F1HH 4205 - Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights: Law and Practice in a Changing World (Lecture)

This course, which is intended to complement “F1HH 4100 - Introduction to International Human Rights Law and Humanitarian Principles” by focusing specifically on economic, social, cultural and environmental l rights, provides the legal and political foundations to be able to use and apply human rights to reflect and work on the major socio-economic and environmental challenges of our times.

The world is facing major transformations and challenges that include economic inequalities rising to levels unseen since World War II, social unrests and instabilities, a growing role of multinational business enterprises including through the rise of technologies such as artificial intelligence, a rising number of people lacking access to public services, and democracies being questioned. And a major issue is underpinning these changes: the advent of the climate breakdown, which is profoundly affecting societies globally.

In the meantime, the main ideologies that have structured the world in the 20th century - whether communism or neoliberal capitalism - are being questioned, leaving a vacuum that various populist movements are exploiting across the world, from Hungary to the USA and Argentina.

In this context, human rights provide one of the most broadly accepted international framework to reflect on address these contemporary issues, with a number of human rights treaties enjoying near universal ratification. However, human rights may also quickly become irrelevant if they do not adapt to this changing world. Thus, what do human rights, especially economic, social and cultural rights, mean in world where the role of States is questioned and the reality to address is different from the time where human rights were developed? What does a commitment to human dignity involve for someone engaging in law, business, or research in this changing context? Can economic, social and cultural rights provide tools and resources to address these contemporary and future challenges?

Course structure: The first two sessions serve as a reminder or an introduction to general concepts in international public law and international human rights law that are necessary to work with human rights. The next three sessions discuss the main cross-cutting elements in economic, social and cultural rights: their content, and related obligations. Together, these five initial sessions provide the theoretical framework to be able to use economic, social and cultural rights. The last seven sessions focus on specific rights and review their practical implementation. Each of these sessions apply the concepts discussed in the first five sessions to particular rights, analyse concrete cases (both legal jurisprudence and social cases), and discuss implementation.

Methodology: The course will draw both from theoretical multidisciplinary approaches to and analysis of the law, and practical experiences articulating the community, national (ministries, litigation mechanisms, etc.), and international (regional human rights mechanisms, UN, World Bank, etc.) levels. It will provide a solid theoretical basis as well as concrete tools and cases studies to use human rights to reflect or act on specific issues. The course will draw from concrete, real-life cases, taken from various sources including NGO reports, jurisprudence, etc.

Each of the sessions includes a formal lecture, as well as some interactive elements including: debates, questions, discussions by groups of 2 people, presentations, etc.

Learning Outcomes :

• Know the legal basis for economic, social, cultural and environmental rights and confidently provide arguments and analysis
• Understand the mechanisms and dilemmas of the practice of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights
• Develop a rights-based critical reflection on economic, social and cultural issues from a human rights perspective

Professional Skills :

• Capacity to apply economic, social, cultural and environmental rights law to specific situations and knowledge of the mechanisms to put them into practice
• Understanding of the key actors, debates, and issues at stake in the field

None. The course will be of interest to students seeking to strengthen their foundations in economic, social, cultural and environmental rights and explore both theoretical and practical contemporary questions related to the concrete implementation of the law in a changing world. It will also be of interest to students of other disciplines, in particular management, international relations, politics, and economics who wish to reflect on ethical and legal issues that will invariably affect their practices.

The course includes many practical case-studies, and collective and where possible individual feedback will be provided during the exercises that will take place in most sessions, that will include corrections of exams of previous years. After the first exam, a correction in class will be done. Short written feedback will be provided individually on the take-home exam.

To validate the course, the student is expected to pass the following assignments:

• 40% mid-term exam in person
• 60% take-home exam on a case-study

• In Class Presence: 24 hours a semester
• Reading and Preparation for Class: 60 hours a semester
• Research and Preparation for Group Work: 30 hours a semester
• Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 30 hours a semester