50027 - INTERNATIONAL LAW
Department of Law
Course taught in English
Course Director:
ROGER MICHAEL O'KEEFE
ROGER MICHAEL O'KEEFE
Suggested background knowledge
By way of optional preparatory reading, students may wish to look at VAUGHAN LOWE, International Law: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2015.
Mission & Content Summary
MISSION
The course aims to introduce students to the characteristic legal techniques and central doctrinal concerns of public international law, the law governing the conduct of states, international organizations and certain other actors on the international plane.
In professional terms, a knowledge of international law is indispensable for the following students:
- those interested in a career in private legal practice advising states and private clients on everything from investment arbitration and sovereign rights over oil and gas to refugee status, white-collar crime, international environmental standards and contractual disputes with foreign state-owned enterprises;
- those interested in a career in private legal practice litigating before international judicial and arbitral institutions like the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Criminal Court and the European Court of Human Rights;
- those interested in a legal or diplomatic career in a state's ministry of foreign affairs or in a legal career in a state's armed forces;
- those interested in a legal or diplomatic career in an international organization like the United Nations or the European Union;
- those interested in a legal career in a non-governmental organization like Amnesty International or Greenpeace. The course provides useful background for the course in International Trade and Investment Law (50182).
CONTENT SUMMARY
- Introduction.
- The sources of international law.
- The law of treaties.
- Statehood.
- Title to territory.
- The jurisdiction and immunities of states.
- International organizations.
- International responsibility and diplomatic protection.
- The use of interstate force.
- The peaceful settlement of international disputes.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
- Describe, explain and illustrate the general characteristics and foundational principles of the international legal order and the rules of public international law governing the sources of international law, the law of treaties, statehood, title to territory, the jurisdiction and immunities of states, international organizations, international responsibility and diplomatic protection, the use of interstate force, and the peaceful settlement of international disputes.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
- Apply the rules of public international law governing the sources of international law, the law of treaties, statehood, title to territory, the jurisdiction and immunities of states, international organizations, international responsibility and diplomatic protection, the use of interstate force, and the peaceful settlement of international disputes.
- Analyze, discuss and evaluate the general characteristics and foundational principles of the international legal order and the rules of public international law governing the sources of international law, the law of treaties, statehood, title to territory, the jurisdiction and immunities of states, international organizations, international responsibility and diplomatic protection, the use of interstate force, and the peaceful settlement of international disputes.
Teaching methods
- Face-to-face lectures
- Exercises (exercises, database, software etc.)
DETAILS
The exercises consist of four classes at the end of the course in which students are lead through both 'problem-style' questions involving the application of the law to hypothetical factual situations and 'essay-style' questions involving more conceptual discussion of the law.
Assessment methods
| Continuous assessment | Partial exams | General exam | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
x |
ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
Assessment consists of a general exam involving a choice of open-answer questions of both the 'problem-style' variety, involving the application of the law to hypothetical factual situations, and the 'essay-style' variety, involving more discursive description, explanation, illustration, analysis, discussion and evaluation of the law. The general exam accounts for 100% of a student's final grade for the course.
STUDENTS IN DEBT
Students in debt will have the opportunity to be examined on the contents of the 2017-2018 version of the course up until the January 2021 examination session. After the January 2021 examination session, students in debt will be required to be examined on the contents of the most recent completed version of the course.
Teaching materials
ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
- Malcolm Evans (ed.), International Law, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2018).
- Students are required to purchase MALCOLM EVANS, (ed.), Blackstone's International Law Documents, Oxford University Press, 2017, 13th edition.
- Additional reading materials are made available online.
Last change 11/06/2019 13:10