Course Details

International Law: the Law of War

In this seminar course we will examine the international legal parameters relating to the conduct of war/armed conflict, a topic that is also known under the heading of international humanitarian law. We will consider the application of legal regulation in the context of armed conflict from three perspectives: the lawfulness of a resort to armed force in the first instance; the lawfulness of belligerents' conduct during armed conflict once it has commenced, and the post conflict legal consequences of forms of criminal misconduct during the conflict. More specifically, we will examine the regulation of various means and methods of warfare (including the choice and use of weapons); the status and treatment of civilians, civilian objects and POWs; the regulation of non-international armed conflicts; the application of the law of war to non-state actors (such as terrorist organizations and corporations); various enforcement mechanisms and the effectiveness thereof; the legal ramifications of belligerent occupation and issues related to the protection of cultural artifacts and the environment during wartime. We will consider the application in armed conflict of several international instruments and the military manuals of selected countries. Throughout the course we will relate the international legal principles to real life situations in places such as Iraq; Afghanistan; Palestine; Kosovo; East Timor; Darfur and Rwanda (and elsewhere in Africa); Columbia; Sri Lanka and elsewhere in the world. No exam. I will approve all multidraft papers. This class meets the Research Writing Requirement

Catalog Number: CONPUB 706
Practice Areas: International Law Practice Area
Additional Course Information: IHR Elective (JDIHR & LLM-IHR), Research Writing


Course History

Spring 2022
Title: International Law: the Law of War
Faculty: Sawyer, Stephen P. (courses | profile)
Section: 1     Credits: 3.0
Capacity: 20     Actual: 18