Course Syllabus
Contents
I. Course Description
Introduction to the practice of international courts and arbitral tribunals and their role in the development of international law.
Offered in a seminar format using lectures, case-studies, and class exercises as teaching methods, the course will outline the
evolution and structure of international tribunals, examine the development of international legal principles by international tribunals
with reference to "sources" methodology, and discuss issues concerning the effectiveness and future role of international courts in the
development of international law.
II. Course Goals
Introduce students to the historical evolution, structure, and function of international tribunals within the international legal
system.
Reinforce students' conceptual understanding of the sources of international law and their inter-relationships.
Examine selected international legal issues and modes of legal argumentation using class exercises simulating international
judicial dispute resolution.
Outline issues concerning the effectiveness of international tribunals as dispute resolution mechanisms and their future.
III. Office Hours, Telephone Numbers, E-Mail, Textbooks, and the Ubiquitous Website
John's office is in Room 115 (inside the Law Library). His office hours are Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. John will
also be available for a short time after class, and by special appointment. John's office telephone is 202-274-4329, and his home
telephone is 301-445-7488. He has small children who go to bed early, so please be considerate. His email address is: heywood@american.edu
Chris works downtown for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (1828 L Street, NW, Suite 1202). He will be
available after class, and you can telephone to make arrangements to meet with him in his office. Chris's office telephone is 202-785-0017, and his home telephone is 301-439-7729. His email address is: c.brantley@ieee.org
Like everything these days, we have a website:
http://mash-tun.wcl.american.edu/courts/courts2006/
Because of a glitch, the abovue url does not work as of the first day of class. We have been told that our problem will be solved shortly, and will update this page when that happens. Until then, the following url will work:
http://real-ale.wcl.american.edu/courts/courts2006/
We have adopted three textbooks for the Seminar. The required reading for this class will come from these three books and also from materials on our website. In addition, we will post additional materials, reference sources, and other useful items of interest to the class.
The three textbooks are:
Janis, Mark W. An Introduction to International Law, 4th ed. New York: Aspen Law & Business, 2003.
Schabas, William A. An Introduction to the International Criminal Court, 2d ed. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Volokh, Eugene.
Academic Legal Writing: Law Review Articles, Student Notes, Seminar Papers, and Getting on Law Review, 2d ed.. New York: Foundation Press, 2004.
These books are available in the campus bookstore or the web. Remember, the web can often get you better prices than the bookstore, so it pays to check around. One copy of Schabas and Janis, and many copies of Volokh, will also be placed on 2-hour Reserve in the Law Library. The additional materials are available only on the website, and are thus free-of-charge. For copyright reasons, the materials portion of the website is password-protected. We will give you your username and password in class.
You are required to check your email regularly for this class. We will pose discussion questions, post important announcements (which will also be posted on the website), and answer your questions related to the course or any of its topics. Participation online will count toward your class participation grade.
IV. Course Requirements
70 % Scholarly Paper: (30+ pages, exclusive of notes, double-spaced with one inch margins) based on a topic relating to the role of an international tribunal(s) in the development of international law. A written topic proposal must be presented for approval by 5 September 2006. An annotated bibliography is due in class on 19 September 2006. An outline is due in class on 3 October 2006. A rough draft is due in class on 24 October 2006. The paper will satisfy the W.C.L. Upper Level Writing Requirement.
The rough draft will be exchanged with a fellow student for peer evaluation and suggestions.
For the final draft, —please note that this is a change from the printed syllabus—you must submit one electronic copy (no paper copies!) to John's email address, heywood@american.edu. The final paper is due on 4 December 2006. Any paper that receives the grade of A or A- will be placed on the International Courts website permanently (not password protected), unless you request otherwise.
The paper must be submitted in a word processing format, such as OpenDocument (OpenOffice is one word processor that saves in this format), Microsoft Word, or WordPerfect. Please do not submit it in an image format (jpg, tiff, etc.) or in PDF format, as we cannot open these and make comments on them. If you have any questions about the appropriateness of your format choice, please ask us.
Failure to submit a topic proposal, an annotated bibliography, an outline, or a rough draft on time will adversely effect your grade for the paper, We will lower your final paper grade by a partial letter grade for any of these requirements for which we feel you have not made a good-faith effort.
20 % Class Presentation: An informal short topic presentation to the class early in the semester and a 20 minute major class presentation on
paper topic at the end of the semester. The grade will be based on the following factors: preparation, organization, grasp of topic,
effective use of time, and responsiveness to questions.
10 % Class Participation: evaluation of attendance, preparation for and participation in assigned discussions, preparation for and participation in class room discussion, and participation in the online discussion.
V. Attendance
All students are expected to attend and participate in classes. More than three unexcused absences will result in entry of a failing
grade for the course.
VI. Late Papers and Plagiarism
VI. Late papers and Plagiarism
Late Papers
Papers are due in John Heywood's email account (heywood@american.edu) no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, 4 December 2006. If you are graduating this December, you MUST get your paper in by this date in order to graduate. We need
time to read and evaluate your work before assigning a grade. If you miss this deadline, we may not be able to turn your grade in to
the Registrar in time for you to graduate.
Papers turned in after this date and time without a previously approved extension will be penalized one parital letter grade for every
weekday (excluding holidays) after the due date. A partial letter grade is the step between any of the following grades: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D, F. The day ends at 5:00 p.m.
Example: A paper is turned in at 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, 6 December 2006, without a pre-approved extension. If the paper had been
turned in on time, it would have received a B+. The paper was effectively handed in on Thursday, 7 December 2006, and is thus 3
days late. It receives the grade of C+.
Short extensions for worthy causes, such as computer failure, family emergency, my dog ate my disk/paper, etc., will be granted
with no penalty if you apply for it before the time the paper is due. (i.e., If you are printing out your paper 10 minutes before 5:00
p.m. on the fourth of December and your computer dies, call us immediately.) These extensions will be very short in duration; no
more than a day or two.
Plagiarism and Related Problems
Everyone knows that plagiarism is wrong, but not everyone is clear exactly what plagiarism is. It is more than just copying the work of another without attribution. We have listed the various forms of plagiarism below in descending order
of gravity, (1) being classic absolute plagiarism, and (9) being a much lesser version. All of them should be avoided. Non-de
minimus plagiarism will be punished. It will result in zero points for the paper, and thus an F for the course. The case will also be
turned over to the Office of Student Affairs for prosecution under the W.C.L. Honor Code.
Plagiarism is:
Word-for-word lifting of seven consecutive words or more, without quotation marks or block quotation, and without attribution to
any source.
Word-for-word lifting of seven consecutive words or more, without quotation marks or block quotation, with an attribution to a
source that was not the original source from which the passage was actually lifted nor the source cited (if any) by that original source.
Word-for-word lifting of seven consecutive words or more, without quotation marks or block quotation, with attribution to a
source that was not the original source from which the passage was actually lifted, but was a source cited by that original source.
Word-for-word lifting of seven consecutive words or more, with attribution to the original source from which the passage was
actually lifted, but without indication that these are the words of another.
Word-for-word lifting of seven consecutive words or more, without quotation marks or block quotation, with attribution to the
original source from which the passage was actually lifted, and with the indication that these are the words of another.
Attributing a quoted passage to a source that does not contain that quoted passage.
Attributing material to a source that does not support the passage for which it is cited.
Misquoting a source.
Lifting a quoted passage and its attribution from another source without acknowledgment or other indication. An example of this would
be if you were reading an article by Smith that quoted another article by Jones, and you put the quotation in your paper with an
attribution to Jones, but no mention that you got it from Smith who was quoting Jones.
VII. Class Outline
International Courts is a very dynamic field these days; as a result, we reserve the right to change the readings and the topics covered as the seminar progresses. To give everyone a fair chance to do the reading, we will freeze the assignments for a particular class one week before that class.
Class 1 - Introduction to Course
22 August 2006
- Discussion Topics:
- Administrative Matters
- Is International Law Really Law?
- Introduction to Course Themes
- Peaceful Means of Dispute Resolution Overview
- Reading Assignment:
For those who do not have a background in International Law, or who wish to refresh their knowledge: Janis, Chapters 1 - 3 (83 pp.)
Class 2 - The Role of International Tribunals in the International Legal System
29 August 2006
Class 3 - International Court of Justice and Its Predecessors
5 September 2006
- Discussion Topics:
- The PCA, PCIJ, and other Historical Acronyms
- Introduction to the ICJ
- Structure of the ICJ
- Procedure in the ICJ: Getting There
- Procedure in the ICJ: What You Do Once You Are There
- Chambers Procedures in the ICJ
- Jurisdiction of the ICJ
- Enforcement
- Problems of Non-Appearance, Non-Participation, and Non-Performance in the ICJ
- Role of the ICJ in the UN System
- Assessment of the ICJ: How well is it working? How can it improve?
- Seminar Work:
- Topic Proposals Discussion (Topic Proposals are due in class)
- Reading Assignment:
- Janis, Chapter 5.
- Spiermann, "A project of international justice," in International Legal Argument in the Permanent Court of International Justice, pp. 1-33 (2005).
- United Nations Charter (Art. 7, 36, 92 - 96)
- Statute of the International Court of Justice (Art. 2 - 38)
- ICJ Rules of Court (Art. 1 - 29)
- Corfu Channel Case (Merits), selected portions
- Ford, Judicial Discretion in International Jurisprudence: Article 38(1)(c) and "General Principles of Law", 5 Duke J. Comp. & Int'l L. 35 (Fall 1994).
- Franck, The "Powers of Appreciation": Who is the Ultimate Guardian of UN Legality? 86 Am. J. Int'l L. 519 (1992).
- Bekker, International Decision: Questions of Interpretation and Application of the 1971 Montreal Convention Arising from the Aerial Incident at Lockerbie (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya v. United Kingdom) and (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya v. United States), Preliminary Objections, Judgments <http://wwww.icj-cij.org>. 92 Am. J. Int'l L. 503 (1998).
- Volokh, pp. 63-72.
- Recommended Readings (optional):
- The Case Concerning Military and Paramilitary Activities in and Against Nicaragua
(Nicaragua v. U.S.)(Jurisdiction and
Admission)(1984)(excerpts on admissibility).
- The North Sea Continental Shelf Case (W. Ger. v. Den.)(1969).
Class 4 - Regional Courts in the International Legal System
12 September 2006
- Discussion Topics:
- The State vs. the Individual: Regional Courts and the Rise of the Individual
- European Court of Justice & Court of First Instance
- Other Regional Non-Human Rights Courts
- Concept of Regional/Local Norms
- Regional Norms and the Respective Roles of International and Regional Tribunals
- Seminar Work:
- Writing the Seminar Paper: How to do it and what we expect.
- Reading Assignment:
- Schulz, The political foundations of decision making by the European Court of Justice, 99 Proc. Am. Soc'y Int'l L. 132-135 (2005).
- Rieder, Protecting human rights within the European Union: who is better qualified to do the job - the European Court of Justice or the European Court of Human Rights, 20 Tul. Eur. & Civ. L.F. 73-107.(2005).
- Janis, Chapter 9(b).
- Read the background materials for each of the following courts at the PICT Website (click on Courts and Tribunals-->Regional Bodies-->then on each of the regions): ECJ/CFI, EFTA, Benelux CJ, TJAC, CACJ, CCJ, OHADA, and COMESA.
- Materials on the Right of Passage Case
- Materials on the Asylum Cases
- Volokh, pp. 73-146, 209-17..
Class 5 - Human Rights and International Courts
19 September 2006
- Discussion Topics:
- European Human Rights System
- Inter-American Human Rights System
- The Emerging African Human Rights System and the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights
- Seminar Work:
- Annotated Bibliographies are due in class
- Reading Assignment:
- Janis, Chapter 8.
- Cerna, "The Inter-American Court of Human Rights" in Janis, International Courts for the Twenty-First Century (1992).
- Mahoney, New challenges for the European Court of Human Rights resulting from the expanding case load and membership, 21 Penn State Int'l L. Rev. 101 (2002).
- Read the background materials for each of the following courts at the PICT Website (click on Courts and Tribunals-->Regional Bodies-->then on each of the regions): ECHR, IACHR, and ACHPR.
- Udombana, An African human rights court and an African union court: a needful duality or a needless duplication? 28 Brooklyn J. Int'l L. 811 (2003).
- Pasqualucci, Advisory practice of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: contributing to the evolution of international human rights law, 38 Stan. J. Int'l L. 241 (2002)
Class 6 - International Criminal Tribunals, Part I
26 September 2006
- Discussion Topics:
- History of International Criminal Law
- Structure
- Seminar Work:
- Status of Research and Writing
- Reading Assignment:
- Basic Documents of the International Military Tribunal (Nüremberg):
- Charter of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo)
- Laternser, Hans, Looking Back at the Nuremberg Trials with Special Consideration of the Processes Against Military Leaders, 8 Whittier L. Rev. 557-80 (1986).
- Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
- Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
- Mark A. Drumbl,
Looking up, down and across: the ICTY's place in the international legal order, 37 New England L. Rev. 1037-57 (2003).
- Laura A. Dickinson, The relationship between hybrid courts and international courts: the case of Kosovo, 37 New England L. Rev. 1059-72 (2003).
- U. Garms & K. Peschke, War Crimes Prosecution in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-2002): An Analysis through the Jurisprudence of the Human Rights Chamber, 4 J. Int'l Crim. Just. 258-282 (2006).
- S. de Bertodano, Problems Arising from the Mixed Composition and Structure of the Cambodian Extraordinary Chambers, 4 J. Int'l Crim. Just. 285-293 (2006).
- U.N. General Assembly Resolution 57/228B, Khmer Rouge Trials (22 May 2003).
- Elizabeth M. Evenson, Truth and Justice in Sierra Leone: Coordination Between Commission and Court, 104 Colum. L. Rev. 730-67 (2004).
- Statute of the International Criminal Court
- Recommended Readings (optional):
- Sells, Michael A. The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1996. This is the best background for the events in and around Bosnia during the breakup of Yugoslavia, and the resulting genocide. I highly recommend this book. It is on reserve in the Law Library at call number: DR 1313.7.A85S45 1996.
- Meron, Theodore, Shakespeare's Henry the Fifth and the Law of War, 86 Am. J. Int'l L. 1 (1992).
Class 7 - International Criminal Tribunals, Part II
3 October 2006
- Discussion Topics:
- Jurisdiction and Admissibility (IMT, IMTFE, ICTY, ICTR, ICC, Hybrids)
- ratione materiæ
- ratione temporis
- ratione loci
- ratione personæ
- Jurisdictional Conflicts
- Admissibility
- Seminar Work:
- In-Class Exercise: The Qana Incident
- Outlines are due in class
- Reading Assignment:
- Bodley, Weakening the Principle of Sovereignty in International Law: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, 31 N.Y.U. J. Int'l L. & Pol. 417 (1998-1999).
- Geoffrey R. Watson, The changing jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, 37 New England L. Rev. 871-85 (2003).
- Salvatore Zappalà, The Reaction of the US to the Entry into Force of the ICC Statute: Comments on UN SC Resolution 1422 (2002) and Article 98 Agreements, 1 J. Int'l Crim. Just. 114-134 (2003).
- Lee A. Casey & David B. Rivkin, Jr., The International Criminal Court vs. the American People,
Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #1249, February 5, 1999
- Henry A. Kissinger, The Pitfalls of Universal Jurisdiction, 80 Foreign Aff. 86-96 (2001).
- Materials for the in-class exercise
- Recommended Readings (optional):
- Leila Nadya Sadat & S. Richard Cohen, The New International Criminal Court: An Uneasy Revolution, 88 Geo. L.J. 381 (2000).
- Public Law 107-206 (Title II - §§2001 - 2015) - American Servicemembers' Protection Act (Just read Title II, which begins on page 81 and ends on page 91 of the PDF file).
- Ambassador David J. Scheffer (Clinton Administration U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues and Head of the U.S. Delegation to the U.N. Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court), America's Stake in Peace, Security, and Justice, Remarks after the Rome Conference (31 August 1998).
- Ambassador David J. Scheffer (Clinton Administration U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues and Head of the U.S. Delegation to the U.N. Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court), Statement before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus (15 September 2000). This is substantially the same as the speech he gave at the WCL/American Academy of Arts and Sciences Conference on the ICC on 14 September 2000.
- No Court Dates For America, an op-ed piece in the Washington Times by then-Senators Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Zell Miller (D-GA).
- The United States and the International Criminal Court
Remarks by John R. Bolton, U.S. Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security on September 16, 2002.
- The ICC and the Deployment of U.S. Armed Forces,
by Maj. General William L. Nash (U.S. Army, Retired).
- EU Council Common Position on Article 98 Agreements, 30 September 2002. The common position is on pages 9 and 10.
Class 8 - International Criminal Tribunals, Part III
10 October 2006
- Discussion Topics:
- Procedure
- Due Process Standards
- Civil Law/Common Law Merger
- Investigation and Pre-Trial Procedure
- Trial Procdeure & Evidence
- Appeal & Redress of Wrongful Prosecutions/Miscarriages of Justice
- Punishment and the Rights of Victims
- Principles of Criminal Law
- Crimes covered & sources of law
- Substantive Criminal Law
- Seminar Work:
- Status of Research and Writing
- Reading Assignment:
- Schabas, Chs. 2, 4, 5, 6, & 7
- Mohamed Ali Lejmi, Prosecuting Cambodian Genocide: Problems Caused by the Passage of Time since the Alleged Commission of Crimes, 4 J. Int'l Crim. Just. 300-306 (2006).
- David Boyle, The Rights of Victims: Participation, Representation, Protection, Reparation, 4 J. Int'l Crim. Just. 307-313 (2006).
- Göran Sluiter, Due Process and Criminal Procedure in the Cambodian Extraordinary Chambers, 4 J. Int'l Crim. Just. 314-326 (2006).
- Suzannah Linton, Safeguarding the Independence and Impartiality of the Cambodian Extraordinary Chambers, 4 J. Int'l Crim. Just. 327-341 (2006).
- Göran Sluiter, International criminal proceedings and the protection of human rights, 37 New England L. Rev. 935-48 (2003).
Class 9 - International Law and the War on Terror
17 October 2006
- Discussion Topics:
- Accountability of Non-State Actors in the International Legal System
- Military Tribunals/Commissions
- Trying Saddam (National vs. International Tribunals)
- Seminar Work:
- Guest Speaker (tentative): Col. Patricia Wildermuth, USAF Reserve, from the Appointing Authority for Military Commissions Legal Advisor's Office, and former prosecutor, International Military Tribunal for Rwanda.
- In-Class Exercise: Pentagon Instructions
- Status of Research and Writing
- Reading Assignment:
- Materials for the in-class exercise
- Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, ___ U.S. ___ (2006).
- George P. Fletcher, Guantánamo Revisited:The Hamdan Case and Conspiracy as a War Crime, A New Beginning for International Law in the U.S., J. Int'l Crim. Just., Advanced Access, 5 August 2006.
- Fisher, "9/11: A Nation At War" in Military Tribunals & Presidential Power (2005).
- Fisher, "Judicial Process Against Terrorists" in Military Tribunals & Presidential Power (2005).
- Fisher, "Conclusions" in Military Tribunals & Presidential Power (2005).
- Goldstone, The trial of Saddam Hussein: what kind of court should prosecute Saddam Hussein and others for human rights abuses? 27 Fordham Int'l L.J. 1490 (2003-2004)
- Bradley & Goldsmith, Congressional Authorization and the War on Terrorism, 118 Harv. L. Rev. 2047 (2005).
Class 10 - International Law in Municipal Legal Systems
24 October 2006
- Discussion Topics:
- International Law in National Legal Systems
- Seminar Work:
- In-Class Exercise: Judicial Opinions
- Rough Drafts are due in class at the beginning of class!
- Sign up for presentation slots.
- Reading Assignment:
- The Paqueta Habana(1900).
- Falk, Domestic Courts and World Legal Order: A Statement of Purpose and Outlook.
- Janis, Ch. 4 & Ch. 6
- Bradley & Goldsmith, Customary International Law as Federal Common Law: A Critique of the Modern Position, 110 Harv. L. Rev. 815 (1997).
- Koh, Is International Law Really State Law? 111 Harv. L. Rev. 1824 (1998)
- Bradley & Goldsmith, Federal Courts and the Incorporation of International Law, 111 Harv. L. Rev. 2260 (1998).
- Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, 542 U.S. 692, 124 S.Ct. 2739 (2004).
- Norman Dorsen, A conversation between U.S. Supreme Court justices: The relevance of foreign legal materials in U.S. constitutional cases: A conversation between Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Stephen Breyer, 3 Int'l J. Const. L. 519-541 (2005).
- Materials for the in-class exercise
Class 11 - Other Tribunals and Dispute Resolution Mechanisms in the International Legal System
31 October 2006
Classes 12 to 14 - Class Presentations
7 November, 14 November, & 21 November 2006
- Discussion Topics and Seminar Work:
- Class 12: Class Presentations
- Class 13: Class Presentations
- Class 14: Class Presentations
- Reading Assignment:
- Except during the week in which they present their own paper, students will be assigned each class to read one of rough drafts presented in that class. They will then be expected to question and comment upon the assigned paper. This will count toward their class participation grade.