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In this course, students examine the rights that are considered fundamental to individual liberty. While the course focuses on the European Convention on Human Rights, students will also consider how other documents – including the EU Charter and the US and Irish Constitutions – protect against government interference with individual rights. Key topics examined include freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, privacy, and the right to vote.
Students are introduced to the course by considering the historical and theoretical foundations of civil liberties. As it is important to place civil liberties in the appropriate political context, nonlegal sources, such as newspaper articles and parliamentary debates, will be considered alongside traditional legal texts. Issues addressed include the relationship between the individual and the state, the reconciliation of competing rights and interests, and tensions between the European Court of Human Rights and domestic institutions.
Any aspect of this module may be changed in any given academic year, subject to the discretion of the module lecturer.
Topics covered in this course include:
1. The concept of civil liberties and the place of civil liberties in modern debate
2. European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights
3. The Right to Vote
4. Freedom of Expression
5. Freedom of Assembly and Association
6. Right to Respect for Private Life
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CIVIL LIBERTIES
