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LAW5222 Advanced Public International Law

Semester 2, 2020 Online
Short Description: Advanced Public Int'l Law
Units : 1
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts
School or Department : School of Law and Justice
Student contribution band : Band 3
ASCED code : 090900 - Law
Grading basis : Graded

Staffing

Examiner:

Requisites

Pre-requisite: (LAW5111 and LAW5112) or LAW5501

Other requisites

Students are required to have access to a personal computer, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at .

Rationale

Advanced Public International Law builds upon the knowledge and skills developed in first-year law courses to offer an international dimension to the study of law. The course encourages students to understand public international law – and its relevance to Australian domestic law – by learning about its sources, principles and institutions, with specific applications of human rights law.

Synopsis

Advanced Public International Law develops an understanding of the sources, principles and institutions of international law, with specific applications of international human rights law. The course explores fundamental concepts such as the nature and sources of international law and the international legal system, the relationship between international and domestic law, criteria for statehood, state personality, jurisdiction and responsibility, and the use of force. It provides a broad introduction to international human rights law, the law of the sea and international environmental law.

Objectives

On successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

  1. identify sources of international law;
  2. understand the nature of international law and the international legal system;
  3. understand and explain the relationship between international law and Australian domestic law;
  4. identify and understand fundamental concepts, principles and doctrines of international law, including criteria for statehood, state personality, jurisdiction and responsibility, and the legitimate use of force;
  5. demonstrate a good broad understanding of international human rights law, the law of the sea and environmental law;
  6. understand and analyse key topics and issues in international law;
  7. demonstrate satisfactory legal research and oral and written communication skills.

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. International law and the international legal system 5.00
2. Sources of international law 10.00
3. The law of treaties 5.00
4. International law as an influence on Australian domestic law 10.00
5. International human rights law 10.00
6. Personality and recognition 10.00
7. Jurisdiction and immunities 10.00
8. State territory 5.00
9. State responsibility 10.00
10. The use of force and self-defence 10.00
11. The law of the sea (introduction) 10.00
12. International environmental law (introduction) 5.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=02&subject1=LAW5222)

Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)

Rothwell, D, Kaye, S, Davis, R, Akhtar-Khavari, A, Saunders, I 2018, International law: cases and materials with Australian perspectives, 3rd edn, Cambridge ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Press, Port Melbourne.

Reference materials

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.
Cassimatis, AE, Lacey, W, McNaughton, A & Rayfuse, R 2011, An Australian companion to Harris: cases and materials on international law, 2nd edn, Thomson Reuters, Sydney, New South Wales.
Hall, S 2016, Principles of international law, 5th edn, LexisNexis Butterworths, Sydney, New South Wales.
Harris, D & Sivakumaran 2015, Cases and materials on international law, 8th edn, Sweet & Maxwell, London.
Mitchell, AD & Beard, JL 2009, International law in principle, Thomson Reuters, Sydney, New South Wales.
Triggs, GD 2011, International law : contemporary principles and practices, 2nd edn, LexisNexis Butterworths, Chatswood, New South Wales.

Student workload expectations

Activity Hours
Assessments 40.00
Directed ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 86.00
Private ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 39.00

Assessment details

Description Marks out of Wtg (%) Due Date Notes
ONLINE TEST 1 10 10 16 Aug 2020 (see note 1)
ASSIGNMENT 30 30 31 Aug 2020
ONLINE TEST 2 10 04 Oct 2020 (see note 2)
ONLINE EXAM 60 60 End S2 (see note 3)

Notes
  1. Online test 1 will be open for one week.
  2. Online test 2 is formative only (marks will not count towards final grade). The test will be open for two weeks.
  3. This will be an online exam. Students will be provided further instruction regarding the exam by their course examiner via ¾«¶«´«Ã½appDesk. The examination date will be available via UConnect when the Alternate Assessment Schedule has been released.

Important assessment information

  1. Attendance requirements:
    There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students' responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.

  2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
    Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S2 2020 are: To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks for that item.

    Requirements after S2, 2020:
    To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item, a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks.

  3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
    Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4)

  4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
    Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S2 2020 are: To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.

    Requirements after S2, 2020:
    To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must obtain at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course (i.e. the Primary Hurdle), and have satisfied the Secondary Hurdle (Supervised), i.e. the end of semester examination by achieving at least 40% of the weighted marks available for that assessment item.

    Supplementary assessment may be offered where a student has undertaken all of the required summative assessment items and has passed the Primary Hurdle but failed to satisfy the Secondary Hurdle (Supervised), or has satisfied the Secondary Hurdle (Supervised) but failed to achieve a passing Final Grade by 5% or less of the total weighted Marks.

    To be awarded a passing grade for a supplementary assessment item (if applicable), a student must achieve at least 50% of the available marks for the supplementary assessment item as per the Assessment Procedure (point 4.4.2).

  5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
    The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.

  6. Examination information:
    Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S2 2020 are: An Open Examination is one in which candidates may have access to any printed or written material and a calculator during the examination.

    Requirements after S2, 2020:
    This will be an open examination. Candidates may have access to any printed or written material during the examination.

  7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
    Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S2 2020 are: The details regarding deferred/supplementary examinations will be communicated at a later date.

    Requirements after S2, 2020:
    Any Deferred or Supplementary examinations for this course will be held during the next examination period.

  8. ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
    Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .

Assessment notes

  1. Referencing in assignments:
    Students studying this course as part of a Juris Doctor must use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) style. For AGLC style guide enquiries, consult the AGLC manual from the USQ Library's referencing guide at or contact the Law librarian.

  2. Referencing in assessments:
    If the course details specify that assessments are to be submitted electronically, students will be given instructions on how to submit the assessments on the USQ ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Desk course website. The due date for an electronically-submitted assessment is the date by which a student must electronically submit the assignment. The assignment files must be submitted on the due date according to USQ time as displayed on the clock on the course home page; that is, Australian Eastern Standard Time.

Date printed 6 November 2020