4.8
stars
337 ratings

Michael Abiodun Olatokun

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Citizenship and the Rule of Law

University of London

About this Course

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"Be you so high, the law is above you." This principle, part of the Rule of Law, has come to represent the powerful idea that even politicians and monarchs are bound by the law. However in an age of powerful corporations, international cyber-crime and popular support for authoritarian leaders, the Rule of Law is under threat worldwide.
This course, run by the Bingham Centre of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, will provide an introduction to headline issues around the Rule of Law. Each week we will tackle aspects of the Rule of Law and discuss how they are impacted by current events. The course will use video lectures, recommended reading, discussion questions and activities to enable you to develop your own perspective on the Rule of Law. Though this course sits at the intersection of law and politics, participants do not require any formal educational background in either of these subjects to join. The course will take place over 6 weeks with approximately 3 hours of content each week.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

No educational background is required. An interest in current affairs, the rule of law or politics will enable you to get the most out of the course.

Approx. 21 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Spanish

What you will learn

By the end of this course, you should be able to engage critically with the core requirements of the Rule of Law
By the end of this course, you should be able to explain why and how the Rule of Law is best protected
By the end of this course, you should be able to apply Rule of Law principles to issues in everyday life
By the end of this course, you should be able to construct and evaluate arguments about justice

Skills you will gain

Legal Terminology
Participatory Politics
Legal Analysis
Common Law
Civic Engagement

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

No educational background is required. An interest in current affairs, the rule of law or politics will enable you to get the most out of the course.

Approx. 21 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Spanish

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.77/5 (120 Ratings)

Michael Abiodun Olatokun

Research Fellow in Citizenship and The Rule of Law; Head of Public and Youth Engagement

The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law

13,477 Learners

1 Course

Offered by

University of London

The University of London is a federal University which includes 18 world leading Colleges. Our distance learning programmes were founded in 1858 and have enriched the lives of thousands of students, delivering high quality University of London degrees wherever our students are across the globe. Our alumni include 7 Nobel Prize winners. Today, we are a global leader in distance and flexible study, offering degree programmes to over 50,000 students in over 180 countries. To find out more about studying for one of our degrees where you are, visit www.london.ac.uk

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating99%(2,175 ratings)

Week

Week 1

4 hours to complete

A Potted History of the Rule of Law

Welcome to the first week of the course. Week 1 is an overview of the headline debates concerning the Rule of Law and a discussion of how it applies in practice today. You will be taken through a historical account of the development of the principle over time from Aristotle’s first statement of the Rule of Law to the modern work of the Bingham Centre. This teaching session will also serve as an introduction to debates about the requirements of the Rule of Law, i.e. whether it passes judgment on if particular decisions are “good” or “bad” and whether human rights are part of the Rule of Law.

4 hours to complete

9 videos (Total 30 min), 11 readings, 2 quizzes

9 videos

Citizenship and the Rule of Law2m

Background and Context2m

Syllabus and Learning Objectives1m

Welcome to Week 1 Introduction to the Rule of Law2m

Aristotle and the Rule of Law4m

Montesquieu and the Separation of Powers3m

A.V. Dicey and the Rule of Law3m

Lord Bingham's Conception of the Rule of Law5m

What Can We Expect From the Rule of Law?4m

11 readings

Overall Syllabus and Learning Objectives10m

Why is "Citizenship" attached to a course on "the Rule of Law?"10m

Welcome to Week 1!5m

Bingham Centre Founding Director Sir Jeffrey Jowell QC further explains the Rule of Law7m

Creation of the Rule of Law1m

Other Contributions10m

Differences Between Dicey and the Rule of Law Today10m

"The Rule of Law", Sir David Williams Lecture by Lord Bingham26m

Lord Bingham's Eight Rule of Law Principles10m

A Universal Secular Religion: International Ideas20m

Interview with Bingham Centre Director, Murray Hunt25m

2 practice exercises

A.V. Dicey's Rule of Law30m

Week 1 Quiz30m

Week

Week 2

3 hours to complete

Judges: Independence, Tenure and Appointment

Welcome to the second week of the course. Week 2 will focus on processes for the selection and appointment of judges, the importance of public confidence in the judiciary and the role that judges play in securing the Rule of Law.

3 hours to complete

2 videos (Total 15 min), 3 readings, 1 quiz

Week

Week 3

3 hours to complete

What does it mean to be equal before the law?

Welcome to the third week of the course. Week 3 will establish that all must be treated equally before the law. The session will discuss contentious situations in which treating people equally requires that they be treated differently in order to give effect to justice, such as the limited range of sanctions available to criminals convicted as children.

3 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 16 min), 12 readings, 2 quizzes

4 videos

Introduction to Equality58s

Children3m

Plessy v Ferguson, Brown v Topeka6m

Practical Equality5m

12 readings

Equality Before the law10m

The United States2m

The Brown ruling10m

Protected Characteristics5m

The United Kingdom10m

Issues in equality: Stop and Search Part 110m

Issues in equality: Stop and Search Part 215m

Issues in equality: Stop and Search Part 320m

Issues in equality: Stop and Search Part 415m

South Africa Post-Apartheid Part 17m

South Africa Post-Apartheid Part 24m

Relevant cases10m

2 practice exercises

What do you think?20m

Week 3 Quiz14m

Week

Week 4

4 hours to complete

Access to Justice

Welcome to the fourth week of the course. Week 4 looks at a number of other barriers that individuals face in enforcing their legal rights. One of the concepts explored will be ‘legal capability’. This is defined as the knowledge, skills and confidence required to resolve legal problems in life. Students will be presented with a range of initiatives undertaken by civil society to improve legal capability and will produce their own ideas about improving access to justice across the world.

4 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 136 min), 6 readings, 1 quiz

5 videos

Barriers to Law4m

Legalese and Legal Aid2m

OPTIONAL VIDEO- Five Years of Public Legal Education2h 2m

Alternative Dispute Resolution and Online Justice1m

Rule of Law Implications of Artificial Intelligence3m

6 readings

Legal Empowerment10m

Legal Capability15m

Online Judging and Extended Courts10m

E-Government10m

Algorithms, mind control and the right to freedom of thought10m

Disinformation technology and "fake news"30m

1 practice exercise

Week 4 Quiz20m

Week

Week 5

4 hours to complete

An International Rule of Law

Welcome to the fifth week of the course. Week 5 will introduce students to the international legal order and regional human rights conventions. The week will start with a potted summary of the development of the United Nations. The second portion of session will focus on human rights law. Course leads will discuss universal and regional human rights frameworks including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights and speak to examples of non-compliance in respect of each of these and how they are enforced. The course team would like to give special thanks to Hector Tejero Tobed and Iris Anastasiadou for their help in compiling video scripts and content for this week of the course.

4 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 21 min), 9 readings, 2 quizzes

4 videos

Introduction1m

Sources of International Law8m

Remedies and Complaints7m

Treaty Bodies and Committees3m

9 readings

Introduction to International Law7m

Introduction to International Human Rights10m

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights20m

Regional structures of International Law30m

Thinking about remedies10m

December 2019- Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar)30m

State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi's speech before the International Court of Justice on 11 December 201920m

Application by the Gambia instituting proceedings and request for provisional measures20m

Interview with war crimes prosecutor Arthur Traldi22m

2 practice exercises

Questions about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights30m

Week 5 Quiz26m

Week

Week 6

2 hours to complete

Business, Human Rights and the Rule of Law

Welcome to Week Six of the course. Week 6 delves into the Rule of Law questions raised by the potential impacts of business operations on the human rights of their employees, populations of countries they are based in and other community stakeholders. This week will provide a background and history of this new and dynamic area, and describe how all eight of Bingham’s Rule of Law Principles are engaged in this discussion. The session will consider how the three pillars of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are founded on basic principles of the Rule of Law. You will be presented with real-life current examples of how these principles apply in practices. Examples discussed will include: Recent case law which expands traditional legal tests to stay up to date with modern-day cross-border business operations; Calls for and against regulation of the internet, in light of increasing examples of harmful content, privacy breaches and other human rights impacts of tech giants; Discussion of how companies undertake due diligence for human rights in their global supply chains,Presentation of the challenges in this area from a Rule of Law perspective. Rule of Law principles such as access to remedies and legal certainty will be recurring themes. The session will also illustrate some “myth-busting” examples regarding assumptions about the Rule of Law's universality.

2 hours to complete

7 videos (Total 22 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

Reviews

4.8

76 reviews

5 stars
84.21%
4 stars
13.74%
3 stars
1.75%
1 star
0.29%

TOP REVIEWS FROM CITIZENSHIP AND THE RULE OF LAW

by AVMar 12, 2022

Was very interesting and thorough, got to learn even more I imagined

by JANov 23, 2020

Very informative. The reading materials are quite heavy and long but very good.

by NUJul 1, 2020

Must interesting subject I must gained extra knowledge. So that I should give five stars.

by SVFeb 2, 2021

Really thorough, interesting and enjoyable course. Incredibly eye-opening and well put together :)

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Where can I find out more about the organisations involved in delivering the course?
The Bingham Centre’s website is located at binghamcentre.biicl.org.
The British Institute of International Law website can be found at biicl.org.
What is the Bingham Centre set up to achieve?
The Bingham Centre works to make the Rule of Law a practical and tangible entitlement of all across the world.
Are there opportunities for me to follow the Bingham Centre?
The Bingham Centre is active on social media at https://twitter.com/binghamcentre. Sign up for our newsletter too here: https://binghamcentre.biicl.org/enews-signup

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Citizenship and the Rule of Law

Citizenship and the Rule of Law