NATIONAL  LAW  UNIVERSITY,  DELHI     Seminar  Course  for  the  First  Term  of  the  Academic  Year  2012-­‐13       Comparative  Rights  Adjudication  

  Offered  by  Anup  Surendranath,  Assistant  Professor,  NLU  Delhi.  

 

 

“Which  of  these  rights,  I  ask,  would  we  wish  to  discard?  Are  any  of  them  trivial,   superfluous,  unnecessary?.    .    .    .    .    .  There  may  be  those  who  would  like  to  live  in   a  country  where  these  rights  are  not  protected  but  I  am  not  of  their  number”.     Lord  Bingham  (October  1933  –  September  2010),  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England  &   Wales  from  1996-­‐2000.       What  is  the  Course  About?  

  The  statement  that  ‘hard  cases  make  bad  law’  must  certainly  figure  in   top-­‐five   legal   clichés.   Nonetheless,   this   course   is   largely   about   hard   cases  and  how  courts  in  different  jurisdictions  respond  to  them  in  the   context  of  constitutional  rights.   The  course  will  undertake  a  rigorous   comparative   analysis   of   some   of   the   most   controversial   legal   questions   of   our   times.   These   issues   of   constitutional   rights   pose   difficult   moral   and   philosophical   challenges   as   well   and   the   course   will  seek  to  challenge  your  intuitive  responses  to  them.       For  8  out  of  the  12  weeks,  we  will  primarily  read  case  law  from  India,   South   Africa,   Canada,   European   Court   of   Human   Rights,   and   the   United   States   (along   with   a   few   academic   writings)   on   issues   like   hate   speech,   political   dissent,   abortion,   torture,   obscenity,   right   to   health,   death   penalty,   right   to   housing,   sexuality   and   affirmative   action.  The  idea  of  the  course  is  to  move  beyond  the  vague,  intuitive   responses   we   all   have   to   these   controversial   questions   and   understand  the  precise  nature  and  content  of  the  rights  in  question.   The  course  is  comparative  not  just  in  terms  of  jurisdictions  but  also   in  terms  of  the  topics.  It  will  be  integral  to  the  course  to  understand   the  relationship  between  the  various  topics  in  terms  of  the  content  of   the  rights.  The  kind  of  questions  we  might  explore  Can  you  advocate   the   sanctity   of   life   while   discussing   death   penalty   but   choose   to   discard   it   while   discussing   abortion?   Can   we   be   enthusiastic   about   free   speech   protection   when   it   comes   to   political   dissent   but   tone   down  our  enthusiasm  when  it  comes  to  hate  speech?  Can  we  say  that  

society’s   interests   should   play   a   role   while   discussing   torture   in   the   context  of  terrorism  but  say  that  society  should  play  no  role  when  it   comes   to   questions   of   sexuality?   The   idea   is   not   just   to   see   how   the   Indian   Supreme   Court   treats   death   penalty   compared   to   the   South   African   Constitutional   Court   or   the   US   Supreme   Court   or   why   abortion   is   such   an   obsessive   issue   in   the   US   but   not   in   countries   like   South  Africa  and  India.  We  will  quickly  move  beyond  just  comparing   jurisdictions  and  enter  into  the  more  interesting  realm  of  comparing   the  legal  discourse  across  the  different  topics.       However,  before  we  deal  with  the  topics  stated  above,  we  will  spend   the   first   couple   of   weeks   exploring   some   theoretical   foundations   informing   the   concepts   of   rights,   human   rights   and   judicial   review.   We  begin  by  asking  the  fundamental  question  about  the  role  of  rights   in   a   polity.   Are   rights   the   best   way   to   protect   the   interests   of   individuals   and   society   against   the   State?   What   are   strongest   arguments   against   the   rights   framework   and   does   it   expose   the   limitations  of  what  rights  can  achieve?  We  then  move  to  the  concept   of   human   rights   to   understand   which   rights   can   be   considered   as   human  rights.  Is  there  a  normative  basis  for  considering  some  rights   as  human  rights  while  not  attributing  the  same  status  to  other  rights?   Does  the  normative  basis  for  such  a  distinction  stand  up  to  scrutiny?   We   will   then   examine   questions   surrounding   the   use   of   judicial   review   to   enforce   rights.   This   will   take   us   into   territory   that   requires   us   to   examine   the   legitimacy   of   judicial   review,   the   competence   of   courts  to  review  legislative  decisions  and  also  ask  whether  courts  are   better-­‐off   enforcing   only   civil-­‐political   rights   as   compared   to   socio-­‐ economic  rights.     We   will   spend   the   final   couple   of   weeks   discussing   the   various   connections  we  drew  as  we  progressed  with  the  different  topics.  Part   of  this  discussion  will  be  to  examine  the  value,  if  any,  of  comparative   jurisprudence   in   such   controversial   areas.   We   will   also   explore   the   conclusions  that  can  be  drawn  about  the  content  of  rights  when  they   are  applied  in  very  different  legal  contexts.        Who  Should  Take  the  Course?     Essentially,   if   you   are   interested   in   complex   legal   reasoning   and   analysing  case  law  within  a  theoretical  framework  this  course  is  for   you.   Most   of   the   questions   that   will   be   explored   have   significant  

political   undertones   and   that   just   serves   to   make   the   exercise   even   more  intriguing.       You   would   be   ill-­‐advised   to   consider   this   as   being   relevant   only   for   those   interested   in   academics,   judicial   clerkships,   social   activism   or   civil   services.   If   you   plan   to   get   into   litigation,   this   course   will   contribute   to   developing   skills   of   advanced   legal   reasoning   while   dealing  with  extremely  complex  issues  and  enhancing  your  ability  to   articulate  nuanced  legal  arguments  in  a  cogent  and  clear  manner.  You   will   also   familiarise   yourself   with   appellate   adjudication   in   multiple   jurisdictions  and  that  could  serve  you  well  in  the  future,  irrespective   of   what   issue   you   are   researching.   To   those   set   on   corporate   careers,   while  the  subject  matter  might  have  no  direct  relevance,  the  process   of  complex  reasoning  might  be  of  some  appeal.     What  Should  You  Expect  from  the  Course?     Apart   from   the   above   points,   you   will   familiarise   yourself   with   the   writings  of  some  of  the  foremost  thinkers  on  issues  of  rights,  judicial   review   and   constitutional   interpretation.   You   would   also   obviously   be  reading  a  lot  of  case  law  from  different  jurisdictions,  which  should   ideally  result  in  you  understanding  the  foundations  of  constitutional   adjudication  in  these  jurisdictions.       There   will   be   significant   emphasis   on   development   of   legal   writing   skills  in  this  course  as  well.  I  will  be  setting  aside  significant  time  for   consultations  before  the  writing  assignments       However,  I  must  state  at  the  very  outset  that  this  course  will  require   you   to   demonstrate   the   willingness   to   engage   with   very   sensitive   issues  and  respect  diverse  viewpoints.       Classes  and  Evaluation     I  am  quite  flexible  in  terms  of  the  number  of  hours  and  we  can  decide   whether  you  would  like  to  spread  the  classes  over  the  week  or  bunch   it   together   on   one   day.   Irrespective   of   how   we   structure   that,   each   class  will  begin  with  a  20-­‐minute  lecture  to  set  out  the  framework  of   discussion  that  will  follow.  You  will  receive  questions  and  the  reading   list  well  in  advance.  I  am  of  course  aware  of  what  can  be  reasonably   expected   in   terms   of   reading   but   that   does   not   mean   that   you   will   find   the   classes   useful   if   you   do   not   read.   I   will   also   be   open   to  

consultations   outside   class   hours   if   you   have   any   difficulty   with   the   material.     Evaluation  will  draw  upon  1  short  essay  (2000  words  for  5  marks),  1   long  essay  (6000  words  for  40  marks),  class  presentation/viva  based   on  the  long  essay  (5  marks),  class  preparation  and  participation  (10   marks)  and  an  end-­‐semester  examination  (40  marks).  I  am  not  rigid   about  this  split  and  I  am  certainly  open  to  restructuring  the  division   of  marks.     The  focus  on  legal  writing  is  the  reason  for  stipulating  a  short  essay   and  a  longer  one.  The  short  essay  will  enable  you  to  understand  the   method   and   quality   of   legal   writing   expected.   The   longer   essay   will   have   significantly   more   marks   attached   to   it   and   you   should   treat   the   short  essay  as  practice  for  it.  

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, DELHI Seminar ... -

civil services. If you plan to get into litigation, this ... long essay (6000 words for 40 marks), class presentation/viva based on the long essay (5 marks), class ...

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