Module LAWM716 for 2017/8
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
LAWM716: The International Law of Military Operations
This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 academic year.
Module Aims
The module aims to provide you with a detailed understanding of the rules of international law governing the presence, status and conduct of military operations abroad outside the context of armed conflict. It explores an area of law that is highly relevant in practice and offers students an opportunity to deepen their understanding of the legal challenges raised by foreign military deployments.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
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Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the legal framework regulating the presence, status and conduct of military operations under international law; 2. Demonstrate critical understanding of the relationship between the distinct rules and legal regimes of international law applicable to the deployment of foreign armed forces. |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Demonstrate the capacity to develop, apply and critically assess international legal arguments, using a wide range of appropriate primary materials and advanced scholarship; 4. Demonstrate critical understanding of the relationship between the different branches and sources of rules of law, including potential norm conflicts, and between legal and non-legal considerations impacting on legal argument and advice. |
Personal and Key Skills | 5. Process and evaluate effectively a substantial body of complex and sometimes contradictory legal and non-legal information; 6. Communicate and engage in debate effectively and accurately. 7. Work independently, within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources, to complete a specified task. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
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Presence and mandate of foreign forces
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Jurisdiction and immunity
- Status of forces agreements
- Peacekeeping and peace support operations
- Legal aspects of multinational operations
- ROE, Self-Defence and Force Protection
- Protection of vulnerable persons and groups
- Military operations at sea
- Air law and military operations
- International responsibility and the armed forces
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
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33 | 267 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
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Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 30 | Seminars (10 x 3 hours): the main teaching method for the module consists of weekly seminars requiring active participation by all students under guidance of the module convenor. |
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 3 | Exercise: 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 Study | 24 | Preparation of seminar paper: for each seminar at least one student will research and write a paper on the seminar topic, presenting it to the rest of the group. |
Guided Independent Study | 200 | Assigned seminar readings (including for the seminar paper). |
Guided Independent Study | 40 | Preparation of the assessed/summative essay. |
Guided Independent Study | 3 | Preparation for the exercise. |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
United Nations: www.un.org/en/
NATO basic texts: http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/57772.htm
HeinOnline: http://heinonline.org/
Opinio Juris (blog): http://opiniojuris.org/
EJIL:Talk! (blog): http://www.ejiltalk.org/
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 assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|
Seminar paper forming the basis of a presentation to the group, which is formatively assessed and does not count towards the end-of-module summative assessment | 1,000 words | 1-6 | Individual and collective oral feedback from the module convenor and the seminar group |
Individual oral seminar presentation to the seminar group on the basis of the seminar paper as prepared and submitted to the class | 1530 minutes | 1-6 | Individual and collective oral feedback from the module convenor and the seminar group |
Individual and group work forming part of a simulated command post exercise | 1,000 words | 1-6 | Individual and collective oral feedback from 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.
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
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50 | 50 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
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Written essay | 50 | 3,000 words | 1-6 | Written with percentage grade |
Examination | 50 | 2 hours | 1-7 | Written with percentage grade |
0 | ||||
0 | ||||
0 | ||||
0 |
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 assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
---|---|---|---|
Written essay | Written essay (3000 words) | 1-6 | August/September re-assessment period |
Examination | Examination (2 hours) | 1-7 | August/September re-assessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
D. Fleck and T. Gill (eds), The Handbook of the International Law of Military Operations (2nd, 2015)
D. Fleck (ed), The Handbook of the Law of Visiting Forces (OUP, 2001)
G. S. Corn, R. E. VanLandingham and S. R. Reeves, U.S. Military Operations: Law, Policy, and Practice (2015)
M. Zwanenburg, Accountability of Peace Support Operations (Nijhoff, 2005)