View Specification DocumentInternational Law and Armed Conflict LAW4216
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: School of Law
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
- Typically Offered: Semester 1
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This course explores the role of international law in the prevention, regulation, and resolution of armed conflict. Encompassing several bodies of international law, namely the law on the use of force, the law of armed conflict (international humanitarian law), international criminal law, international human rights law, and international environmental law, the course is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on the law governing the use of force and prohibiting war, while the second part of the course examines the laws that apply during armed conflict. The third part explores transitions from conflict to peace through a legal lens. The course concludes with a treaty simulation exercise. Throughout the course, examples from real-world conflicts will be discussed for practical and critical application of the relevant laws.
Timetable
Weekly 2-hour seminars
Requirements of Entry
Available to LLB students and visiting law students.
Excluded Courses
None.
Co-requisites
None.
Assessment
The summative assessment consists of two essays: one essay that is both formative and summative, 2000 words (30% of the overall grade) and one that is purely summative, 3000 words (70% of the overall grade).
Course Aims
The aim of this course is to equip students with a comprehensive understanding of the role of international law in the prevention, regulation, and resolution of armed conflict. As armed conflict persists as a significant challenge to peace and security in an increasingly violent world, the course aims to provide a foundation for critical understanding of the current state of the law, its evolution, and the contemporary challenges it faces. By looking at armed conflict as a phenomenon that implicates different rules and institutions in various areas of international law, the course aims to instigate holistic and analytical knowledge and thinking. Students will be exposed to real-world conflict scenarios, developing their ability to apply abstract rules to facts and to critically evaluate the complex roles of law in situations of armed conflict. The course adopts an experiential learning approach also by including a treaty negotiation simulation, which will provide students with insights into how international law is made and foster students' skills in oral argumentation, consensus-building, and legal writing.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
1. explain how different bodies of international law respond to distinct issues of armed conflict,
2. demonstrate an understanding of the relevant legal rules within these bodies of law,
3. apply and analyse abstract legal rules in practical conflict scenarios,
4. identify and critically assess the gaps and shortcomings of international law in relation to the prevention, regulation, and resolution of armed conflict,
5. construct and present evidence-based legal arguments orally or in writing, both individually and where appropriate as part of a team.