Course teached as: B018947 - CURRENT CHALLENGES TO INTERNATIONAL LAW Second Cycle Degree in INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND EUROPEAN STUDIES
Teaching Language
English
Course Content
The first part of the course will be devoted to the analysis of the system of collective security set out in the UN Charter. The second part of the course will deal with the UN role in the emerging system of international criminal justice.The last part of the course will offer some elements of international criminal law, mainly with respect to substantive law: war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, torture and aggression.
B. Conforti, C. Focarelli, The Law and Practice of the United Nations, 4th revised edition, Brill, 2010, NB pages pp. 1-28; 71-337; 381-391
O.Corten, The Law Against War. The Prohibition on the Use of Force in Contemporary International Law, Hart, 2010, NB pages 331-336 and 348-370 and 385-400
C.Gray, International Law and the Use of Force, Oxford, 2008 pages 261-326
A.Cassese, International Criminal Law, 2nd ed., Oxford, 2008, pages pp. 1-183 and 233-252 e 302-352
D. Schraga, 'The applicability of international humanitarian law to peace operations, from
rejection to acceptance', in G.-L. Beruto (ed), International Humanitarian Law, Human Rights and Peace Operations, Sanremo, 2008, pp. 90-99. The article is available at http://www.iihl.org/iihl/Documents/RT%202008_Peace%20Ops.pdf
D. Scheffer, 'States Parties Approve New Crimes for International Criminal Court', in ASIL Insights, vol. 14, issue 16, 2010. The article is available at http://www.asil.org/insights100622.cfm
Learning Objectives
This course aims at providing the students with advanced knowledge of the United Nations system under two respects. In the first place, through the exam of the exceptions to the ban on the use of force as contemplated in 1945 in the UN Charter or emerged in recent years. In the second place, through the analysis of the coercive measures other than the use of force that are either traditional (sanctions) or new (international criminal justice). This knowledge will allow he students to understand the normative limits that the international legal order places on the use of force and the consequences ensuing from the serious violations of the founding principles of such order.
Prerequisites
Knowledge of the basics of Public International Law is required
Teaching Methods
Lectures and Seminars: 63 hours
Type of Assessment
The final examination consists in an orla interview
Course program
The course will be entitled: The United Nations Evolving Practice: From Peace to Justice. The first part of the course will be devoted to the analysis of the system of collective security set out in the UN Charter with a view to addressing its evolution and chiefly the most recent developments concerning the practice of the Organisation, in particular of the Security Council (SC), in the maintenance of international peace and security. It will focus on the challenges, merits and pitfalls of such system. In order to complement the analysis of the current functioning of the system of collective security, most relevant recent cases of unilateral use of force by States will be examined (such as interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Bush Doctrine on preventive war).
The second part of the course will deal with the UN role in the emerging system of international criminal justice. The UN increasingly connected its action in peace maintenance with the need to mete out justice both with respect to States and individuals responsible of the most serious violations of international law. The UNSC created the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and played a key role in the creation of other transitional justice mechanisms (such as the Special Court for Sierra Leone). The UNSC also has crucial role in prompting the International Criminal Court to deal with a specific situation, for example the one concerning Darfur (according to the referral provided for in the ICC Statute). The last part of the course will offer some elements of international criminal law, mainly with respect to substantive law: the offences of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, torture and aggression will be duly examined through the analysis of the relevant case-law