Women’s Law and Human Rights Spring 2015
Wednesday 10.15 – 12.00
1. 4 February – Anne Hellum:
Course introduction, women’ s human rights and overall principles of justice and freedom
at the international, regional, national and local level.
Holtmaat, Rikki (2013): “The CEDAW: a holistic approach to women’s equality and freedom”, In A. Hellum
and H. Sinding Aasen. Women’s Human Rights. Cambridge University Press, 95-124 (29) A
Byrnes, Andrew (2012): “ Article 1” (CEDAW), In M.A Freeman, C. Chinkin and B. Rudlof. CEDAW
Commentary. Oxford University Press, 51-70 (19) C
Cusack, Simone (2013) “The CEDAW as a legal framework for transnational discourses on gender
stereotyping. In A. Hellum and H. Sinding Aasen. Women’s Human Rights. Cambridge University Press 124
– 158 (34) A
Relevant jurisprudence of Human Rights Treaty Bodies (sources of international Law)
CEDAW General Recommendation No. 28, on the core obligations of States parties under article 2 of the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/comments.htm
CEDAW General Recommendation No. 25, Article 4,1. Temporary Special Measures.
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/comments.htm
CESCR Committee General Comment 20, Non-Discrimination in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art
2, papa 2) http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/
Human Rights Committee General Comment No. 28 “Equality of rights between men and women , Article 3”
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/gencomm/hrcom28.htm
2. 11 February – Ingunn Ikdahl:
Protection against discrimination, the human rights machinery, state reporting procedures
and individual complaint procedures
Byrnes, Andrew (2013): “The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women”, In A. Hellum
and H. Sinding Aasen. Women’s Human Rights. Cambridge University Press, 27 – 63 (35) A
Hellum, Anne (2013) “Making space and giving voice: the CEDAW in NorwegianLaw”. In A. Hellum and H.
Sinding Aasen. Women’s Human Rights. Cambridge University Press 557- 588 (31) A
Pandey, Kabita (2013) “Judicial education on the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against
Women in Nepal”. In A. Hellum and H. Sinding Aasen. Women’s Human Rights. Cambridge University
Press. 410 -430 (20) A
3. 25 February – Anne Hellum:
CEDAW and related international and regional instruments, direct, indirect, intersectional
and structural discrimination
Byrnes, Andrew (2012): “ Article 1” (CEDAW), In M.A Freeman, C. Chinkin and B. Rudlof. CEDAW
Commentary. Oxford University Press, 51-70 (19) C
Fredman, Sandra: "Beyond the Dichotomy of Formal and Substantive Equality. Toward a New Defintion of
Equal Rights", i (Red) Boerefijn, Ineke et al.C Temporary Special Measures . Accelerating de facto Equality
of Women under Article 4(1) UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of discrimination
against women 2003 ss. 111-118
CEDAW General Recommendation No. 28, on the core obligations of States parties under article 2 of the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/comments.htm
CEDAW General Recommendation No. 25, Article 4,1. Temporary Special Measures.
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/comments.htm
CESCR Committee General Comment 20, Non-Discrimination in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art
2, papa 2) http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/
4. 4 March – Anne Hellum:
Protection against violence: the right to integrity, dignity and equality
MacKinnon, Catharine (2012): “Creating international law: Gender as a New Paradigm”, in C.M. Bailliet(ed)
Non-State actors, Soft Law and Protective Regimes, 17—32 (15). C
Schaak, Beth Van “Engendering Genocide: The Akayesu Case Before the International Criminal Tribunal
for Rwanda”, Santa Clara Law Digital Commons 7-1-2008. 1-29 (29) B
Byrnes, Andrew and Eleanor Bath: Violence against Women, the Obligation of Due Diligence, and the
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women –
recent Developments - (9) B http://hrlr.oxfordjournals.org/content/8/3/517.full
Bailliet, Cecilia M. (2013) “From the CEDAW to the American Convention: Elucidation of women’s right to a
life’s project and protection of maternal identity within Inter-American human rights jurisprudence”, In A.
Hellum and H. Sinding Aasen. Women’s Human Rights. Cambridge University Press, 158-183 (25) A
Relevant jurisprudence of human rights treaty bodies:
CEDAW General Recommendation No. 19 http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/comments.htm
5. 11 March – Ingunn Ikdahl:
Engendering social and economic rights – land and water
Ikdahl, Ingunn (2013) “ Property and security: articulating women’s rights to their homes”, ”, In A. Hellum
and H. Sinding Aasen. Women’s Human Rights. Cambridge University Press, 268-292 (24) A
Hellum, Anne (2014)”Engendering the right to water and sanitation”, M .Langford and A. Russell (eds) The
Right to Water: Theory, Practice and Prospects ( Cambridge University Press
forthcoming 2014) (25) (PDF file will be made available) B
Relevant jurisprudence of human rights treaty bodies:
CESCR Committee General Recommendation 15. The right to water (article 11 and 12)
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/
6. 18 March – Anne Hellum:
Work and equality
Raday, Frances (2012): “Article 11” (CEDAW) In M.A Freeman, C. Chinkin and B. Rudolf. CEDAW
Commentary. Oxford University Press, 279- 309 (30). C
http://www.humanrights.org.il/articles/traditional%20religious%20and%20cultural%20challengers.pdf
Relevant jurisprudence of human rights treaty bodies
CEDAW General Recommendation No. 25, Article 4,1. Temporary Special Measures.
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/comments.htm
CESCR Committee General Comment 20, Non-Discrimination in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art
2, papa 2) http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/
7. 25 March – Anne Hellum: Anne Hellum:
Reproductive rights – the right to self-determination and equality
Rebecca Cook: “Article 12” (CEDAW), In M.A Freeman, C. Chinkin and B. Rudolf. CEDAW Commentary.
Oxford University Press, 311- 332 (21). C
Relevant jurisprudence of Treaty Bodies
CEDAW Committee General Recommendation 24. Women and Health article 12
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/comments.htm
8. 8 April – Vibeke Blaker Strand:
Religion, culture, equality and freedom
Raday, Frances : “Traditionalist Religious and Cultural Challenges – International and Constitutional Human
Rights Responses”, in Israel Law Review Vol. 41, pp 596-634 (38 pages) B
Musembi, Celestine Nyamu (2013) “Pulling apart? Treatment of pluralism in the CEDAW and the Maputo
Protocol”, In A. Hellum and H. Sinding Aasen. Women’s Human Rights. Cambridge University Press, 183 –
215 (32) A
Pandey, Kabita (2013) “Judicial education on the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against
Women in Nepal”. In A. Hellum and H. Sinding Aasen. Women’s Human Rights. Cambridge University
Press. 410 -430 (20) A
9. 15 April – Anne Hellum:
Presentation by students on the implementation of CEDAW in European, Asian, Latin
American and African countries
10. 22 April – Anne Hellum:
Translating international law into local norms and practices
Pandey, Kabita (2013) “Judicial education on the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against
Women in Nepal”. In A. Hellum and H. Sinding Aasen. Women’s Human Rights. Cambridge University
Press. 410 -430 (20) A
Hellum, Anne and Farhat Taj (2011): “Taking what law where and to whom” in From Transnational
Relations to Transnational Laws: Northern European Laws at the Cross Roads. Anne Hellum, Shaheen
Sardar Ali and Anne Griffiths (eds.), Ashgate, pp 93-117 (17 pages) C
Bourdon, Natalie (2013) “ Coercive harmony?: Realizing women’s rights through alternative dispute
resolution in Dar es Salaam’s legal aid cliniques”. In Worlds of Human Rights. The ambiguities of Rights
Claiming in Africa, Derman Bill; Hellum, Anne and Sandvik Kristin (eds). Brill. 195-219 (24) C
11. 29 April – Mock Exam: (theme will be announced later)
Anne Hellum