2010 Galway Courses
Session 1: June 13–July 2
Legal History: The Development of Human Rights Law
Professor Philip K. Hamilton
9:00–10:50 a.m.
“Human rights” is an ideal that includes far more than the political rights
that were articulated in the 17th and 18th centuries in such documents as the
English Bill of Rights and the first ten amendments to the United States
Constitution. How was that limited concept of “rights” extended beyond the
borders of individual countries and expanded to include such notions as
economic rights and group rights? How were states persuaded to commit
themselves to honor that expanded and universalized view of rights? How do
we evaluate that commitment in light of recent and continuing abuses of
human rights? This course attempts to address those questions by examining
some of the events and ideas that contributed most significantly to the
development of our current understanding of human rights and to its codification
in the documents that form the basis of modern human rights law.
Readings include both historical and legal materials.
International Law and International Humanitarian Law
Professors Ray Murphy and Shane Darcy
11:00 a.m.–12:50 p.m.
This course explores contemporary issues of international law and IHL or the
law of armed conflict. It involves a brief introduction to the sources of international law, an examination of the United Nations Charter provisions governing the use of force, and an examination of the concept of humanitarian intervention and UN-authorized or UN-mandated peacekeeping operations. The course explores the concept, purpose, and contemporary sources of IHL; the concept of armed conflict; and the protection of civilians and the conduct of hostilities. The Convention dealing with the protection of prisoners of war is also examined. The course refers to contemporary situations such as Iraq, Kosovo, and Afghanistan, as well as drawing on a number of historical examples, and includes a review of the implementation of IHL and the role of international tribunals.
Lawyers' Ethics and Human Rights Practice
Professor Ann Juergens
1:00–2:50 p.m.
Lawyers engaged in the work of securing human rights for clients are passionate and committed to a cause larger than themselves. That deep-seated commitment itself can raise tensions with certain of the legal profession's ethical norms. This course will examine the ethical questions that are routine yet critical in any law practice that aims to make the world safer for human rights, including the role of the advocate in pressing the larger cause that is posed by an individual client case and the potential conflicts between an attorney's own social justice goals and those of her clients. We will compare regulatory structures governing legal practice, access of the public to their justice systems, conditions for "cause lawyering," and the impact of globalization on lawyers' ethics. The course will include simulations of advising sessions, negotiations, and other lawyer activities. Student grades will be based on their classroom exercises and participation and on a paper that will be due following the end of classes.
Session 2: July 5–July 23
Domestic and International Responses to Women’s Issues
Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, Ruth V. McGregor (retired) and
Professor Dina Francesca Haynes
9:00–10:50 a.m.
This course will take students through issues impacting women worldwide and
will compare domestic and international efforts to address them. We will focus
on such topics as domestic violence, human trafficking, and laws and social
norms that impact women. We will explore various settings in which these
issues arise, examine some of the legislation that has been enacted to address
them, and confront the question of whether and to what extent law can effectively
respond to those issues. Our exploration will be guided in part by the
book Half the Sky, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, which will be
required reading in the course.
Civil Juries, Civil Justice, and Human Rights
Professor Kenneth Klein
11:00 a.m.–12:50 p.m.
This course will explore the question of whether the right to a jury trial in a civil
case should be considered a basic human right in common law jurisdictions,
where the law is developed in part by courts with unelected judges. We will
approach this by looking at the history and evolution of trial by jury in the
United States, the United Kingdom, other common law jurisdictions, and the
international law courts. We will look at why we have juries, whether they
work, and the validity of criticisms of the jury. At the end of the course, students
will be equipped to evaluate the claim that juries are essential to the
preservation of democratic values in common law systems of civil justice.
International Human Rights Law
Professors William Schabas and Kathleen Cavanaugh
1:00–2:50 p.m.
This course surveys the major universal and regional systems of human rights
law, their relationships to each other, and the legal value and authority of
declarations, decisions, judgments, and other materials generated by them. It
also addresses some of the normative and other debates, old and new, that
accompany the human rights discourse and, especially, how the war on terror
discourse has affected the application, development, and implementation
of human rights law. By the end of the course, the student should be able to
carry out effective research in the field of international human rights law.
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