Assessment Type	Assessment length / details	Proportion
Semester Assessment	One essay of 5000 words	100%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the difference and relationship between international law, politics and other disciplines.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the legal structures that regulate the working of the international community.
3. Use general legal skills and information in order to critically evaluate the more specialized international issues.
4. Locate and evaluate the relevant literature and materials in this field and use them in a critical discussion of the subject.
5. Demonstrate a critical approach to international legal problems and present well informed analysis of these topics.
6. Demonstrate the ability to use critical and analytical tools suitable for both practitioners and more speculative researchers.

Content

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
1. International law: history, philosophy and relationship with international politics and other disciplines.
SECTION 2: SUBJECTS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
2. States and the notion of statehood. The concept of the state in International law, requisites, rights and duties, and difficult borderline situations regarding the definition of states are addressed.
3. International Organizations: independent actors or instruments of states? International organizations have become major actors and subjects of international law. But sometimes they are perceived as part of the inter-state game among big powers. Here we shall explore the importance and the limits of international organizations.
4. Individuals and groups as subjects of international law: blurring the boundaries of international law, or creating a democratic international community? New subjects are sometimes difficult to define in international law. There is a trend to identify a variety of actors that play a very important role in the application and development of international law. They include rebel groups, non-governmental organizations, multinational corporations and individuals.
SECTION 3: SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
5. Treaties: the will of states. The main idea of a treaty is that states and other parties to it are bound upon ratification. But some legal issues arise, in particular when dealing with reservations and interpretation of treaties. Furthermore, states that have not ratified a treaty can be 'bound' by the evolution of some treaty provisions into customary law.
6. Custom: the legal order of the international community. Rules are needed to develop relations among subjects of the international community. Customary law has played and still plays a very important role in providing legal rules, and some basic rules within the international community.
7. General Principles, Jus Cogens and Obligations Erga Omnes: is there a hierarchy of sources in international law?
8. Soft Law: from political commitments to legal obligations, and their interrelationship. Soft-law, mainly the result of the work of international organizations, is considered to be part of the political process that influences the evolution of international law. The nature and significance of this 'unusual' source of law will be explored.

Brief description

Rationale:
This module will provide students with in-depth knowledge of the main issues concerning the legal regulation of international affairs. Many issues and problems related to both Human Rights and Humanitarian Law are strictly linked to the understanding of international law, and how it works in the contemporary world. Therefore, it is appropriate that advanced students have an understanding of the main issues related to the concepts and problems of international law. Some students may have studied International Law in previous studies, but some may not have done. The aim of this module is to promote understanding and illustrate problems that are faced by the regulation of international society and give the background knowledge to understand other and more specialized topics which are, or may be, related to international law.

Brief Description:
The initial part of the module will focus on the concept of international law and its relationship with international politics. Then, the module will be divided into two main sections. The first section will deal with subjects and actors of international law. The second section will analyse the sources of the international legal system. Each of those two main issues will be then divided into more detailed subsections, each of them focusing on specific subjects and sources.

Skills Type	Skills details
Application of Number	N/A
Communication	Written communication is developed by the presentation of information and argument in written answers and in a more informal way by the use of Blackboard to encourage communication among students and between students and staff. Oral communication skills are developed at the residential study schools. Written communication assessed only.
Improving own Learning and Performance	Distance learning, by its very nature, requires strong individual learning and performance structures and this module further develops key skills in this area.
Information Technology	The module is delivered almost entirely by distance learning which relies heavily on the use of electronic information resources and on-line learning and teaching
Personal Development and Career planning	Independent learning enhances time management skills. Studying the module will also develop an enhanced capacity for critical thought and the ability to work independently.
Problem solving	By the examination and discussion of questions raised in the module.
Research skills	Students will be required to read and study beyond the set module texts and to locate further materials and research findings on the subject.
Subject Specific Skills	None
Team work	Team working skills will be developed in group activities and discussions at the residential study schools.

Course Delivery

Assessment

Learning Outcomes

Content

Brief description

Module Skills

Notes