Module Information
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Written assignment 6000 Words | 80% |
| Semester Assessment | Oral presentation (supported by handout) | 20% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Written assignment 6000 Words | 80% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Oral presentation (supported by handout) to be delivered, if failed | 20% |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate comprehensive and accurate knowledge and understanding of those aspects of international criminal law identified in the indicative syllabus above and form a critical judgement on areas of controversy within the topics studied;
2. Describe and critically analyse the fundamental principles, practices and institutions of international criminal law;
3. Reflect critically upon the meanings, purposes and ideologies of international criminal law;
4. Understand and make use of a variety of research methodologies in international criminal law;
5. Understand a variety of theoretical perspectives which underpin international criminal law;
6. Read and study primary and secondary sources of the areas of law relating to international criminal law;
7. Critically analyse, interpret, evaluate and synthesise information from a variety of sources.
Brief description
This module considers modern international criminal law which was arose out of the aftermath of the atrocities of World War Two and the determination of the allied powers to prosecute Nazi war criminals in line with the Nuremberg Charter. This module considers institutions such as International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, their sources and the principles that create and underlie the substantive international criminal law these tribunals apply.
Content
1. Background to the establishment of the Nuremberg and Tokyo International Military Tribunals; the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; the Special Court for Sierra Leone; the Iraqi Special Tribunal and the International Criminal Court.
2. Their legal basis and their jurisdiction: territorial, temporal and subject matter jurisdictions
3. Financing, location and other institutional aspects of the above institutions.
4. The legacy of the Nuremberg and Tokyo International Military Tribunals, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
5. Sources of the Crime of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity under international criminal law
6. Sources of War Crimes and the Crime of Aggression under international criminal law
7. Sources of the Crime of Terrorism under international law
8. Locating individual criminal responsibility within the context of mass atrocities and given different modes of participation in crimes
9. Official capacity and immunity: tensions between international criminal law and current general international law.
10. Grounds for excluding criminal responsibility: considering mitigating factors in the context of war.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | |
| Communication | Assignment and oral presentation; participation with online discussion group |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Studying the material and writing the assignment |
| Information Technology | Module requires the use of IT as a core resource for locating legal material |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Gaining confidence in legal thinking and analysis |
| Problem solving | Assignment and oral presentation |
| Research skills | The module seeks to further develop practical legal skills and a theoretical engagement with international criminal law |
| Subject Specific Skills | Apply generic skills to specific subjects of the theme through the assignment |
| Team work | Online discussion group |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 7