Courses

    This is the introductory course in public international law. It deals with the nature and sources of international law and the major developments in the field. While it covers core topics, it also provides a basic introduction to international economic law and institutions, and draws upon the social sciences to illuminate the changing structure of the international legal system. The course considers such subjects as compliance with international law; the status of international law in the U.S. and foreign legal systems; the major participants in the international legal system, including states, international and regional organizations, and nonstate actors; state responsibility for protecting human rights and for compensating economic injury; jurisdiction of states to prescribe and enforce law; methods of international dispute resolution; international law governing the use of force, including the role of the United Nations in peace keeping; and basic elements of law of the sea, international environmental law, and international trade law. The course draws upon examples and case studies which illustrate intersections of public and private international law and of international and domestic law.