Message for students who will start the LL.M. PIL programme in February 2015:
Please contact the programme coordinator at m.k.c.leons@law.leidenuniv.nl to receive further information about the schedule and preparatory readings. The information meeting for new PIL students will be held on Monday 2 February from 11:00 -12:00 hrs, room A028 at KOG (Leiden Law School, Steenschuur 25, Leiden), so directly after the Law & Practice of International Organizations lecture which is held in room A1.44 at KOG.
Admission requirements
Admission to the Masters programme.
Description
The course examines the substantive and procedural law that governs situations of armed conflict, but also situations before or after an armed conflict has taken place. In this regard, it will give an overview of the main principles of International Humanitarian Law (jus in bello), but will also touch upon aspects of the Law on the Use of Force (jus ad bellum), as well as questions with regard to the application of Human Rights Law in situations below the threshold of armed conflict. The different approaches of each of these branches of international law are examined, since Human Rights Law aims to grant rights to individuals, International Humanitarian Law focuses on the protection of persons not taking part in hostilities (persons hors de combat) during armed conflict, and the Law on the Use of Force aims at preventing war in the first place.
Lectures are given once a week. Lectures will provide students with the theoretical underpinnings of the respective areas of law and show how they are related to each other. It will also address cases of particular conflict areas, such as, e.g., Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Rwanda. Both the theoretical background as well as case analysis aims to illustrate to what extent the three branches of international law interact.
Course objectives
Objectives of the course
This course aims to provide an overview of the main principles of International Humanitarian Law, Human Rights Law and the Law on the Use of Force, including also the perspective of war victims. The students will gain insight in the interaction between these respective branches of international law.
Achievement levels
The following achievement levels apply with regard to the course:
Knowledge: After successfully completing this course, the student has knowledge of and insight into the existing legal framework, principles and system of International Humanitarian Law and its interaction with the other branches of Public International Law, in particular Human Rights Law and the Law on the Use of Force. The student is well aware of the challenges that arise with regard to the practical implementation of International Humanitarian Law.
Academic skills and attitude: After successfully completing this course, the student is able to interpret and analyze the relevant literature and sources in a critical manner and to present solutions for legal problems after thorough legal research.
Timetable
The timetable of this course can be found in uSis.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
Number of (3 hour) lectures: 5 (once a week)
Names of lecturers: N.N.
Required preparation by students: Mandatory literature and case law
Seminars
None.
Other methods of instruction
None.
Assessment method
Examination form(s)
Written exam with questions. Since the mode of instruction is limited to lectures and the course topics are not dealt with in a comprehensive textbook, attendance all lectures is strongly recommended and deemed essential for successfully passing the written exam.
Submission procedures
None.
Areas to be tested within the exam
Book and syllabus the subjects taught in the lectures, and all other instructions which are part of the course and made available, e.g. via Blackboard.
Blackboard
More information on this course is offered in Blackboard.
Reading list
Obligatory course materials
Literature:
Constraints on the waging of war : an introduction to international humanitarian law, F. Kalshoven and L. Zegveld, 4th ed, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), 2011
Syllabus
Recommended course materials
Made available via Blackboard
Contact information
Co-ordinator: Catherine Harwood
Work address: Campus Den Haag, Stichthage Kantoren, Office 12.40
Contact information: Every day
Telephone number: 071-527 3615
Institution/division
Institute: Public Law
Department: Public International Law
Room number secretary: KOG, B1.19
Opening hours: 9.00 – 17.00
Telephone number secretary: 071 – 527 7578
Contractonderwijs
Belangstellenden die deze cursus in het kader van contractonderwijs willen volgen (met tentamen), kunnen meer informatie vinden over kosten, inschrijving, voorwaarden, etc. op de website van Juridisch PAO