F1HH 4410 - Capstone Course: International Law in Action

International Law in Action' is a selective one-year long course offered to students registered in PSIA's Human Rights in Humanitarian Action program.

The Capstone course aims to provide innovative legal education and training through practical work related to armed conflicts, transnational migration, counter terrorism and accountability for international crimes.

Learning Outcomes :

The main goals are to

• Provide students with research skills through applied work on concrete case studies, in collaboration with international legal professionals and institutions.
• Use innovative methodologies based on legal analysis and empirical field research, including trial observations, data collection, forensic investigations and interviews.
• Familiarize students with relevant legal institutions at the national and global level (ICRC, UN treaty bodies and special procedures, ICC…).
• Produce a final working paper/report/case study that will be submitted and/or presented to relevant professional partners, providing the students with an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution in the domain of human rights.

The teaching methodology has theoretical and practical aspects. During the first semester the course provides a theoretical overview of the relevant legal frameworks: International Law and the Use of Force, International Humanitarian Law, International Human Rights and Refugee Law, and International Criminal Law. The normative discussion of the international legal order is politically contextualised and includes the mapping of the competent institutions and sources.

The second semester provides the students an opportunity to engage in practical legal research, fieldwork, or international strategic litigation. Over the course of this semester, the class is typically divided to two working groups, each pursuing their own legal clinical project. Depending on the project, it can start during the first semester.

Professional Skills:

• The students will have the capacity to apply the relevant law to a set of facts, to more broadly spot the legal issues arising from complex political perspectives and state and organizational policies, to creatively and comparatively contextualize these matters and, ultimately, to critically formulate cutting-edge and yet solid legal arguments.
• To better understand and being able to deconstruct the complex apparatus of power and interplay between international relations, politics and the law.
• Be able to write a human rights report while bringing the attention to the different actors involved.

• language skills: French/English (or Spanish and/or additional languages are an advantage)
• a legal background is recommended

During the semester according to the assignments

• Oral presentation and class participation 20%
• Mid-term or collective work 30%
• Final individual written assignments 50%

• In-class presence: 24 hours a semester
• Reading and preparation for class: 60 hours a semester
• Research and preparation for mid-term assignment: 30 hours a semester
• Research and preparation for final assignment: 30 hours a semester