Dr Devika Hovell CKK 7.06

This course is available on the LLM (extended part-time), LLM (full-time), MSc in Gender (Rights and Human Rights), MSc in Gender, Peace and Security, MSc in Human Rights and University of Pennsylvania Law School LLM Visiting Students. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course is capped at 30 students. Students must apply through Graduate Course Choice on LSEforYou.

Some prior knowledge of international law is useful but not essential.

The use of force is prohibited in international law. This simple but fundamental legal principle can be obscured by a geo-political context littered with conflict and threatened conflict where the exceptions are more often seen as the rule. Relatedly, there can be a tendency to dismiss international law as a ‘marginal enterprise’ at moments of political crisis. Nevertheless, states continue to refer to legal justifications when they resort to force. The practice of states, even that forged in heated times of war and crisis, can harden into enduring legal principles unless debated, criticized and ultimately objected to in the aftermath. In this course, we consider the complex mix of law and politics at the heart of the legal regime for the use of force. We focus on the development and interpretation of the prohibition of the use of force and its two key exceptions, Security Council authorization and self-defence. We also look at other claimed or emerging exceptions, including humanitarian intervention, protection of nationals and self-determination. Finally, we consider the concept of ‘war as crime’ and consider the potential and pitfalls of recognition of the crime of aggression.

20 hours of seminars in the Autumn term. 2 hours of seminars in the Spring Term.  There will be a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn Term.

One 1500 word essay.

A detailed reading list will be issued on Moodle. For a comprehensive textbook, see Christine Gray, International Law and the Use of Force (4th ed., 2018).

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes) in the spring exam period.