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LLM Courses

International Law & Security (LLM)

Course Descriptions

International and European Human Rights Law
Course code: LAW5035
Course Co-ordinators: Professor Jim Murdoch and Dr James Sloan

The course is designed to provide students with a detailed knowledge of the international and European human rights regimes. It focuses on the distinct but overlapping systems in place at the international level (under the auspices of the United Nations) and at the European level. The course will begin by setting out the various means by which human rights have been guaranteed and the mechanisms by which state compliance is ensured. The course will consider several important human rights guarantees from an International Law well as a European Law vantage point. The course also focuses on the domestic enforcement of the international standards.

Recommended Reading –

  • Rhona Smith, International Human Rights (OUP; 4th edn. 2010)

International Law and International Security
Course code: LAW5130
Course Co-ordinator: Professor Christian Tams

This course will deal with the legal regulation of international security. After a historical overview from the Concert of Europe to the League of Nations, it will concentrate on the current system built around the United Nations. More specifically, it will focus on the prohibition on the use of force, the right to self-defence, humanitarian intervention and pro-democratic interventions, legal responses to terrorism as well as collective actions under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. In this respect it will consider the law that applies to sanctions, peacekeeping operations, peace-building operations, authorisations as well as the legal regime that applies to regional organisations. The study of the above issues will be supported by investigations into current or past events such as the Kosovo case, the Gulf wars and so on. The course will also examine the role of law in providing for human security in cases of armed conflict. In this regard it will consider the law that applies to international and non international armed conflicts, the legal regime that applies to combatants and to civilians, the relationship between international humanitarian law and human rights law, and the law of occupation. The above issues will be considered through national and international case law and jurisprudence.

Recommended Reading –

  • Dinstein, War, Aggression and Self-Defence (CUP, 2011)
  • Dinstein, The Conduct of Hostilities under the law of International Armed Conflict (CUP, 2010)

International Criminal Law
Course code: LAW5039
Course Co-ordinators: Dr James Sloan

This course examines a topical and rapidly developing area of International Law, namely the criminal responsibility of individuals under International Law, and the mechanisms provided by International Law for the enforcement of these offences and the prosecution of those accused. More specifically, it considers the core crimes -genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression- the general principles of liability, superior/command responsibility, defences, immunities as well as the relationship between the Security Council and the International Criminal Court in the prosecution of international crimes. The above issues are considered through case-law from the ICC or other tribunals such as the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Alterative modes of attributing justice such as Truth Commissions are also considered.

Recommended Reading –

  • Cryer et als, Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure (CUP, 2010)

The Settlement of International Disputes
Course code: LAW5066
Course Co-ordinator: Professor Christian Tams

International Law obliges states to settle their disputes peacefully. It does not however prescribe one particular mechanism of dispute resolution. This course introduces the main techniques allowing for the peaceful settlement of disputes. It addresses non-binding techniques such as negotiation, mediation, conciliation, etc., but mainly focuses on the binding settlement of disputes before international courts and tribunals. It covers inter-State disputes (e.g. before the International Court of Justice, arbitral tribunals or WTO dispute settlement organs) as well as mixed disputes between States and non-State entities (e.g. investor-State disputes or human rights claims).

Given the focus on disputes, the course will look at International Law “in action” and with a clear focus on actual disputes practice, thus seeking to disprove the common assertion that International Law had little or no practical relevance. However, the course is intended to be more than a survey of judicial/arbitral decisions and will inevitably cover broader debates about the role of courts and tribunals in the international system or the risks of fragmentation brought about by the co-existence of different dispute settlement mechanisms.

Recommended Reading –

United Nations Law
Course code: LAW5068
Course Co-ordinators: Dr James Sloan and Professor Christian Tams

So much of what is currently relevant in International Law stems from the activities of the United Nations. This means that it is essential for a student who wants to progress beyond basic International Law principles to gain a broader and deeper understanding of the functioning of the Organisation and the legal and political factors that surround it.

The course will initially focus on the establishment of the organisation, its legal status and the functioning of its main organs, including the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Secretary-General and the International Court of Justice — all major players in current International Law. Once the functioning of the United Nations has been elaborated, the second part of the course will be devoted to the UN’s efforts to maintain peace and security.

The purpose of this course is to enable participants to acquire a comprehensive overview of the functioning of the United Nations. The activities of the organisation will be considered in the context of the development of international organisations in the 20th century. The political processes associated with the functioning of the UN will also be focused upon. This includes not only decision-making in public bodies, but also the broader political process which is inclusive of NGOs and the wider pubic. Additionally, students will examine how successful the UN system has been in coping with a growing array of global problems, what its potential for the future is and how the organisation should be utilised.

Recommended Reading –

  • Chesterman, Franck and Malone, The Law and Practice of the UN (OUP 2008)