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International Organisations - LAWS4085
Scientia walk

 
Faculty: Faculty of Law
 
 
School:  Faculty of Law
 
 
Course Outline: See below
 
 
Campus: Kensington Campus
 
 
Career: Postgraduate
 
 
Units of Credit: 8
 
 
EFTSL: 0.16667 (more info)
 
 
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 2
 
 
Enrolment Requirements:
 
 
Prerequisite: Academic Program must be either 9200, 9210, 9230, 9240, 5740, or 5760
 
 
Fee Band: 3 (more info)
 
 
Further Information: See Class Timetable
 
 

Description

This course will examine the principal issues concerning organisations composed of states. These include the legal status and powers of organisations, membership and participation, norm-creation, dispute settlement, enforcement of decisions, peace and security activities, and the organisations' privileges and immunities as well as their legal status and powers under national law.

At the same time, the course will also address such contemporary problems as the creation of an international criminal court, the "succession" of Russia to the USSR's seat on the UN Security Council, the response to the break-up of Yugoslavia, the new strategic concept of NATO, the jurisdictional issues in the Lockerbie-case, peacekeeping after an "Agenda for Peace", the success of the WTO dispute settlement, and the NATO action against Serbia in 1999, the military actions against Afghanistan in 2002 and Iraq in 2003, UN measures against terrorism, and the question of responsibility of international organisations.

Primary consideration will be given to the development of the United Nations. Other universal organizations such as ILO, the Bretton Woods institutions, WTO or ICAO, as well as regional ones such as the Council of Europe, OAS, etc. will also be dealt with. This course does not try to provide a comprehensive picture of all of these organisations. Rather it aims at helping students to understand the common legal problems faced by international institutions.


LLM Specialisations

International Law; Human Rights and Social Justice.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

None

Course Objectives

The specific aims of the course are:
  • To assist students to develop an understanding of the issues involved in the regulation of trans-border investment
  • To give them an advanced knowledge of international investment law and its relationship to national legal systems
  • To develop an awareness of different methods of international investment law as compared to national law in such matters as textual interpretation and working with judicial decisions
  • To assist students to recognise international investment law problems in their subsequent careers and to point them in the direction of ways of resolving them
At the end of this course, you should be able to:
  • Recall and be able to recount the origins and specifics of international investment law
  • Explain in your own words the meaning of legal concepts, doctrines and principles we have studied
  • Evaluate the impact of international investment law on trans-border investment flows
  • Identify some key areas of international investment law which are currently the subject of reform
  • Communicate effectively, in speaking and in writing, concerning international investment law

Main Topics

  • Basic conceptes of the law of international organisations
  • Participation in and internal structures of international organisations
  • Rule-making by international organisations
  • Dispute settlement through international organisations
  • Enforcement of decisions by international organisations
  • Peace and security activities
  • Peacekeeping and UN administration of territory
  • International organisations and national legal systems - accountability issues

Assessment

Class participation Preparation and engagement in class 20%
Final examination OR research paper
Exam - 3 hours
Research paper - 6,000 words
 80%
 

Course Texts

Prescribed
Jan Klabbers, An Introduction to International Institutional Law. Cambridge (CUP, 2002). (=Klabbers).
This is the only material which must be bought by all students.

Recommended

  • C.F. Amerasinghe, Principles of the Institutional Law of International Organizations. Cambridge (CUP, 1996) (=Amerasinghe).
  • Alvin LeRoy Bennett, International Organizations: Principles and Issues. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ (Prentice-Hall, 2002).
  • Jan Klabbers (ed.), International Organizations. The Library of Essays in International Law. (Ashgate Dartmouth, 2005).
  • August Reinisch, International Organizations before National Courts. Cambridge (CUP, 2000).
  • Philippe Sands/Pierre Klein, Bowett's Law of International Institutions, 5th ed. London (Sweet & Maxwell, 2001)
  • Henry G. Schermers/Niels M. Blokker, International Institutional Law, 4th ed. (Brill, 2003).
  • Bruno Simma (ed.), The Charter of the United Nations. A Commentary. 2nd ed. Oxford (OUP, 2002) (=Simma).

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© The University of New South Wales (CRICOS Provider No.: 00098G), 2004-2011. The information contained in this Handbook is indicative only. While every effort is made to keep this information up-to-date, the University reserves the right to discontinue or vary arrangements, programs and courses at any time without notice and at its discretion. While the University will try to avoid or minimise any inconvenience, changes may also be made to programs, courses and staff after enrolment. The University may also set limits on the number of students in a course.