Dr Christopher Thomas NAB7.18

This course is available on the Executive LLM. This course is not available as an outside option.

Available to Executive LLM students only. This course will be offered on the Executive LLM during the four year degree period. The Department of Law will not offer all Executive LLM courses every year, although some of the more popular courses may be offered in each year, or more than once each year. Please note that whilst it is the Department of Law's intention to offer all Executive LLM courses, its ability to do so will depend on the availability of the staff member in question. For more information please refer to the Department of Law website.

Executive version of an existing taught masters course (LL4A8).

This course examines the international law relating to when it is permissible to use force (jus ad bellum). The aim of this course is to develop an understanding of the principles of international law that regulate the use of force in international society. It concentrates on the prohibition of resort to force in Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter and the exceptions to that prohibition. It looks in detail at the right of self-defence, humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect, pro-democratic intervention, the protection of nationals and the criminalization of aggression. The use of force by or with the authorization of the United Nations is also considered.

24-26 hours of contact time.

All students are expected to produce one 2,000 word formative essay during the course.

A detailed reading list will be issued in the course pack. See, in particular: Dinstein, War, Aggression and Self-Defence (5th ed, 2011); Gray, International Law and the Use of Force (3rd ed, 2008).

Assessment path 1
Essay (100%, 8000 words).

Assessment path 2
Take home exam (100%).