Legal Dimensions of Humanitarian Action 2200-9HA-2
Classes 1 - 3
General outline of Public International Law
The notion of PIL
Special features of PIL
Relations between PIL and domestic law
Class 4
Sources of Public International Law I:
Special features of norms of PIL
Introduction to the notion of sources of PIL
Introduction to the law of international treaties
The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969
Class 5
Sources of Public International Law II
International treaties - continued
International custom
Class 6
Sources of Public International Law III
a) Law of international organisations
b) “Soft law”
Class 7
Subjects of Public International Law
a) Introduction to subjects of PIL
b) States as subjects of PIL
c) General introduction to legal personality of:
(i) International organisations
(ii) Other entities (including International Committee of the Red Cross)
(iii) Individuals
Class 8
The System of the United Nations
Goals of the UN
Structure of the UN
The UN Family
Class 9
Law of regional organisations
The European Union
The Organization of American States
The African Union
Other organisations
Class 10
International Human Rights Law
a) History and development of International Human Rights Law
b) Categories of rights
c) Derogations from Human Rights Law
d) Human Rights Law in the context of natural disasters
Class 11
International Human Rights Law: implementation mechanisms I
Universal Procedures based on treaties
a) Regular procedures
b) Special Procedures,
c) Universal Periodic Review
Class 12
International Human Rights Law: implementation mechanisms II
Regional Human Rights Systems
a) The European System
b) The Inter-American System
c) The African System
Classes 13 - 15
Introduction to International Humanitarian Law (IHL):
Classification of conflicts
Notion of protected persons
Classes 16 - 17
International Humanitarian Law (IHL):
a) Protection of civilians in the enemy hands
b) Protection of civilians against the effects of hostilities – interpretation of principles of:
(i) distinction
(ii) proportionality
(iii) precaution
Classes 18- 19
International Humanitarian Law (IHL):
a) Humanitarian access and assistance
b) Protection of humanitarian workers
Classes 20 - 21
Workshop on fact-finding during armed conflicts
Class 22
International Framework for Refugee Protection
a) The notions of “asylum” ,“refugee” and “internally displaced person”
b) Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951
c) The principle of “non-refoulement”
d) Rights of refugees
e) Protection of refugees under other human rights treaties
Classes 23 – 24
The use of force in International Law
Ius contra bellum – the illegality of the use of force, particularly of aggression; difficulties with defining aggression
Ius ad bellum – the legality of the use of force:
(i) the right to self-defence
(ii) collective security
(iii) intervention based on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) concept
(iv) special case : NIACs
Class 25
Dispute settlement under Public International Law
a) Diplomatic methods of dispute resolution
(i) negotiations
(ii) good offices
(iii) mediation
(iv) fact-finding and conciliation
b) International courts and tribunals with a special focus on the International Court of Justice
Class 26
International Criminal Law
International Crimes
Principles of individual criminal responsibility
Prosecution of International Crimes (domestic prosecution of international crimes and the international criminal justice system)
International Criminal Court
Class 27
International Disaster Response Law
The notion of “disaster”
Sources of law
Protection of personnel
Class 28
Exam
Class 29
Joint assessment of the exam; concluding remarks
Type of course
Mode
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Has demonstrated a good understanding of the basic concepts of International Law, humanitarian principles and standards, and the problematic nature of the dilemmas involved.
Has a thorough knowledge of the international legal institutions and their engagement in humanitarian crises, and a clear understanding of the limits in applicability of International Law.
Has demonstrated to be able to identify different aspects of International Law and its implications for humanitarian action.
Has shown the ability to apply key legal instruments.
Has demonstrated the principal skills for applying mechanisms of dispute settlement.
Has shown to be able to convince as far as legal argumentation in HA is concerned.
Has demonstrated the capacity to introduce personal responsibility and to apply humanitarian principles and standards to dilemmas in complex and insecure contexts.
Assessment criteria
30 % - Essay submitted before 15th December 2020 on “The relevance of ‘soft law’ in the field of humanitarian action”;
20% - Presentation made before 10th January 2021 on one of cases before an international court / tribunal relating to International Humanitarian Law or International Human Rights Law;
50 % - Written exam – the exam will consist of a number of open questions based on various topics discussed during the course.
The exam will try to assess the passive knowledge of the contents of the course, and also the applicability of this knowledge in a practical situation. More specifically, the criteria of assessment entail the degree of knowledge of international law in general (including the concepts of sources of international law, subjects of international law, the use of force under international law, human rights law and those pertaining to international humanitarian law), as it is relevant to humanitarian action.
Please be aware that in order to be able to take a second chance exam if you need to, you should come to the first chance exam and attempt to answer the exam questions. In the event you are not able to attend the first chance exam you need to demonstrate a valid reason for non-attendance, such as a certificate from a medical doctor. No-show without a valid reason forfeits the possibility of taking the second chance exam and you will have to redo the course.
Bibliography
J. Crawford, Brownlie's Principles of Public International Law, Oxford University Press, 2012
M. Dixon, International Law, 7th Edition, Oxford University Press, 2014, Chapters 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12.
H. J. Heintze, A. Zwitter [eds.], International Law and Humanitarian Assistance, Springer, 2011.
H. J. Heintze, P. Thielbőrger [eds.], International Humanitarian Action. NOHA Textbook, Springer, 2018, Part II.
J. Klabbers, International Law, Cambridge University Press, 2013
M. Shaw, International Law, Cambridge University Press, 2014 (the 2009 edition is also fine)
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: