S. Enforcing International Law

(writing credit)

How can international law be effectively enforced? Difficulties in enforcement have caused many to question whether international law is really "law"; yet the techniques for enforcing international law are more diverse and sophisticated than is generally appreciated. Among the issues to be addressed are decentralized enforcement through reciprocity and counter-measures, economic sanctions, enforcement through national and international tribunals, multilateral enforcement through the United Nations Security Council and other international organs, and police and military capabilities.

The seminar will examine these issues in their application to contemporary problems, which can include: measures against international terrorism and weapons of mass destruction (case studies including Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria); recent and pending cases in the U.S. Supreme Court involving enforcement of international human rights norms and implementation of treaty obligations; developments involving the theory of universal criminal jurisdiction; the establishment of specialized international criminal tribunals and the International Criminal Court; responses to the disclosures of torture and other abuses of detainees in Iraq and elsewhere; and tensions between unilateral (U.S.) and multilateral approaches to enforcement.

A research paper is required.