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Advanced Public International Law

When you'll study it
Semester 1
CATS points
15
ECTS points
7.5
Level
Level 6
Module lead
Andrew Serdy
Academic year
2025-26

Module overview

International law is about governments collaboratively as well as competitively trying to regulate world affairs. It includes issues as diverse as a government’s treatment of its citizens (international human rights law), the circumstances in which a state can take military action against or in another state, and ongoing efforts to prevent catastrophic changes in the earth’s climate.

This module builds on LAWS 2035 Introduction to Public International Law by introducing you to the jurisdictional framework (in both spatial and conceptual senses) of the international legal order, the secondary obligations that arise when a primary one is breached and the rules on the resort to force. We will explore how, by whom, and with what results law has been used to shape or attempt to shape the world in which we live by constraining the conduct of states and other international actors.