NOTE: the obligatory readings to prepare the sessions, as well as the topics and / or question will be indicated in the virtual campus (moodle) following the class calendar. ALL the documentation will be in English
										
											
										
											CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
										
											
										
											 2019-20
										
											
										
											  
										
											
										
											 
										
											PART: GENERAL FRAMEWORK
										
											 
										
											Topic 1: The international system and its characteristics
										
											• Some misunderstandings about international law and international society
										
											• The main actors at an international level
										
											• The individuals. From object to subject in the international system
										
											 
										
											Preparatory Reading 1: International Humanitarian Law. Answers to your questions https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/other/icrc_002_0703.pdf
										
											Jurisprudence: ICJ: Democratic Republic of the Congo v Uganda, 2005, ICJ. 204; Nuclear Weapons Legality, 1996 I.C.J. 226; Palestinian Wall, 2004 I.C.J. 136
										
											 
										
											Topic 2: The origin of International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
										
											• Background and contemporary IHL
										
											• "Armed conflict": conditio sine qua non for the application of IHL.
										
											• The distinction between the Hague Conventions and the Geneva Conventions
										
											• The importance of the red cross / red crescent
										
											 
										
											Activity seminar 1: examples and determination of the application of IHL
										
											Preparatory Reading 2: Van Schaack, B & Slye, R. "A Concise hisotry of international criminal law". Santa clara Law digital Commmons, 2007. https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1629&context=facpubs
										
											 
										
											 
										
											Topic 3: The origin of international standards of human rights and international criminal law
										
											• The end of the 2nd WW, origin of international criminal law and international human rights law
										
											• Rights and obligations of individuals in the international sphere.
										
											• Distinction and coexistence between: 
    a) international protection of human rights 
    b) international humanitarian law 
    c) international criminal law 
    d) international criminal cooperation
										
											 
										
											Seminar activity 2: research and discussion of examples of the different regimes
										
											Preparatory Reading 3: East west street. Phillip Sand, Orion Group, ed (05/01/2017)

SECOND PART: INTERNATIONAL CRIMES   

Topic 4: The difficulties surrounding the crime of genocide 
• The concept of genocide: The 1948 Convention 
• The specificity of the crime of genocide 
• Evolution: the role played by jurisprudential practice   
Seminar activity 3. Analysis of potential situations of genocide High School 
Preparatory Reading 4: East west street. Phillip Sand, Orion Group, ed (05/01/2017)   

Topic 5: The special case of crime against humanity 
• The origin and nature of the crime against humanity 
• The concept of crime against humanity: general characteristics and the evolution of its specific subtypes 
• The crime against humanity in practice: the importance of jurisprudence   
Seminar activity 4: comparison of potential situations (and subtypes) of crimes against humanity 
Preparatory Reading 5: Chapter where War Crimes in Antonio Cassese, International Criminal Law, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 81-97.

Topic 6: War crimes today
										
											• What is and what is not a war crime?
										
											• The importance of the concept of "armed conflict" and individual international responsibility for the determinationof crime
										
											• The prosecution of war crimes: the jurisprudential practice
										
											 
										
											Seminar activity 5: comparison of potential situations (and subtypes) of war crimes
										
											Preparatory reading 6.

THIRD PART: THE JUDICIAL ACTION AGAINST THE RESPONSIBLE OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMES   

Topic 7: The prosecution of international crimes in domestic systems 
• The recognition of international crimes as ius cogens by some states (eg, Argentina, Estonia) 
• The debate in society about justice and / or peace (eg, Uruguay, South Africa, CAR) 
• The conflict between the regime of the law of immunity and the duty to prosecute 
• Recognition / non-recognition of international crimes as part of national legislation   
Seminar activity 6 Impunity: research and discussion of different models of criminal law and their reception (or not) of international crimes
Preparatory reading 7   

Topic 8: The international persecution of individuals by ad hoc tribunals and hybrid courts 
• The importance of the socio-political framework for the creation of ad hoc and hybrid courts 
• General characteristics of ad hoc tribunals 
• The distinction between ad hoc tribunals and hybrid courts   
Seminar activity 7: comparison between hybrid courts and ad hoc courts 
Preparatory reading 8   

Topic 9: The international persecution of individuals by the International Criminal Court 
• Origin, nature and structure of the ICC 
• Limited jurisdiction 
• Jurisprudence: from the beginning to date   
Seminar activity 8: comparison between the situations and cases of the ICC 
Preparatory reading 9   

Topic 10: The legal action against the states as responsible for international crimes 
• The distinction between the individual responsibility and the state responsibility 
• The universal demand for universal responsibilities of the state 
• The role of international courts of Human Rights  
Seminar activity 9: analysis of examples of jurisprudence inthe field of human rights 
Preparatory reading 10.

										
											1) Students who copied some of the essays between them will have 0 of that part of the evaluation.
										
											
										
											2) Students that plagiarize, practices, comments or essays will be qualified with a "0" on the final grade, and therefore without right to reevaluación

COMPULSORY ACTIVITIES
										
											
										
											1.- DOCUMENT OF A CASE STUDY (30% of the final grade to be delivered at the beginning of May)
										
											 3,500-4,000 words on paper where the student has to analyze one of the case studies after a consultation with the teacher.
										
											The structure of the paper can be (optional scheme):
										
											1. Introduction: brief description of the situation and its context
										
											2. Presentation of human rights problems or international crimes based on the case
										
											3. Relationship of the case with the topics within the course and, if possible, comparison with other situations studied in class
										
											4. Presentation of the results obtained to protect human rights so far
										
											5. Proposal of new / alternative / complementary actions to improve solutions
										
											6. Personal comment of the case
										
											7. Bibliography
										
											  
										
											2.- SEMINAR'S ACTIVITIES (preparation and participation) (50% of the final grade)
										
											

3.- CLASS PARTICIPATION. 20% of the final grade
										
											The active attitude of the student and the interventions through the sessions are valued.
										
											The simple presence in class without intervention will NOT count as participation
										
											 
										
											

Warning:
										
											
										
											1) Students who copy some of the work between them will have a 0 from that part of the evaluation.
										
											
										
											2) The student body that plagiarizes, practices, comments or works will be qualified with a "0" of the final grade of the subject, and therefore without the right to re-evaluation.
										
											
										
											
										
											Reevaluation (pas / not pass):
										
											For those students who did not reach the minimum grade but attended the class and obtained a final grade higher than 4, there is the possibility of an exam.
										
											This exam will take place on the date assigned by the Faculty.
										
											The structure will be 10 short questions related to the contents of the course
										
											Those who must use thisoption should know that the maximum possible course grade will be 6.5

Bibliography

 Basic Legislation:

 www.echr.coe.int/hudoc.htm The European Court of Human Rights Case law

http://www.bayefsky.com/bystate.php This free website includes an extensive documents library organized by country and subject matter. You can find information on ratification, reservations and declarations, state reports, and other key documents.

 

International Organisations and Related Human Rights and ICL Websites:

The United Nations

United Nations Human Rights Council

United Nations Treaty Bodies

United Nations Special Procedures

United Nations Security Council

United Nations Economic and Social Council

International Labour Organisation (LBO), Geneva, Switzerland

www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC

World Health Organisation

UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)

UN Environmental Programme

OHCHR United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

United Nations Commission for the Status of Women

Un High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva, Switzerland

UN Development Programme

UN Division for the Advancement of Women

OHCHR International Law Link to UN Human Rights instruments

 

 

Non-Governmental Organizations:

Global Rights A human rights advocacy group that partners with local activists to challenge injustice and amplify new voices within the global discourse

Human Rights Watch A global independent organisation dedicated to defending and protecting human rights.

Amnesty International A global charity which campaigns for internationally recognised human rights for all

Save the Children International Charity which campaigns on behalf of children

The International Committee of the Red Cross An organisation dedicated to the protection of the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other violence.

Index on Censorship Organisation promoting freedom of expression

Minority Rights Group, International International organisation working to secure the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples

World Organisation against Torture A coalition of non-governmental organisations fighting against torture, summary executions and other inhumane treatment

www.iccnow.org/  coalition for the International Criminal Court coalition of non-governmental organizations lobbying in favor of the ICC

International Women's Rights Action Watch (IWRAW) organized in 1985 at the Third World Conference on Women in Nairobi, Kenya, to promote recognition of women’s human rights under the United Nation’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (the CEDAW Convention), an international human rights treaty

Freedom House Independent nongovernmental organization that supports the expansion of freedom in the world.

 

 

Bibliography:

General:

Brownlie, Ian, Principles of Public International Law. 5. Aufl. Oxford 1998.

Simma, Bruno, International Human Rights Law and General International Law: A Comparative Analysis. In: Academy of European Law (Hrsg.), Collected courses of the Academy of European Law. Vol. IV (1995), Book 2, S. 153-236.

Rehman, Javaid. International human rights law (2^nd. Edition)  Pearson education ltd. Harlow, 2009

 

Bibliography on international criminal law:

 

Akhavan, P. “The core elements of international crimes” in Reducing Genocide to Law: Definition, Meaning and the Ultimate Crime, Cambridge University Press, 2012, pp. 27-55.

Ambos y Wirth. “The Current Law of Crimes against Humanity”, en Crim. L. F., núm. 13, 2002, pp. 1, 2-13.

Arsanjani. “The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, en AJIL, núm. 93, 1999, pp. 22 ss

Askin. “Crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC”, en Crim. L.F., núm. 10, 1999

Barboza. “International Criminal Law”, en Receuil des Cours, núm. 278, 1999, pp. 9, 59;

Bassiouni. Crimes against Humanity in International Criminal Law, 2ª ed., 1999

Boot, Genocide, Crimes against Humanity, War Crimes nullum Crimen sine Lege and the Subject Matter Jurisdiction of the ICC, 2002, par. 415 ss

Cassese, A.  International Criminal Law, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2008.

Clark. “Crimes against humanity and the Rome Statute”, en Clark, Feldbrugge, Pomorski (eds.). Essays in Honour of George Ginsbugs, 2001, pp. 139, 15

De Hoogh. “Articles 4 and 8 of the 2001 ILC Articles on State Responsability…”, en BYIL,núm. 72, 2001/2002, pp. 255.

Gómez-Benítez. “Elementos comunes de los crímenes contra la humanidad en el Estatuto de la CPI…”, en Cuadernos de Derecho Judicial, Escuela Judicial, Consejo General del Poder Judicial, vol. VII, 2001,

Human Rights Watch, “Commentary on the 4th Preparatory Commission meeting for the ICC”, marzo de 2000, p. 3. 

Human Rights Watch, Genocide, War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity: Topical digest of the case law of the ICTR and ICTY, New York et al. 2004.

Kress. “War crimes committed in non-international armed conflict and the emerging system of international criminal justice”, en Isr. Y.B. Hum. Rts., núm. 30, 2000, pp. 103 ss

Lee (ed.). The International Criminal Court – Elements of Crimes and Rules of Procedure and Evidence, 2001

McAuliffe de Guzmán, Margaret (2000). “The Road from Rome: The Developing Law of Crimes against Humanity”, en Human Rights Quarterly (HRQ) 22 (2000), págs. 335-403.

Meron, Theodor (1995). “International Criminalization of Internal Atrocities”, en American Journal of International Law (AJIL) 89, págs. 554 - 577.

 Mettraux. “Crimes against Humanity in the Jurisprudence of the ICTY and ICTR”, en Harv. Int’l. J., núm. 43, 2002, pp. 237, 302-6;

Momtaz. “War crimes in non-international armed conflicts under the Statute of the International Criminal Court”, en Y.B. Int’l Humanit. L., núm. 2, 1999, pp. 177,

Ntanda Nsereko, en McDonald y Swaak-Goldman. Substantive and Procedural Aspects of International Criminal Law, vol. I, 2000, pp. 113 ss

O’Keefe, R. “State Immunity and Human Rights: Heads and Walls, Hearts and Minds”, Vaderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, 2011, Vol 45, pp. 999-1045

Olásolo, Hector, Int. Criminal Law Review (ICLR) 5 (2005), 122,

Overy, R. “The Nuremberg Trials: international criminal law in the making”, in P Sands (ed.), From Nuremberg to the Hague: The Future of International Criminal Justice, Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 1-29

Quenivet,Ind.J. Int’l L., núm., 41, 2001, p. 478.

Ratner. “The Genocide Convention after fifty years”, en ASIL Proceedings, núm. 92, 1998,

Robinson, D. “Serving the Interests of Justice: Amnesties, Truth Commissions and the International Criminal Court”, en European Journal of International Law, num. 14,2003,  481 y ss.

Robinson. “Defining crimes against Humanity at the Rome Conference”, en AJIL, núm. 93,1999,

SANCHEZ, J. Inter-American Court, Crimes Against Humanity and Peacebuilding in South America. ICIP, WP 2010/2, http://www20.gencat.cat/docs/icip/Continguts/Publicacions/WorkingPapers/Arxius/WP10_2_ANG.pdf

Sandesh Sivakumaran, “Identifying an armed conflict not of an international character” in The Emerging Practice of the International Criminal Court, C. Stahn and G. Sluiter (ed.), Martinus Nijhoff, 2009, pp. 363-380

Schaack, Beth Van, “The Definition of Crimes against Humanity: Resolving the Incoherence”, Columbia Journal of Transnational Law (ColJTL) 37 (1999), págs. 787-850.

Schabas, W. An Introduction to the International Criminal Court, 4rd ed., Cambridge University Press, 2011

Schabas, W. “Judicial Activism and the Crime of Genocide” in Darcy and Powderly (ed.), Judicial Creativity at the International Criminal Tribunals, Oxford University Press, 2010, pp.  63-79

Schabas. “Follow up to Rome: preparing for entry into force of the international Criminal Court Statute, en Hum. Rts. L. J., núm. 20, 1999, pp. 157 ss

Sharga, D. “The Second Generation UN-Based Tribunals: A Diversity of Mixed Jurisdictions” in C. Romano, A. Nollkaemper, J. Kleffner (ed.), Internationalized Criminal Courts, Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 15-38.

Simma, Bruno / Paulus, Andreas, The Responsibility of Individuals for Human Rights Abuses in Internal Conflicts: A Positivist View. AJIL 93 (1999), S. 302-316.

Sunga, “The Crimes within the Jurisdiction of the ICC” (parte II, arts. 5-10), Eur. J. Crime Cr. L. Cr. J., núm. 6, 1998, pp. 377-399

 Triffterer. “Genocide, its particular intent to destroy in whole or in part the group as such”, en Leid. Journ. Int’l. L., núm. 14, 2001, pp. 399 y ss.;

 

• LEGISLATION: