International Law

This course will chart the origin, development and trajectory of international law as a system of norms traditionally designed to regulate relations between states but that has increasingly seeped into a range of areas more characteristic of domestic law. It will propose tools to think critically about international law, as a project that has often been attacked for being either too weak or too hegemonic. Students will develop a solid understanding of key concepts of international law including its relationship to sovereignty, its doctrine of sources or the nature of international obligations. The course will be illustrated by reference to a number of pivotal crises in the development of international law, with a view to assessing its continued relevance. Among the issues covered will be the law of the seas, territorial border delimitation, the law of immunities, the United Nations Charter, state responsibility, the place of human rights and the international law on the use of force.