Viadrina European University, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany
Summer Course 'The European System of Human Rights Protection'
6 - 19 September 2015
Deadline for application: 31 May 2015 

This Summer Course will deal in detail specifically and exclusively with the European System for the protection of human rights. Although there are numerous summer courses and other special study programmes within Europe on human rights protection, this course concentrates on an integrated treatment of the various European systems and of specific European issues of human rights protection, that is, with important matters relevant to over forty European countries with diverse political, economic and social systems. The subject matter, therefore, includes human rights protection under the regimes of the Council of Europe (the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter), the European Community, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (Helsinki Accords), as well as that on the universal level of public international. The treatment of the substantive regimes and their specific rights catalogues will be set against the background of the philosophical, historical, political, economic and sociological aspects of human rights, and include practical institutional matters such as complaint procedures as well as developments such as in the area of ‘New Rights’.
Teaching methodsHeld in English, the summer course will combine lecture and discussion approaches. Lectures will have a maximum number of 50 participants, while discussion groups will be limited to 20. Participants will be expected to be actively involved, including the reading of materials set in advance for each session. Materials especially prepared for this course will be provided free of charge. You will also be able to download the materials from our online section. Certain additional reading materials will be available for purchase.

Who should attend?
This course is especially designed for advanced undergraduate students or recent graduates in order to provide students from all countries of both Western and Eastern Europe with an opportunity to expand their knowledge of human rights law and policy within the transnational European context.
Nevertheless, we try to make sure that each group has a diverse background. We strongly believe that this allows every participant to learn from each other and will be the source of qualitative discussions. For that reason, professionals and participants from international organisations or NGOs are also welcome.

Also, we would give participants from other regions than Europe the opportunity to obtain an overview on this highly actual topic.

Every application will be evaluated individually. As minimum criteria, we expect from our future participants that they:
• have a good working knowledge of English
• are at an advanced stage of their studies and
• have at least a basic understanding of public international law

Furthermore, at the end of the course, a moot court will be organized. This allows you to practice your skills in relation to a real case study.

Certificate and ECTS
A certificate of participation will be issued at the end of the summer course. The students acquire10 ECTS credits.

What can you expect from us?
We have been running the Summer Course for 14 years now. This gives us the experience and a special knowledge of what a Summer Course on European Human Rights should be about. In a nutshell, what we offer you during your two weeks in Frankfurt (Oder) and Slubice is:
• to be part of a dynamic university in the heart of Europe
• international experience by studying in Germany and living in Poland
• highly qualified teaching staff
• experienced and highly motivated organization staff at your service from your arrival until your last day
• to get to know interesting people from all over the world and get connected for much longer then just the duration of the Summer Course
• to take part in our free-time activities

All detailed information can be found on the Summer Course website.