Teaching code

4S00334

Teacher

Francesca Ragno

Coordinator

Francesca Ragno

Credits

9

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

IUS/13 - INTERNATIONAL LAW

Period

2° periodo lezioni (2A), 2° periodo lezioni (2B)

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning outcomes

The course aims at examining the three fundamental functions underlying legality in today’s international community: law-making, law-determination and law-enforcement.
The course will also highlight how contemporary international law is not only concerned with the relations among governmental actors, but it also increasingly affects the interests and positions of private actors. At the end of the course, students shall have the ability to formulate, in an autonomous and critical way, judgements and elaborated arguments on the main legal questions dealt with in class.

Program

Course structure

The first part of the course will focus on the fundamental features of the international legal order, with special regard to the historical evolution of international law, from the Treaties of Westphalia to the current post-Cold War system of international relations. Special attention will be devoted to the issues of subjectivity, in particular the processes of State formation and the international legal personality of individuals and corporations. Moreover, this part of the course will focus on the law-making function in the international community, with particular attention to the process of formation and modification of customary rules and the adoption, entry into force, invalidity, suspesion and termination of international treaties. Moreover, the course will focus on the processes and mechanisms of compulsory law-determination and implementation of international rules. Special attention will be devoted to the implementation of international sources in the Italian domestic legal system and to the international dispute settlement mechanisms, including those involving private actors. The regime of international responsibility will be also covered. The course will then address the instruments of law-enforcement which characterize today the international community and deal with some topics related to the the law of the sea, migration and the protection of human rights. At the end of the course an introduction will be given to the main features of private international law as an autonomous field vis-à-vis public international law.

Teaching methods

Classes will be based on frontal lectures - devoted to the transmission of key notions and concepts and supported by PowerPoint presentations - and group discussions on cases. In order to be able to actively participate in class, students will be required to read in advance the decisions that are going to be analyzed. Legal materials, relevant decisions and further readings will be posted on the e-learning platform.

Language of the course

The course will be taught in Italian.

Bibliography

Examination Methods

Exam for attending students

Students that have regularly attended classes have the option to take an oral exam or a written test. The written text will be held right at the first exam session after the end of the course and will be structured as following: 11 multiple choice questions, 1 short answer question (chosen from two) and 1 essay question (chosen from two). The grade will be calculated according to the formula detailed below: 1) multiple choice questions: 1,5 points for every correct answer, 0,5 points will be deducted for any wrong/missing answer; 2) short answer question: max 4 points; 3) essay question: max 10 points.
The oral exam, on the other hand, will consist of an oral discussion, aimed at verifying the knowledge of the fundamentals of International Law, as explained in class and dealt with in the textbook.
In both cases the final grade will be expressed in thirtieths.

Non-attending students

Non-attending students are required to take an oral exam. The exam will consist of an oral discussion, aimed at verifying the knowledge of the fundamentals of International Law as dealt with in the textbook. The final grade will be expressed in thirtieths.

Erasmus students
Erasmus students that have regularly attended classes are granted the possibility to write an essay on a topic assigned by the instructor.