Intensive Course: International Human Rights Courts: Design, Effectiveness, and Legitimacy (LAW708H1F)

Pre-requisites: Students must have previously completed one law course in international human rights law. Students with significant relevant graduate course work or practice experience may be permitted to enroll in the course at the discretion of the instructor.

International human rights courts have become increasingly influential legal and political actors. They review complaints from individuals and NGOs; identify violations of rights and freedoms; and issue legally binding judgments that require governments to pay compensation and remedy past violations. How have these courts established and maintained their legitimacy? Do different institutional design features—such jurisdictional provisions, access rules, and standing requirements—affect whether the courts are effective in changing the behavior of governments? What role do lawyers, national judges, and NGOs play in referring cases and promoting compliance with international judicial rulings?

This seminar explores these questions through a comparative analysis of regional and sub-regional human rights courts. After surveying human rights courts in Europe, the Americas and Africa, the seminar turns to an analysis of a new and largely unknown human rights tribunal: the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The ECOWAS Court was created to adjudicate interstate trade and economic disputes. In 2005, its jurisdiction was revised to allow individuals to file suits alleging human rights violations. Since that time, the court has become increasingly active and issued several bold judgments. The seminar considers why ECOWAS member states revised the court’s jurisdiction, the distinctive design features they selected, and the mobilization and litigation strategies of human rights NGOs. More generally, it identifies and analyzes the opportunities and challenges associated with building an effective international human rights adjudication system.