Courses

Multimedia based online course (3–5 ECTS)

Fundamental Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of Europe

Core aspects
Fundamental Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of Europe is a uniquely intuitive and flexible online course on European ESC rights. The course be used to teach students ESC rights either at the bachelor or master level. Licences to complete the course can be acquired either fully (5 ECTS) or in part for only labour or social law (3 ECTS).

As the image below demonstrates, the course is organized as a fully navigable frame, a temple. The temple provides the students with a systematic structure to learn ESC rights, complete exercises, and ultimately finish the course in the final exam. The temple is also self-sufficient in that it contains instructions on completing the course itself. No further instruction from teachers is necessary.

Please see the following module for full details on the objectives, content, materials, and accomplishment methods of the course. Please see the final module on how to acquire licences, as well as feedback and testimonials.

What are the objectives of the course?
The purpose of the course is for the student to

• To become acquainted with the content of European Economic, Social, and Cultural (ESC) rights
• To understand the interdependence and nature of ESC norms.
• To improve the student’s ability to act as an expert and attorney in international legal proceedings.

What topics does the course cover?
The course is a systematic and extensive guide to the fundamental rights and standards of individual and collective labour relations, social and health law, and education. Both the context and content of ESC rights are discussed.

In terms of legal sources, the course covers three treaties with broad acceptance across Europe:

1. European Convention of Human Rights
2. European Social Charter
3. Charter on Fundamental Rights of the European Union

In terms of jurisprudence, the course builds on the judgements, decisions, and conclusions of three key European legal bodies:

1. The European Court of Human Rights
2. The European Committee of Social Rights
3. The Court of Justice of the European Union

What does the course contain?
The course utilizes a broad range of learning materials and tools:

• Clear and concise pre-recorded introductory lectures
• In-depth textbook explanations of topics, ~250 pages of text and ~100 figures in total
• Inspiring expert interviews to cover the most difficult topics
• Self-exercises and exams
• An electronic library with lists of official publications, further reading and ~500 cases, and links to HUDOC and EUR-LEX databases

How is the course organized?
The course is an online learning platform. The student can complete the course at their own pace within the timeframe set by their home university.

The course is visually represented by a temple (see previous page). 

• The frieze (superstructure) of the temple contains instructions on how to complete the course, a collection of the course material, and links to the exams.
• The columns (pillars) contain the substantive lessons, including reading materials, lectures, and expert interviews.

Navigating between the components is simple: all the content can be accessed by using the hyperlinks built into the temple.

What are the options of acquiring licences for the course?
It is possible to complete the course in one of the following ways (all prices include VAT 24 %):

The entire ESC course

• 5 ECTS
• Topics 1–7
• Cost €124 per student for individual students not part of a group licence
• Cost €62 per student when part of a group licence

Labour law

• 3 ECTS
• Topics 1–4 and 7
• Cost €62 per student for individual students not part of a group licence
• Cost €37,5 per student when part of a group licence

Social law

• 3 ECTS
• Topics 1 and 5–7
• Cost €62 per student for individual students not part of a group licence
• Cost €37,5 per student when part of a group licence

Testimonials by professors

How has the course been received by students? How can students leave feedback?
The course contains its own feedback module. Some examples of student feedback:

“The structure of the lessons were excellent and clear. Accessing specific information was effortless. The overall presentation and content of the lessons were excellent.”

“The course covered several important and interesting topics. Video were very useful and helped to broaden the concepts and knowledge with having experts speaking about issues and topics.”

For ordering the course please contact the coordinator of the University of Lapland Jaana Kovalainen through [email protected]