General Theory of Human Rights

* To deepen the study of human rights from the philosophical and legal methodology * To present some of the most important problems that the incorporation of fundamental rights to legal systems arises in the theory of law. * Provide different theories about the meaning of the incorporation of rights to the Constitucions (natural law, positivist, alternatives) * Analyze the role of human rights in the legal system * Analyze the impact of rights on the question of the validity and legal interpretation.

I. THE LEGAL SYSTEM, FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL STATE 1.1. Rule of law and Constitutional State 1.2. Constitutionalism as a paradigm for the Philosophy of Law 1.3. The legal system of the Constitutional State 1.4. Constitutional State and normative production 1.5. Tensions of the constitutionalism 2. CONCEPTIONS OF LAW AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS 2.1. Natural law, positivism and theories of fundamental rights. 2.2. Principlist theories and fundamental rights 2.3. Positivist theories and fundamental rights 2.4. Mixed systems and fundamental rights. 2.5. Critical theories and fundamental rights 3. LEGAL INTERPRETATION AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS 3.1. Theories of legal interpretation 3.2. The projection of the rights in the legal interpretation 3.3. The specificity of the interpretation of fundamental rights. 3.4. The valid and correct interpretation of fundamental rights. 3.5. Fundamental rights, legal reasoning and due process.

The course will be taught combining the system of lectures, discussions and activities on the more controversial topics of the program. In the theoretical explanations the basics concepts of each item will be developed. Required materials (book chapters and academic articles) that the/ as students must work before each session will be available in Aula Global. During the sessions these texts will be discussed, in the light of the teacher's explanations. Students must present a brief oral work linked to some of the topics and discussions and a final research paper.