School of
Arts and
Sciences
COURSE SYLLABUS
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Course Number POL/HI 337 |
Course
Title International Law |
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Fall Semester X |
Spring
Semester |
Summer |
Year
2011 |
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Name
of Instructor William Miller |
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Meeting
Day, Time, and Room Number Wednesday, 3:30pm, Butler G123 |
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Final
Exam Day, Time, and Room Number Wednesday, December 14th
, 3:00pm, Butler G123 |
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Office
Hours, Location, Phone Tuesdays and Fridays, 10:00 to
11:00, 1:00 to 2:00pm; Wednesdays, 3:00 to 3:30pm and after class; other
times by appointment. Ireton G107, 703-284-1687. Always email ahead of
time! |
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E-mail and Website wmiller@marymount.edu (Email is the
best way to reach me!) www.millerpolitics.info
(All announcements and assignments are posted here, not on Blackboard.) |
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UNIVERSITY
STATEMENTS
Academic Integrity
By accepting this
syllabus, you pledge to uphold the principles of Academic Integrity expressed
by the Marymount University Community. You agree to observe these principles
yourself and to defend them against abuse by others.
Special Needs and
Accommodations
Please advise the
instructor of any special problems or needs at the beginning of the semester. If you seek accommodation based on
disabilities, you should provide a Faculty Contact Sheet obtained through
Disability Support Services located in Gerard Hall, (703) 284-1615.
Access
to Student Work
Copies of your work
in this course including copies of any submitted papers and your portfolios may
be kept on file for institutional research, assessment and accreditation
purposes. All work used for these purposes will be submitted anonymously.
Student
Copyright Authorization
For the benefit of
current and future students, work in this course may be used for educational
critique, demonstrations, samples, presentations, and verification. Outside of these uses, work shall not be
sold, copied, broadcast, or distributed for profit without student
consent.
University
Policy on Snow Closings
Snow closings are
generally announced on area radio stations. For bulletins concerning Marymount
snow or weather closings, call (703) 526-6888. Unless otherwise advised by
radio announcement or by official bulletins on the number listed above,
students are expected to report for class as near normal time as possible on
days when weather conditions are adverse. Decisions as to snow closing or
delayed opening are not generally made before 5:00 AM of the working day.
Students are expected to attend class if the University is not officially
closed.
1. BROAD
PURPOSE OF COURSE
The course is
an introduction to the study of international law. It examines the history and sources
of international law, the scope of international legal regulation, and the
effectiveness of international law, with special attention to the problems of
war and international economic transactions.
2. COURSE
OBJECTIVES (For core
courses, include writing, critical reasoning, and information literacy as
appropriate)
Upon successful
completion of this course students will be expected to:
(a) be able to summarize the principal writers and events that
contributed to the development of international law;
(b) be able to identify the main authoritative sources of
international law and to explain the rationale for their legal authority;
(c) be able to
identify the principal issues with which international law deals and to
identify and explain the leading court opinions, treaties, and executive
agreements that address those issues;
(d) be able to discuss the relative effectiveness of
international legal regulation of the aforesaid issues, as opposed to
alternative modes of international dispute resolution;
(e) be able to identify the principal legal norms regulating the
conduct of war and to discuss their effectiveness over the past two centuries;
(f) be able to identify the principal legal norms regulating international
economic transactions and to discuss their effectiveness to date;
(g) be able to analyze and brief court opinions on international
legal issues; and,
(h) be able to write essays and short papers that soundly argue
or effectively describe and explain various aspects of the subject matter of
the course.
3. TEACHING
METHOD (lecture, laboratory,
audio-visual, clinical experience, discussion, seminar, tutorial)
Lecture and class discussion; individual research into assigned
issues. Frequent quizzes.
The exams,
mid-term and final, will be blue book essay question exams based on the course
material. The issue papers are short (three to five pages) papers that require
students to research the events leading up to an assigned or approved international
law issue. Typically, the paper will focus on a case, the judicial or political
resolution of that case, and the long term effects of that resolution. Each is
due the week after we have completed the course coverage of material relevant
to subject matter of the issue paper.
4. GRADING
POLICY (i.e., number of graded
assignments, weight given to each)
Mid-term exam: 25%
Lower Issue
Paper #1 10%
Higher Issue
Paper #2 20%
Final Exam 25%
Class
Preparation and Quizzes 20%
The usual scale of 90-100%=A, 80-89%=B,
70-79%=C, 60-69%=D, and 59% and below=F will be applied to all graded work.
Attendance, Late Paper,
and Make-up Exam Policies
Attendance: Beginning with the second week of classes, students are allowed one
unexcused absence. For each additional unexcused absence, the final grade will
be lowered by two points. To be excused, an absence must be explained to and
approved by me before it occurs; it basically must be for a documentable reason.
Note: Occasionally coming to class late—even real late once or twice—is not
considered an absence. Coming to class without the textbook or leaving class
after taking an announced quiz without the prior permission of the instructor,
however, is considered an absence.
Merely
informing me ahead of time that you will be absent from class does not mean I
excuse the absence, though I appreciate your courtesy. I will not excuse your
absence because you are simply not feeling well or because you choose to do
something worthwhile other than come to class even if you inform me ahead of
time. If you are coughing and sneezing and coming down with a cold or the flu,
and you don't want to spread your virus to your classmates, I (and they) salute
you! Staying home may be the right thing to do, but it is not an excused
absence. You all get three unexcused absences to use as you see fit, and it is
your decision to use them to stay home when you don't feel well or want to
attend some other event or need to prepare for another class instead of going
to my class. Use them for good reasons: that's what they are for.
Excessive excused
absences may also be a problem, and you should discuss such situations with me
well before the last month of the semester. This is not a distance learning
class. Any absence prevents you from participating in the class, but if your
job or an illness keeps you away from class for more than a quarter of the
semester, it will significantly affect the class participation component of
your grade and may be a good reason to drop the course and take it another
time. All of us find ourselves in these situations from time to time and have
to deal with them appropriately. You also have an obligation to report this to a
University office (see page 34 of the 2011-2012 University Catalogue).
When in doubt
about any of these policies, please come and talk to me. They have been
formulated with our substantial commuter and working student population in mind
and are intended to be fair to everyone. You should also review the
University's policies on absenteeism on page 34 of the 2011-2012 University
Catalogue.
Late Papers
and Make-up Exams: The grade of late papers will be reduced by one
full letter grade for each school day they are late. Thus a paper that is due
on Friday that is handed in on Monday will be one day late. Regarding
mid-terms, the same basic rules about excused absences apply to taking
mid-terms. My policy of giving makeup exams on the same day as the final does
NOT mean that you may choose to take the mid-term exam on that day rather than
on the regularly scheduled day: it is not an alternative test date. To be
eligible for a makeup, you must qualify for an excused absence, and this you
should do a reasonable time before the day of the mid-term, if that is at all
possible. You may be excused from taking a mid-term if you are certifiably sick
or your job prevents you from attending class or you have a serious family or
personal emergency on the day of the test. If one of these applies and I am
informed in a reasonable time before the exam and you have written documentation
to support your request, you may take the exam on the same day as the final
exam. If none of these reasons apply, you may not take the exam at another
time, and you will get a zero for the exam. If you are late for the exam
because of events outside of your control, let me know immediately or as soon
as possible that day, and I will let you take the exam later that same
day if possible.
5. CLASS
SCHEDULE (List topics to be covered
with approximate dates of presentation and likely assignments)
Fundamental Questions
Week I (8/31)
Introduction to the course; to the history and theories of international law;
to the sources of international law; to the subjects of international law; to
the institutions enforcing of international law.
Week II (9/7)
History and theories of international law; Von Glahn
text, chapters 1 & 2, and handout Quizzes
on the assigned readings are always possible!
Week III (9/14) The
sources of international law—custom and general principles and treaties;
Chapters 3 & 4, Cases
Week IV
(9/21) The subjects of international law;
Chapter 7 & 9, Cases
Week V (9/28) The
institutions of international law—the international legal process; Chapters 5
& 6, Cases
Week VI
(10/5) The institutions of international
law—national courts; Chapters 11 & 18, Cases
Week
VII (10/12) Mid-term Exam on the fundamentals of international law.
The issues and applications of international law that we will study in
the second half of the semester are open to your input and preferences. What
follows is a suggested set of issues and the relevant text chapters. Take a
look throught the text and see if there is a subject
or issue that you would like us to focus on.
Issues in International Law: War and Crimes
Week VIII
(10/19) International Criminal Law; Chapters 16 & 21; Cases
Week IX
(10/26) War Crimes and War Crimes Tribunals; Chapters 22 & 23; Cases
Issues in International Law:
International Economics, Air, Sea & Space, Environment
Week X
(11/2) International economy; Chapter 20; Cases; Cases
Issue paper on the Law
of War due Friday, November 4th.
Week XI (11/9) Regimes of air, sea, & space:
Chapters 13 & 14 Cases
Week XII
(11/16) Environmental Issues; Chapter 19; Cases
Issues in International Law: Human Rights
Week XIII (11/30) International Human Rights:
Chapter 16; Cases Issue Paper on International Regimes, Economics and Trade,
or Environment due Friday, December 2d.
Week XIV (12/7) States and Sovereignty; Chapters 8
& 9; Cases
The final exam will be given
only at the time designated in the university final exam schedule: Wednesday,
December 14th, 3:00pm. Please make your travel plans accordingly!
6. REQUIRED
TEXTS
Gerhard von Glahn and James Larry Taulbee. Law
Among Nations. 9th ed. New York: Longman,
2010.
7. REQUIRED
OR SUGGESTED
James Brierly. The Law of Nations: An Introduction to the
International Law of Peace. 6th ed. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1978.
Ian Brownlie. Principles of Public International Law. 7th
ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Thomas Buergenthal and Sean Murphy. Public International Law.
4th ed. St. Paul: Thomson West, 2007.
Jack
Goldsmith and Eric Posner. The Limits of International Law. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2005.
Mark W. Janis. International Law. 5th
ed. Aspen Publishers, 2008.
Peter Malanczuk. Akehurst's
Modern Introduction to International Law. 7th ed. London:
Routledge, 1997.
Sean Murphy. Principles of International
Law. New York: Thomson West 2006.
Gerhart
Niemeyer. Law Without Force: The Function of
Politics in International Law. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 2001.
John
Noyes, Mark Janis, & Laura Dickinson, eds. International Law Stories. Foundation
Press, 2007.
Inter-American Court of Human Rights Advisor Opinions
International Court of Justice and Permanent
Court materials and opinions
International Commission of Jurists website
Reports of International
Arbitral Awards
United States Department of State
Treaty Affairs
United States Department
of State Treaties in Force 2007
United States Department of
State, Treaty Actions
World Trade
Organization Dispute Settlement Webpage
World
Trade Organization Appellate Body Webpage
Worldcourts.com: materials and opinions from
five international tribunals
Trans-Lex.org Legal Research Materials
International Legal
Research Materials online
A
FEW FURTHER RULES
For
the benefit of the class and your classmates, the following rules regarding
electronic devices also apply to this course:
1. Turn your cell
phones off during the class. If you are expecting an important call, put your
phone on “Vibrate,” sit near the door, and, when the call comes, answer it
outside the classroom.
2. It follows from the
foregoing rule, but it must be separately stated: no talking and no texting on
cell phones during class. If you do not follow this rule, I will publicly ask
you to leave the room for the remainder of the class and will do my best to
have you removed from the course for the rest of the semester.
3. No open lap-top or
other computers are allowed in class without my prior permission. Devices such
as tablets, Ipads, Kindles, Kobos,
and Nooks that lie flat on the desk and onto which the readings can be loaded
are permitted if approved by me, but hard copies of the readings are better.
You can mark them up and take notes on them in class.
These rules are necessary to foster a suitable
learning environment in the classroom during class. There are enough
distractions with lawnmowers, air conditioners, and other outside forces to
combat during lectures and discussions without these controllable distractions
within the room.