Postgraduate Module Descriptor


LAWM683: International Criminal Law

This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

 

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will include will cover some or all of the following topics:

 

  • Introduction to international criminal law – what is an international crime?

 

  • War Crimes and Crime of Aggression

 

  • Crimes Against Humanity

 

  • Genocide

 

  • Selected transnational Crimes incl. Terrorism and Financing Terrorism, Drug or Human Trafficking, Cyber Crime or Modern Day Piracy

 

  • Liability in international criminal law and defences

 

  • International Military Tribunals; ICTY and ICTR

 

  • International Criminal Court

 

  • Internationalised criminal courts and domestic prosecutions

 

  • Transitional Justice

 

  • International criminal justice: current and future challenges 

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
332670

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity30The module will be divided into 10 interactive seminars of 3 hours each, requiring active participation of the whole group.
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity3Exercise: this activity will take place over two days and simulate a command post exercise to provide you with an opportunity to apply your knowledge in a practical setting.
Guided Independent Study180Assigned seminar readings (including for the seminar paper).
Guided Independent Study24Preparation of seminar essay and presentation: students will research and write a paper on the seminar topic, presenting it to the rest of the group.
Guided Independent Study60Research for and writing of summative/assessed essay.
Guided Independent Study3Preparation for the exercise.

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Sources: http://www.un.org/icty/ 
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Sources: http://www.ictr.org/ 
International Criminal Court Sources: http://www.icc-cpi.int/ 

Other Learning Resources

American Journal of International Law (AJIL) 

European Journal of International Law (EJIL) 

Criminal Law Forum du Droit International (C L For) 

International and Comparative Law Quarterly (ICLQ) 

Journal of International Criminal Justice (JICJ)

Leiden Journal of International Law (LJIL)

International Criminal Law Review (ICLR)

Journal of Conflict and Security Law (JCSL)

Criminal Law Forum (CFL)

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessmentSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Essay on a topic set by the lecturer1,000 words1-7Individual written or oral feedback from module convenor and seminar group.
Individual Presentations (20-30 minutes long, including preparation of slides, reading materials and questions for the discussion at the seminar).15-30 minutes1-7Individualised oral feedback from module convenor. Collective oral feedback from module convenor and the seminar group
Individual and group work forming part of a simulated command post exercise1,000 words1-7Individual and collective oral feedback from the module convenor and the exercise participants.

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
10000

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment% of creditSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Essay1007,500 words1-7Written individualised feedback with percentage grade

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessmentForm of re-assessmentILOs re-assessedTimescale for re-assessment
EssayEssay (7500 words )1-7August/September reassessment period.

Re-assessment notes

Students resubmitting their essay will have to choose a different topic and/or title from the essay(s) that they submitted originally.