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2015/16 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue

LAW5195M International Human Rights and Disabled People

15 creditsClass Size: 15

Module manager: Prof Anna Lawson
Email: lawamml@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2015/16

Module replaces

LAW5925M Disability Rights and Law

This module is approved as an Elective

Module summary

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into force in May 2008. As a relatively recent human rights treaty, it contains innovative approaches which will be of interest to students familiar with human rights law more generally. The Convention will also be of interest to students with a broad interest in issues of equality or discrimination and to students with an interest in disability in particular. It has provided a focal point for the international disability movement in recent years and, in many countries, is being used as a catalyst for domestic reform. This module aims to provide students with an understanding of the purpose of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to make them familiar with the key debates surrounding its elaboration, its aims, its provisions, its implementation and its potential for tackling the exclusion, marginalisation and abuse experienced by disabled people in all corners of the world. Neither a background in law nor in disability policy is required but a mixture of such backgrounds will enrich debate and bring a range of perspectives to our discussions.

Objectives

The objectives of this module are to develop in students:
- an understanding of international disability law and policy and the nature of the problems of exclusion and marginalisation it is designed to tackle;
- an understanding of the interrelationship between national and international regimes in the context of disability and the impact of the international regime on national law and policy;
- an ability to critically evaluate the potential role of the law in promoting equality and inclusion; and
- an ability to engage with relevant concepts and debates at an advanced level appropriate to a postgraduate module.

Learning outcomes
At the end of this module, students will be aware, and have a clear understanding of:
- the debates and process leading to the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD);
- the relationship between the CRPD and other UN human rights conventions; the key aims and principles of the CRPD;
- the provisions of the CRPD designed to confer substantive protection from specific types of human rights violation and any disability-specific issues relating to such violations;
- debates about some of the aspects of the CRPD which appear to require significant social change (eg accessibility, legal capacity and independent living);
- the implementation mechanisms (operating at both international and national levels) set up by the CRPD; and
- debates around the cost of compliance and the implementation of the CRPD in relatively poor countries.

Skills outcomes
Critical analysis of human rights law and policy in a disability-specific context.

Syllabus

- Background to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), including previously existing UN human rights law and the pressure for a disability-specific instrument, aims and general purposes of the CRPD (including discussion of whether it created new rights);
- Accessibility and non-discrimination;
- Civil and political rights, with particular focus on the Article 12 right to supported decision-making and the Article 19 right to choose to live in the community;
- Economic and social rights, with particular reference to health, education and employment;
- Implementation and monitoring mechanisms;
- Debates concerning the relevance of rights and human rights law to disabled people, particularly in relatively poor countries.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Seminar	5	2.00	10.00
Private study hours			140.00
Total Contact hours			10.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			150.00

Private study

- 20 hours preparation for each seminar
- 40 hours on the assessed essay.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Semianr performance

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	4,500 words	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 23/07/2015

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