LAU44026 Contemporary Issues in International Law

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of public international law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles.
• Constructively evaluate the work of others.
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse an area of law through independent research.
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users.
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Module Learning Aims

The primary learning aim of the module is to enable students to gain experience of carrying in depth research on a contemporary issue in international law.

Module Content

From the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the fight against climate change to the ongoing migration crisis and the rise of new technologies, recent events have underlined the critical importance of international cooperation in tackling the global issues of our time. The purpose of this capstone module is to provide students with an opportunity to conduct in depth research on the legal framework that governs the global response to these challenges: the framework of public international law.

Over the course of the past century, international law has been transformed. Once the preserve of the foreign ministries of the great powers, international law has dramatically expanded in its scope, reaching deep within national legal systems and into the lives of individuals around the world. With the establishment of the United Nations and other international institutions in the wake of World War II, the international community witnessed the creation of a rules-based international legal order. This led to the development of international law not only in its core areas of interest but also in an increasingly wide range of specialised fields, not least human rights, international criminal law, environmental law and new technologies such as cyberspace and Artificial Intelligence.

While some argue that recent events have called into question the post-1945 rules-based international order, challenges to the legal character, effectiveness and legitimacy of international law are not new. In this capstone, students will have the opportunity to engage in depth in research on a contemporary issue of international law of their choice. Topics can include core topics in the field of public international law generally, such as: (i) The sources of international law; (ii) The subjects or actors of international law; (iii) The framework of international responsibility; (iv) Jurisdiction and immunities; (v) The rules governing the use of force; (vi) The system for the peaceful or judicial settlement of disputes. In addition, students may choose to focus on a specialised area of international law of particular interest to them, such as law of international humanitarian law, human rights law, criminal law, environmental law, economic law, law of the sea and law and new technologies.

In engaging in this research, students will become familiar with the distinctive sources, tools and methodology of international law and broader debates about the nature of international law. It is strongly recommended that students who choose this module have studied public international law or take the module ‘Public International Law’ offered in Michaelmas Term. Students without prior knowledge of public international law or enrolment in the ‘Public International Law’ module must engage in additional foundational readings.

Recommended Reading List

Students may find it useful to consult some of the leading textbooks on public international law for the purposes of identifying potential topics such as:

• James Crawford, Brownlie’s Principles of Public International Law (9th ed., Oxford Univ. Press, 2019).
• Malcolm Evans (ed), International Law (5th ed, Oxford Univ. Press, 2018).
• David Harris and Sandesh Sivakumaran, Cases and Materials on International Law (Sweet & Maxwell, 2015).
• Anders Henriksen, International Law (2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2019).
• Gleider Hernández, International Law (Oxford Univ. Press, 2019).
• James Crawford & Martti Koskenniemi (eds), The Cambridge Companion to International Law (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2012).

Assessment Details

• Individual Project: 85%
• Group Presentation: 15%
• Reflective Journal: Pass/Fail
• Participation: Pass/Fail