Course Catalogue

View Specification Document | Reading List

This course is intended to offer a practical, 'hands-on' introduction to the burgeoning field of international litigation in public international law. Its focus is on topics that cut across dispute settlement regimes, such as the treatment of evidence, strategic aspects of litigation, the enforcement of decisions. It is intended that this course will equip students to critically reflect on the benefits and problems of international litigation. The course builds on the expertise of Glasgow-based members of staff, many of whom have built a reputation in the field. Together with the existing LLM courses such as 'International Courts and Tribunals', this course will reflect Glasgow's status as a hub for the study of international courts and tribunals.

10 2-hour seminars throughout the semester

LLB students and visiting law students.

None.

None.

Students will be required to write one 2,000 word essay which will account for 25% of the final mark for the course, and one 3,000-word essay, which will account for 75% of the final mark.

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

1. To provide students with an understanding of the main fora for international litigation, their strengths and benefits.

2. To enable students critically to reflect on the potential and risks of international litigation in public international law.

3. To familiarise students with the challenges to be confronted in processes of litigation before international for a in the broader context of the pacific settlement of disputes.

4. To expose students to practitioner and academic approaches to the study of international litigation.

5. To deepen the knowledge of students interested in international law by exposing them to both theoretical and practical aspects of litigation before international courts and tribunals.

6. To encourage a critical and reflective approach to the operation of different dispute settlement fora, and the role of legal dispute settlement in the international legal order.

To prepare students interested in pursuing a career in international legal practice by introducing them to some of the main features and challenges of international dispute resolution.

By the end of this course students will be:

■ able to assess the role of international courts and tribunals as fora for international litigation.

■ equipped critically to engage in debates about the legitimacy of international litigation before international courts and tribunals.

■ in a position to advise potential litigants about the risks and benefits of engaging in international litigation.

■ conversant in the most recent and most important developments and debates in the settlement of international disputes before international courts and tribunals.

■ able to engage in scholarship and in practice with a range of cross-cutting procedural and substantive legal concepts that arise in the context of international litigation.

Submission of at least 75% by weight of the components of the course's summative assessment.