International Law and the Settlement of Disputes

UPM 6003-The United Nations System and UPMUNC (Part I)

2Credits

The course is intended to familiarize students with the creation, objectives, evolution, main entities and principal areas of work of the United Nations system. The course will look in some detail at the United Nations Charter and the functions of the UN’s principal organs, before delving into the UN’s work in spurring cooperation to address a number of key contemporary global challenges, such as those in the areas of sustainable development, international migration and large-scale refugee flows, and climate change and environmental degradation.

UPM 6001-UPEACE Foundation Course

3Credits

The UPEACE Foundation Course provides a critical and concise introduction to the broad field of “Peace Studies” for students in all UPEACE programmes. It initially addresses key conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of the origins and development of peace studies as an interdisciplinary area within the fields of international relations and political economy, as well as a basic understanding of conflict analysis. Based on a critical analysis of policies, strategies, policies, institutions, organizations and movements, the course then examines a range of core issues, dimensions, perspectives and paradigms for understanding the root causes of conflicts and violence and constructive strategies to address them and build peace in contemporary global, international, regional, national and local contexts, including: conflict management, conflict resolution and conflict transformation; alternative discourse analysis; militarization and disarmament; human rights violations and promotion; gender inequalities, gender-based violence and gender mainstreaming; structural violence, human security, development and globalization; environmental sustainability; corporate social responsibility; cultural and religious identities; media’s role in conflict and peacebuilding; strategies of nonviolence; and peace education. This Foundations course will be essential in catalyzing the awareness, understanding and motivation of UPEACE students from diverse academic programmes to relate, ground or intersect their specific areas of academic and practitioner interest with core theoretical, conceptual and analytical ideas in peace studies.

DIL-6100-Public International Law (3 credits)

3Credits

Contemporary international life has become unthinkable without the existence of public international law. Increasingly, international relations have become juridified, while more and more actors (international organizations, individuals, groups, NGOs, and corporations) participate in norm creation, implementation and enforcement. And, as humanity faces unprecedented challenges, the call for more cooperation and regulation is undiminished. This course offers a comprehensive overview of the topic of public international law. It provides students with a broad introduction that will focus on laying a firm foundation of knowledge about the most important doctrines and topics in this field. It will provide students with a solid grasp of the vocabulary of international law (sources, jurisdiction, responsibility, enforcement, etc.), as well as a sense of the context in which international law originates and operates and an understanding of the legal and political institutions that play a role in international law and dispute settlement. Students will also be introduced to the methods prevalent in international legal argumentation as well as the methodology for researching international law. Finally, the course will analyze a broad range of contemporary issues that are dealt with using international legal tools, such as peace and security, the use of force, human rights, humanitarian law, diplomatic and consular protection, migration, and climate change, amongst others.

DIL-6101-International Human Rights Law (2 credits)

2Credits

Human Rights form one of the most important branches of international law in the contemporary world. The Holocaust and the atrocities of World War II brought about the recognition of human rights as a matter of concern to the international community. Today, all States have assumed obligations under international treaties that guarantee a wide range of rights to human beings, both in times of peace and in conflict. Further obligations for States and other actors emerge from customary human rights law. Under the aegis of the United Nations and regional organizations, several bodies have been established to monitor violations of rights of human beings. Despite these efforts, we continue to live in a world where many face rampant abuse of their human rights. This course provides participants with a solid understanding of the international legal regime for the protection of human rights. The course will cover a broad spectrum of issues in human rights protection, beginning with the foundational instruments and principles in international human rights law and ending with the challenges of moving beyond the framework of predominantly State-centric obligations recognized by this regime. We will explore the core human rights instruments, the enforcement mechanisms established under international law and will also give special attention to the rights of vulnerable persons and groups. In addition, we will pay close attention to debates regarding the theoretical and legal workability of the international human rights system. Are human rights truly ‘universal’? Are some human rights more important than others? How can human rights norms be applied to non-traditional actors, such as corporations and terrorist groups? Do new ‘group rights’ strengthen or undermine human rights? These questions and many more will guide and deepen our understanding of the principles underpinning the human rights regime, and the way that international law works and does not work in the world of human rights protection.

DIL 6131-International Law Related to Armed Conflict I: Jus ad bellum

1Credits

This course will examine the legal framework on jus ad bellum in International Law. The prohibition of the use of force is customary international law. However, of late, the prohibition of the use of force has been subjected to fierce challenges due to expanded interpretations of the exceptions contained in the UN Charter.  The course will review and will discuss the definitions and scope of international armed conflict, armed attack, and aggression.  The scope of the law will be reviewed by the interpretation of the principles of self-defense through the prism of ICJ’s landmark cases, and, by the positions that States themselves have taken.  Students will examine UN Security Council authorization of use of force in specific cases.  Analysis of the use of force pursuant to invitation, and pre-emptory self-defense, humanitarian intervention, the Responsibility to Protect, as well as the emergence of “unwilling and unable” test will illuminate a state of fluidity of the use of force in practice.  The students will consider the legitimacy of the expanded interpretations of the exceptions contained in the UN Charter in relation to state practice.

DIL-6105-Universal System for Protection of Human Rights (1 credit)

1Credits

The UN Charter indicates that one of the main purposes of the organization is to encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. To achieve it, the so called Universal System for Protection of Human Rights was created. The system is complex because it is composed by different bodies and requires the participation of several stakeholders (States, UN Representatives, experts, NGO, individuals, etc.). The purpose of this course is to unfold it to provide students the necessary knowledge to understand it and use it for the promotion and protection of human rights.

Throughout the course, we will critically analyze the role of the UN bodies and mechanisms in ensuring States’ accountability for promoting, respecting and fulfilling human rights obligations. We will also scrutinise UN monitoring mechanisms (Treaty bodies and Special Procedures) as well as individual complaints procedures. To do it, we will engage in academic discussions, research activities, and simulations that will provide to its participants a solid understanding of the international legal regime for the monitoring protection system of human rights.

DIL-6124-International Law Related to Armed Conflict II: Jus in bello (2 credits)

2Credits

Governing warfare concerns not only soldiers and lawyers but also practitioners and scholars of international affairs. Is it permissible to make a civilian acting as a human shield the object of an attack? What makes the use of unmanned aerial combat vehicles and lethal autonomous weapons so controversial? Should a long-time occupier be forbidden to repeal local laws even when they stifle the territory’s economic and social development? Is conferring legal standing and ownership upon non-state organised armed groups the solution to their uneven compliance with war rules? Responding intelligently to these and other questions requires familiarising oneself with the manner in which war is to be normatively regulated.

DIL-6077-Transitional Justice and International Criminal Law

3Credits

Gross violations of human rights, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide have characterized several contemporary conflicts and authoritarian regimes. In such contexts, questions of impunity and accountability become central to peacebuilding and reconstruction of post-conflict societies. Yet, criminal prosecution of persecutors poses challenges for post-conflict reconciliation, particularly when such reconciliation is contingent upon demands for amnesty. This course takes a holistic view on the debates surrounding linkages between serious crimes and justice.
This is the first part of this course. It provides a general introduction to the field of international criminal law. It focuses on the evolution of international crimes under international law and the role of international criminal courts in the prosecution of international crimes. Students will analyze the jurisdictional reach of international criminal courts, their relationship with national jurisdictions (primacy v. complementarity) and the impact of the interests of justice and peace in the exercise of their jurisdiction. Students will also explore the objective and subjective elements of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Particular attention will be placed on those elements of international crimes that make them distinguishable from ordinary crimes, and on the manner in which criminal responsibility is determined by international criminal courts.
The second part of the course which will follow this first component will focus on the intersection between international criminal law and transitional justice, the latter of which includes the study of justice in times of transition following periods of widespread human rights abuse. These transitional periods raise a wide range of legal, ethical, and political questions that are central to the peace versus justice debate. Students will explore the strengths and limits of criminal prosecutions and the alternative mechanisms available to address the commission of international crimes. Using numerous case studies from around the world, the course will provide students with analytical tools to grapple with and to discuss the most salient issues decision-makers face in the context of transitional democracies and other situations of dealing with the past.

DIL-6120- International and Transnational Adjudication

3Credits

This course offers a general overview of the international legal system of courts and tribunals. It will provide  students with a thorough understanding of the role as well as the limitations and potential of international adjudicatory bodies in international law and international relations. The course will look at the historical and political context in which international adjudication was first developed and later expanded. It will analyze the specific position and place that international adjudicatory bodies hold in the global governance system. In this quest for understanding we will consecutively deal with the International Court of Justice as the prime example of a 'world court' and with some of its most salient features and characteristics. Close attention will be given to rules of jurisdiction and competence, as well as procedure. We will then turn to considerations of the peace-related functions of other global and multilateral dispute settlement mechanisms, in particular dispute settlement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization, as well as dispute settlement under international investment treaties. Finally, we will consider the peace-related functions of court-like compliance mechanism under global and multilateral treaties. Our focus will be on complaints mechanisms under human rights and environmental treaties.

UPM-6003-The United Nations System and UPMUNC (Part II)

1Credits

The UPEACE Model United Nations Conference (UPMUNC) is the second part of a composite three credit course that begins with the two-credit introductory course on the United Nations System, taught in the first semester. Through a simulation of UN bodies, committees, procedures, and codes of conduct, this immersive and experiential educational exercise encourages the application of knowledge gained in previous courses, including an understanding of the objectives and functions of the United Nations system, as well as the development of professional skills related to research, public speaking, negotiation, mediation of conflict, and the preparation of official documents.   

Historically, the conference has been open to outside participants from colleges and universities both regionally and internationally, presenting additional possibilities for networking, dialogue, and educational exchange among all participants. UPMUNC is further enriched by special events, which typically include a panel of invited speakers, a diplomatic reception, an awards ceremony, and a closing celebration.   

DIL 6028-International Law and Diplomacy

2Credits

TBA.

UPE 6064-Working in Conflict and Post-Conflict Areas - Field Training

2Credits

This immersive, experiential learning course is intended to further students’ understanding of how journalists and staff of international organizations work in hostile environments, particularly in areas affected by violent conflict.

Workshops and field exercises are carried out with the collaboration of trained security personnel, actors, and other specialists in order to explore themes of personal security and risk assessment, crisis management and response, gathering and fact-checking sensitive information, and working with vulnerable populations.

Throughout the course, participants will build up and test their capacity to work under pressure, their leadership and teamwork skills, and their ability to respond to unexpected, dangerous, and complex situations in a creative, safe, and independently-minded way.

NOTE: This course is offered only to regular students of GPB, ILHR, ILSD, IPS, MP, PE master programmes, by application and limited space.

DIL-6026-International Economic Law

3Credits

The main objective of this course is to explore the contemporary system of international economic law, its theory, and practice, in the backdrop of ‘sustainable development’ emerging as the central theme influencing all its processes. The course has a clear orientation towards understanding and resolving contemporary disputes, which arise as a result of the increasing specialization of the field of ‘international economic law’ and the accompanying ‘fragmentation’ of public international law. The course will adopt a trans-disciplinary approach that encompasses international law, economics and finance, international relations, development studies, and human rights, in the broad interface between international economic law and development. Students will look closely at the economic and legal principles of the multilateral trade system, the case for liberalization of trade, the exceptions to the principles of liberalization, the judicial dispute settlement of trade disputes, the current initiatives for making trade law work for development, as well as the legal controversies arising in this field. Students will also explore other important areas of international economic law today such as investment, finance, and intellectual property rights.

DIL-6103-Protection of Refugees (1 credit)

1Credits

Key objectives: Understand the history of international action in support of refugees, including the adoption of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the establishment of UNHCR. Be aware of current challenges impeding the provision of protection for refugees. Identify the various actors responsible for international protection and the importance of working in partnership with them.

DIL-6084-International Labour Law

1Credits

OPICS COVERED
• Origin, history, mandate and objectives of the ILO
• Standards related activities and subjects cover by International Labour Standards
• Applying and promoting International Labour Standards
• Content of Fundamental Conventions: Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining, Child Labour, Discrimination and Forced Labour
• Other Topics: Employment, HIV/AIDS, Indigenous People, Social Security

LEARNING OBJECTIVE
• Put the mandate and objectives of the ILO in the context of current international challenges
• Develop a deeper reflection and understanding of issues relating to the effective application and compliance with international labour standards (Fundamental Conventions, Employment, HIV/AIDS, Indigenous Peoples Rights and Social Security).

DIL-6106-Indigenous Peoples' Rights (1 credit)

1Credits

This course introduces participants to the increasingly significant field of indigenous peoples' rights and looks at the contemporary issues that have paradoxically led to recognition of those rights on the one hand, while simultaneously challenging their implementation on the other. The course will address the broad spectrum of issues involved in the field of indigenous peoples' rights, beginning with who qualifies to be "indigenous peoples", the scope of their right to self-determination, the international and regional legal frameworks for the protection of their rights and the challenges associated therewith, and the debates surrounding the concept of indigenous governance. The course will also look closely into human security and human development issues relating to indigenous peoples, the impact of State policies on their culture and language, the issue of genetic research in the context of indigenous peoples and the effect of intellectual property rights on the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples. Strong emphasis will be placed throughout the course not only on theory and law, but also on case studies from around the world. Students will explore debates on mainstreaming versus autonomy, participatory governance, scope of 'free and prior consent', amongst others.

DIL-6081-Maritime & Territorial Dispute Settlement

3Credits

The geographical integrity of sovereign states is at the core of the contemporary notion of statehood itself. Therefore, when it comes to the specific delimitation of national territories, or the management of specific trans-boundary situations, there are a wealth of large and small maritime and territorial disputes. This course provides an historical overview of how international law has established the boundaries and limits of state jurisdiction, and the ways in which the international community has responded to territorial and maritime disputes around the globe. Close attention shall be given to a key player in this history, the International Court of Justice (ICJ).