The object of the course is to provide the students with theoretical and practical knowledge and understanding of international diplomatic law. After this course, students are expected to better understand how diplomatic law regulates current international affairs.

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding to contemporary international affairs and world politics, in order to assess how diplomats and public officials act on the global scenario and whether specific events or behaviors performed by States and International Organizations abide by the international law. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding to the field of international law in order to protect the interests of States, individuals and firms (e.g. in international arbitration procedures). Ability to make independent evaluations and issue critical assessments as regards international affairs and diplomatic practice, in terms of lawfulness or unlawfulness of the behaviors of States and other international actors. Students will be able to use the knowledge acquired through this course as an asset in order to compete on the international job market, with a specific focus as regards recruitment in institutional bodies (e.g.: public competitions for fixed-term or permanent posts in the diplomatic service, as well as in International Organizations and NGOs). Besides, this course provides a broader comprehension of International law for those students who plan to pursue a career as lawyers practicing in the area of international legal affairs, as well as managers working in legal departments of firms. Communication skills: Students are required to learn the appropriate international diplomatic legal vocabulary and will develop appropriate communication skills by studying and analyzing legal sources and case law. These communication skills will be tested during class discussions and workshops.

This course aims to examine the law and practice of contemporary international relations and diplomacy. As regards theoretical knowledge, attention will be devoted to the analysis of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Given the importance of practice in the behavior of diplomacy, throughout the course there will be constant reference to events emerging from contemporary international relations, so as to underline how diplomatic rules come into practice. This course will also provide the students with an overview of the functions of diplomacy as an instrument that governments use to interact among them and with other international actors, as well as of the activities and duties carried out by diplomats, within the ecosystem of the relevant rules of international law.

Readings as well as materials for class discussions and students’ presentations will be delivered in class. Some scholarly elements will be chosen from: Denza, Eileen, “Diplomatic Law. Commentary on the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations”, Fourth edition, Oxford University Press, 2016

Face-to-face lectures. Students are expected to read the assigned reading materials and to contribute to class discussions. Reference to contemporary diplomatic issues will also be discussed. This method will help students to mix up theory and practice in order to understand the current international relations scenario.

The grade for the course will be determined on the basis of the following 3 components: - Class participation and presentations (30%) - Midterm exam (30%) -Final exam (40%) CLASS PARTICIPATION AND PRESENTATION: presentation, discussion, response to discussion questions, case studies. Group presentations will start during the 10th week. The list of the groups will be published on the Luiss Learn platform after the 3rd week. Each group will present a case study by Power Point. 0.5 to 1 points will be given for each participant and 1 to 1.5 points for the speaker(s). MIDTERM EXAM (to be held in the classroom): Short written assignments. Students will be required to write individually a short text (roughly 1000 words) about the contents of the previous lessons (an open question chosen by the Professor concerning an international legal topic). In this way students will be offered the opportunity to practice their writing skills during the course, so as to be able to deal more easily with the final paper. During the 3rd week, the Professor will assign 2 topics (students will have to choose only one) for the midterm that will take place in class during 5th week. FINAL EXAM (to be held in the classroom): The final exam will consist of a research paper. Students will be required to write, within 2 hours, a text of approximately 2,500 words based on a case taken from the international press. The exam topics will be assigned by the Professor during the 7th week. The exam topics will be assigned by the Professor only for the first exam session. Non-attending students will be required to: 1. Submit a short text (approximately 1,000 words) on an international legal case chosen by the Professor. This must be handed in on the day of the exam. 2. In addition, on the day of the exam, they will write a longer text (approximately 2,500 words) in class, within 2 hours, based on a case taken from the international press.

Active participation in class discussion The topic must be original and present a legal approach to the current scenario of international relations