Course title

Public International Law 1Teacher(s)Jean d'Aspremont、nullNumbering CodeDay・PeriodOther

開講区分

単位数

1st semester

1.0

Timetable Slot
Code1J350

Lesson topic
After a few critical observations on the various histories of international law as well as the determi-nation ofwhich actors qualify as states from the perspective of international law, this course intro-duces the way in whichinternational obligations arise, consolidate, coalesce, and disappear in inter-national law. It focuses on the lifeof international norms that are considered legally binding at the international level. In doing so, it revisits thedoctrine of sources, the law of treaty, the doctrine of interpretation, the doctrine of succession, and the law ofresponsibility from a new and refreshing perspective.
Lesson target
The course aims at providing students with an elementary knowledge and understanding of the main doctrines ofinternational law and allow them to make use of these doctrines to make interna-tional legal arguments orcritically examine contemporary practice. The course is also meant to train students to deploy critical tools anddeconstruct legal arguments and doctrines.

Syllabus and plan
Session 1: Histories of International Law- There are many histories of international law. Histories of international law are constantly rewritten andrecast. This session critically examines how the 1648 Peace of Westphalia was used to provide international law
with a linear history.
Session 2: The State and the Myth of Montevideo- This session will review the so-called doctrine of statehood and the criteria that must allegedly be met for anentity to qualify as a state. In doing so, this session will provide some critical insights on the common idea thatthe criteria of statehood are derived from the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States aswell as customary international law
Session 3: International Law and the Idea of Bindingness- This session will explore the way in which international lawyers’ understanding of legal bindingness have
evolved in the last 2 centuries of legal thought and practice. Whilst legal bindingness is cur-rently associatedwith those acts which are recognized as rules according to the doctrine of sources of international law, it will beshown that this has not always been the case. The session will also discuss contemporary challenges of sourcesbased understanding of legal bindingness.
Session 4: The Creation of Bindingness and the Sources of International Law- This session will examine the instruments and behaviours through which international obligations are created. It
will focus on the doctrine of the sources of international law which, since the second half of the 20th century,
has become the central instrument to create international obligations and generate bindingness. Attention will be
particularly be paid to customary international law and trea-ties. The session will extensively review the problems
associated with the current mechanisms of creation of international obligations, including the practical andconceptual difficulties to identify in-ternational obligations
Session 5: The Sources of International Law and Expansionism- This session will critically examine the contemporary attitudes of courts and lawyers to expend in-ternational
obligations through a very liberal use of the sources of international law.
Session 6: The Determination of the Content of International Obligations (Interpretation)- International obligations take shape as their content is determined. Content of international obliga-tions isdetermined through interpretation. In reviewing the methods of interpretation of international obligations, it will
be shown that interpreting international obligations is constitutive of the very pre-scriptions of suchobligations. The session will explore the consequences of the fragmentation of interpretive power in internationallaw as well as the various agendas that informs the interpretive strategies of international courts andauthoritative interpreters.
Session 7: The Discontinuation of International Obligations and the Expiration of Binding-ness- This session will discuss the international law rules governing exit from multilateral and bilateral trea-ties.
It will also examine the variety of ways in which treaty termination, denunciation, and with-drawal clauses areinvoked. Attention will also be paid to the termination of customary law as well as the disappearance of states asa cause of the discontinuation of international obligations.
Session 8: The Breach of International Obligations and the Determination of Responsibility
This session will revisit the way in which mechanisms of sanctions of violations were invented and the conceptual
choices that informed the design of international responsibility. This session will sim-ultaneously show the extent
to which the reaction the violations of international obligations simulta-neously play different role, ranging fromthe reparation of damages to the defence of public interest.
Evaluation method
Students will be evaluated on the basis of a (closed book) written exam. This exam will come in the form of 4questions of which students must answer 2. Each answer should not exceed 1000 words. The written exam will be aimed
at testing students’ knowledge of the basic doctrines of international law, the understanding of the conceptualand practical issues that accompany such doctrines as well as their ability to critically evaluate these doctrines
and their agendas.
Evaluation baseline
With the method stated above, grades will be determined in accordance with the degrees of achievement of theobjectives.
Notice (include info. on related class)

Review and preparation

Office hour・Contact information
Contact details will be announced during lectures.
Message for student

Improvemenets in Teaching

Text
Detailed information on reading materials will be provided for students later.
Reference Material

Classroom Language
EnglishKeywords