Teaching Plan

of
HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

for
B.A.LL.B.(Hons.)

Semester: VI
Session: Feb - May, 2021

Prepared by:
Dr. Veena Roshan Jose
Assistant Professor
DNLU

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 Table of Contents
Sr. No. Contents Page No.

1. Outline of the Course 3

2. Objectives of the Course 5

3. Syllabus 6

4. Teaching Plan 7

5. Reference Material 8

6. List of Assignments/Projects 10

7. Important Instructions 14

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1. OUTLINE OF THE COURSE

The notion of human rights is as old as humanity itself. The idea of human rights reflects
civilizational values. History reveals that in all civilizations, at every point of time, there existed a
set of rights for the individuals. These basic and minimal rights which existed throughout history,
we refer to as “human rights” today. Human rights are those rights to which every human being
inhabiting any part of the world should be deemed entitled, merely by virtue of having been born
as a human being in this society. Thus, in the basic understanding, human rights are those minimal
rights which are meant for the people to have their rights protected from the encroaching powers
of the state. The said rights are also essential for the adequate development of the human
personality and human happiness. Human rights being quintessential for the overall development
of the human society and thus should be protected and made available to all by law.

The idea of human rights per se is a formal recognition of the natural rights. They form an
indispensable part of a meaningful life. These rights are available to the individuals by the very
fact that they are born as human beings in the human society. However, the history of human rights
has not been a linear equation, where the King has been a tyrannical master. It was always been a
struggle between the subjects and the king for recognition of their rights. This constant endeavour
has brought into existence the modern notion of human rights; be it Magna Carta of 1215, or the
Petition of Rights, 1628, the Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizens, 1789, or the US Bill
of Rights, 1791, or Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948.

The two World Wars took place in the beginning of 20th century reveled and stressed the need for
an institutional framework to protect the human rights. The establishment of the United Nations in
1945 gave a huge impetus to the identification and codification of natural rights, as human rights.
The drafting of UDHR in 1948 is considered to be the beginning of the enumeration of human
rights in the modern world. The basic human rights enshrined in the UDHR was further expanded
and materialized at the international level by the two International Covenants of 1966 (ICCPR &
ICESCR). The Constitutions which came into existence after 1950’s also have incorporated the
basic individual rights, which we call as ‘human rights’ today.

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Followed by the International Covenants of 1966, from the mid-1970’s and particularly after the
end of the Cold War, it can be seen that the specific human rights have been embedded in numerous
International Conventions, and courts decisions- at the domestic, regional and international levels.
However, in reality, the international human rights movements display a political and economic
framework which portrays inequalities within and between the societies. Moreover, globalization
has made serious changes and deeper shifts in global politics in the 21st Century. In this era of
globalization, whether human rights remain as an aspiration or it has been elevated to the status of
legally enforceable rights is an important point of discussion.

There is no denial of the fact that Human rights is a theme on which much has been written and
ventilated, but it continues to remain one of the burning topics of the contemporary era. When we
look at the development of the concept of human rights in the modern period, we can see that
initially, the focus was to enumerate the civil and political rights, and we called such rights as the
first-generation human rights. The social, economic and cultural rights were in focus in the next
stage and we refer the same as the second generation of human rights. The next stage of
development of human rights looked into the problems of vulnerable sections including women,
children, indigenous peoples, minorities, including sexual minorities and so on, and identified the
measures to be adopted for the realization of human rights of these sections. This third stage
witnessed the emergence of the right based approach to development and initiatives of massive
human rights education programmes. People became more conscious about their collective rights
such as right to self-determination and right to clean and healthy environment. Such rights are
termed as the third-generation human rights.

However, 21st century is witnessing the emergence of various human rights issues as a result of
the advancement in science and technology. In this era of globalization, when science and
technology is racing out of legal control, human rights concerns are to be taken care seriously, as
there are multiple actors, other than the Government or public authorities, which are violators of
human rights. The fourth-generation human rights are the rights of future generations and such
rights belong to the humanity as a whole.

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2. OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

The course introduces the conceptual foundations of the concept of human rights from a historical,
political, legal and philosophical perspectives. It traverses through the evolution of the concept of
human rights and examines the key instruments and documents on the development of human
rights. The course intends to provide a thorough understanding of the principles, instruments and
institutions relating to human rights at the national and international levels. It identifies major
international conventions/declarations/treaties governing human rights and identifies the
mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing human rights standards. The course also aims to explore
the international as well as regional instruments pertaining to human rights and its application in
the national framework.

The course seeks to analyse the ways in which allegations of human rights violations are dealt
within the national legal framework of India. It also provides an overview of the current issues and
debates in relation to human rights and tries to find out how such human rights issues are settled
in the national and international framework.

3. EXPECTED OUTCOME OF THE COURSE

On successful completion of this course, the students will be able to:

▪ be equipped as to how to research, and find the important instruments on human rights.
▪ get a thorough idea on the nature of rights, violations of rights, by whom, and remedies
available for such violations.
▪ identify, explain, and critically analyze the application of human rights law and norms to
▪ address human rights violations and abuses.
▪ know the three generations of human rights and its implications on the international and
national human rights regime.

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4. SYLLABUS

Module I
INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RIGHTS
▪ Concept of Rights and Human Rights
▪ Historical evolution of Human Rights
▪ Generations of Human Rights
▪ Universalism v. Cultural Relativism

Module II
HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK
▪ Human Rights under the Charter of United Nations
▪ International Bill of Rights: UDHR
▪ ICCPR & ICESCR
▪ Implementation of Human Rights under the UN Framework

Module III
HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER THE INDIAN LEGAL FRAMEWORK
▪ Human Rights under the Indian Legal Framework
▪ Role of Indian Judiciary in Articulating Human Rights
▪ Limitations on the Enjoyment of Human Rights
▪ Right to Development & Environment

Module: IV
HUMAN RIGHTS: EMERGING TRENDS
▪ Right to Life: Capital Punishment and Euthanasia
▪ Science, Technology and Human Rights
▪ Business Community and Human Rights
▪ Emergence of Non-State Entities and Human Rights

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5. TENTATIVE LECTURE/TEACHING SCHEDULE

Sr. Topic Number of

No. Lectures

Module I

1. Concept of Rights and Human Rights 03

2. Historical evolution of Human Rights 03

3. Generations of Human Rights 03

4. Universalism v. Cultural Relativism 02

Total Lectures 11

Module II

5. Development of Human Rights under the United Nations 03

6. International Bill of Rights: UDHR 02

7. ICCPR, ICESCR 04

8. Implementation of Human Rights under the UN 02

Framework

Total Lectures 11

Module III

9. Human Rights under the Indian Legal Framework 03

10. Role of Indian Judiciary in Articulating Human Rights 03

11. Limitations on the Enjoyment of Human Rights 02

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 12. Right to Development & Environment 03

Total Lectures 11

Module IV

13. Right to Life: Capital Punishment and Euthanasia 04

14. Science, Technology and Human Rights 06

15. Business Community and Human Rights 02

16. Emergence of Non-State Entities and Human Rights 03

Total Lectures 15

Total Lectures Proposed to be delivered : 48

6. REFERENCE MATERIALS

1. Books:

i. Henry J. Steiner and Philip Alston, International Human Rights in Context: Law, Politics,
Morals, Second Edition, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
ii. Rebecca J. Cook (ed), Human Rights of Women: National and International Perspectives
(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994).
iii. Hurst Hannum (ed.), International Human Rights: Problems of Law, Policy, and Practice
(Aspen, 2011).
iv. Ben Boer (ed), Environmental Law Dimensions of Human Rights (OUP, 2015).
v. Ilias Bantekas, Lutz Oette, International Human Rights Law and Practice, Cambridge
University Press, (2013).
vi. Scott Sheeran, Sir Nigel Rodley, Routledge Handbook of International Human Rights
Law, (2014).
vii. G. S. Bajwa, Human Rights in India: Implementation and Violations, (1995).

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 2. Articles:

i. Carl Wellman, Solidarity, the Individual and Human Rights, Human Rights Quarterly Vol.
22, No. 3 (Aug., 2000), pp. 639-657
ii. Burns H. Weston, Human Rights, Human Rights Quarterly Vol. 6, No. 3 (Aug., 1984),
pp. 257-283.
iii. Mashood A. Baderin & Manisuli Ssenyonjo, Development of International Human Rights
Law Before and After the UDHR, Ashgate Publishing, (2010).
iv. Surya Deva, Human Rights Realization in an Era of Globalization: The Indian Experience
Buffalo Human Rights Law Review, Vol. 12, pp. 93-138, (2006).
v. Jennifer A. Westaway, Globalisation, Transnational Corporations and Human Rights - A
New Paradigm, (2011).

3. International Instruments/ Statutes:

i. Charter of the United Nations, 1945

ii. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
iii. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966
iv. International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, 1966
v. UN Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,
1979
vi. UN Convention on the Rights of Child, 1989
vii. UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled, 2006
viii. UN Declaration on Right to Development, 1986
ix. The Constitution of India, 1950
x. Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993

7. LIST OF ASSIGNMENT/PROJECT TOPICS

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ROLL NO. NAME OF THE
STUDENT
BAL/001/18 Aaditya Kashyap
BAL/002/18 Abhinav Jena
BAL/003/18 Abhiroop Rathore
BAL/004/18 Abhishek Verma
BAL/005/18 Abhyudaya Yadav
BAL/006/18 Adhiraj Pratap Lath Classification of Rights: Civil, Political, Social,
BAL/007/18 Aditi Richa Tiwary
BAL/008/18 Aditya Puri
BAL/009/18 Ajay Prajapati
BAL/010/18 Aman Usmani
BAL/011/18 Amita Singh Thakur
BAL/012/18 Ankur Shah
BAL/013/18 Anmol Narang
BAL/014/18 Annapurna Nahar
BAL/015/18 Anoop Kumar
Bardiya
BAL/016/18 Anoop Singh Rajput
BAL/017/18 Anshita Dave
BAL/018/18 Anushka Shrivastava
BAL/019/18 Arpit Sanjar
BAL/020/18 Arushi Agarwal
BAL/021/18 Ashutosh
BAL/022/18 Ashutosh Gautam
BAL/023/18 Ashutosh Khandelwal Human Rights of the Elderly
TOPIC
Concept of Human Duties and Human Rights
Trace the evolution of the concept of Human
Rights from the ancient period.
Historical development of the concept of human
rights in ancient India
Define ‘rights’. What are the various
classifications of rights? Distinguish between
positive rights and negative rights.
Distinguish between Constitutional rights,
fundamental rights, legal rights, statutory rights
and human rights
Economic & Cultural
The internationalization of human rights and the
universalization of human rights
Individual Rights v. Collective Rights
Enforcement of human rights under the
International Law
Procedures for making complaints of human rights
violations within the UN system.
Analyse the theoretical basis of human rights
Discuss the State’s International Obligation to
Protection of Human Right
Human Rights as non-derogatory rights
Institutional framework of the European system
for the protection of human rights and fundamental
freedoms
First Generation Human Rights
Second Generation Human Rights
Third Generation Human Rights
Fourth Generation Human Rights
Human Rights of Children: International
Perspectives
Generations of Human Rights: Whether it is a
workable classification today?
Human Rights of the Disabled: International
Perspectives
Human Rights of Women: International
Perspectives
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BAL/024/18 Ayush Singhal
BAL/025/18 Balram Jat
BAL/026/18 Bhavya Gupta
BAL/027/18 Bhumika Chouksey
BAL/028/18 Bulbul Kumari
BAL/029/18 Charvi Yadav
BAL/033/18 Gaurav Dauneria
BAL/034/18 Harshit Rathore
BAL/035/18 Himanshu Chhangani
BAL/036/18 Hiya Prakash
BAL/037/18 Hrithik Jatwa
BAL/038/18 Ipsita Ghanshala
BAL/039/18 Ishaan Tripathi
BAL/040/18 Ishita
BAL/041/18 Ishita Shrivastava
BAL/042/18 Jayant Parmar
BAL/043/18 Jyoti Singh
BAL/044/18 K.Devkaran
BAL/045/18 Kanchan Verma
BAL/046/18 Kanishka Sihare
BAL/047/18 Kaveesha
BAL/048/18 Khushi Bagga
BAL/049/18 Kishan Singh Parihar
BAL/051/18 Kritika Choudhary
BAL/052/18 Lav Vyas
BAL/053/18 Mansi Chhalotre
BAL/054/18 Mihir Lunawat
Role of judiciary in enforcing the human rights in
India
Significance of regional documents on human
rights in the background of cultural relativism
Impact of Globalisation on Human Rights
Human Rights of indigenous Peoples
Concept of sanctity of life
Human Right to Environment
Progress in information technology and its impact
on human rights.
Human Right to Development
Critical evaluation of the role of UN in the
protection of Human Rights
Human organ and tissue transplantation: Human
Rights dimensions
Human Rights dimensions of Art. 21 of the Indian
Constitution
Impact of Science and Technology on Human
Rights
Human rights concerns involved in Deception
Detection Techniques
Human rights concerns involved in the clinical
drug trial
Terrorism as a mass human rights violation
Role of NGO’s in the protection of human rights
Impact of Human Rights Movements and Criminal
Justice System in India
Impact of the Human Rights Movements on the
Criminal Justice System in India
Human Rights protection of the Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes
under the Indian legal framework
Human Rights Violations during the pandemic
Freedom of Scientific Research v. Human Rights
Human Rights Concerns Related to Abortion
Human Organ Transplantation Laws and Human
Rights Concerns
Patenting of human cell lines
Human Rights concerns over cloning and stem cell
research
Impact of UDHR on legislations and judicial
decisions in India
Access to medicine as a human rights issue
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BAL/055/18 Mukul Bhati
BAL/056/18 Muskan Katthal
BAL/057/18 Nayan Katariya
BAL/058/18 Niharika Arya
BAL/059/18 Nilesh Kumar
BAL/060/18 Nishant Pandey
BAL/061/18 Nitin Soni
BAL/062/18 Nitya Malviya
BAL/063/18 Pankaj Mehta
BAL/064/18 Paritosh Mishra
BAL/065/18 Payal Rajput
BAL/066/18 Poorva Vatsa
BAL/067/18 Prachi Sharma
BAL/068/18 Pragati Shakyapar
BAL/070/18 Pranshu Chaudhary
BAL/071/18 Prateek Yadav
BAL/072/18 Priyanshi Budholia
BAL/073/18 Rachit Gupta
BAL/074/18 Raghav Parashar
BAL/075/18 Rajeev Meena
BAL/076/18 Ram Tiwari
BAL/077/18 Reetesh Sahu
BAL/078/18 Richa Dixit
BAL/079/18 Rishab Pillai
BAL/080/18 Rishabh Gupta
BAL/081/18 Rishiraj Singh Bhati
BAL/082/18 Ritu Janjani
BAL/083/18 Rohit Kumar Parteti
Information Technology and its impact on human
rights
Human rights of stored embryos
Human Experimentation and the Human Rights
Concerns
Human Rights Concerns of Euthanasia
Human Rights of the Unborn
Human Rights Concerns of Children born out of
Artificial Reproductive Techniques
Human Rights issues involved in Surrogacy
Arrangements
Human rights Implications of Human Genome
Project
Human rights implications of genetic engineering
Research and Development of biological and
Chemical Weapons and the Human Rights
Concerns
Pre-Natal Determination of Sex and Human Rights
violations of Girl Children
Non-State entities as Human Rights Violators in
the era of Globalisation
Human Rights of Arrested Persons, Accused and
the Prisoners
Human Rights of Minorities
Human Rights of Victims of Crime
Human rights of sexual minorities
Is Policing the Police important for the protection
of human rights in India?
Right to privacy as a human right
Critical Evaluation of the Protection of Human
Rights Act, 1993
Human Right to marry and found a family
Enforcement of human rights in the international
framework
Human right to property
How far Cultural Relativism Important in human
rights discourse?
People’s Rights to Self-Determination as a human
rights
Solidarity rights or Collective Human Rights
Human Rights of the Refugees
FGM as a human rights violation of Women
Impact of UDHR on the universalization of
Human Rights
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BAL/084/18 Rupal Yadav
BAL/085/18 Rupesh Bansod
BAL/086/18 Sahaj Choudhary
BAL/087/18 Saloni Singh
BAL/088/18 Sangita Shah
BAL/089/18 Sanidhya Kshirsagar
BAL/090/18 Sanket Solanki
BAL/091/18 Santwana Sachan
BAL/092/18 Sanya Dhakad
BAL/093/18 Shaileshwar Yadav
BAL/094/18 Shashank Tiwari
BAL/095/18 Shobhana Uladi
BAL/096/18 Shreya Shrivastava
BAL/097/18 Shreyansh Vagrani
BAL/098/18 Shruti Gogde
BAL/099/18 Shubham Pandey
BAL/100/18 Shubham Saxena
BAL/101/18 Siddharth Singh
Chauhan
BAL/102/18 Somya Agrawal
BAL/103/18 Sparsh Rawatkar
BAL/104/18 Stuti Shrivastava
BAL/105/18 Shubham Gandhi
BAL/106/18 Sudhanshu
Bharadwaj
BAL/107/18 Sumit Parashar
BAL/109/18 Swapnil Pal
BAL/110/18 Swapnil Pandey
BAL/111/18 Swati Dehariya
BAL/112/18 Vaishnavi Pathak
Non-discrimination as a basic human right
Whether imposing death penalty is a violation of
human rights?
Curtailment of individual liberty in times of
emergency
Right to nationality as a human right
Right to religion as a human right
How far the socio economic and cultural rights
enumerated in the UDHR are protected under the
Indian Constitutional Framework?
Human rights of labourers
Right to health care as a human right
Right to asylum as a human right
Significance of the concepts of “sanctity of life”
and “human dignity” in the human rights discourse
Right to education as a human right
Human rights of prisoners in India
Critically evaluate the Arab Charter, 1994
Development induced displacement as a human
rights concern
Compare the African Charter on Human Rights
and American Convention on Human Rights.
Comment on the “human rights courts” as
mentioned in PHRA, 1993
Genetic Privacy as a human rights concern
Human rights concerns involved in gene editing
technologies
Critically evaluate the Declaration of Right to
Development, 1986
Remote sensing and imaging as a human rights
concern
Multi-National Corporations as violators of human
rights
Generations of Human Rights: Whether it is a
workable classification today?
Protection of Human rights under the European
framework
Protection of Human Rights of Children in India
Protection of Human Rights of the Disabled in
India
Protection of Human Rights of Women in India
Protection of Human Rights of the Elderly in India
Protection of Human Rights of the Tribals and
Indigenous People in India
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 BAL/113/18 Vaishnavi Singh
BAL/114/18 Vartika Agarwal
BAL/115/18 Vidhi Gupta
BAL/116/18 Vikash Kumar Das
BAL/117/18 Vivek Kumar
Athankar
BAL/118/18 Yash Garg
BAL/119/18 Yashasvi Mujalde
BAL/121/18 Shivansh Parihar
BAL/122/18 Vibhor Mishra
BAL/123/18 Snehil Dadhich
BAL/124/18 Reet Bose
Right to shelter as a human right
Protection of genetic identity of a person
“Right to be born as a natural human being” as a
fourth generation human right
Racial and ethnical discrimination as a human
rights issue
Frozen human embryos as ‘matrimonial property’
in divorce proceedings
Efforts taken by Principal organs of the UN in
protecting and promoting human rights
“Technology is racing out of legal control”
Comment.
Role of ICJ in protection of human rights
Development of Artificial Intelligence and the
human rights concerns
Development of biological weapons and the
human rights concerns
Scientific experiments involving human gene
editing and human gene manipulation as human
rights violations

8. INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS

• All students shall submit their projects on the specified date.

• The above teaching schedule is tentative and is subject to change as per the need and
requirements of the session.
• The list of books and cases recommended is only illustrative and new judgements may be
added to it during class-room discussion

Dr. Veena Roshan Jose

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