Admission requirements
Admission to the Masters programme.
Description
This course aims to provide an overview of international criminal law as a specific branch of public international law. The focus is on modern international criminal law, particularly genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes as applied by international and national courts. Attention is paid to the jurisdiction principles on the basis of which national courts can try individuals for international
crimes, to the establishment and procedure of the international criminal tribunals (ICTY, ICTR, ICC), as well as to the definition of the four core crimes, namely aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The course is linked to the research programme ‘securing the rule of law in a world of multilevel jurisdiction.’
Course objectives
Objectives of the course
This course aims to provide the student with a thorough knowledge of the goals and substantive rules of international criminal law as a specific branch of public international law.
Achievement levels
The following achievement levels apply with regard to the course:
Knowledge: After successfully completing this course, the student has a thorough knowledge of and insight into the existing legal framework of international criminal law and how it relates to general issues of public international law.
The student has a profound knowledge of the specific rules and regulations that were studied during the course and of the interrelationship between those rules. Moreover, the student is well aware of the political and social context in which
these rules are applied.Academic skills and attitude: After successfully completing this course, the student is able to interpret and analyse the relevant literature and sources critically and to present solutions for legal problems after thorough legal research.
The student is also trained to present these solutions both orally and written in a structured way.
The student is able to present his own opinion on relevant legal matters on the basis of sound and convincing legal arguments and he/she has the ability to defend this opinion in a legal debate.
The students is also able to perform legal research (collection of data and relevant literature, interpreting and analyzing the data and
literature, draw conclusions, evaluate and propose recommendations).
Timetable
The timetable of this course can be found on Blackboard.
Mode of instruction
Lectures and Seminars
- The course is taught for 20 hours, over a period of 5 weeks, with one two-hour lecture and one two hour- colloquium per week.
Other methods of instruction
None.
Assessment method
Examination form(s)
Written Exam
Paper
The written exam counts for 66% of the final grade and the paper counts for 34% of the final grade.
In relation to retakes: if the student fails the course, a retake is possible for any grade element for which a pass was not obtained.
Submission procedures
The paper must be handed in during the course. The exact date is specified in the outline which is handed out in the first lecture of the course and will also be published on Blackboard.
Areas to be tested within the exam
The examination syllabus consists of the required reading (literature) for the course, the course information guide and the subjects taught in the lectures, the seminars and all other instructions which are part of the course.
Blackboard
More information on this course is offered on Blackboard.
Reading list
Obligatory course materials
Literature:
Mandatory:
R. Cryer et al, International Criminal Law, 3rd ed. Cambridge 2014
Additional literature will be posted on Blackboard
No Reader will be provided, but students can use the Blackstone’s International Law Documents, 10th Edition.
Assessment
Students can gain a maximum of 100 points. These can be obtained through a paper (34%) and an oral exam (66%). The book of Cryer and notes made during the lectures and seminars CANNOT be consulted during the exam, but students are allowed to bring the Blackstones.
Exam
Schedule of the oral exam to be announced.
Registration
Register on Blackboard.
Contact information
Co-ordinator: J. Iverson
Work address: Kantoren Stichthage (The Hague)
Contact information: via email
Telephone number: 071-52777578 (secretary)
E-mail: j.m.iverson@law.leidenuniv.nl
Institution/division
Institute: Public Law
Division: Public International Law
Room number secretariat: KOG, Office B1.21
Opening hours: 9.00-17.00 hrs
Telephone number secretariat: 071-5277578
E-mail: volkenrecht@law.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
None.