LAW3017 : Public International Law
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Dr Ruth Houghton
- Owning School: Newcastle Law School
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
This module aims to provide an introduction to public international law. In this module students will be introduced to the legal system of international law.
Students will acquire knowledge and understanding of the nature of the international legal system, as well as its function, rules, and procedures.
Students will reflect on contemporary debates and challenges and consider the role and scope of International Law in responding to these challenges.
Outline Of Syllabus
There will be 20 hours of lectures that will cover the following topics in International Law:
• Nature, sources, and subjects of International Law
• Key concepts including: state sovereignty, state consent and state equality
• The law of treaties
• The United Nations and the International Court of Justice
• The use of force
• Jurisdiction
• Immunities
• The international responsibility of States for internationally wrongful acts
There will five seminars, and these will focus on key areas of international law, such as:
• Nature of international law
• Sources of international law
• Use of Force
• Jurisdiction and Immunities
• State Responsibility
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 60 | 1:00 | 60:00 | Completion of the exam is 24 hours Completion of the formative assessment is 5 hours |
| Structured Guided Learning | Lecture materials | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | A combination of short recordings of lecture material, links to further relevant content such as blogs/podcasts/videos published on Canvas. Students shall be given relevant pre-reading reading and relevant video lecture materials provided by the lecturer. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 22 | 1:00 | 22:00 | Face to face weekly lectures on substantive class content. (could be moved to synchronous or non-synchronous on-line material if necessary) |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 5 | 1:00 | 5:00 | 1 hour face to face seminar groups |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 107 | 1:00 | 107:00 | Work carried out by students as part of their studies, including writing up lecture notes and doing the reading for lectures and seminars. |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures: there will be 20 hours of lectures and these are used to provide an overview of the main topic areas in international law [IKO1 and IKO2], this includes the key rules, principles, concepts and institutions of of international law [IKO1 and IKO2].
Small group teaching: there are five rounds of small-group teaching, and these are in the form of one-hour seminars. For one of the seminars, the students will be asked to identify, evaluate and then select additional sources on a specific topic to bring to the seminar and discuss [ISO3, ISO 4, ISO8]. The seminars will provide opportunity to discuss the role of international law in contemporary debates and contemporary challenges [IKO3 and IKO4]. The seminars will provide an opportunity to develop further analytical skills [ISO5]. These components will provide space for discussion on international law as well as formative practice opportunities ahead of the summative assessment[ISO1 and ISO5]. All seminars will be synchronous events (whether online or present-in-person).
Online lecture materials: alongside the lecture materials, students will be directed towards relevant online materials and prompted to answer questions and reflect on the materials [IKO1, IKO2, IKO3 and IKO4]. This will include materials such as blogs, podcasts or videos.
Academic Skills/Structured Reading: alongside seminar handouts, students will be directed towards key cases or relevant academic articles and will be asked a series of reflective questions; as part of this exercise students will develop their ability to evaluate sources [ISO4], develop their understanding of international law [IKO1 and IKO2]. The choice to prepare structured reading also allows students the opportunity to develop their ability to manage their learning resources [ISO68]
Independent study: independent study time includes the time to write up lecture notes, read the materials on the lecture reading lists and the seminar reading lists.
Assessment preparation and completion: the summative assessment is a 24-hour take home exam, and the formative mock take home exam is 5 hours. Students will also need sufficient time to prepare their notes and materials for their take-home exam.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written Examination | 1440 | 2 | A | 100 | 24-hour take-home paper (Answer 2 questions from a choice of 5; word count 1500 words per question). |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written Examination | 2 | M | Answer one exam question in 5 hours to mimic the timed conditions of the take home summative exam. Word count 1000 words |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The summative take home (24 hours) exam will give students the opportunity to demonstrate: (1) detailed and comprehensive knowledge of key areas of international law [IKO1], (2) understanding of the operation of international law and key international institutions [IKO2], (3) knowledge and understanding of the interaction between law and politics in international law, (4) ability to write coherent arguments supported by appropriate legal authority and relevant theoretical and academic literature [ISO], (5) ability to apply the rules of international legal knowledge to a problem question or case study.
The formative mock take home exam will give students five hours to practice writing an answer to an international law exam question. This mimics the timed conditions of the 24 hour take home exam. The formative mock take home exam will allow students to test their understanding of the course to date [IKO1; IKO2; IKO3] and practice writing answers to international law questions.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- LAW3017's Timetable