Public International Law

This is an introductory course in international law that serves as a pre-requisite for many more advanced international law courses. It is also the fulfills a required core course option for students intending to pursue the course concentration Option in international law or pursuing the JD/MA joint program completed in association with the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University.

Historically, public international law was the law of nations: the body of law governing the relationships between sovereign states. Public international law is no longer so narrowly circumscribed. Defined broadly, international law now includes as expansive a range of subject matters as does “municipal” (i.e., domestic) law. In fact, it is fair to say that most domestic legal practice is influenced, at some level, by international law.

The study of international law has two elements. The first element can be labelled “procedural”: the study of international law requires an appreciation of what international law is, how it is made and to whom it applies. The second element is substantive: the content of international law in relation to specific subjects. Because international law cannot be understood without examining both elements, much of this introductory course is dedicated to studying the procedural dimension of international law. But this course also surveys a number of different substantive subject-matter areas covered by international law, in expectation that interested students will pursue the many subject-matter specific courses in international law offered in the upper year program.

Upon successful completion of this course, you will have acquired knowledge in relation to the following subject-matter areas:

• the origins and nature of the international legal system;
• the formation, sources and application of international law;
• the law of treaties; international legal personality;
• the institutional framework of international law;
• the relationship between international law and municipal law;
• the relationship between states and territory;
• self-determination of peoples;
• state jurisdiction;
• jurisdictional immunities of diplomats and states;
• state responsibility; and,
• a basic understanding of substantive international legal obligations governing the law of the sea, human rights, the use of force by states and international criminal law.

Each of my courses also has a "practical" aspect. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• identify international law concepts relevant to real-world international disputes;
• apply international law concepts to complicated, real-world facts as part of a process of dispute settlement;
• assess the merits of international law claims arising in real-world international disputes;
• analyze the relevance of international law to real-world international disputes; and,
• construct basic predictions concerning the trajectory of real-world international disputes.

Last taught: 2023-24