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Law Notes International Law Notes

International Human Rights Law Notes

Updated International Human Rights Law Notes

International Law Notes

International Law

Approximately 121 pages

These exam notes were used to achieve a High Distinction in International Law at Monash University. At the time of taking the exam the policy question was pre-advised by the lecturer and therefore the prepared answer is not included here.

The notes cover all course content. They include clear and easily usable exam problem structures. The notes are easily navigated as include clear and comprehensive lists of contents and page numbers.

The author of these notes has never scored less than a ...

The following is a more accessible plain text extract of the PDF sample above, taken from our International Law Notes. Due to the challenges of extracting text from PDFs, it will have odd formatting:

International human rights law

Here, there may have been a breach of international human rights law by [Y]’s act of [per facts]. Human rights are ‘natural law’ rights and obligations that derive from being human and do not vary with geographic area, and which fetter sovereignty.

  • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) recognises the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all human beings in its preamble; this concept of inherent dignity was also recognised by states in the preamble to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (1993).

  • The international community has accepted (largely since World War II) that it has a duty to ensure sovereign states do not violate the rights of their own people.

Has there been a breach of [X]’s human rights?

By becoming UN Members, states have accepted that an objective is ‘promoting and encouraging respect for human rights’ (UN Charter Art 1.3); these rights were later elaborated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

  • Although the UDHR is not binding over time a degree of binding force as customary law has developed; additionally, many of the rights have become international law under other treaties.

Rights under the UDHR (Articles)

  1. All born equal

  2. Non-discrimination

  3. Life, liberty and security of person

  4. Slavery

  5. torture, cruel, inhuman & degrading treatment/punishment

  6. recognition before law

  7. equality before law

  8. effective remedy at national level for human rights violations

  9. arbitrary arrest, detention, exile

  10. fair & public trial

  11. presumption of innocence & prohibition on retrospective criminal law

  12. privacy

  13. free movement

  14. seek asylum

  15. right to a nationality

  16. right to marry & found a family [including right not to be forced to marry]

  17. property

  18. thought, conscience & religion

  19. opinion & expression

  20. assembly & association

  21. participate in / vote for government

  22. social security

  23. work, including conditions, pay & right to join a union

  24. rest & leisure

  25. adequate standard of...

Buy the full version of these notes or essay plans and more in our International Law Notes.