Teaching

International Law: This course aims to provide a foundation in international law for MIA students. The course covers the sources of international law, the terrain of international courts, tribunals and monitoring institutions, principles and doctrines of international law, as well as the operation of international law in selected contemporary issue areas covering international security, human rights, migration, global trade and the climate crisis.

This course is for 1st year MIA students. 

This course offers an in-depth examination of the relationship between the climate crisis and human rights. It will cover why and how the climate crisis is a prominent human rights issue globally and offer tools to critically evaluate the mutual supportiveness and possible tensions between human rights and climate action. The course has two parts: Part I explores the theoretical and historical discussions on the interrelationship between climate change and human rights (law). It includes a brief overview of the history of the development of human rights norms and institutions, the science and politics of climate change, the different interpretations of what climate justice entails, the differentiated impacts of the climate crisis on human rights, the impacts of climate response measures on human rights, and the interface between the just transition to a low carbon society and human rights. Part II focuses on how institutions and actors engage with human rights and climate crisis interface. It includes the evolution of the inclusion of human rights in the international climate regime as well as the inclusion of climate change in the international human rights regime, climate litigation and human rights, social and legal mobilisation for climate action through human rights, corporate climate accountability and human rights, and the situation of environmental defenders.

This course in an elective course.

Human rights are central to contemporary debates on justice, law, and politics at both domestic and international levels. This course introduces students to the history and politics of international human rights and their place in global governance. It critically examines the roles and limitations of different actors in global governance, focusing on the key challenges of our time. Drawing on multiple disciplines, the course offers a nuanced understanding of the politics surrounding the evolution of international human rights protections across different historical periods. It aims to equip students with the tools to think creatively and critically about how historical legacies and power dynamics shape today's human rights and global governance landscape.

This course is for 1st year MIA students. 

This course will address the global legal, policy and ethical dimensions of governing asylum and refugees across borders. It will engage with the concepts and regulation of specialized branches of international law related to forced displacement, including international refugee law and international human rights law, security and anti-terrorism policy instruments, as well as border control and nationality and statelessness measures. The course will begin with the historical origins and development of the international system that regulate refugee movements and protection, including its philosophical bases. The different regimes, actors and institutions playing a role in forced migration governance will be examined next, followed by the study of substantive law and policy, including relevant practice and caselaw of national and international courts and UN Treaty bodies. The course will critically appraise key issues regarding refugee rights and realities, engaging scholarship from international law, politics and IR, and debates in global justice, ethics and political theory. The aim is to equip students with knowledge and understanding of the global refugee regime, and debates about whether it is just.

The course explores the rapidly evolving relationship between human rights and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), automated systems, the metaverse, and biomedical advancements. It critically examines how these innovations may challenge or uphold human rights frameworks. Key questions include whether these technologies erode fundamental rights or provide new avenues for enhancing accountability and protections. Students will engage with contemporary debates surrounding the legal, social, ethical, and policy implications of these technologies. The course offers a multidisciplinary approach, blending law, technology, human rights, ethics, and policy, to equip students with the skills to navigate the challenges at this intersection.