Public international law

1) Presentation of the international legal order and its links to history and the evolution of international relations;
2) Subjects of international law: States (creation, boundaries, sovereignty), international organisations (definition, personality) and individuals (rights and obligations);
3) Sources of international law : custom, treaty and other sources;
4) Implementation of international law : coercive and non coercive measures, settlement of disputes, responsibility.

Emphasis is given to the underlying tensions of the international legal order (between an ethical and a political pole) and how they characterize and influence the creation, interpretation and application of the rules of public international law.

1) Ensure an understanding of the international legal order, its scope and its limits, with a particular emphasis on the tensions that caractérise it.

2) Enable mastery of the fundamental concepts, principles and rules of international law, so as to be able to apply them to practical cases, particularly current issues.

Courses requiring this course

Cours ayant celui-ci comme co-requis

Flipped classroom teaching based on a book (reference below) and on interaction.
Participation to the course is not mandatory, except for the practical exercices (which require the submission of written assignments).
Preparation for the courses sessions is essential.

The lectures of the course consist essentially in discussion and Q&A sessions. The participation in this sessions presupposes that students: 
(i) will have read the relevant chapters of the syllabus;
(ii) will have seen the videos bearing on those chapters;
(iii) will have prepared the answers to a list of questions available to students in advance that will be discussed in class.

Further details are provided in the presentation note of the course, available on Virtual University.

Contribution to the teaching profile

Ensure autonomy in legal reasoning by providing students with adequate conceptual and methodological tools.

References, bibliography, and recommended reading

• Compulsory reading : Olivier Corten, François Dubuisson, Vaios Koutroulis et Anne Lagerwall, A Critical Introduction to International Law, Brussels, Editions de l'ULB, 2019.

  International instruments (treaties, IOs' resolutions,...) listed on Virtual University.

Course notes

• Podcast
• Syllabus
• Université virtuelle

Contacts

Faculty of Law Secretariat : 02.650.39.36, 39.37, 39.40, 39.41

The professors of the course can be contacted during the designated office hours, according to what is indicated in the presentation note of the course available on Virtual University.

Campus

Solbosch

Method(s) of evaluation

• written examination

written examination

• Open book examination

Continuous evaluation on the basis of students' preparation and participation in practical exercises.

The written exam is composed of a case study and a more theoretical question about the tensions underlying the international legal order. 
The book and a series of international instruments' texts are available to students during the written exam.

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

During the first exam session (January), the evaluation will be based:

- on the participation in the practical exercises (25% of the final mark);

- on a written exam (75% of the final mark).

During the second exam session (August), for students that have obtained a note on practical exercises which is equal or superior to 10/20, the evaluation will be similar to the one of the first exam session (75% of the note based on the exam + 25% of the note based on the practical exercises). For students whose practical exercises note is inferior to 10/20, the evaluation will be based exclusively on the written exam (100% of the note).

Language(s) of evaluation

• english