Module LAWM037 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
LAWM037: The Use of Force in International Law
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
The module aims to equip you with a detailed and critical understanding of the legal regime governing the use of force in international relations. By studying the law within its strategic context, the module also aims to provide you with an understanding of the challenges posed by the regulation of warfare and the limitations of international law.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
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Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of the rules of international law governing the use of force, including detailed knowledge of the core legal concepts applicable in this area; 2. demonstrate critical understanding of the contemporary challenges facing the prohibition of the use of force in international law; |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. 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, 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:
- Just war and the jus ad bellum
- The prohibition of the use of force
- Self-defence: principles and elements
- Self-defence against non-state actors
- Anticipatory self-defence
- Humanitarian intervention and R2P
- Collective security and the UN Security Council
- Enforcement action under the UN Charter
- Criminalization of aggressive war
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 |
---|---|---|
36 | 264 | 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 | Seminars (11 x 3 hours per week). 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 | Attendance at relevant events organised by the Exeter Centre for International Law. |
Guided Independent Study | 20 | Preparation of individual and group seminar presentations. |
Guided Independent Study | 179 | Assigned seminar readings. |
Guided Independent Study | 25 | Preparation of the formative essay. |
Guided Independent Study | 40 | Preparation of the summative assessment. |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
United Nations: www.un.org/en/
International Court of Justice: http://www.icj-cij.org/homepage/index.php?lang=en
HeinOnline: http://heinonline.org/
Opinio Juris (blog): http://opiniojuris.org/
EJIL:Talk! (blog): http://www.ejiltalk.org/
Just Security (blog): https://www.justsecurity.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 |
---|---|---|---|
Essay | 1,800 words | 1-7 | Written feedback from the module convenor with percentage grade |
Written position paper for one of the oral presentations (x1) | 700 words | 1-7 | Written feedback from the module convenor with percentage grade |
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 |
---|---|---|
0 | 100 | 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Examination | 100 | 2.5 hours | 1-7 | Written 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 |
---|---|---|---|
Examination | Examination (2.5 hours) | 1-7 | August/September re-assessment period |