Course Overview

International law, also known as the law of armed conflict, comprises a set of rules that seek to balance military priorities when engaged with armed conflict in humanitarian conditions and the impact of such operations.

This course will examine both substantive International Humanitarian Law and the emerging principles of international criminal law that seeks to criminalize aberrant behavior on the battlefield. The body of law comprises four 1949 Geneva Conventions and other additional three from the additional protocols

Course Content

• Dichotomy between the rules applicable to resort to force and the rules applicable when engaging in armed conflict
• The domestic legal incorporation of International Humanitarian Law
• The normative interplay between law applicable to international and non-international armed conflict
• The role of moral values when advising military command on the application of law in the battlefield
• The principles of international criminal law relating to individual and command responsibility.
• Dealing with violations
• Responding to the consequences of armed conflict
• Limits in armed conflict
• The rules of distinction and proportionality
• The intersection with international human rights laws
• Dealing with child soldiers
• Limits on weapons

Exercises:

After they have read the material for each unit, students are expected to test their own learning by completing some relevant exercises and tasks.

Assignments:

In order to demonstrate their understanding of the course content, students will be required to submit three assignments.

Training format:

All materials are made available through our online learning platform

Course duration: 3 months

Course fee: €500

Regions targeted: Global

Language: English and French