Course Syllabus

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IUPUI McKinney School of Law

Below you will find a syllabus supplement with important policies specific to IU Indianapolis. You can expand and read them by clicking the "►" symbol.

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

FA25-IN-LAW-D813-26211

Considers selected problems in IHRL including problems related to U.S. law and practice. The course focuses on the growing role of IHRL in international relations, emphasizing the United Nations system for the promotion and protection of HR as well as the regional systems in Africa, the Americas, and Europe.

DELIVERY IN-PERSON with occasional remote/asynchronous days

MEETS 10:50am - 12:20pm Tuesdays and Thursdays

NO FINAL EXAM OR PAPER

OBJECTIVES

This course develops future lawyers' skills in normative analysis, research professional communication, research, as well as building broad expertise in international law. By the end of this course, students will be able to:

Essential Legal Knowledge

  • Identify and analyze the foundational principles, sources, treaties, substance, and evolution of international human rights law, understanding these as a product of international negotiation and contestation.
  • Understand the history, structure, and impact of the United Nations HR system, including treaty bodies, special procedures, HRC, and the parallel regional systems in Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
  • Explain the relationship between international legal norms and domestic practice, including customary international law, treaty ratification, implementation, and challenges of accountability and enforcement.

Critical Thinking and Research Skills

  • Formulate a sufficiently narrow research question that is focused and manageable in scope and conduct research that builds meaningfully upon prior academic work while contributing original analysis.
  • Apply international legal norms to complex contemporary issues and fact patterns, drawing upon international treaties, UN and regional reports, opinions of courts and commissions, comparative practice, and scholarship.
  • Identify, communicate, and build upon widely-cited academic scholarship relevant to a self-selected topic of interest to inform consideration of proposals for reform and innovation in IHRL and practice.

Professional Development

  • Prepare and deliver a high-quality professional presentation demonstrating specialized legal expertise, effective communication, scholarly research, and critical thinking on complex topics for legal audiences.
  • Consider, research, and discuss varied and diverse scholarly perspectives on a variety of public policy issues related to the central subject of the course: international human rights law.
  • Better understand career pathways in international organizations, government, and private practice; and recognize and respond to ethical and professionalism considerations specific to this field of legal work.

DUE DATES

Attendance, participation, peer review, readings, and quizzes are ongoing.

Students will be assigned presentation dates beginning as soon as the fourth week of classes. Any conflict will be accommodated if notice is provided in the specified manner within the first week of class. Rearrangements will also be made for military service, religious holiday/fasting, pregnancy, disability accommodations, etc.

Work backwards from your presentation date to note the following deadlines:

  • 21 days before - submit presentation proposal slides (use provided slides format)
  • 10 days before - submit mostly complete slides (self-assess with provided rubric)
  • 5 days before - submit a copy of nearly-final slides (self-assess with provided rubric)

Dates are subject to change with reasonable notice.

ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING WEIGHTS

Weightings are approximate and actual points available may vary within reason.

10% - Attendance, participation, and peer review

30% - Prepare daily readings - accountability quiz scores

50% - Final presentation quality (approx. 45 minutes; adhere to rubric)

10% - Intermediate work product for presentations

LAW SCHOOL GRADING POLICY

Like most law schools, McKinney has a required grade curving policy

    • Professors are expected to give C grades to a certain percentage of students
    • That rule is tight for required courses; more relaxed in smaller elective courses
    • In a class of 21-40 JD students, class average no higher than 3.35
    • In a class of 20 or fewer JD students, class average no higher than 3.5
    • These rules apply to JD students only, LLM students are exempt from the policy

Faculty Handbook, last updated 2018

To assist in achieving grade uniformity, the faculty recommends that the average grade for each course be in the range of 2.9 to 3.1.

Classes of 21 to 40 students

    • Adherence to the recommended grade distribution is encouraged, and it is expected that most classes will fall within the recommended distribution.
    • A professor may submit grades with a GPA above 3.35 or below 2.7 only with the assent of the vice dean, which assent shall be granted only if the professor makes a compelling case for the deviation.

Classes of 20 or fewer students

    • Professors are advised to bear in mind the recommended grade distribution in formulating grades; it is recognized, however, that the small number of students in such classes means that the recommended grade distribution may not be appropriate in individual classes.
    • In a class of 10-20 students, a professor may submit grades with a GPA that exceeds 3.5 or falls below 2.6 only with the assent of the vice dean, which assent will be granted only if the professor makes a compelling case for the deviation.

Note:  The number of students listed in each category above includes only J.D. Students.

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due