Human rights and Welfare Policies - Bachelor

Undergraduate course

Course description

Objectives and Content

The overall objective of this course is to provide students with knowledge of human rights law and its application on domestic welfare law and policies. Securing access to healthcare, education, work, and social security are important responsibilities of modern welfare states, addressing essential human needs and determinants of a dignified living. While the nature, content and scope of socio-economic human rights and obligations are at the center focus, civil human rights (autonomy, liberty, privacy) are explored insofar relevant for analyses of how to understand and balance different rights and state obligations in the field of socio-economic human rights and welfare policies.

Learning Outcomes

KNOWLEDGE

By the end of the course, students are expected to have knowledge of

  • human rights law and underpinning core values
  • notions and significance of universality and relativity
  • relationship between different rights
  • state obligations, especially related to socio-economic human rights
  • core content of rights and state obligations
  • the duty of non-discrimination
  • negative and positive aspects of rights and state obligations
  • conflicting rights and duties in welfare law and policies.

 

SKILLS

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

  • explain the content of central human rights instruments and sources
  • identify and apply relevant sources and arguments in human rights assessments of welfare law and policies
  • identify conflicting rights and obligations in welfare law and policies, and to discuss how to balance them.

 

GENERAL COMPETENCE

After successful completion of the course, students should have general competence in

  • human rights law and analysis, especially in the field of socio-economic human rights
  • academic legal discourse
  • critical thinking and legal assessments of domestic welfare law and policies

ECTS Credits

10 ECTS

Level of Study

Bachelor level

Semester of Instruction

Autumn

Place of Instruction

Faculty of Law, University of Bergen
Required Previous Knowledge
Two years of law studies.
Recommended Previous Knowledge
Good level of English language
Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap

Combined with JUS276-2-A Human rights law: Special Focus on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, JUS276-2-C Human rights and welfare policies or JUS3513 Human rights and welfare policies this course will generate no new credits.

THIS COURSE COMBINES WELL WITH

JUS250-2-D Velferdsrett

JUS2322/JUS3522 Health and human rights in the welfare state

Access to the Course

The course is available for the following students:

  • Admitted to the five-year programme in law
  • Exchange students at the Faculty of Law

The pre-requirements may still limit certain students' access to the course.

Teaching and learning methods
Lectures and seminars
Compulsory Assignments and Attendance
Compulsory attendance at lectures/seminars
Forms of Assessment

Four-hour digital school exam. Information about digital examination.

 

Exam language

Exam question: English

Answer: English.

Grading Scale
A-E for passed, F for failed
Assessment Semester
Autumn
Reading List
The reading list will be ready 1 July for the autumnsemester.
Course Evaluation
According to the administrative arrangements for course evaluation at the Faculty of Law.
Examination Support Material

See section 3-5 of the Supplementary Regulations for Studies at the Faculty of Law at the University of Bergen.

In addition: Course compendium supplied by the Faculty of Law.

Special regulations about dictionaries

  • According to the Regulations for Studies, one dictionary is permitted support material during the examination. Bilingual dictionaries containing for example both Norwegian-English and English-Norwegian are considered as one dictionary.
  • Bilingual dictionaries to/from the same two languages - for example NorwegianEnglish/English-Norwegian - in two different volumes are also considered as one dictionary (irrespective of publisher or edition).
  • Dictionaries as described above cannot be combined with any other types of dictionaries.
  • Any kind of combination which makes up more than two physical volumes is forbidden.

In case a student has a special need for any other combination than the above mentioned, such combination has to be clarified with/approved by the course coordinator minimum two weeks before the exam. Students who have not been granted permission to have a special combination minimum two weeks before the exam will be subject to the usual regulations (Section 3- 5) about examination support materials.

Programme Committee
The Academic Affairs Committee (Studieutvalget) at the Faculty of Law is responsible for ensuring the material content, structure and quality of the course. 
Course Coordinator
Professor Henriette Sinding Aasen
Course Administrator
The Faculty of Law¿s section for students and academic affairs (Studieseksjonen) is responsible for administering the programme.