International Law

Lesson Plan: International Law

Lesson Plan: International Law

Topic: International Law

Week #: 10

Estimated Time: 150-180 minutes

 

Assigned Readings:

  1. Traisbach, Knut. 2017. “International Law.” In International Relations Theory, Stephen McGlinchey, ed. pp. 57-71. Available online at https://www.e-ir.info/2017/01/01/international-law/ (14 pages, core reading)
  2. United Nations. 2012. “The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: A Historical Perspective.” Available online at https://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_historical_perspective.htm (19 pages, briefing)
  3. International Criminal Court. “How the Court Works.” Available online at https://www.icc-cpi.int/about/how-the-court-works (17 pages, briefing)

 

Total page count: 50

 

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this lesson plan, students will be able to:

  1. Distinguish international law from domestic law
  2. Remember sources of international law
  3. Analyze examples of international law
  4. Evaluate a new international court: the International Criminal Court

 

Misconceptions of Topic:

  1. Students may assume international law functions the same way as domestic legal systems.
  2. Alternately, students may assume international law is weak or non-enforceable.

 

 

Lesson Component

Ancillary(ies)

Lecture: Review learning objectives

Lecture slides

Lecture and discussion: What’s special about international law?

 

Reading 1

Lecture slides

 

Lecture and discussion:

-Key concepts in international law

-Sources of international law

Reading 1

Lecture slides

Example of a treaty: United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

 

Think Pair Share: Should the US join UNCLOS?

Reading 2

Lecture slides

 

Additional online resource: UNCLOS Website:

https://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_overview_convention.htm

 

Lecture and discussion: Evolution of international law

 

Application and discussion: International Criminal Court 

Readings 1 and 3

Lecture slides

Handout

Online video and discussion: ICC

Reading 3

Online resource:

POV/PBS (2015), Excerpts from “The Reckoning: History of the ICC” (Approx. 17 minutes)

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--m3foHOecE

 

Conclude and wrap-up

Lecture slides

 

 

Required Readings: International Law

Contents:

  • Reading #1: Traisbach 2017
  • Reading #2: United Nations 2012
  • Reading #3: International Criminal Court 2019

Introducing the readings:

This unit’s readings provide an introduction to international law. To define and connect key concepts, Traisbach (2017) discusses sources and applications of international law. This reading also distinguishes international law from domestic law, as the former faces unique problems of implementation and enforcement.

Two additional readings offer examples of international law at work. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is a major international law governing maritime rights. UN (2012) provides an historical overview of how this convention came into existence.

International law is also a very dynamic and growing field of action and advocacy. One young international court, the International Criminal Court, was founded in 2002. It is today the only international court to investigate and prosecute certain crimes against humanity. ICC (2019) offers an overview of how this court works to address these international crimes.