Welcome to International Law! Current Syllabus
This course provides a substantive foundation for conceptualizing International Law in a modern global context. We explore the foundations of International Law, to include monist and dualist perspectives toward the relationship between public international law and municipal law. Throughout the semester's lectures and activities, we return to two basic questions:
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Why do states comply with international law?
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What happens when state interests or security threats compete with international legal obligations?
Course content includes the four primary sources of law (treaties, customs, principles, and subsidiary sources), making legal arguments, states and statehood under public international law, and a set of legal regimes (maritime, humanitarian, and human rights).
Moot Court debates, one for each legal regime discussed, engage these concepts and principles. The current lineup of Moot court activities includes:
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The United Kingdom v. The People's Republic of Albania (1947)
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The Republic of Nicaragua v. The United States (1986)
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Colombia v. Peru (a.k.a. "The Asylum Case") (1950)
Artwork by Erin K. Little