INTERNATIONAL LAW: AN INTRODUCTION (3) or (4) (ILS211)

Introduces fundamental questions and principles of international law. Designed for students with no background in this or related fields such as international affairs, international relations, or comparative law. Provides a foundation for students planning to take electives in international business and trade law, international human rights law, international litigation and arbitration, international criminal law, international regulatory law, EU law, and other specialized fields. Topics include the creation and interpretation of treaties, the role of custom in international law, the use of force and the laws of war, transnational crime and extradition, the growth and codification of international human rights law, the relationship between international and domestic law; and state sovereignty as manifested in sovereign immunity and other doctrines. Also introduces students to the great variety of international organizations increasingly influencing the development of international law, including the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, the permanent and ad hoc international criminal courts, the WTO, NAFTA, the Organization of American States, the World Bank, and others. Although primarily a course in public international law, it also explores related areas of private international law and considers whether the classic separation of the two fields remains meaningful.

Students who have taken International Law in Contemporary Perspectives (ILS210) may not take this course.