Module LAWM683 for 2019/0
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
LAWM683: International Criminal Law
This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.
Module Aims
The aim of this module is to use research-enriched teaching to provide you with an understanding of both institutional and substantive aspects of international criminal law. The module will examine key institutional developments in the field of international criminal law and encourage you to reflect critically on the nature, function, strengths and weaknesses of various international criminal justice mechanisms. It will also develop your understanding of the evolution and current scope of international crimes and aspects of individual criminal responsibility. This will enable you to gain an appreciation of the role that international criminal justice can and should play as part of a wider response to mass atrocity.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. critically evaluate legal institutions that have been established to investigate and prosecute international crimes; 2. demonstrate detailed knowledge of the law relating to international crimes, criminal procedure and aspects of individual criminal responsibility; |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of a range of legal concepts, values, principles, institutions and procedures, and the ability to explain the relationships between them; 4. demonstrate detailed knowledge of legal concepts and their contextual/social/political implications; 5. integrate and assess information from primary and secondary legal sources using appropriate interpretative techniques; |
| Personal and Key Skills | 6. identify, retrieve and use efficiently and autonomously a range of library-based and electronic resources; and 7. communicate and engage in debate effectively, confidently and autonomously, orally and in writing, in a manner appropriate to the discipline. |
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 Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | 267 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 33 | The module will be divided into 11 interactive seminars of 3 hours each, requiring active participation of the whole group. |
| Guided Independent Study | 180 | Assigned seminar readings (including for the seminar paper). |
| Guided Independent Study | 24 | Preparation 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 study | 60 | Research for and writing of summative/assessed essay. |
| Guided Independent Study | 3 | Attendance at relevant events organised by the Exeter Centre for International Law |
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 assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay on a topic set by the lecturer | 1,000 words | 1-7 | Individual written or oral feedback from module convenor and seminar group. |
| Individual Presentations | 30 minutes | 1-7 | Individualised oral feedback from module convenor. Collective oral feedback from module convenor and the seminar group |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 100 | 7,500 words | 1-7 | Written 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 assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay (7500 words ) | 1-7 | August/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.
