Not only the end of the cold war, but also international armed conflicts like the Iraqi Invasion in Kuwait or the conflicts in former Yugoslavia and the resulting enforcement measures by the Security Council, as well as the conclusion of a number of arms control treaties have brought this area of international law more prominently into the public eye. The International Law of Military Security is that part of international law that is related to the military security of states. As such it encompasses the interrelated Law of Collective Security, the Laws of War, including Humanitarian Law, and the International Law of Arms Control, which can be regarded as separate and distinct sub-branches of this area of international law. This course will focus on the Law of Collective Security and on the International Law of Arms Control and on the political processes involved. This course discusses how international law can be, and is, enforced in domestic courts.
Domestic courts are of critical importance for international law.
They supplement the enforcement machinery of international law. Mostly, international law is enforced in interstate relations through diplomacy, 'self-help', international organisations and, sometimes, international judicial procedures such as the International Court of Justice. But, it is an established fact that at times international law is not enforced in these ways. Domestic courts fill gaps left open by international machinery. The aim of the course is to provide an understanding of when and how international law can or cannot be invoked before domestic courts and be applied by these courts.