Columbus School of Law

 International Organizations and Human Rights (2 hrs.)

International Law & Relations > Advanced Courses

A seminar course exploring legal principles involved in the creation and functioning of international bodies, with emphasis on their role in establishing and applying human rights standards. The legal basis for the authority of international bodies to act, and their relationships to individual nations and to other worldwide and regional associations, is examined in the context of specific case studies of current interest, with emphasis on human rights standards. Included among the case studies considered are war crimes issues involving former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, self-determination problems in Chechnya, and current United States policies relating to the treatment of Cuban and Haitian boat people. Special attention is given to how international bodies attempt to resolve areas of dispute between nations, and otherwise use their independent procedures to help develop standards of international conduct, and to monitor compliance by nations. Human rights laws, monitoring mechanisms, and enforcement experiences are considered extensively as models throughout the course. The relationship between international human rights standards and domestic legal remedies is explored with respect to problems of racial discrimination and the treatment of refugees. Fulfills the upperclass writing requirement. Mr. Sklar.