Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor Roy Baker roy.baker@mq.edu.au Contact via By email W3A 509 See iLearn page
Credit points	Credit points 4
Prerequisites	Prerequisites Admission to JD or GradDipLaw or GradCertLaw
Corequisites	Corequisites LAWS600
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description International Law affords an understanding of legal principles, rules, norms, and practices. The unit analyses the contribution of these elements to the progressive development of international law. The theory is applied to contemporary international events and crises to test and evaluate its operational adequacy and effectiveness in keeping pace with the changing nature and shared expectation of the international community. The unit examines the ongoing transformation of the structure of international law in terms of its expanding frontiers, new actors, and reorientation to appreciate its continuing dynamism and relevance in the twenty-first century.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

1. Articulate and critique the general characteristics and principles of public international law.
2. Identify, find and correctly cite key primary sources of international law.
3. Explain and critique how treaties are formed and enforced, the nature of reservations and basic rules of treaty interpretation.
4. Analyse and critique the relationship between international and national law, particularly Australian law.
5. Explain and critique state sovereignty, state recognition and legal personality in international law.
6. Analyse and critique the extent to which a state can be held to account for the actions of its officers, citizens and corporations, as well as states' obligations towards foreign nationals.
7. Articulate and critique basic principles of state jurisdiction, as well as sovereign, diplomatic and consular immunity.
8. Analyse and critique various means for the non-violent settlement of disputes between states.
9. Explain and critique the right of states to use armed force, as well as the UN system of collective security.
10. Explain and critique the basic rules of international criminal law and the working of some international criminal tribunals.

General Assessment Information

In order to pass this unit, internal students must:

satisfactorily complete all formative quizzes by 11 pm, Sunday 14 June 2015 (see below under Formative Quizzes), and
attain an aggregate of at least 50 marks in the assessable tasks (see below under Assessable Tasks).

FORMATIVE QUIZZES

Students must satisfactorily complete all formative quizzes relating to all 12 topics prior to 11 pm, Sunday 14 June 2015. Satisfactory completion entails obtaining 100% in each formative quiz on the student’s final attempt.

Although students have until 11 pm, Sunday 14 June 2015 to complete formative quizzes, they will need to satisfactorily complete a topic’s formative quizzes before they are able to attempt the summative quiz set for that topic.

ASSESSABLE TASKS

Assessable tasks consist of summative quizzes, Problems Questions 1 and 2 and the final examination.

Summative Quizzes (Quizzes A to M)

Twelve weekly assessable quizzes will be set. The questions will become available to students once they have successfully completed all formative quizzes relating to that week’s topic. The summative quizzes will be conducted using iLearn and students must post their responses via iLearn.

Each summative quiz will consist of two questions, making 24 questions in total. Each question will be worth one mark. Generally speaking, the first question in each quiz will focus on the issues looked at in previous topics, while the second question will tend to relate to the present topic. Most questions will follow a multiple choice format, with students being required to select the best out of a range of possible answers. However, students will also be required to write a short statement justifying their choice of answer.

Marks will be awarded in relation to each quiz question as follows:

Correct answer selected and adequate justification given: 1 mark
Correct answer selected but no adequate justification given: 0 mark
Incorrect answer selected but adequate justification given: 1 mark
Incorrect answer selected and no adequate justification given: 0 mark

A justification will be deemed adequate only if it fulfils all of the following criteria:

it displays a sound understanding of the relevant information and concepts covered in the lectures and/or readings;
it displays an ability to correctly apply that material in answering the question;
if an answer other than the convenor's preferred answer has been selected then it offers sufficient explanation as to why the selected answer is as good as or better than the convenor's preferred answer;
it does not exceed 100 words in length, and
it is provided as part of the student’s on-line response to the quiz (ie not as a separate email, etc).

Guidance on writing succinct justifications, as well as examples of what will be deemed adequate and inadequate, can be found in the document entitled Guide to Answering Summative Quiz Questions, which can be found on iLearn.

Unlike with formative quizzes, in the case of summative quizzes students only have one opportunity to submit and justify their answers. Once submitted, neither the answer nor the justification can be amended or supplemented.

Answers to each summative quiz will be released on iLearn immediately after its deadline, along with additional feedback via a pdf document posted to iLearn. For that reason, under no circumstances can an extension be granted for submission of answers.

Problem Question 1

Date for release of question: 8 am, Friday 3 April 2015 (start of recess)

Deadline for student submission: 11 pm, Sunday 19 April 2015 (end of recess)

Students will write a 2,000-word answer in relation to a hypothetical situation. Guidance on how to succeed in relation to the mid-Session assignment, along with the marking rubric, will be posted online at the time of the question’s release. The assignment will relate to issues covered in Topics 1 – 5 (inclusive).

Problem Question 2

Date for release of question: 8 am, Saturday 16 May 2015 (end of Week 10)

Deadline for student submission: 11 pm, Sunday 24 April 2015 (end of Week 11)

Final Examination

Date for release of exam question: 9 am, Monday 15 June 2015

Deadline for student submission: 1 pm, Monday 15 June 2015

There will be a take-home examination lasting four hours. Guidance on how to succeed in the final examination, along with the marking rubric, will be posted online at least one week prior to the exam’s release. The final examination may relate to issues covered in any part of the unit.

Please see the Unit Notes for further guidance on assessment (available via iLearn).

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Due
Formative quizzes	0%	11 pm, Sunday 14 June 2015
Summative quizzes	24%	Various
Problem Question I	25%	11 pm, 19 April 2015
Problem Question 2	25%	11 pm, 24 May 2015
Final examination	26%	9 am – 1 pm, 15 June 2015