INTERNATIONAL LAW
Instructional goals
This course aims to examine the challenges of globalization, raising awareness on the international dimension of problems as well as of solutions, underlining the need of interstate cooperation at multiple levels (regional, continental, universal). In this perspective, the course will offer adequate tools for analysis and guidance throughout the main areas of international cooperation. In this way, the basic preparation necessary for prospective access to careers in public administrations and in the international civil service will be provided.
Intended learning outcomes
The course aims to provide students with the elements of knowledge of international law by fostering suitable self-learning processes through oral expositions during lectures or presentation of written papers. This is to stimulate the student to mature autonomy of analysis and judgment in relation to normative sources, jurisprudence and doctrine and to develop communication skills, through oral and written form. The ultimate goal is for the student to acquire in-depth knowledge relating to the most important issues in international law, focusing in particular on the need for interstate cooperation as a means of meeting the challenges posed by globalization. The analyses, based on the study of international case law and jurisprudence, will be developed through seminars and conferences with external experts, involving both academics and practitioners working in the most significant internationalist fields.
Course Contents
Notion and characteristics of international order. Sources of law. Subjects of international law. The use of force. The resolution of disputes. The relationship with national law. International responsibility of states and international organizations
Reference Books
Suggested book:
N. Ronzitti, Introduzione al Diritto internazionale, VII ed., Torino, 2023.
Additional readings advised by the professor. See in particular the "in-depth focus" sections: reading the materials before each weekly focus is recommended in order to be able to actively participate in the classroom discussion.
For the consultation of the main relevant documents, it is recommended:
F. Pocar, R. Luzzatto, Codice di diritto internazionale pubblico, 8° ed., Torino, 2020.
Teaching Methods
Lectures and seminars with the participation of outside personalities, with "in-depth focus" on questions of current relevance. Simulations and discussion of papers presented by students.
Assessment Method
Final oral exam. The opportunity for an midterm written test will be considered. Active student participation in lectures, weekly "in-depht focus" and seminars, as well as possible involvement in simulations and paper presentations will be evaluated.
Thesis assignment criteria
Good basic preparation, interest in the subject, knowledge of English and a second language.
Week 1 Contenuto sessioni on line e on campus
Lesson 1
Presentation of the course. Characteristics of the international legal system; peculiarities compared to domestic legal systems. Organisation and exercise of functions. The historical developments of international society and its law. The characteristics of contemporary international law: the emergence of a solidaristic vision, the recognition of shared values and the consequences at the normative level.
Lesson 2
The subjects of the international legal order. States, the notion of State in the international law as a ternary body, the acquisition of international subjectivity, effectiveness. The role of recognition. The extinction of the State. The declarations of independence of Kosovo (2008) and Crimea (2014).
Lesson 3
Other subjects of the international legal order: the insurgents; the Holy See; the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
Week 2 Contenuto sessioni on line e on campus
Lesson 1
National liberation movements and the principle of self-determination of peoples. The legal dimension of the principle of self-determination in contemporary international law. Focus on current cases: Nagorno Karabakh, Palestine, Western Sahara.
Lesson 2
Recognition and non-recognition in international law: types, forms, legal effects. Suggested readings:
E. Sciso, La crisi ucraina e l'intervento russo: profili di diritto internazionale, in Rivista di diritto internazionale, 4/2014, pp. 992-1031
Lesson 3
The subjectivity of international organisations: peculiarities, assumptions. Examination of the main international organisations: the United Nations, specialised institutes, the WTO, the EU.
Suggested readings:
1) A. Annoni, C’è un giudice per il Sahara occidentale?, in Rivista di diritto internazionale, 2016, 869-870;
2) A. De Luca, Dite addio al Nagorno Karabakh, in Ispi on line (29 settembre 2023) con il link al podcast di Globally: perché stiamo tornando a parlare del Nagorno Karabakh (Aldo Ferrari, Ca’ Foscari) (https://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/dite-addio-al-nagorno-karabakh-145684);
3) M. Hartwig, The Relationship between the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan from the perspective of international law: How many Chinas exist in International law?, in Questions of International Law, January 31, 2023 (http://www.qil-qdi.org/how-many-chinas-exist-in-international-law/).
Week 3 Contenuto sessioni on line e on campus
Lesson 1
The individual in contemporary international law as the holder of active subjective legal situations; customary law; universal and regional agreements protecting fundamental rights. Guarantee mechanisms: regional human rights courts; UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies.
Lesson 2
IN-DEPTH FOCUS: The responsibility of companies for respecting human rights (classroom discussion with external speaker)
Suggested readings:
1) E. Sciso, Appunti di diritto internazionale dell'economia, Giappichelli, 2021 (4th edition) pp. 144-153 and 233-260
2) A. Latino, Giustizia climatica, cittadini all’attacco, in Ispi online, 31 March 2023 (https://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/giustizia-climatica-cittadini-allattacco-122836).
Lesson 3
The individual as a recipient of international legal obligations. The principle of international criminal responsibility of the individual: from the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals to the International Criminal Court. The UN Special Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
Week 4 Contenuto sessioni on line e on campus
Lesson 1
The International Criminal Court: Establishment, competences, relationship with the U.N. Security Council. The principle of universal criminal jurisdiction and the role of domestic courts in the repression of international crimes of the individual; analysis of the main state legislations on the subject.
Lesson 2
IN-DEPTH FOCUS: Crimes in Ukraine, Gaza and Israel. Profiles of international humanitarian and criminal law (classroom discussion with external speakers)
Suggested readings:
1) P. Petrelli, Il crimine di aggressione in Ucraina: la (in)competenza della Corte Penale Internazionale ed i possibili meccanismi alternativi di accertamento della responsabilità individuale nel diritto penale internazionale, in Ordine internazionale e diritti umani, 2/2022, pp. 466-474;
2) M. Longobardo, Brevi riflessioni sull’uso della forza nella recente escalation del conflitto israelo-palestinese, in sidiblog, 15 ottobre 2023, available online;
3) A. Latino, Quattro punti per un'analisi giuridica dei recenti eventi in Israele: quadro internazionale e diritto umanitario, in Jura gentium, available online
(https://www.juragentium.eu/?p=819);
4) F. Lattanzi, Quale tribunale per i crimini russi in Ucraina? Le proposte di Lattanzi, in Formiche.net, published on 20 March 2023, available online (https://formiche.net/2023/02/tribunale-specialei-crimini-russi-ucraina/).
Lesson 3
The sources of normative production: Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. International custom. Modification and extinction of customary norms; the role of the persistent objector. The declarations of principles of the General Assembly; regional customs. International ius cogens: content; reconstruction of a hierarchy of sources of international law
Week 5 Contenuto sessioni on line e on campus
Lesson 1
The international agreement; definition, modalities of conclusion. The 1969 Vienna Convention. Capacity to conclude agreements and competence to enter into agreements in the Italian legal system: the constitutional provisions of reference and the competent bodies.
Lesson 2
Reservations in treaties. The rules of the Vienna Convention; domestic competence in respect of reservations in treaties. Further evolution of the system of reservations. The interpretation of treaties: Article 31 of the Vienna Convention and the so-called evolutionary interpretation. Termination and nullity of treaties: causes provided for in the Vienna Convention.
Lesson 3
Sources of legal production of the third degree. Acts of international organisations: internal effects of decisions of the UN Security Council; acts of the European Union; unilateral acts.
Week 6 Contenuto sessioni on line e on campus
Lesson 1
Territory as the object of State sovereignty. Ways of acquiring territorial sovereignty; limits on the exercise of territorial sovereignty imposed by general international law.
Lesson 2
Maritime territory: the main coastal zones and their historical evolution. Rights and duties of the coastal State and third States in coastal zones: territorial sea; contiguous zone; continental shelf; EEZ.
Lesson 3
The legal regime of the international sea and the international sea-bed. The principle of the common heritage of mankind. Other areas of relevance of the common heritage of mankind: outer space and its resources
Suggested readings:
1) E. Sciso, L’istituzione della zona economica esclusiva italiana, editorial of 21 June 2021 (https://open.luiss.it/2021/06/24/listituzione-della-zona-economica-esclusiva-italiana/4);
2) A. Latino, Oceani: i nei di un accordo storico, in Ispi online, 4 October 2023 (https://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/oceani-i-nei-di-un-accordo-storico-120192).
Week 7 Contenuto sessioni on line e on campus
Lesson 1
Limits under general international law to the exercise of a State's territorial sovereignty: the obligation to protect foreigners and their property. Diplomatic protection. Asylum in international and European law: the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees; EU competences and policies on immigration and asylum.
Lesson 2
IN-DEPTH FOCUS: Recent immigration agreements: international, European and constitutional law profiles (seminar with external speakers)
Suggested readings:
1) E. Sciso, L’asilo costituzionale oltre i confini del diritto internazionale ed europeo, in Liber Amicorum Sergio Marchisio. Il diritto della comunità internazionale tra caratteristiche strutturali e tendenze innovative, Napoli, 2022, pp. 1585-1595;
2) F. Battaglia, Il Memorandum of understanding UE-Tunisia: profili giuridici e impatto sui diritti umani, Post di AISDUE, V (2023), aisdue.eu Sezione “Atti convegni AISDUE”, n. 37, 19 novembre 2023 (https://iris.uniroma1.it/retrieve/1e0e0a40-883e-4488-aa9d-9ca78b721caa/Battaglia_Memorandum_2023.pdf);
3) E. Testi, Profili di illegittimità del Protocollo Italia-Albania, in Questione Giustizia, 18 November 2023 (https://www.questionegiustizia.it/articolo/profili-di-illegittimita-del-protocollo-italia-albania);
4) M. Mancini, Il Memorandum d'intesa tra Italia e Libia del 2017 e la sua attuazione, in: N. Ronzitti E. Sciso, I conflitti in Siria e Libia. Possibili equilibri e le sfide al diritto internazionale, Giappichelli, Torino, 2018.
Lesson 3
The treatment of foreign States and their property: evolution of the customary rule on the jurisdictional immunity of the foreign state; codification conventions; the most recent Italian jurisprudence on the subject. Suggested readings:
G. Berrino, La decisione che ci aspettavamo (o quasi): sulla sentenza della Corte Costituzionale del 4 luglio 2023, n. 159, tra condanne al risarcimento dei danni per crimini nazisti, preclusione dell'esecuzione forzata e fondo ristori, in SidiBlog, August 2023 (http://www.sidiblog.org/2023/08/07/la-decisione-che-ci-aspettavamo-o-quasi-sulla-sentenza-della-corte-costituzionale-del-4-luglio-2023-n-159-tra-condanne-al-risarcimento-dei-danni-per-crimini-nazisti-preclusione-dellese/).
Week 8 Contenuto sessioni on line e on campus
Lesson 1
Treatment of foreign organs (diplomatic and consular agents, military personnel); treatment of international organizations officials. Jurisdictional immunity of organs and individual criminal liability.
Lesson 2
The adaptation of domestic law to international law; techniques that can be used. Adaptation procedures under Italian law. Article 10 of the Constitution and the domestic rank of custom.
Week 9 Contenuto sessioni on line e on campus
Lesson 1
IN-DEPTH FOCUS: Diplomatic protection of citizens abroad: the Regeni and Attanasio cases (seminar with external speakers).
Suggested readings:
1) R. Pisillo Mazzeschi, Il caso Regeni: alcuni profili di diritto internazionale, in Ordine internazionale e diritti umani, 2018, pp. 526-535;
2) E. Sciso, Il caso Regeni: la difficile sintesi tra diritti inviolabili dell’uomo, protezione diplomatica e interessi dello Stato, in Rivista di diritto internazionale, 1/2021, pp. 197-203.
Lesson 2
Adaptation to international treaties and their domestic rank: Article 117(1) and constitutional jurisprudence.
Week 10 Contenuto sessioni on line e on campus
Lesson 1
International disputes: notion and methods of resolution. The international judgment and agreement; the so-called peaceful and diplomatic dispute resolution mechanisms.
Lesson 2
IN-DEPTH FOCUS: The relationship between international law and domestic law (seminar with external speakers)
Lesson 3
The International Court of Justice: composition and jurisdiction.
Suggested readings:
P. De Stefani, Misure urgenti della Corte Internazionale di Giustizia per scongiurare il genocidio a Gaza. Ma la guerra non si ferma, in Centro diritti umani dell’Università di Padova (https://unipd-centrodirittiumani.it/it/schede/Misure-urgenti-della-Corte-Internazionale-di-Giustizia-per-scongiurare-il-genocidio-a-Gaza-Ma-la-guerra-non-si-ferma/517).
Week 11 Contenuto sessioni on line e on campus
Lesson 1
The prohibition of the use of force in contemporary international law and its exceptions. The collective security mechanism of the U.N.: Chapter VII of the Charter and its evolution. Security Council sanctions: assumptions and limits in general international law. The practice of authorisations for the use of force.
Lesson 2
The notion of individual and collective self-defence. Article 51 of the UN Charter and Article 42 (7) TEU. The use of force by the international organizations.
Lesson 3
The International Responsibility of the State. The Draft Articles prepared by the International Law Commission in 2001: the elements of wrongful act, the causes of justification
Week 12 Contenuto sessioni on line e on campus
Lesson 1
IN-DEPTH FOCUS: The European Union's naval mission 'Irini'. (seminar with external speakers)
Lesson 2
The international responsibility of the State: countermeasures. The aggravated liability regime for violation of erga omnes obligations and jus cogens norms.
Suggested readings:
1) C. Morviducci, Le misure restrittive dell’Unione europea e il diritto internazionale: alcuni aspetti problematici, in Eurojus, 2/2019, pp. 77-96, available online.
2) M. Arcari, The conflict in Ukraine and the hurdles of collective action, in Questions of International Law, article of 30 November 2022, available online.
Week 13:
Lesson 1
International environmental law.
Lesson 2
IN-DEPTH FOCUS: The fight against climate change (seminar with external speakers)
Suggested readings:
1) J. Vinuales, The Paris Agreement on Climate Change: less is more, in German Yearbook of International Law. - Berlin. - Vol. 59(2016), p. 11-45;
2) G. Nucera, Le Nazioni Unite, il diritto e i cambiamenti climatici. Una svolta è possibile?, in Laporta, Rak, Zappacosta, Nucera (a cura di), Clima e dintorni. Giustizia ambientale e lotta al cambiamento climatico, (2022), pp. 77-89.
Lesson 3
Q&A on the course with final discussion.