Graduate Program (& Advanced Certificate) Status
Mandatory course for Year 1 MPA Students
Knowledge of the principles and requirements for the rule of law is important for all policy makers and analysts, as well as those working for international or regional organisations, or for any organisation interested in oversight and accountability. This course will approach rule of law from a human rights-based perspective, and will sensitise students to the basic principles of rule of law that they will be able to take with them into their future careers. Topics covered will include the state structure (executive, legislature, judiciary), justice institutions (police, prisons), oversight mechanisms (formal & informal), post-conflict environments, discrimination in law, access to justice and authoritarianism. The course takes a critical and practical approach by examining rule of law issues against current situations in the world.
Selected reading
Bertand G. Ramcharan, ‘Democracy and the Rule of Law’, in B. Ramcharan, The Fundamentals of International Human Rights Treaty Law (Brill, 2011). *Ch. 3
United Nations, ‘Delivering justice: programme of action to strengthen the rule of law at the national and international levels: Report of the Secretary-General’, UN Doc. A/66/749 (16 March 2012)
The rule of law requires that the government, institutions and individuals are accountable to publicly set out laws that are fairly, independently, equally and transparently applied, and protect human rights. Centered on the UN definition of the rule of law, this course will examine key national institutions central to the goals of the rule of law: the executive, parliament and the judiciary, law enforcement bodies, and oversight mechanisms (such as ombudsmen and National Human Rights Institutions). It will also examine how the rule of law is promoted, developed, assessed and supported by the United Nations. Throughout the course, consideration will be given to what happens when the rule of law is absent or breaks down, through assessing current situations in the world, including post-conflict environments.
This course also emphasises developing skills for practice. It will be participatory and all students are encouraged to actively engage in class each class. The course also encourages critical thinking through pre-class readings and reading-based assignments, active class discussions and in-class team exercises. Two classes will explore the application of rule of law in practice through a practical exercise, where students will work in teams to propose a solution for a rule of law ‘crisis’, applying the principles learned in the course to a real-life situation. In the first of these two classes, students will be presented with the ‘crisis’. They will work in teams to propose how it could be approached, and present this in the following class. Students will also write a final term paper examining and proposing possible solutions for a rule of law issue of interest to them.
None.