Module Identifier
LAM8810
Module Title
INSTITUTIONS OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW
Academic Year
2008/2009
Co-ordinator
Dr Olaoluwa Olusanya
Semester
Intended for use in future years
Other Staff
 

Course Delivery

 

Assessment

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

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Display a knowledge and understanding of the main institutions of International criminal law.

2. Identify and examine similarities and differences between them.

3. Demonstrate an understanding of the reasons for their differential categorization: International, Mixed or domestic status.

4. Present critical and well-informed argument relating to the establishment and operation of International Criminal Law institutions for the prosecution of offenders.

5. Locate and evaluate the relevant literature and materials in this field and use them in critical discussion of the subject.

6. Critically evaluate and test the arguments relating to the need for international criminal courts and tribunals.

Content

1. Background to the establishment of the Nuremberg and Tokyo International Military Tribunals; the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; the Special Court for Sierra Leone; the Iraqi Special Tribunal and the International Criminal Court.

2. The legal basis for the establishment of the above mentioned institutions.

3. The jurisdiction of the above mentioned institutions: territorial, temporal and subject matter jurisdictions.

4. Financing, location and other institutional aspects of the above institutions.

5. The legacy of the Nuremberg and Tokyo International Military Tribunals, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Brief description

This module will enable students to study the factual background and legal basis of international criminal law institutions as well as the challenges and practical difficulties faced in creating such institutions. International criminal adjudication bodies seem to be springing up everywhere and therefore affect us directly or indirectly. In order to gain an awareness of the significance of these institutions to international peace and security and to be able to participate in current debates concerning them, an understanding of various aspects of their make-up such as their legislative history, temporal scope and jurisdiction is vital.

This module will introduce students to the most important institutions involved in the enforcement of law and in the determination of rules of law in the international criminal law context. These institutions include the following: The International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the International Criminal Court, hybrid courts, which enforce a combination of domestic and international criminal law and domestic local tribunals. The module will examine all aspects of the aforementioned institutions ranging from the reason why each was established to their respective legacies.

Module Skills

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 actual and hypothetical case studies.
Research skills By the examination and discussion of actual and hypothetical case studies.
Subject Specific Skills None.
Team work Team working skills will be encouraged and developed in group activities and discussions at the residential study schools.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 7