Module Information

The study of International Law provides the student with the tools to understand the legal foundations for many of the most important events featured on daily news programmes.

International Law has traditionally been concerned with the legal relations between sovereign States and although such States remain the most significant actors on the international stage, the subject expanded considerably during the twentieth century to encompass the activities of international organisations - especially the United Nations and regional organisations such as the European Community - and also to some extent the position of individuals and non-governmental organisations. In a situation of fast-changing international relations it is also a highly topical field of law with a rapidly evolving content.

A study of international law, in addition, provides insight into the relation between different types of legal order, especially the interaction of international and municipal law. Much international law of both a global and a regional character is not translated into national legislation and some areas of national law are more easily understood when it is appreciated that they represent an implementation of international obligations.

The first part of this module comprises an introduction to the nature and working methods of the international legal system. The sources, subjects and methodology of international law differ from those found in most national (municipal) systems, and a study of the operation of the international legal system supplies illuminating comparisons for students of law generally. Stress is laid upon the way in which international law may work effectively in the absence of a compulsory judicial system and types of sanction commonly found in municipal systems. The study of international law alongside a system such as English Law is therefore also an exercise in jurisprudence.

The second part of the module builds upon this foundation by examining in greater depth selected areas of substantive law. The approach at this stage of the course is thematic, relating legal rules to contemporary issues of international concern, such as the use of force, the preservation of the environment, the world economic order, and the legal control of terrorism and other criminal activities that cross national boundaries.

The module is offered as an elective for both students of law and students in other degree schemes.

​The course is taught through lectures and seminars. The lectures are intended to provide a framework for more detailed study of the subject and point towards critical analyses. Seminars provide the opportunity for discussion and analysis of the subject in greater detail. Further research into the subject is encouraged through the assessed written assignment.

Subjects covered:

1. The nature of international law

2. The United Nations system

• Personality under international law
• The concept of personality in different legal systems
• States as legal persons: the concept of statehood
• The role of recognition in the creation of statehood
• The personality of international organisations
• The personality of individuals at the international level

3. Sources of international law and the international law-making process

• Treaties: types of treaties and the treaty-making process
• Custom: the requirements of custom and its nature as a source of law
• General principles of law
• Subsidiary sources: precedent and legal writing
• Resolutions of the UN General Assembly
• Problems in the development of international law

4. State sovereignty

• The concept of state sovereignty: the distinction between sovereignty and other legal regimes in international law
• The principles of non-intervention and the sovereign equality states
• Methods of acquiring sovereignty over territory
• The relevance of the principle of self-determination

5. The settlement of disputes in international law

• Different methods of dispute resolution employed at the international level
• The role of force in dispute settlement
• The use of United Nations procedures
• Dispute settlement in the context of the European Communities

6. Jurisdiction and immunity from jurisdiction

• The bases of jurisdiction
• Sovereign immunity
• Diplomatic immunity
7. The basic principles of state responsibility
• The use of force
• Force in self-defence

8. Force under the authority of the Security Council

• International criminal law

9. The protection of the basic rights of individuals and groups under international law

10, Basic problems arising from state sovereignty and questions of legal personality

• The major systems of protection, global and regional, established since 1945
• Problems of standard-setting and enforcement
• Detailed consideration of the system set up under the European Convention on Human Rights and comparison with other regional systems

11. The relationship between international and municipal (state) law

• 'Monist' and 'Dualist' approaches to this question
• The extent to which international law is part of the United Kingdom legal system

Delivery:
30 x 1 hour lectures
6 x 1 hour seminars

Student workload:
200 hours