in fundamental rights debates.
- Critically reflect on your own position in relation to extremely difficult and controversial fundamental rights issues.
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The system of fundamental rights protection in Europe has grown to be extremely complex. The co-existence of national, EU and ECHR mechanisms results in a myriad of institutional and legal questions, but it also raises many theoretical, moral and philosophical issues.
The first part of this course concentrates on theoretical and institutional issues of protection of fundamental rights in Europe. It is discussed what fundamental rights are, why they deserve special protection, who can invoke this protection, and how this protection has been given shape into the differences between and commonalities of the EU system and the ECHR system, and the principles that guide.
The second part of the course concentrates on a selected number of substantive fundamental rights issues. The aim is to critically analyse the European Courts’ case-law developing the right to life and physical integrity, the freedom of religion, expression and assembly, and social and economic rights. Attention is also paid to theoretical and philosophical issues such as proliferation of rights and conflict of rights. In discussing the various rights, examples are taken from current developments and recent case-law of the ECtHR and the ECJ.
Place of the course within the curriculum
- Elective advanced bachelor course
Additional requirements:
Any additional requirements of the course are listed in the "Leidraad" of the course.
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