The Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway has announced details of their annual summer schools. The first of these is the summer school on Minority Rights and Indigenous Peoples and will take place from 13 to 17 June. During the following week, 19 to 23 June, the Centre will run a summer school on the International Criminal Court.

Professor William Schabas, Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, said: “We held our first summer school in 2000, and the popularity and international reputation of both the International Criminal Court and Minority Rights programmes continues to grow.”

The 2011 Minority Rights and Indigenous Peoples Summer School will provide participants with an overview of the legal, political and philosophical issues pertaining to international human rights law and its relationship to minority rights and the rights of indigenous peoples. The theme of this year’s school highlights religion in contemporary minority rights discourse, focussing on issues such as: religious minorities, religion and international institutions, and Islam in Europe.

The summer school on the International Criminal Court at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, which begins on 19 June, is widely acknowledged to be the premier programme of its kind. The programme will consist of intensive lectures, delivered by leading specialists in the field. Students are provided with a detailed working knowledge of the establishment of the Court, its applicable law, its structures and its operations. Lectures also speak about related issues in international criminal law, including universal jurisdiction, immunities and the role of the victim.

The International Criminal Court is arguably the most important new international institution since the establishment of the United Nations. The aim of the International Criminal Court is in combating impunity for atrocities and it is at the forefront of a broader movement for achieving accountability.

During the summer school on the International Criminal Court, NUI Galway’s Professor William Schabas will deliver a lecture entitled The First Decade of the International Criminal Court. The lecture will take place on Monday, 20 June and will be open to the public.