Children, Human Rights and the Law

About the course

The rights of children are currently at the forefront of global discourse. In light of the widespread interest in the subject, the course provides you with the opportunity to comprehensively study the legal position of children as autonomous individuals with enforceable rights, but also as vulnerable persons in need of protection, even within their families.

As a study of both national and international law, the course is designed to promote an understanding of the recognition of children as rights-holders in both of these contexts. It will examine how children's rights are conceptualised and interpreted under international law and how violations of those rights may be remedied. It will also consider what measures may be needed for national governments to fulfil their obligations under international law, particularly to change their legal frameworks to protect children.

Because of the international focus of the subject matter, the course will also examine the rights of children who cross borders. It will also compare children's rights controversies from different national legal orders. Students will be invited to share their perspectives on how their legal orders protect (or fail to protect) children's rights.

The course will study these issues through the lens of different rights, including:

• the right to have parents and a family;
• the right to know one's genetic origins;
• the right to protection from violence;
• rights in health care, including freedom from compulsory care and access to birth control and abortion;
• rights related to privacy, sexuality, and protection in matters of intimacy and identity, including for minority children;
• the rights of migrant children;
• rights in cultural conflicts, such as child marriages and freedom of religion in schools;
• rights in cross-border settings, especially when family members are governed by different national and international laws;
• rights to remedies in national courts and under international law.

Instruction

All teaching and course literature will be in English. Most of the teaching and learning will occur through seminars. Attendance at all lectures and seminars is compulsory. The course directors may, in a given case, exempt a student from the attendance requirement if there are special grounds for doing so and may require appropriate replacement tasks to be performed. Before the seminars, students are expected to prepare by first working on their own and then working together in pre-assigned study groups to share their analysis on the assignments. All students should participate in seminar discussions during the course and take turns leading presentations of the study group's input. Seminar teachers will, to varying degrees, steer and participate in the discussions.

Assessment

Student performance for the course will be assessed based on two forms of written work submitted during the course. The first will be a short paper on a subject chosen by the student. The second will be a take-home exam on a pre-determined subject. To earn a passing grade, you must have completed all of the compulsory elements of the course and receive a passing grade on these two written works.