Admission requirements
This course is part of Sustainability, Climate Change and Food and therefore accessible to students enrolled in that Minor.
The course is also open to professionals through contract teaching (microcredentials).
Description
Poverty, armed conflict, and natural disasters are all major causes of hunger. Climate change further exacerbates these causes. Taking Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2, which aims to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”, as a starting point, this course will focus on the legal questions surrounding access to food and food security, both in peace and wartime. The legal questions that arise are diverse. What does the human right to food entail? How does international law mitigate the impact of conflict on food security? What regulations govern the provision of humanitarian assistance? What are the legal implications if starvation is employed as a method of warfare? Is there accountability for undermining food security, and if so, where and how can it be pursued?
Different fields of international law, such as human rights, humanitarian law, as well as international criminal law, will be looked at to assess the different questions raised. Throughout the course, concrete examples will be used to further illustrate the theoretical discourse.
Course Objectives
This course helps students to acquire both skills and knowledge.
Content:
Assess the Sustainable Development Goals and reflect on their legal value.
Identify and interpret the legal rules relevant to food security, both in peace and wartime. Analyse how the different relevant legal frameworks interact.
Analyse the relevant mechanisms in terms of accountability.
Skills:
Critically reflect on the limits of the relevant legal frameworks.
Capacity to clearly discern legal implications from broader ones.
Learn where to find legal sources and how to interpret and apply them.
Timetable
Block 2 (27 October – 19 December); Tuesdays 11:15-13:00 + Thursdays 09:15-11:00.
Mode of instruction
The course consists of (guest) lectures, as well as more interactive sessions that combine practical skills and learning.
Assessment Method
This course will be based on two assessments.
Newspaper article assignment
30 % of final grade
Re-sit not possible
Grade must be compensated
Final exam – combination of multiple choice and open questions (digital)
70% of final grade
Grade must be 5,5 or higher to pass the course
Resit of a fail is possible
Resit will take the same form
Reading list
Given that this course assesses different legal frameworks, there is no single textbook that is used. The course relies on a variety of different readings (book chapters, journal articles, and blog posts). Next to the compulsory readings, additional readings may also be suggested for further reference when relevant.
Registration
Registration starts early May.
Contact
Dr. Otto Spijkers, o.spijkers@luc.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
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