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Advanced Issues in International Law - LAWS8081
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Faculty: Faculty of Law
 
 
School:  Faculty of Law
 
 
Course Outline: See below
 
 
Campus: Kensington Campus
 
 
Career: Postgraduate
 
 
Units of Credit: 6
 
 
EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)
 
 
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 2
 
 
Enrolment Requirements:
 
 
Prerequisite: Academic Program must be either 9200, 9210, 9230, 9240, 5740, 5760, 9211 or 5211.
 
 
Excluded: JURD7681
 
 
CSS Contribution Charge:Band 3 (more info)
 
   
 
Further Information: See Class Timetable
 
  

Description

This course aims to study selected themes relating to public international law in more depth.

Since the 1960s there have been dozens of "peoples' tribunals", "citizens' tribunals" or similar commissions of inquiry established outside formal State and international structures. These have addressed alleged violations of international law, human rights and moral and ethical standards in areas ranging from the conduct of the Vietnam war, through violence against women, to environmental degradation, the impact of debt, and the rights of workers. The aim of this course is to analyse and evaluate the phenomenon of "citizens’ tribunals” and “peoples’ tribunals”. It will examine how these institutions are conceived of by those who establish and participate in them, and will analyse their role as forms of accountability that exist outside State-sponsored structures. The course will explore the importance of legal form to the constitution and conduct of such tribunals, the extent to which international law (existing or desirable) is invoked as part of the argumentation of the tribunals, and the contributions that such tribunals have made to public acceptance and endorsement of international law standards and to the assessment of the legitimacy of government and intergovernmental actions. The course will have as a primary focus the work of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal, but will explore other tribunals as well, with a focus on those in the Asia Pacific region.

The lecturer for 2011 is Professor Andrew Byrnes, UNSW.

LLM Specialisation

Recommended Prior Knowledge

LAWS8180 Principles of International Law (or equivalent) OR LAWS8181 International Human Rights is a compulsory pre-requisite for this course.

Course Objectives

To enable students to develop an understanding of the issues involved in complex contemporary areas of international law.

Main Topics

TBA

Scheduling

Four Fridays (all day): 22 July 2011; 5, 12 and 19 August 2011.

Assessment

 Class participation  10%
 Take home exam  90%

Course Materials

To be advised. The main materials for the course will consist of duplicated and on-line materials. Please consult the lecturer (Andrew.Byrnes@unsw.edu.au)

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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.