International Humanitarian Law

Course material: Robert Kolb, Richard Hyde, An Introduction to the International Law of Armed Conflicts, Hart Publishing, 2008

Course description: This course will introduce the main themes of the laws of war. The first sessions will deal with the influence of the concept of war in law and international relations and the thresholds for the applications of the law of armed conflict and the laws of neutrality. Then the focus will shift to the rules on resort to war and the use of force, the laws of war themselves (understood in the wider sense as including applicable human rights law, environmental law, refugee law etc) with emphasis on the principles of necessity and distinction, as well on the emerging rules concerning the post-conflict period, in particular the law relating to war crimes and amnesties. There will also be an emphasis on the arms trade and future forms of warfare, including the issue of autonomous weapons (killer robots), the use of drones, and the new thinking about cyber-warfare.

Course aim: To provide you with an opportunity to explore in detail key topics in IHL and to translate your analysis of one key topic into a seminar paper of publishable quality.

Evaulation: The course grade will reflect (i) the quality of the student’s participation in class (25%); (ii) the timeliness and quality of the outline (15%); and (iii) quality of the final exam (60%). The final exams will consist of a written test.