International Human Rights Law and Practice (LLM)

Course content

This course aims to familiarise you with three sides of human rights practice: law, institutions and advocacy .

Semester 1 introduces you to key concepts in international human rights law. This enables you to critically examine international and regional treaties and the work of monitoring and adjudication bodies. You'll also receive training in socio-legal research methods and data collection through fieldwork. You'll then apply this knowledge whilst working on a human rights placement in partnership with a non/governmental organisation or UN mechanism.

In Semester 2, you can enhance your advocacy skills by participating in clinical legal education or a human rights lab. You'll learn to communicate research in different formats to peers, scholars, professionals or law clinic clients across a range of professional settings. The range of option modules will allow you to deepen your knowledge and skills in a specific human rights field or craft a more interdisciplinary understanding of human rights.

During Semester 2 and the summer, you’ll start work on a dissertation on a topic of your choice.

Modules Dissertation Fieldwork Modules Core modules Our core modules enable you to acquire holistic knowledge and the necessary socio-legal skills needed for a successful career in human rights practice, or progression to PhD study. As part of legal clinics, you'll develop advocacy campaigns and submissions to international human rights bodies. You'll also undertake a human rights placement with an organisation that works on a topic of interest, and conduct fieldwork in South Africa, the UK or online. Applying International Human Rights Law Practice of Fieldwork Human Rights Placement Human Rights Defence Clinic or International Human Rights Laboratory You must choose one of these two modules as a core module and may take the second one as an optional module. Option modules You will also study two option modules. In previous years, options have covered topics such as: Clinical Legal education Advanced Disability Street Law Clinic (York Law School) Human Rights Defence Clinic (York Law School) International Human Rights Laboratory (York Law School) Rights and justice v security, authoritarianism and conflict Asylum: Theory, law and practice of the international protection of refugees (York Law School) Backlash and Co-optation: Feminism, Anti-Racism and Human Rights Politics (Politics and International Relations) Current Issues in Counter-terrorism and Media Law (York Law School) International Criminal Justice (York Law School) New Security Challenges (Politics and International Relations) Transitional Justice and Human Rights (Politics and International Relations) Women, Citizenship and Conflict (Centre for Women’s Studies) Socio-economic and philosophical perspectives on rights Critical Theories of International Political Economy (Politics and International Relations) Financial Crime (York Law School) Law and Social Control (Sociology) Issues in the Philosophy of Criminal Law (York Law School) Social Justice and Political Economy (Philosophy) Theories and Policies of Development Governance (Politics) Research methods and theories Comparative Constitutional Law and Theory (York Law School) Feminist Research Methodologies (Centre for Women's Studies) Feminism and Sexuality (English and Related Literature) Law, Gender and Sexuality (Centre for Women's Studies) Mental Health and Mental Capacity Law (York Law School) The options available to you will be confirmed after you begin your course. While we are striving to accommodate our students’ preferences, we are not able to guarantee availability of optional modules. Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff, and in line with Department/School academic planning. Dissertation Dissertation During Semester 2 and in summer, you will work on a dissertation of up to 12,000 words on a topic of your choice. You will be guided throughout your dissertation journey by an academic supervisor. The dissertation is due for submission in mid-September. The dissertation is a substantive piece of academic work and the culmination of your studies. It's often possible to align your dissertation with an organisation you've worked with, ensuring it has immediate relevance and impact. As part of their dissertation research, many of our students choose to undertake fieldwork and collect primary data, drawing on the theoretical knowledge and practical skills which they have developed on the LLM. The dissertation can be the springboard to progressing to PhD studies. Previous students' dissertations have investigated: The Universal Periodic Review and interstate shaming, providing an analysis of the impact of relational politics on Bahrain’s UPR outcomes. Female genital mutilation in exile: attitudes towards FGM among the Somali diaspora in Leeds. Guarantees of non-recurrence and gender-based violence: a case study of Tunisia. Lawyering for change: a case-study of advancing refugee protection in Thailand. Internet activism and the strife for environmental rights, examining citizens’ collective action on social media when facing air pollution problems in China. Art as a means to improve the social construction of disability and the realisation of disability rights' in the UK. York Law School and CAHR recognise the hard work and celebrate the academic achievements of our students by offering a Best Written Dissertation Award and Best Overall Student Prize. Fieldwork A distinctive feature of the LLM in International Human Rights Law and Practice is its practice-oriented approach. On the Human Rights Placement , you will have the opportunity to work on a human rights project in partnership with local and international NGOs, UN mechanisms or governmental bodies. You and your group will forge a relationship with an organisation to develop and deliver a project. The experience mirrors a classic human rights mission, requiring the following elements: Preparation : extensive background research on country context, the host organisation and relevant thematic issues to scope and define the project. Fieldwork : two weeks of intensive qualitative or quantitative data collection in Cape Town (South Africa), York (UK) or online. Writing and follow-up : writing up the analysis, completing the output and participating in dissemination. Past projects have included: Drafting a legal brief for women’s groups to obtain standing in proceedings affecting women’s rights in Malaysian courts; The Use of Technology in Facilitating and Preventing Contemporary Forms of Slavery; The Blue Badge Test in York: Can the realisation of disabled people’s rights and the prevention of terrorism be reconciled?; Developing human rights indicators for the York: Human Rights City; Designing a user-friendly version of the thematic report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders from York. Every year, CAHR presents the Sam Pegram Human Rights Placement Award to the group which produced an output that best demonstrates a commitment to reflexive human rights practice and which seeks to centre the needs and voices of those involved in the struggle for human rights. The fieldwork trips abroad will only run if there are sufficient student numbers.