The George Washington University
Department of Political Science
Spring Semester - 2013
Political Science 6444
Politics of International Law, Section 10
Duques Hall Rm 359
Monday – 5:10 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Instructor: Dr. Larry W. Thomas
Office Phone: (202) 280-7769
E-mail: lwthomas@cox.net
Office: Monroe Hall – Room 426
Mondays – 7 p.m.
(By appointment)
COURSE AND STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Some of the objectives of the course are to provide students with an introduction to the essential principles
and concepts of the politics of international law in part through an analysis and discussion in class of
landmark cases. The survey will be taught, however, with reference to the political realities – both
domestic and international – and to the interaction of law and politics in the international system. At the
conclusion of the course students should have a thorough knowledge of the important principles of public
international law, as well as of the legal regimes that have developed and that are continuing to evolve in
the field. The course is designed to increase students’ skills in critical thinking by expecting students to
analyze, organize, evaluate, apply, and discuss the texts and case precedents that are required for the
successful completion of the course. For written exercises students are expected to take a position when
responding to a question and support their answer with specific references to the assigned course materials
and cases.
REQUIRED TEXTS – available at the GWU Bookstore (** indicates that a text is available also on
reserve at Gelman Library)
**Alan Boyle and Christine Chinkin, The Making of International Law (2007)
Mark W. Janis, International Law (6th ed. 2012)
**Jack L. Goldsmith and Eric A. Posner, The Limits of International Law (2005)
**Mary Ellen O’Connell, The Power & Purpose of International Law (2008)
J. Martin Rochester, Between Peril and Promise: The Politics of International Law (2012)
OTHER COURSE DOCUMENTS ON BLACKBOARD
Additional materials consisting of cases and selected textual material from other sources are assigned
below. The additional materials are posted on Blackboard under “Files.” An asterisk (*) preceding a listed
case, article or other material signifies that a selection is not required reading but is recommended reading
because the material will be discussed in class.
PARTICIPATION
Full participation is not optional but a requirement of this course. Quality participation will improve your
grade. Quality participation means demonstrating (a) a solid grasp of the information covered in the texts
and cases and in lectures, (b) an ability to analyze information and issues critically, and (c) a willingness to
listen to others. Input from all class members is required. A record of attendance and participation is kept
for each class.
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COURSE GRADING
The grade for the course will be based on class attendance and participation, two exams, and one
paper (described below).
25%-- Class participation & attendance
25% -- First Exam
25% -- Second Exam
25%-- Critical Analysis
Each student’s grade will be based on the above percentages. A standard 10-point/grade scale with plus
and minus will be used. There will be no extra credit assignments.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Class attendance is mandatory and attendance will be taken every class. Students’ presence in class
and participation are required. Absences from class will result in lower grades for both class attendance
and class participation, as well as an overall lower grade for the course.
EXAMINATIONS
The first examination will cover all material covered up to that point in the semester; the second
examination will cover all material since the preceding examination. All texts, cases and other materials,
lectures and class discussion will be suitable for examination questions. The format of each examination
will be announced in advance. There will be no make-up examinations except under extraordinary
circumstances of which the professor must be informed prior to the scheduled examination. Dates of
examinations will be changed only as required by university policy.
Examinations will be given on the scheduled dates. Please do not make plans, buy airplane tickets, or
expect to attend social functions, etc. that conflict with the dates of examinations as requests for earlier or
later examinations or for alternative examinations or arrangements will not be granted.
PAPER: CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Each member of the class will write a critical analysis, approximately 8-10 pages, of one of three texts read
for this course: Boyle & Chinkin, The Making of International Law; Goldsmith & Posner, The Limits of
International Law; or O’Connell, The Power & Purpose of International Law.
Papers are due by Monday, April 29, 2011.
SOME ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE SYLLABUS
AD = Annual Digest
AJIL = American Journal of International Law
ICJ = International Court of Justice Reports
ILM = International Legal Materials
PCIJ = Permanent Court of International Justice Reports
RIAA = United Nations, Reports of International Arbitral Awards
TIAS = Treaty and Other International Acts Series
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UNTS= United Nations Treaty Service
US = United States; United States Supreme Court Reports
SOME LINKS OF INTEREST
International Civil Aviation Organization - http://www.icao.int
International Court of Justice - http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/idecisions.htm
International Criminal Court - http://www.un.org/law/icc and http://www.icc-cpi.int/home.html&l=en
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia - http://www.un.org/icty
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda - http://www.ictr.org
International Law Commission - http://www.un.org/law/icc/
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea - http://www.itlos.org
United Nations Commission on International Trade Law - http://www.uncitral.org
United Nations Oceans and Law of the Sea - http://www.un.org/Depts/los/index.htm
United Nations Office of Legal Affairs Codification Division - http://www.un.org/law/lindex.htm
United Nations System of Organizations (Web Locator) - http://www.unsystem.org
United Nations Treaty Collection - http://untreaty.un.org
COURSE OUTLINE
JAN. 14
I.
WHAT IS PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW?
a) The Nature of International Law, Janis, Chapter 1 (pp. 1-8)
b) International Law and International Politics, Rochester, Chapter 1
c) Is International Law Really Law? Rochester, Chapter 3; O’Connell, Introduction (pp. 1-16);
Goldsmith & Posner, Introduction (pp. 1-17).
II.
THE MAKING OF INTERNATIONAL LAW: STATES AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS
a) International Law-Making, *Boyle & Chinkin, Chapter 1 (recommended reading)
b) The Role of States, Janis, Chapter 6 (pp. 194-198); *Schachter, “The Decline of the Nation
State and its Implications for International Law,” 36 Colum. J. Transnat’l L. 7 (1997) (Abridged)
(recommended reading)
c) Other Participants in International Law Making, Boyle & Chinkin, Chapter 2
d) Multilateral Lawmaking: Diplomatic Processes, Boyle & Chinkin, Chapter 3
JAN. 21 – HOLIDAY
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JAN. 28
II.
THE MAKING OF INTERNATIONAL LAW (CONTINUED)
III.
SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
a) Customary International Law and Other Sources, Janis, Chapter 3
Cases: The Scotia, 14 Wallace 170 (1871) (Abridged)
The Paquete Habana, 175 U.S. 677 (1900) (Abridged)
The Lotus, [4.5 et al], PCIJ, series A, no. 10 (1927)
Arrest Warrant of 11 April 2000 (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Belgium), Judgment, ICJ
Summary (2002) (Abridged)
b) Customary International Law: Another Perspective, Goldsmith & Posner, Part I (Chapters 1
and 2)
FEB. 4
IV.
TREATIES AS A SOURCE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
a) Treaties and the Law of Treaties, Janis, Chapter 2
b) Law Making Instruments, Boyle & Chinkin, Chapter 5 (pp. 210-262).
Cases: The Fisheries Case (U.K. v. Iceland), ICJ Summary (1974)
Case Concerning Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain
(Qatar v. Bahrain), Judgment on Jurisdiction and Admissibility, ICJ Summary (1994) (Abridged)
Lockerbie Case (Libya v. UK; Libya v. US), ICJ Summary (Feb. 27, 1998)
LaGrand Case (Germany v. United States), Judgment, ICJ Summary (2001) (Abridged)
c) A Theory of International Agreements, Goldsmith & Posner, Chapter 3
FEB. 11
V.
RELATIONSHIP OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND MUNICIPAL LAW
Text:
Janis, Chapter 4
*Article: Stewart Jay, “The Status of the Law of Nations in Early American Law,” 42 Vanderbilt
Law Review 819 (1989) (Abridged) (recommended reading)
U.S. Constitution: Article II, Section 2; Article VI (on Blackboard)
Cases: Missouri v. Holland, 252 U.S. 416 (1920) (Abridged)
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U.S. v. Belmont, 301 U.S. 324 (1937) (Abridged)
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557 (2006) (Abridged)
VI.
TERRITORIAL SOVEREIGNTY; SUCCESSION OF STATES AND GOVERNMENTS
a) Sovereignty and International Law, Janis, Chapter 6 (pp. 201-207)
b) Territorial Sovereignty and Possible Exceptions
Cases: Corfu Channel Case (U.K. v. Albania), ICJ Summary (April 9, 1949).
Articles: Jordan J. Paust, “Self-Defense Targetings of Non-State Actors and Permissibility of U.S.
Use of Drones in Pakistan,” 19 J. Transnat'l L. & Pol'y 237 (2010) (Abridged)
Jonah Eaton, “An Emerging Norm? Determining the Meaning and Legal Status of the
Responsibility to Protect,” 32 Mich. J. Int'l L. 765 (2011) (Abridged)
c) Recognition and Succession of States and Governments
Text:
Janis, Chapter 6 (pp. 200-204)
Cases: The Tinoco Arbitration (Great Britain v. Costa Rica), 1 RIAA 369 (1923) (Abridged)
France v. Isbrandtsen-Moller Co., Inc., 48 F. Supp. 631 (S.D.N.Y.1943) (Abridged)
FEB. 18 – HOLIDAY
FEB. 25
VII.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION: INTERNATIONAL COURTS AND INTERNATIONAL
ARBITRATION
a) The International Court, Janis, Chapter 5
b) Law Making by International Courts, Boyle & Chinkin, Chapter 6
c) Enforcement by International Courts, O’Connell, Chapter 8
d) Enforcement of ICJ Judgments in National Courts
Case:
Medellin v. Texas, 552 U.S. 491 (2008).
e) International Arbitration
Case: Rainbow Warrior (New Zealand – France Arbitration) 82 I.L.R. 499 (1990) [read carefully
pages 500-505, 515-518, 542-551, and 564-579 and skim the other pages].
f) International Law Commission: Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts
MAR. 4 - FIRST EXAMINATION
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MAR. 11 – 16 – SPRING BREAK
MAR. 18
VIII.
SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY; ACT OF STATE DOCTRINE
Text:
Janis, Chapter 10 (pp. 360-376)
Cases: The Schooner Exchange v. McFaddon, United States Supreme Court, 7 Cranch 116
(1812) (Abridged)
Cases: Mighell v. Sultan of Johore, 1 QB 149 (1884)
Germany v. Italy, Jurisdictional Immunities of the State, I.C.J., Summary of the Judgment (2012)
(Abridged)
Statute: U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1602 et seq. (Abridged)
Cases: Yessenin-Volpin v. Novosti Press Agency, 443 F. Supp. 849 (S.D.N.Y. 1978).
Gates v. Syrian Arab Republic, 580 F. Supp.2d 53 (D. D.C. 2008) (Abridged)
MAR. 25
IX.
JURISDICTION AND THE ROLE OF NATIONAL COURTS
a) National Court Enforcement, O’Connell, Chapter 9
b) Principles of Jurisdiction
Text:
Janis, Chapter 10 (pp. 331-356); Rochester, Chapter 4 (pp. 77-87)
Cases: Blackmer v. United States, 284 U.S. 421 (1932) (Abridged)
*The Lotus, PCIJ, series A, no. 10 (1927) (review)
U.S. v. Rodrequez, 182 F. Supp. 479 (1960) (Abridged)
U.S. v. Fawaz Yunis, 924 F. 2d 1086 (1991) (Abridged)
Joyce v. Director of Public Prosecutions, [15.91], [1946] AC 347; 15 AD, p. 91
Article: Eric Langland, “Decade of Descent: The Ever-Shrinking Scope and Application of
Universal Jurisdiction,” International Law News, vol. 39, no. 3 (ABA 2010)
X.
JUDICIAL ASSISTANCE AND EXTRADITION
Cases: In Re Castioni, [1891] 1 Q.B. 149
In Re Meunier, [1894] 2 Q.B. 415
The Soering Case, European Court of Human Rights (1989)
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U.S. – U.K. Extradition Treaty (signed at Washington March 31, 2003; entered into force April
26, 2007, TIAS)
APR. 1
XI.
INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE RIGHTS OF ALIENS
Text:
Janis, Chapter 8 (pp. 251-265); Rochester, Chapter 4 (pp. 109-114)
Cases: Nottebohm, (Jsd.) [20.567] (Preliminary Objection), [22.349] & (Second Phase), ICJ Rep.
1953; (merits) ICJ Rep. 1955
*Ahmadou Diallo (Guinea v. Democratic Republic of the Congo), Judgment on Preliminary
Objections, ICJ Summary (2007) (Abridged) (recommended reading)
XII.
HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
Text:
Janis, Chapter 8 (pp. 265-294); Rochester, Chapter 4 (pp. 114-136)
*Goldsmith & Posner, Chapters 3 & 4 (pp. 83-184) (recommended reading)
Cases: Ex Parte Pinochet (Regina v. Bartle, Bow Street Stipendiary Magistrate and
Commissioner of Police), House of Lords, 2 W.L.R. 827, 38 I.L.M. 581 (1999) (Judgment 1 - Lord
Browne-Wilkinson)
The El Amparo Case, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Judgment on Reparations (1996)
Filartiga v. Pena-Irala, 630 F. 2d 876 (2nd Cir. 1980)
Samantar v. Yousuf, 130 S. Ct. 2278 (2010)
Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., 621 F.3d 111 (2010), certiorari granted by U.S. Supreme
Court, 132 S. Ct. 472 (2011) (re-argument and decision pending) (Abridged)
*Article: “The Sosa Standard: What Does It Mean for Future ATS Litigation?,” Pepperdine Law
Review (2006) (recommended reading)
Statute: Torture Victim Protection Act
APR. 8
XII.
HUMAN RIGHTS LAW (CONTINUED)
XIII.
COMPLIANCE, ENFORCEMENT AND USE OF FORCE
a) Theory of Enforcement, *O’Connell, Chapters 2 and 3 (recommended reading)
b) Enforcement Practice, O’Connell, Chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7
c) The Development of the Laws of War, Janis, Chapter 6 (pp. 178-194)
d) Use of Force Law, Rochester, Chapter 6
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e) Definition of Aggression, U.N. General Assembly Resolution 3314, Definition of Aggression
(1974)
f) Self-Defense, Collective Self-Defense, Anticipatory Self-Defense, Preemptive Strike,
Preventive War, Janis, Chapter 6 (pp. 196-198); Brownlie, Chapter 33 (posted on Blackboard)
Case: Case Concerning the Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua
(Nicaragua v. United States) (Merits), ICJ Summary, June 27, 1986
g) Legality of the Use of Nuclear Weapons?
Case:Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, ICJ (Advisory Opinion), ICJ
Summary, July 8, 1996
h) Role of the Security Council
Article: Talmon, “The Security Council as World Legislature,” 99 A.J.I.L. 175 (2005)
APR. 15
XIII.
COMPLIANCE, ENFORCEMENT AND USE OF FORCE (CONTINUED)
XIV.
INTERNATIONAL LAW OF THE SEA
Text:
Janis, Chapter 7 (pp. 226-238)
1982 Law of the Sea Convention (Abridged)
XV.
INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Text:
Janis, Chapter 7 (pp. 243-250); Rochester, Chapter 8
Article: Carl Bruch, “Is International Environmental Law Really ‘Law’?: An Analysis of
Application in Domestic Courts,” 23 Pace Environmental Law Review 423 (2006) (Abridged)
Cases: The Trail Smelter Arbitration, 33 A.J.I.L. 182 (1939); 35 A.J.I.L. 684 (1941) (Abridged)
Chevron Corp. v. Hugo Gerardo Camacho Naranjo, et al., 667 F.3d 232 (2nd Cir. 2012)
*Law of the Sea Convention (1982), Part XII, Protection and Preservation of the Marine
Environment (Abridged) (recommended reading)
APR. 22 – SECOND EXAMINATION
APR. 29
XVI.
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW
Text:
Janis, Chapter 8 (pp. 294-297)
Review the website for the International Criminal Court, available at:
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http://www.icc- cpi.int/en_menus/icc/about%20the%20court/Pages/about%20the%20court.aspx
Text: Zahar & Sluiter, International Criminal Law, Chapters 1 & 2 (posted on Blackboard)
(recommended reading)
CRITICAL ANALYSIS DUE
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