OSIRIS - Onderwijsaanbod RGMUIER207 2018

In the previous century armed conflict cost the lives of millions of human beings. As a result, a body of rules was developed to protect the most vulnerable groups during armed conflict and to mitigate the methods of warfare. However, a cursory look at newspapers today provides evidence of the fact that these rules are all too often violated in modern armed conflicts. The abuse and torture of prisoners of war, the perpetration of sexual violence against women and children, the destruction of cultural artefacts, the taking of hostages and the killing of civilians. These are all examples of violations of the ‘laws of war’ and many are ‘war crimes’.

The objective of this course is to teach students the basic objectives and principles underlying the law of armed conflict. The course presents the major treaties in the field and introduces the law on protected persons (traditionally known as ‘Geneva law’) and the law on the conduct of hostilities (traditionally known as ‘Hague law’). It also focuses on the geographical, conceptual and temporal scope of international humanitarian law and the law of occupation.

This course is designed for students interested in the legal regulation of armed conflict, the protection of vulnerable persons, the conduct of military operations and international criminal law. The first four sessions will consist of lectures and the final session will consist of a practical exercise. The practical exercise is designed to give students experience in applying international humanitarian law to a ‘real life’ factual scenario. The course is examined by means of two short papers in which students are required to choose from a number of topics. Students are also examined on the basis of their active participation in class.

General information

In ‘Capita Selecta – Selected Topics of Public International Law’, students will broaden their knowledge of international law by taking mini-modules which are intertwined with on-going research projects carried out by the lecturers. The course is divided into four sub-periods. During the first sub-period (week 7), students will write a research proposal for their master’s thesis. During the three other periods, students will take five different modules out of a range of options offered. Each module will last for three weeks and have, in principle, 10 contact hours. Within the short period of time, students will familiarize themselves with current topics and challenges that have not been addressed in depth in the General Course or other courses of the specialized tracks. Through the Capita Selecta course, students will further develop their skills to critically analyze case-law and existing literature, write short papers, present findings, and provide feedback to other students.