Human Rights Law Notes | B.A. LL.B. (Five Year Course) Semester 8 | Mumbai University | munotes

Contents

Module I History and Philosophy of Human Rights

1. What a Human Right Is: Concept and Definition 1
2. The Characteristics of Human Rights 6
3. Why Human Rights Are Needed 11
4. The Limitations on Human Rights 16
5. The Natural Rights Theory 21
6. The Utilitarian Theory of Rights 27
7. The Idealist Theory of Rights 33
8. The Socialist Theory of Rights 39
9. The Positivist Theory of Rights 45
10. Human Rights in Ancient India 51
11. Human Rights in Medieval India 56
12. Human Rights in Modern India 61
13. The First Generation: Civil and Political Rights 67
14. The Second Generation: Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 72
15. The Third Generation: Solidarity Rights 77
16. Comparing the Three Generations 82
17. The Universality of Human Rights 87
18. Cultural Relativism and the Answer to It 92
19. Human Rights in the Western Tradition 97
20. Magna Carta and the English Tradition 102
21. The American Declaration of Independence 107
22. The United States Bill of Rights 112
23. The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen 117
24. The Normative Foundation of International Human Rights 123
25. The United Nations and the Birth of the Human Rights System 129
26. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Drafting and Structure 135
27. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: The Rights It Declares 140
28. The Legal Status of the Universal Declaration 146
29. The International Bill of Human Rights 151
30. The UN Human Rights Machinery: Charter Bodies 156
31. The UN Human Rights Machinery: Treaty Bodies and the High Commissioner 162

Module II International Conventions and Protocols

1. The ICCPR: Scheme and Obligations 167
2. The ICCPR: The Civil Rights 173
3. The ICCPR: The Political Rights and Freedoms 179
4. The ICCPR: Equality, Minorities and Derogation in Emergency 185
5. The Human Rights Committee and State Reporting 190
6. The First Optional Protocol: Individual Communications 195
7. The Second Optional Protocol: Abolition of the Death Penalty 201
8. The ICESCR: Scheme and Progressive Realisation 206
9. The ICESCR: The Rights It Guarantees 212
10. The ICESCR: The Committee and the Optional Protocol 218
11. India and the Two Covenants 223
12. The International Labour Organization 230
13. The ILO's Core Conventions and Their Human Rights Content 236
14. UNESCO and the Rights to Education, Science and Culture 241
15. UNICEF and the Rights of the Child 251
16. The World Health Organization and the Right to Health 259
17. The UN Sustainable Development Goals 271
18. The Right to a Healthy Environment in International Law 279
19. The Right to a Healthy Environment in India 287
20. Indian Environmental Legislation as Human Rights Law 298
21. Non-Governmental Organizations in the Protection of Human Rights 310

Module III Human Rights and the Indian Constitution and Commissions

1. The Constitution of India as a Human Rights Instrument 319
2. Fundamental Rights: The Right to Equality 325
3. Fundamental Rights: The Right to Freedom 331
4. Fundamental Rights: Article 21 and the Rights Read Into It 337
5. Fundamental Rights: Protection against Arrest and Detention 343
6. Fundamental Rights: The Right against Exploitation 350
7. Fundamental Rights: Freedom of Religion 356
8. Fundamental Rights: Cultural and Educational Rights of Minorities 362
9. Fundamental Rights: The Right to Constitutional Remedies 368
10. The Directive Principles of State Policy 374
11. Directive Principles and Fundamental Rights: The Relationship 380
12. Fundamental Duties 387
13. Rights and Duties: The State, the Citizen and Society 392
14. Fundamental Rights and Human Rights Distinguished 398
15. The Protection of Human Rights Act 1993: Scheme and Definitions 403
16. The National Human Rights Commission: Constitution and Appointment 409
17. The NHRC: Functions and Powers 415
18. The NHRC: Procedure, the Armed Forces Proviso and the One-Year Bar 425
19. State Human Rights Commissions and Human Rights Courts 434
20. The National Commission for Women 443
21. Sexual Harassment at the Workplace: Vishaka and the POSH Act 451
22. The National Commission for Minorities 463
23. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes 471
24. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes 479
25. The Role of the Judiciary: Public Interest Litigation 487
26. The Role of the Judiciary: Expanding Article 21 496
27. The Role of the Judiciary: Compensation as a Public Law Remedy 508
28. The Role of the Judiciary: International Law in Indian Courts 516

Module IV Human Rights Protection of Vulnerable Groups & Regional Arrangements

1. CEDAW: Scheme and Obligations 525
2. CEDAW: The Committee, the Optional Protocol and India's Declarations 532
3. CEDAW in Indian Law: From Vishaka to the Statute Book 539
4. The Convention on the Rights of the Child: Scheme 547
5. The CRC: The Four General Principles and the Rights 553
6. The CRC: The Optional Protocols and the Committee 560
7. Children's Rights in Indian Law 567
8. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 577
9. The CRPD: Reasonable Accommodation and the Duty of an Employer 585
10. Disability Rights in Indian Law: The RPwD Act 2016 593
11. The Rights of Older Persons in International Law 601
12. Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens 608
13. Women's Rights in Indian Law: Domestic Violence and the Shared Household 616
14. The Rights of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes 625
15. Tribal Rights and Development: Displacement, Forests and Consent 633
16. LGBT Rights in International Law 641
17. LGBT Rights in India: NALSA, Navtej and the Transgender Persons Act 647
18. Refugees: The 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol 655
19. Non-Refoulement and the Core Protection of a Refugee 662
20. Refugees and Aliens in India 670
21. The European Regional Arrangement: The Convention 681
22. The European Court of Human Rights 689
23. The American Regional Arrangement 699
24. The African Regional Arrangement 710
25. Asia and the Absence of a Regional Arrangement 719