LAWS333 Public International Law

Overview

The principles of the law of nations in peace, war and neutrality. An introduction to the law of international organisation.

About this paper

Prerequisite

96 LAWS points

Pre or Corequisite

Any 200-level LAWS paper not already passed

Restriction

LAWS 412

Limited to

LLB, LLB(Hons)

Teaching staff

Stephen E Smith

Overview

The principles of the law of nations in peace, war and neutrality. An introduction to the law of international organisation.

The purpose of LAWS 333 is to provide students with a basic introduction to public international law. Public international law is the law that governs relations between countries, which are usually referred to as States in international law.

About this paper

Prerequisite

96 LAWS points

Pre or Corequisite

Any 200-level LAWS paper not already passed

Restriction

LAWS 412

Limited to

LLB, LLB(Hons)

Contact

law@otago.ac.nz

More information link

View more information on the Faculty of Law's website.

Teaching staff

Stephen E Smith

Textbooks

All course readings for this paper are provided by the Faculty on Aoroa.

Graduate Attributes Emphasised

Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Environmental literacy, Information literacy, Research, Self-motivation, Teamwork.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this paper will:

• Demonstrate a foundational understanding of the elementary history, principles and institutions of public international law.
• Demonstrate a general understanding of and critically evaluate the sources and nature of public international law, including conventions and customary international law.
• Demonstrate a basic understanding of and critically evaluate the nature of State sovereignty, the requirements for statehood and the privileges and responsibilities of States.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the status and role of New Zealand in international law as well as the international legal statuses of the other territorial components of the Realm of New Zealand.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the status, standing and role of natural persons in public international law.
• Recognise and critically evaluate the relationship between public international law and colonialism and the manner in which the principle of self-determination of peoples is connected to historical and ongoing decolonisation.
• Demonstrate an understanding of why a people with a right to self-determination do not necessarily possess a corresponding right to sovereign statehood.
• Demonstrate a foundational understanding of and critically evaluate concepts of state jurisdiction over territory and persons, nationality, State immunity and State responsibility.
• Demonstrate a basic understanding of and critically evaluate the principles, procedures and regulations related to the peaceful resolution of international disputes between States, including limitations on the use of force found in the Charter of the United Nations.
• Be able to describe, using examples, some of the strengths and weaknesses of the overall system of public international law.
• Obtain foundational skills in reading, interpreting and applying international conventions and leading judgments of international courts and tribunals.
• Be able to recognise how geopolitics influences the content and implementation of public international law.
• Be able to recognise historical and contemporary serious violations of international law and the sources and reasons for the increasing strains on the system of public international law in the 21^st century.