The course has two threads running through it, related to, first, the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and, second, the application of that rights charter in the domestic law of the United Kingdom.  In this series of seminars we look at the origins, development and current standing of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, its case-law, the principles that underpin its operation, and the specific and fascinating way that it has been applied in UK law. The primary focus will be on both the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and that of the UK Supreme Court, though the cases of other jurisdictions will also be referred to where appropriate. 

As well as discussing the wider issues, the course will analyse the Convention and its application within the UK from the perspective of selected rights, namely: the right to life; the prohibition of torture; the right to liberty; the right to due process; the right to privacy; the right to freedom of expression, assembly and association; the right not to be discriminated against; and the right to vote. 

The goals of the course are twofold: (i) to give students a good critical understanding of the Convention, the case-law of the Strasbourg court and the Convention's place within the constitutional and political structure of 'Greater Europe'; and (ii) to subject to close analysis the way the Human Rights Act has been deployed in UK law, and the challenges that it faces going into the future.