Παρουσίαση/Προβολή
LLM 2024-2025 International Humanitarian Law
(LAW839) - Professor Photini Pazartzis, Dr. Stavros-Evdokimos Pantazopoulos
Περιγραφή Μαθήματος
New Wars, New Laws? International Humanitarian Law in the 21st century
LLM International & European Law, Fall Semester 2024/2025
The nature of war is gradually transforming, as the distinctions between war, organized crime and large-scale violations of human rights are becoming blurred. The emergence of transnational terrorism exerts considerable pressure on the traditional framework regulating war. By means of illustration, the ‘global war on terror’, whose battlefield could be territorially unlimited, threatens to collapse the foundational distinction between fighters and civilians.
Against this background, this module provides a comprehensive examination of the law of armed conflict or international humanitarian law (IHL). It focuses on the clarification and the in depth examination of the basic rules and principles of IHL, identifying at the same time the challenges posed by the evolution of new wars and the turbulent situation in the Middle East, which will form the main case-study of the present course. The module moves on to question the adequacy of the current legal framework to address these challenges, and asks whether the international community is in need of new laws.
Ημερομηνία δημιουργίας
Κυριακή 10 Οκτωβρίου 2021
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New Wars, New Laws? International Humanitarian Law in the 21st century
This module will examine in detail the basic rules and principles of IHL, delineating their scope and their interplay. Subsequently, it will examine the classification criteria of an armed conflict and the ensuing legal consequences of such a classification. It will then shed light on the applicable framework to the targeting cycle and the protection accorded by IHL to persons deprived of their liberty.
Moving to the contemporary challenges that IHL is facing, this module will, in turn, tackle the so-called ‘War on Terror’ and its disruptive potential, before turning to the law of occupation. The next topic will be the regulation of cyberwarfare and autonomous weapons systems, or killer robots, accoding to some opponents of increased automation in warfare. The challenges and particularities of the law of non-international armed conflict will further be explored, as well as the intricacies of the distinction between jus ad bellum and jus in bello. Against the backdrop of fierceful claims about IHL’s inadequacy, the last class will cover the various means of implementing and enforcing IHL.
Prerequisites/Prior Knowledge
Students should have at least a basic knowledge of public international law.
Course Objectives/Goals
Upon completion of this course, the students should:
- understand the fundamental IHL concepts and rules, and be able to apply them in examining any armed conflict
- identify and classify any type of armed conflict;
- be able to critically analyze and reflect on the contemporary challenges to IHL;
- be familiar with the various means of implementing and enforcing IHL.
Instructional Methods
The lecturers will use a variety of methods including lectures, videos, group discussions, oral presentations, case-studies, and role-plays. This module is designed as an interactive course.
Assessment Methods
- Class participation and oral presentation (20%)
- One response paper up to 1,000 words, due to be submitted by the 24th of January 2025 (20%)
- Final written exam, 1 problem question/2 hrs (60%)