Teaching code

4S00334

Teacher

Eleonora Branca

Coordinator

Eleonora Branca

Credits

9

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

IUS/13 - INTERNATIONAL LAW

Period

1° periodo lezioni (1A), 1° periodo lezioni (1B)

Courses Single

Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

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.

Prerequisites and basic notions

Prior exams required: Constitutional Law and Private Law.

Program

The first part of the course will focus on the fundamental elements of the international legal system, reference will be made to its historical evolution, from the Peace of Westphalia to the Soviet Revolution, the end of the Second World War, the Cold War, the attack on the Twin Towers, and the crisis of multilateralism that characterises contemporary international relations.
The issue of international subjectivity will be studied in depth, starting with the processes of State formation under international law and moving on to the issue of the subjectivity of individuals.
The mechanisms of international rule formation, both customary and conventional, will then be examined through an analysis of international sources and prevailing scholarship. In addition, attention will be paid to the issue of change and evolution of international rules.
Subsequently, the implementation, enforcement and coercive enforcement of international law will be explored.
The principle of peaceful settlement of international disputes will then be examined in depth, with specific reference to the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. The section on enforcement will be completed by the study of international responsibility and the legal consequences of violations of international norms.
The course will then proceed with an analysis of the prohibition of the threat and use of force in relations between States, shedding light on the content of the rule and its exceptions. Self-defence and the United Nations collective security system will be examined in detail.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

The course will consist of frontal lectures aimed at understanding the fundamental institutions of international law. Part of the lectures will be devoted to the analysis and discussion of case law and current issues of international law. In order to encourage active participation, regulatory materials, judicial decisions and further reading will be made available through the e-learning platform.

Learning assessment procedures

The exam will be a written test. The written test will consist of 10 multiple-choice questions (up to 10 points); 2 open-ended questions (10 points each, up to a maximum of 20 points overall).

Evaluation criteria

The grade will be expressed in thirtieths. A passing score of 18/30 is achieved.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

Each correct answer to the multiple-choice questions will award 1 point (up to a maximum of 10 points). Zero points will be awarded for each incorrect or missing answer. Each of the two open-ended answers will award up to 10 points each.

Exam language

Italiano

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