Principles of International Law - LAWS8180
Faculty: Faculty of Law
School: Faculty of Law
Course Outline: See below
Campus: Sydney
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, 5740, 9240, 5760, 9285, 5285, 9211, 5211, 9231, 5231, 9220, 5750, 9281 or 5281
CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)
Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule
Further Information: See Class Timetable
Description
International law seeks to order human affairs at the international level. It accordingly covers a vast field, extending to issues such as autonomy or otherwise of peoples and territories, the allocation of resources (land, maritime, air), the preservation of the environment, the regulation of interstate transactions, the resolution of disputes and the maintenance of international peace and security. As the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs of the United Nations notes, international law has become not only an important but an integral part of both the international and the domestic legal orders. The centrality of international law to our everyday lives and, in particular, to our practice as lawyers, cannot now be overstated.
This course aims to provide a solid introduction to certain central topics within the overall field of international law. It is designed to stand as an effective 'stand alone' introduction suitable for all students who will enter the legal profession at their national level. It also forms the basis from which further specialization in the area of international law can proceed.
This course is not available to JD students. JD students should enrol in the JD equivalent instead - JURD7481 Public International Law
This course aims to provide a solid introduction to certain central topics within the overall field of international law. It is designed to stand as an effective 'stand alone' introduction suitable for all students who will enter the legal profession at their national level. It also forms the basis from which further specialization in the area of international law can proceed.
This course is not available to JD students. JD students should enrol in the JD equivalent instead - JURD7481 Public International Law
Credited programs
Please note that students enrolled in the following postgraduate programs are required to take this course in the first semester of their enrolment:
- Master of International Law and International Relations (MILIR)
- Graduate Diploma in International Law and International Relations (GDILIR)
- Master of International Law and Security (MILS)
- Graduate Diploma in International Law and Security (GDILS)
MILIR/GDILIR and MILS/GDILS students who have completed LAWS3381 Public International Law or any comparable Public International Law course in their undergraduate law degree to an appropriate standard may be exempt from completing LAWS8180 and given permission to undertake another elective in lieu of this course. Requests for exemption should be submitted for consideration to the Program Convenor, Sarah Williams, sarah.williams@unsw.edu.au along with appropriate evidence (eg academic transcript).
This course is offered in Semester 1 and 2 each academic year.
This course is offered in Semester 1 and 2 each academic year.
LLM Specialisations
Recommended Prior Knowledge
None
Course Objectives
This course aims to:
- Assist students to develop an understanding of the issues involved in the regulation of human affairs beyond a single State
- Give students a basic working knowledge of the structure of the international legal system and its relationship to the Australian legal system
- Give students a feel for the 'dynamic' of international law, its political nature and distinction from domestic concepts of law
- Develop an awareness of different methods of international as compared to national law in such matters as textual interpretation and working with judicial decisions
- Assist students to recognize international legal problems in their subsequent careers and to point them in the direction of ways of resolving them
Main Topics
- Historical and philosophical underpinnings of international law
- Structure of international legal system
- Sources of international law
- The law of treaties
- International personality, statehood and recognition
- Responsibility of States for violations of international law
- Title to territory
- Jurisdiction of States and jurisdictional immunities
Assessment
| Class participation and attendance | Preparation and engagement in class | 10% |
| Essay | 30% | |
| Take home exam | 60% |
Course Texts
Prescribed
- to be advised
Recommended
- DJ Harris, Cases and Materials on International Law (7th edition, Sweet & Maxwell, 2010)
- Brownlie, Principles of International Law (7th edition, OUP, 2008)
- Shaw, International Law (6th edition, Grotius/Cambridge University Press, 2010)
- Evans, International Law (3rd edition, OUP, 2010)
Resources
Refer to Course Outline provided by lecturer at the beginning of session.