Students

LAWS8015 – International Law

2021 – Session 1, Special circumstances, Other

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Dr Shireen Daft
Contact via Contact via iLearn
Room 541, 6 First Walk (Macquarie Law School)
By Appointment
Constantinos Yiallourides
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to GradCertLaw or JD or LLM or MIntTrdeComLaw
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Public international law regulates the legal issues that have global or transboundary dimensions. Through this unit students evaluate the effectiveness of international law in addressing real problems that confront the international community. The unit provides an introduction to public international law's key principles, rules, norms and practices. Coverage includes the role of the United Nations, the law of treaties, the rights and responsibilities of states vis-a-vis each other, their own nationals and those of other states, the limits of state jurisdiction, state and diplomatic immunity, international dispute settlement and the relationship between international law and Australia's legal system.

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:

  • ULO1: Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of the fundamental principles of public international law including the identification and analysis of key primary sources of international law including treaties and case law.
  • ULO2: Describe the role, rights and responsibilities of some major international organisations under international law.
  • ULO3: Apply international law to complex situations and explain the operation of the rights and responsibilities of states in relation to other states; international institutions; private interests and domestic populations.
  • ULO4: Critically analyse the relationship between international and national law, particularly Australian law.
  • ULO5: Describe and assess the various means for dispute resolution at international law

General Assessment Information

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests. 

Word limits will be strictly applied and work above the word limit will not be marked.  Footnotes are only to be used for referencing. Substantive material in footnotes will not be marked.

All written assessments in the unit are to be submitted electronically via Turnitin. Plagiarism detection software is used in this unit.

All written assessments must be appropriately referenced, applying the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed).  The Guide is available here <https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/3181325/AGLC4-with-Bookmarks-1.pdf>. 

Assessments must be submitted in a double line spaced text, 12 point, Times New Roman font. Headings and subheadings should be used where appropriate.

Detailed marking rubrics will be made available on iLearn. Markers in this Unit undertake a process to establish a common marking standard and all fail papers are double marked. 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Online/in class participation 20% No Ongoing
Legal Brief 40% No 19/04/21
Online test 40% No 09/06/21

Online/in class participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 18 hours
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 20%

 

Participatory task might include quizzes, in class debate and/or online discussion and problem solving exercises.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of the fundamental principles of public international law including the identification and analysis of key primary sources of international law including treaties and case law.
  • Apply international law to complex situations and explain the operation of the rights and responsibilities of states in relation to other states; international institutions; private interests and domestic populations.
  • Critically analyse the relationship between international and national law, particularly Australian law.

Legal Brief

Assessment Type 1: Professional writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 19/04/21
Weighting: 40%

 

Students are to submit a legal brief in relation to an international law topic

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of the fundamental principles of public international law including the identification and analysis of key primary sources of international law including treaties and case law.
  • Describe the role, rights and responsibilities of some major international organisations under international law.
  • Critically analyse the relationship between international and national law, particularly Australian law.
  • Describe and assess the various means for dispute resolution at international law

Online test

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 2 hours
Due: 09/06/21
Weighting: 40%

 

Students will complete a timed assessment online

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of the fundamental principles of public international law including the identification and analysis of key primary sources of international law including treaties and case law.
  • Apply international law to complex situations and explain the operation of the rights and responsibilities of states in relation to other states; international institutions; private interests and domestic populations.
  • Critically analyse the relationship between international and national law, particularly Australian law.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Lectures

This unit consists of 13 topics, as set out on the iLearn website. Each topic will be covered in a recorded lecture, which will be made available in Echo360. Lectures are intended to provide an overview of the topic, indicate its most essential aspects and, hopefully, make the related readings more interesting and accessible. 

There will be 13 weeks of tutorials during the Session. Lectures will commence from week 1 and tutorials will commence from week 2.

Readings

The lectures should give you a broad overview of the subject, but it is vital that you then develop your understanding by completing the related readings. The prescribed textbook for this unit is:

  • James Crawford, Brownlie's Principles of Public International Law, 9th edition, Oxford University Press 2019  

Other readings, both essential and recommended, will be provided via Leganto and accessible via iLearn.

In addition to the secondary sources (book chapters, journal articles, etc), you are expected to consult relevant primary legal sources (treaties, draft articles, cases, etc.) as much as possible. It should be evident to you from the lectures and secondary sources which primary sources (and which parts of those primary sources) are most important. You will need to consult primary sources to complete assignments. All relevant primary sources are available online, and you are expected to have sufficient research skills to locate and download them.

Unit Schedule

Week 1

 Nature of International Law

Week 2

Sources of International Law

Week 3  Relationship between International and Domestic Law
Week 4

Law of Treaties 

Week 5

Treaty Interpretation and Enforcement

Week 6

Statehood and Legal Personality

Week 7

Jurisdiction and Sovereignty

Week 8

State Responsibility

Week 9

Immunities

Week 10

Use of Force

Week 11

Enforcement of International Law

Week 12

International Dispute Resolution

Week 13

International Law in a Disorderly World

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes from Previous Offering

  1. The removal of three assessment tasks - weekly timed quizzes, collaboration questions and reflective papers.
  2. The introduction of two new assessment tasks - legal brief and online test.
  3. The use of a new textbook, i.e., Malcolm Evans, International Law, 5th Edition (2018, Cambridge University Press

Unit information based on version 2021.02 of the Handbook