LLM Gender, Conflict and Human Rights

LLM Gender, Conflict and Human Rights

Transitional Justice Institute
University of Ulster
Jordanstown campus

www.transitionaljustice.ulster.ac.uk

We are currently accepting applications for the newly established LLM Gender, Conflict and Human Rights, for 2013-14 entry.  This exciting and innovative programme is offered by the Transitional Justice Institute and will be delivered by active researchers at the Jordanstown campus on a full-time (one year) or part-time (two+ years) basis.  The programme will enable you to develop skills highly relevant to legal practice, and to gender policy, research and advocacy roles. Successful completion may also open up a range of further study and research options.

Modules include: Gender and Human Rights; Gender and Transition; Dissertation Research Methods; Foundations in International Human Rights Law or Foundations of Transitional Justice; Policing and Human Rights; Memory, Transition and Conflict; Political Violence, ‘Wars on Terror’ and the Law; International Criminal Justice; Critical Perspectives on Human Rights.

Entry Conditions: Applications are invited from graduates in Law (or a related discipline with relevant experience) who have attained or are about to attain a second class honours classification. Further information on acceptable equivalent qualifications is available at www.ulster.ac.uk/prospectus

The Programme 

This programme has been developed to enable students to:

• Gain a systematic understanding, in-depth knowledge and critical awareness of the differential experiences of women and men of human rights norms and institutions, especially in conflict and post-conflict situations;

• Understand foundational concepts in gender theory and their application to human rights, international law and transitional justice;

• Gain knowledge and skills in carrying out research projects from design to write-up;

• Enhance skills in critically appraising published and commissioned research;

• Develop skills highly relevant to legal practice, and to gender policy, research and advocacy roles in the voluntary, public and private sectors in the UK, Ireland and beyond;

Successful completion may also open up a range of further study and research options.

Unique Selling Points

The Transitional Justice Institute in Northern Ireland is uniquely placed to deliver an effective and stimulating programme of study in this area. Key highlights include:

• Opportunity to undertake an LLM programme with a specific focus on gender and transitional justice – the only LLM programme of its type in the UK or Ireland;

• Teaching is delivered by active researchers in the TJI, many of whom have received international recognition for their work;

• Gain unique insights into the differential legal protection of human rights of women and men in transitional contexts, while studying in a society currently in a process of transition;

• Take advantage of the opportunities to specialise in identified areas e.g. human rights, transitional justice, peace and conflict research in divided societies;

• Enhance the skills you need for working with gender and human rights in a range of sectors;

• Internship opportunities with a range of organizations including UNISON, Disability Action (Centre on Human Rights), Human Rights Consortium, Law Centre (NI) and Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities (NICEM), all based in Belfast;

• LLM Best Dissertation Prize sponsored by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission;

• Extensive events programme (TJI Seminar Series, International Conferences) and distinguished Visiting Scholars programme.

• Excellent library facilities on campus.

• Fully equipped LLM teaching rooms with integrated audio visual and video conferencing facilities;

• Membership of the LLM Alumni Network on completion of the course.

Programme Modules

The programme is delivered through lectures, seminars and tutorials. Various exit awards are available: a PgCert exit award upon completion of modules to the value of 60 credit points; and a PgDip exit award upon completion of six modules (120 credit points).

LLM students must complete the following 4 compulsory modules:

• Gender and Human Rights (30 credit points): This module provides an essential foundation to feminist theoretical perspectives on human rights, and the differential protections for the rights of women and men under international human rights law. Core concepts in gender theory are studied and applied to the international human rights system. The different human rights treaty systems and regional human rights mechanisms are reviewed for their particular attention to the lives and rights of women.

• Gender and Transition (30 credit points): This module provides an in-depth analysis of issues of gender in transitional justice. The module focuses on the evolving legal treatment of harms against women in situations of conflict under international law. In addition, non-prosecutorial responses to such harms, such as truth commissions and reparations programmes, are considered. The impact of transitional justice on constructions of femininity and masculinity in transitional societies is considered.

• Dissertation Research Methods (15 credit points): This module will provide students with training in law and social science research methods. It will assist in the selection, planning, research, and writing of the dissertation, and will also enhance the research and writing skills of students for other assessments and for employment.

• Dissertation (60 credit points): The completion of a 15,000 word dissertation provides students with an opportunity to pursue their own research interests, and to produce an original and theoretically-informed piece of work of publishable standard, which relates to issues studied in at least one of the taught modules.

PLUS 1 of the optional modules (30 credit points each) from the following list:

• Foundations of International Human Rights Law (30 credit points): The module will enable the student to master the complex and specialised area of international human rights law. Students will be encouraged to develop an in-depth critical understanding of both the content of international human rights standards and the various means by which they are enforced. It will act as a foundational basis which will enable learners to study issues in greater detail in subsequent modules. These have been developed in response to the growth of new areas of interest in international human rights law.

• Foundations of Transitional Justice (30 credit points): This module aims to provide students with an in-depth analysis of the emerging field of ‘transitional justice’. Students will relate the dilemmas of societies in transition from violent conflict and/or authoritarian regimes to the imperatives of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. There will also be an opportunity to apply that legal and structural knowledge to contemporary situations of armed conflict and transition.

PLUS 1 of the following optional half-modules (15 credit points each) from the following list:

• Policing and Human Rights: This module traces, at local and national levels and internationally, the actual and potential impact of human rights norms on policing policy and practice in respect of arrest and questioning, public order, the control of parades and assembly, the use of lethal and less lethal force, community and minority policing and general issues of accountability and reform.

• Memory, Transition and Conflict: This module seeks to encourage socio-legal and social science analyses surrounding the out-workings of political violence in transitional societies with the emphasis on divided societies. Key issues will include the legitimisation of political violence, the construction of victim hierarchies, theories of social memory, collective memory and conflict resolution and political transformation, and the interplay between memory, identity and conflict in transitional societies. The module will also advance knowledge in a developing pillar of transitional justice policy making and academic analysis, the use of commemoration and memorialisation.

• Political Violence, ‘Wars on Terror’ and the Law: This module explores law’s place in situations of insurgency and terrorism. The approach is theoretical (both normative and positive), and comparative (including experiences from the ‘war or terror’ and the Northern Ireland conflict). Critical questions arising from the use of ‘targeted killings’, intensive interrogation, extraordinary rendition, and special courts are examined in depth.

• International Criminal Justice: This module will impart a detailed knowledge of the history, sources and substance of international criminal law, while also giving students the opportunity to critically reflect upon international criminal prosecutions as a transitional justice mechanism. This module will introduce students to international criminal justice institutions ranging from the post-Second World War military tribunals and the United Nations ad hoc tribunals to the International Criminal Court. Students will also examine challenges in the operationalization of international criminal justice such as the dilemma of state cooperation.

• Critical Perspectives on Human Rights: The module will encourage students to take a critical approach to human rights and to apply theoretical arguments to real world issues. It will build on the knowledge of human rights law gained in other modules and encourage an intellectual approach to the study of rights. Students will analyse a range of human rights issues that are raised internationally and will not focus on one particular jurisdiction. The aim is to equip students to apply their understanding to a diverse range of issues and to be able to identify core features of human rights that are applicable in diverse contexts.

Please note that not all modules listed here will be offered in every academic year. Applicants are advised to check, prior to application, if modules of particular interest are likely to be offered in that academic year. Any student who does not successfully complete the dissertation module within the time required may be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Gender, Conflict and Human Rights in place of an LLM.

Scholarship Available
This year the TJI is delighted to offer a scholarship (fees contribution of up to £3,890 approximately) for local/EU rate.  International students will receive a contribution to fees for entry in September 2013.  Scholarship application forms will be sent out to applicants following the completion of the online course application process.  The deadline for course applications and scholarships applications is 30 June 2013. Late scholarship applications will not be considered. 

You can apply for the course online at: http://prospectus.ulster.ac.uk.

Further Information

TJI website: www.transitionaljustice.ulster.ac.uk , or

Download Information Leaflet

Contact

Ms Emer Carlin
Secretary
Transitional Justice Institute
Magee campus
Tel: + 44 (0) 28 71675146
Email: [email protected]

Elaine McCoubrey

Transitional Justice Institute

University of Ulster

Jordanstown campus

Co Antrim

BT37 0QB

Tel: 028 90366202

Fax: 028 90368962

Email: [email protected]