40344 - International Law

Learning outcomes

Students will be introduced to the critical study of the main tenets, the sources and some specific field of contemporary International law.

Course contents

The three fundamental legal functions on which the legal dynamics of the international community is founded – law–making, law–determination and law–enforcement – will be analysed within the contemporary social context. International law will be presented in its different dimensions: as a tool in the hand of international actors able to handle change in the international society and safeguard stability and predictability of international legal relations; as common language useful in reaching consensus or, at least, ‘peaceful disagreement’; as key to understanding the reality of contemporary international relations. Bringing together different perspectives, the it will be shown how international rules, while made by governments and mostly addressed to them, can be of great relevance to private actors and to their interests. The course will touch upon the following subjects:

I. What is International Law

• International Law in Historical and Evolutionary Perspectives
• International Law in Social Context
• Differences and similarities between international and domestic law
• Relativity and Dialectics in the Interpretation of International Rules
• Effectiveness of International Rules: Spontaneous Observance and Forced Compliance

II. Subjects of International Law

• States
• International organizations
• NGOs
• Individuals
• Corporations

III. Making and Changing of International Law

• Absence of an International Legislature
• Treaty Law
• Customary Law
• Relationship between Treaty an Customary Law
• General Principles of Law
• Soft Law

IV. International Law and Domestic Legal Systems

• Monism and Dualism
• Municipal Law before International Adjudicative Bodies
• International Law before Domestic Adjudicative Bodies
• The Doctrine of Incorporation in Common Law Legal Orders
• The ‘Receipt’ of International Law in Civil Law Legal Orders
• European Union Law and the law of its Member States
• Legal Nationalism

V. Breaching of International Law

• State Responsibility
• State liability

VI. The International Means of Dispute Settlement

• Diplomatic Means
• Adjudicative Means
• Institutional Means

VII. Material law

• International Economic Law
• International Law of the Sea
• Human Rights Law
• International Environmental Law
• International Criminal Law

VIII. International Water Law (IWL)

• Sources of International Water Law: the UN and the UNECE Water Conventions
• Scope of the UN and the UNECE Water Conventions
• Substantial principles of IWL
• Cooperation in IWL
• Human Rights dimension of IWL
• Dispute prevention and settlement
• Relationship between the two Convention

Readings/Bibliography

• A. Tanzi, A Concise Introduction to International Law, Giappichelli-Eleven, Torino, 2019
• A. Tanzi, The Consolidation of International Water Law: A Comparative Analysis of the UN and UNECE Water Conventions, Editoriale scientifica, Napoli, 2016.

NB: the textbook "A Concise Introduction to International Law" will be available in bookshops from mid-February 2019.

The book "International Law. A Concise Introduction" (Bonomo, 2017) is no longer accepted as the course textbook.

Teaching methods

Classes will mostly be held by the teacher. He will stimulate interactions with students through questions, in order to ease the understanding of complex issues, or ones at least not immediately understandable.

Working groups will be constituted in order to deliver presentations on select topics of international law during the course.

The topic addressed by a working group will define one of the questions of the oral exam.

Assessment methods

Final examination will be composed of a written preliminary part, and then an oral examination.

A. Written test: a multiple–choice test consisting of 15 questions, with a duration of 20 minutes, having the following structure:

1. Each question will have 4 possible answers, only one being correct.
2. A right answer involves 1pt.
3. A wrong answer involves 0 pt.
4. A missed answer involves 0 pt.

The written test is passed by attaining 10 points, that is by answering correctly at least to 10 questions.

Success in the written test is required to take the oral examination. It does not affect the final mark, which stems from the oral exam.

B. Oral test: consisting of 3 or more questions. For students who have participated in a working group, one of the questions will revolve around the topic addressed by the group.

The two parts of the examination will be entirely carried out on the same day. At the end of the written test, the tests will be corrected and the results published.

The oral examination will begin by the afternoon. The oral exam will follow the alphabetical order of the admitted students.

Students with 1–3 ECTs program

Students with 1–3 ECTs program will to take the exam exclusively in oral form.

Office hours

See the website of Attila Massimiliano Tanzi