Høst 2024

JUR-3605 Indigenous Peoples' Rights - 15 stp

The course is administrated by

Det juridiske fakultet

Type of course

Students at the five year integrated master´s degree programme in law (Master i rettsvitenskap) may choose this course as a partial fulfilment of the requirements for the elective part of the programme's fifth year, cf. Studieplan for graden Master i rettsvitenskap ved UiT med tilhørende fagbeskrivelse for 5. avdeling.

Followed by necessary application and admission process, other students on master level may also choose this course.

Course overlap

JUS-422 Law studies special course: law of the sami 15 ects

Course contents

For students on the integrated master program in Tromsø, the course builds upon their knowledge of international law, human rights law and Sami law/indigenous peoples' rights acquired during the first and fourth years of studies. The course offers the students an overview of the current status of indigenous peoples' rights following the developments of the last two decades. Attention will thus be given to international legal instruments of relevance to indigenous peoples such as, among others, the 1989 International Labour Organization Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the 2007 United Nation Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Admission requirements

Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree of at least 180 ECTS credits, comprising or in combination with at least 80 ECTS credits in legal studies.

Admitted students should have basic knowledge of public international law.

Students at the Integrated master´s degree programme in law may choose this course as a partial fulfilment of the requirements for the elective part of the programme's fifth year, cf. Programme Specification for the Master's Degree in Jurisprudence at the University of Tromsø (Studieplan for graden Master i rettsvitenskap ved Universitetet i Tromsø). Students in the programme's fouth year must have completed and passed compulsory practice on the master's in jurisprudence to be able to complete the course in the autumn semester.

For information about the application process, please visit the web-pages of the UiT Admissions office.

Objective of the course

Knowledge

Having passed the exam, the student has:

Advanced knowledge of the definition of indigenous peoples.
Advanced knowledge of indigenous peoples' right to self-determination.
Advanced knowledge of the right to non-discrimination in relation to indigenous peoples.
Advanced knowledge of indigenous peoples' right to land.
Advanced knowledge of the different ways through which international norms may be implemented into national legal systems.
Good knowledge of the procedures established in international law to monitor the implementation of indigenous peoples' rights, and corresponding complaint mechanisms.
Good knowledge of cultural rights in relation to indigenous peoples.
Knowledge of the historical development of indigenous peoples' rights.

Skills

Having passed the exam, the student is able to:

identify and analyze issues of theoretical and practical character in Indigenous Peoples Rights.
apply the relevant sources of Indigenous Peoples Rights in a critical and independent way.
identify and discuss the limitations of current legal regime.
use English terminology applicable to this field of law.

General competence

After passing the specialization, the student can:

Apply the obtained knowledge and skills in the field of Indigenous Peoples Rights individually and in cooperation with others
Communicate reasoning within the field of Indigenous Peoples Rights in a clear and precise manner, orally and in writing to the academic community and the general public
Apply knowledge and skills acquired within Indigenous Peoples Rights in all jurisdictions and for all tasks and projects where relevant
Identify and reflect on ethical dilemmas that work with issues on the Indigenous Peoples Rights area in particular can lead to, and deal with these in a responsible manner

Language of instruction

All teaching will be in English.

Teaching methods

The teaching consists of a combination of lectures and seminars, comprising a total of 30 hours. The students are expected to be prepared and active during the seminars in discussing legal approaches to the issues at hand. Students are expected to study independently in periods of no seminars or lectures.