POLI357

This course is designed to study the origins and evolution of international law and to critically examine some of the key practices, norms, cases, judicial opinions, statutes, and international conventions and treaties that together constitute the foundation of the contemporary international law. Topics selected for reading, research, and class report include customary and treaty law, state sovereignty and responsibility, domestic and international subjects and jurisdictions, state recognition, immunity, extradition, environmental law, humanitarian law, and laws governing conducts during warfare. The course is also designed to examine the role of some of the key institutions responsible for adjudicating disputes, maintaining order, and promoting compliance with international law. These include International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), several pioneering courts and tribunal of the early- and mid-20th century, and selected regional and newly created hybrid courts.