ILO L200: The International Legal Order
This introductory course deals with structural aspects of the international legal system, including the jurisprudence of international law and differing cultural and philosophical perspectives; the history of the international legal system; customary international law; treaty law; statehood and recognition; the United Nations and international organizations; and the relationship of the international legal system to domestic legal systems, using the United States as a primary example. Fall semester. Professor Glennon
ILO L201: Public International Law
This survey course provides an overview of the international legal system’s principal sub-regimes, including those relating to international dispute resolution, jurisdiction and immunities, human rights, the use of force and terrorism, the law of war, criminal responsibility, arms control, the environment, and the relationship of these sub-regimes to domestic legal systems, using the United States as a primary example. Open to students who have completed ILO L200 or its equivalent. Spring semester. Professor Glennon
ILO L207: Seminar on International Politics and International Law
International politics and international law are clearly intertwined – a fact that both sides of the disciplinary divide all too frequently ignore. However, diplomats and other policy professionals often are required to use international legal discourse, and to establish international legal rules and organizations in order to achieve their goals. At the same time, international lawyers must consider political realities in crafting rules that will be respected and enforced. This research seminar, taught by a political scientist and an international lawyer, will explore the relationship between international politics and international law. It will include a number of presentations by researchers from various institutions, and critical commentary on their work. This advanced seminar is suitable for students who already have some background in international politics and international law. Also listed as DHP P207. Spring semester. Professor Trachtman and Associate Professor Drezner
ILO L209: Compliance and Exceptionalism in International Treaty Behavior
This seminar examines treaty behavior over a broad spectrum of subject areas—including security, environment, trade and human rights. It examines international legal and international relations theories of compliance, and the explanatory models of treaty behavior. We study exceptionalism in treaty behavior, and in particular, the American example. Is the United States exceptional? If so, in what way, and how is its behavior to be understood? The seminar offers students the opportunity to do research in depth on one or more treaties, or the behavior of a given nation or group of nation under several treaties. They will be expected to examine the history of the international negotiations, to the extent possible. They may examine domestic responses. Prior law courses are helpful but not required. Fall semester. Visiting Professor Chayes
ILO L210: International Human Rights Law
An introductory survey of international human rights law and procedures, including detailed examination of global, regional, and national institutions to protect human rights. The course traces the development of contemporary concepts of human rights, including issues of universality, whether or not certain categories of rights have priority over others, and the means of creating and enforcing human rights law. The role of non-governmental organizations in fact-finding and publicizing human rights violations is also addressed. Fall semester. Visiting Professor Sarkin
ILO L211: Seminar on Current Issues in Human Rights
This seminar explores in-depth a limited number of issues, which are of contemporary interest in the field of international human rights law. Topics to be addressed are likely to include democracy; economic and social rights; international criminal law; and humanitarian intervention. Open to students who have completed ILO L210 or equivalent. Spring semester. Visiting Professor Sarkin
ILO L212: Seminar on Self-Determination and Minority Rights
This seminar explores the evolution of the contemporary concept of self-determination, beginning with the 19th-century (and earlier) development of nationalism and attempts to ensure the protection of ethnic, linguistic, and other minorities. The primary focus will be on post-1919 international legal norms and activity, including application of the principle of self-determination by the League of Nations, the "minorities treaties" adopted under the League’s auspices, post-1945 implementation of the right to self-determination by the United Nations in the context of decolonization, and more contemporary situations in which minority rights or the right to self-determination has been asserted. Prerequisite: ILO L200, L210, or equivalent. Not offered 2007-2008. Professor Hannum
ILO L214: Transitional Justice
This seminar will deal with the problems and challenges faced by any country which attempts to establish accountability for past abuses of human rights in the aftermath of mass atrocities. Students will first consider the various philosophical and moral issues associated with this subject. They will then analyze the major strategies and mechanisms available for the pursuit of post conflict justice including international ad hoc criminal tribunals, the International Criminal Court, the hybrid tribunals in Sierra Leone and East Timor, and informal mechanisms such as Truth and Reconciliation Commissions and mechanisms, like the gacaca process in Rwanda, which incorporates local custom. In addition, students will examine the challenges associated with the reconstruction of the domestic justice system in post conflict countries and will consider non-criminal sanctions and deterrents such as lustration and reparations. Fall Semester. Associate Research Professor Aucoin
ILO L216: Seminar on Human Rights in Africa
This course is a survey of what has been happening in regards to gross human rights violations across the continent of Africa. It will survey the current situation with respect to such human rights abuses on the continent and deal with a range of mechanisms and steps taken to deal with these violations. The course will focus on both countries and mechanisms. The themes to be dealt with are peacekeeping, international courts, internationalized courts, and domestic courts, using traditional forms of justice, giving amnesty for truth, claims for historical human rights violations, achieving truth and reconciliation, as well as the operation of a number of truth commissions. The issues of reparations and restitution will be also be dealt with, including questions concerning land rights. Countries to be dealt with include Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Rwanda, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, Chad, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Morocco. Spring Semester. Visiting Professor Sarkin
ILO L220: International Organizations
The theory and practice of international organizations is a dynamic and increasingly important dimension of world politics. This course provides an introduction to the field, focusing on the interaction between international law and politics in international organizations. It begins by briefly exploring theoretical perspectives on the role of international institutions and then provides an overview of the United Nations system, European Union and a number of regional organizations. The second part of the course addresses cross-cutting institutional issues, including law-making and interpretation, membership, and the role of the executive head of an international organization. The bulk of the course is devoted to the substantive work of the UN and other organizations in three principal areas: peace and security, human rights and humanitarian affairs, and sustainable development. The final classes cover issues relating to reform from the perspective of the so-called democratic deficit of international organizations. The format of the course is primarily lectures and structured discussion. Fall Semester. Associate Professor Johnstone.
ILO L221: Seminar on Actors in Global Governance
This seminar is designed to explore in a comparative mode the various actors in global governance: global international organizations, regional organizations, non-governmental organizations, private sector actors and networks. The first part of the course is devoted to theoretical, institutional and legal issues. Each student then develops and presents to the class an outline for a “Reform Report” on an actor of their choice, taking stock of its performance and offering a vision for the future. Questions to be addressed include: what was the political climate when the institution was founded and how has its mission evolved?; what institutional features make it more or less well suited to fulfill its mission?; how successful has it been in fulfilling its mission?; is reform of the institution necessary? The course concludes with a final session that seeks to draw together lessons about the legitimacy and effectiveness of the range of actors in global governance. Spring semester. Associate Professor Johnstone
ILO L223: Seminar on International Environmental Law
This course will address the nature, content and structure of international environmental law. The course will begin with an introduction and overview designed to familiarize students with international environmental problems and basic principles of international law and environmental regulation. The course will then take up various specific topics, such as global warming, stratospheric ozone depletion, and exports of hazardous substances. Other topics likely to be addressed are marine pollution, trans-boundary pollution, trade and environment, and development and environment. Throughout, the course will explore the role of international and non-governmental organizations in the development of international environmental law and policy; the interrelationship between international legal process and domestic law; and the difficulties of negotiating, concluding, and implementing international environmental agreements. Fall semester. Visiting Professor Wirth
ILO L224: Seminar on Peace Operations
Enthusiasm for peacekeeping has waxed and waned in recent years, from exuberance in the early 1990s to disappointment and disinterest in the mid-90s, back to cautious enthusiasm at the end of the decade, to what is now almost universal recognition that peace operations are an important strategic tool for the management of international peace and security. Between 1999 and 2007, 12 major UN peacekeeping missions were established, along with regional operations undertaken by NATO, the European Union, African Union, ECOWAS and various other organizations and coalitions. By one count, there were 40 UN and non-UN peace operations deployed in the year 2006. This course combines a thematic and case study approach to this complex aspect of contemporary international affairs. We will look at UN and non-UN peace operations, broadly defined to include peace-keeping, peace enforcement and post-conflict peace-building. We begin with a number of sessions on fundamentals: the UN Charter framework, history and types of peace operation, doctrine, functions and capacity. Select cases are then be studied, with a view to drawing out common themes and concerns, such as the problem of ‘spoilers’, the peace v. justice debate, the dilemmas of humanitarian action and the challenges of state-building. The focus is on post-Cold War operations, examined in light of past experience and official attempts to reflect on the evolving nature of peacekeeping. The course concludes with a series of student-led debates and discussions on the most recent missions, designed to draw on knowledge garnered from the cases, themes and issues studied earlier. Fall semester. Associate Professor Johnstone
ILO L230: International Business Transactions
This course provides an examination of private and public law aspects of international business transactions, including conflicts of law and foreign law issues. It examines the selection of the optimal business format for international operations, including branch, subsidiary, joint venture, technology license and distributorship; international commercial law, including sales contract, commercial documents and letters of credit; international contracts and dispute resolution issues, including governing law, choice of forum, force majeure, currency, and treaty issues; United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; and the principal legal implications of electronic communications in international business and commerce. Fall semester. Visiting Professor O’Neill
ILO L232: Seminar on International Investment Law
This seminar examines the laws, policies, and legal institutions affecting cross-border investments in principal host countries, with special emphasis on emerging markets and the developing world. After an introduction to the nature of international investment and multinational investors, the seminar will study the international legal framework for international investment, with particular emphasis on the emerging treaty law, as represented by bilateral investment treaties, NAFTA, and other agreements and the arbitration and judicial decisions that have applied their provisions to international investment disputes. The seminar will then focus on the national regulatory framework, including host country laws, policies and codes designed to attract the various legal mechanisms for structuring and financing foreign investment projects, as well as the legal problems faced in operating them and protecting them against political risk. Consideration will also be given to the law governing portfolio investment in emerging markets. The seminar will conclude with a consideration of investment disputes and the various methods, legal and non-legal, for settling them. Spring semester. Professor Salacuse
ILO L233: International Financial and Fiscal Law
This course is intended to introduce students to the legal and regulatory context of international finance. It covers selected domestic and international aspects of (i) corporate law relating to finance, (ii) bank financing and regulation, (iii) securities financing and market regulation and (iv) insolvency law. It also addresses the process of innovation in international financial law, with coverage of emerging market debt, swaps and other derivatives, privatizations, and securitization. These topics will be reviewed from the standpoint of domestic law of the United States and other selected jurisdictions, as well as from the standpoint of any applicable international law. Spring semester. Adjunct Professor Burgess
ILO L239m: Corporate Governance in International Business and Finance
This module seminar explores business, financial and legal issues affecting systems by which corporations are directed and controlled both in industrialized and developing countries. Addressing the subject in a comparative and interdisciplinary manner, students will examine the nature of the corporation, the basic theory of the firm, the internal and external architecture of corporate governance, the role of regulatory authorities, models of corporate governance, principal-agent theory within the corporate context, as well as corporate culture, corruption, management and board compensation, conceptions of social responsibility, and capital market development and international cross-listing of shares. The module will focus on both the theoretical and policy implications of corporate governance, including efforts in various parts of the world to effect reforms and set new standards in the wake of corporate scandals. Also listed as EIB B239m. One-half credit. Spring semester. Professor Salacuse and Adjunct Professor Gonson.
ILO L240: Legal and Institutional Aspects of International Trade
This course examines the law of international trade in goods and services, focusing principally on the law of the World Trade Organization and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, as well as on the foreign trade law of the United States. This specialized sector of international law includes particular negotiation and dispute settlement processes, as well as particular types of rules, restraining national restrictions on trade. These rules address tariff and non-tariff barriers, discrimination, regionalism, anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties and safeguards measures. This course will pay particular attention to how this legal system manages the relationship between trade and other regulatory areas or social values, such as environmental protection, health and other product standards, human rights, intellectual property protection and other facets of globalization. Spring semester. Professor Trachtman
ILO L242: Seminar on International Intellectual Property Law *new course*
This course will provide an introduction to basic principles of intellectual property law concepts, specifically patents, trademarks and copyrights. From there, the course will examine the impact of various international conventions and treaties on intellectual property rights. Particular attention will be paid to the protection of intellectual property rights in selected legal regimes; and to competing interests of intellectual property owners in global commercial transactions. The rapid development and widespread adoption of Digital Technology and the Internet pose serious challenges to long-accepted doctrines of copyright and trademark law, and these will also be addressed. Spring semester. Adjunct Professor Holt.
ILO L243: Seminar on International Legal Aspects of Globalization
Globalization has economic, social, political, historical, cultural and legal dimensions. This seminar will focus on legal parameters of, and mechanisms for, globalization. At the core of the seminar will be the problem of local autonomy versus international integration. This course will examine the relationship between efforts to promote international markets and the right to regulate, international regulatory competition, efforts to regulate international business at a global or regional level, judicial responses to globalization, and global constitutionalism. Students will have an opportunity to engage in research on legal aspects of globalization and to present their work in the seminar. This course is not suitable as a first course in international law. Not offered 2007-2008. Professor Trachtman
ILO L244: Asian Perspectives on International Economic Law
Asian attitudes toward international economic law have drastically changed over the past two decades. From early 1980s through mid-1990s, many Asian countries achieved rapid economic growth through export-oriented industrialization, which was claimed to be a “miracle.” This was made possible through various means of state intervention in national economy, such as subsidies to export-oriented industrial sectors, selective inward FDI promotion and diversified tariff rates, which were not consistent with the rules of the GATT. However, after the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998, many Asian countries abandoned their traditional stance toward international economic law, and began to promote rapid trade and investment liberalization according to the multilateral trade rules (WTO) and bilateral instruments such as FTAs, BITs and EPAs. What were the major reasons for this drastic change? Did the traditional stance go wrong? Will Asian countries go along the mainstream neo-classical development strategy? This course will explore these problems by analyzing the changes in the Asian attitude toward international economic law. Not offered 2007-2008. Instructor to be announced.
ILO L245 International harmonization of economic regulation
Deepening and widening globalization of economies has necessitated intensified efforts to harmonize domestic economic regulation in many fields. International harmonization of economic regulation started in late 19th century in Europe in the field of labor law, telecommunication and intellectual property. However, recent efforts of international harmonization have been conducted in such wide areas of economic regulation as banking regulation, securities regulation, competition law and policy, anti-money laundering regulation. This course aims at analyzing the causes and trends of present-day international harmonization of economic regulation, and clarifying its impact on domestic law as well as international economic law. Not offered 2007-2008. Instructor to be announced.
This course examines the role of law and legal systems in the economic and social development of developing nations, emerging markets, and countries in transition. It seeks to understand how law may both inhibit and foster desired change and the ways in which legal institutions may be organized to achieve national and international policy goals. It first explores the nature of law, the nature of development, and the theoretical relationships of law to the development process. It then studies the practical links between law and development through a series of case studies addressing such crucial issues as land tenure, foreign investment, the environment, governance, constitutionalism, corruption, judicial reform, private enterprise, and the rule of law. The course concludes with a discussion of the role of foreign technical assistance in bringing about legal change. Fall semester. Professor Salacuse
ILO L251: Comparative Legal Systems
This course provides students with a basic understanding of the two principal legal traditions in the world--the common law and the civil law traditions. It also offers an overview of the Islamic legal tradition and the law of the European Union. It is intended for diplomats, international civil servants, business executives, and lawyers. Students will study the historical evolution of all three traditions in comparative perspective. The course will provide an exposure to the legal systems of France and Germany which are the “cradle” systems of the civil law tradition and to the legal systems of the United States and the United Kingdom which are the common law counterparts. The methodology of the course will entail a study of the underlying legal philosophies of these traditions through analysis of the sources of law, judicial process and judicial review and through the study of constitutional law, contracts, and criminal and civil procedure. Spring semester. Associate Research Professor Aucoin
ILO L252 Rule of Law in Post Conflict Societies
This seminar provides students with a basic understanding of the various strategies and methodologies which have been used by international actors in promoting the rule of law in post conflict societies. It focuses on eight aspects of rule of law promotion: constitutional development, code reform, legal drafting, judicial reform, accountability for past abuses, fighting corruption, democratic policing, and the use of local customary practice. Students will study these eight topics as strategies for the creation of the basic institutional framework strictly necessary for the maintenance of peace and security in the immediate aftermath of conflict. The seminar will therefore emphasize the establishment of basic institutional arrangements relating to the restoration/ reestablishment of the justice sector. Economic issues will be addressed only insofar as they relate to these issues. The methodology of the seminar will involve case studies of these topics in East Timor, Kosovo, South Africa, Cambodia, Rwanda, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Fall semester. Associate Research Professor Aucoin
ILO L262: Foreign Relations and National Security Law
This seminar deals with the intersection of international law and United States constitutional law, focusing upon the separation of powers doctrine and the allocation of decision-making authority, international law as part of United States law, treaties and other international agreements, the war power and terrorism, the appropriations power, federalism, the role of the courts, and current national security issues. Open to students who have completed ILO L200 or its equivalent, or with permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 18 students. Spring semester. Professor Glennon
ILO L264m: Non-Proliferation Law and Institutions
Existing non-proliferation regimes center around three important multilateral treaties and the verification mechanisms associated with them: the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Biological Weapons Convention. Recent events have raised serious questions about the viability of the existing regimes. The objective of this seminar is to explore these developments from a legal and institutional perspective. Situated in the broader context of the politics and policies of non-proliferation, we will look at the past, present and future of each regime, drawing on current cases to illustrate their strengths and weaknesses. We will look at the key legal instruments, the institutional arrangements for monitoring compliance and the enforcement mechanisms. Special attention will be devoted to new initiatives that seek to complement existing regimes. A key theoretical question that runs through the course is whether international law and institutions are central or peripheral to the management of a problem that goes to the core of the national security interests of many states. Spring semester. Associate Professor Johnstone
ILO 300-399: Independent Study
Directed reading and research for credit, providing an opportunity for qualified students to pursue the study of particular problems within the discipline of International Law and Organizations under the personal guidance of a member of faculty. The course may be assigned to a Field of Study according to the topic selected. By consent of the professor and petition.
Noncredit directed reading and research in preparation for PhD comprehensive examination or dissertation research and writing on the subjects within this division. By consent of the professor.
ILO XXXa: Seminar on International Criminal Law * new course *
This seminar will expose students to the major areas of substantive criminal law which have evolved in the international arena: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, and terrorism. Students will also study the jurisdiction and procedure of all of the international tribunals exercising jurisdiction over these crimes including the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and the hybrid tribunals in Sierra Leone, Cambodia, Bosnia, East Timor and Kosovo. The seminar will begin with an historical overview of the development of the law in this area since Nuremberg, and subsequently students will be required to analyze all of the legal instruments governing the jurisdiction and procedure of these tribunals and to study the major cases coming from them which implement the law in this area. They will also analyze the domestic application of these substantive areas in selected countries with an emphasis on those countries which claim universal jurisdiction with respect to these crimes. Course requirements will be a mid-term research paper and a final exam. Fall semester. Associate Research Professor Aucoin.
ILO XXXb: Seminar on The Law of the European Union * new course *
Students in the seminar will be provided with an overview of the law and institutions of the European Union and the Council of Europe. They will study the history of the European Union from the Treaty of Rome through to the Treaty of Lisbon which is currently being ratified by Member States. Subsequently, the students will analyze the powers of the major institutions of the European Union: the Council, the Commission, the European Court of Justice, and the European Parliament. They will also be required to learn the substantive law relating to the famous four freedoms: the freedom of goods, persons, services, and capital. In addition, they will examine selected substantive areas covered by the treaties including competition law, trade law, and the law relating to economic and monetary coordination. They will achieve this learning through the study of the primary treaty provisions and European norms (regulations, directives, and decisions) dealing with these areas along with the major cases of the ECJ applying them. Students will acquire a sense of the extent to which the EU can be viewed as alternatively supranational and intergovernmental and will learn about reception of EU law throughout the Member States through the concepts of the direct applicability and the direct effect of European Law. Spring semester. Associate Research Professor Aucoin.
