Background

This is an introductory course in international law that serves as a pre-requisite for many more advanced international law courses. It is also the fulfills a required core course option for students intending to pursue the course concentration Option in international law or pursuing the JD/MA joint program completed in association with the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University.

Historically, public international law was the law of nations: the body of law governing the relationships between sovereign states. Public international law is no longer so narrowly circumscribed. Defined broadly, international law now includes as expansive a range of subject matters as does “municipal” (i.e., domestic) law. In fact, it is fair to say that most domestic legal practice is influenced, at some level, by international law.

The study of international law has two elements. The first element can be labeled “procedural”: the study of international law requires an appreciation of what international law is, how it is made and to whom it applies. The second element is substantive: the content of international law in relation to specific subjects. Because international law cannot be understood without examining both elements, much of this introductory course is dedicated to studying the procedural dimension of international law. But this course also surveys a number of different substantive subject-matter areas covered by international law, in expectation that interested students will pursue the many subject-matter specific courses in international law offered in the upper year program.

The "Data Dump"

Each of my courses has a "data dump" -- that is, informational content. Upon successful completion of this course, you will have acquired knowledge in relation to the following subject-matter areas:

Confronting Dilemmas in International Relations

Each of my courses also has a "practical" aspect, where I ask you to deploy the material from the data dump.  In this course, we shall situate international law in the broader context of international relations and work through a real-life dilemmas in international relations using international law.  In so doing, we will examine how well and how poorly international law works as a problem-solving tool.

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

This course may be very different from courses you have taken before.

The Fipped Classroom

My courses are "flipped".  If you want to know more about why I flip my classes, read my blog. 

But for our purposes, what do I mean by "flipping"?  It means I don't do the "talking head" thing -- I don't lecture.  Instead, all my lecture materials are placed online as podcasts.  You review these materials in advance of our classroom sessions -- and you may re-review them as many times as you like, where ever and whenever you want.  You can listen while running, riding a train, flying in a plane, driving in a car, cooking, cleaning, skipping (but please not while cycling outdoors).  You can listen at times and in places where your brain works best.

But a “flipped” classroom means more than simply displacing lecture-based instruction to non-classroom times through use of recorded and downloadable lectures. More critically, it also means the introduction of in class “active learning” strategies. These active learning activities would otherwise be impossible because of time consumed by (inefficient) passive learning (i.e., lectures).  Classes are, in our course, "practices".  We will experiment with a number of active learning techniques.  In this class, we shall focus on working through international law problems using hypotheticals, tied in many instances to a larger real-life international relations dilemma.  This will involve a mix of Socratic, in-practice discussion and role-playing.  I will be feeding you facutal data, and you will put into practice the knowledge you are acquiring to assess, analyze and respond to this data. You will be partners in this learning approach, and you will be responsible for developing your own skills.  I will coach. 

Why do I use the flipped approach?  Because my experience -- and the more methodologically sound empirical studies -- suggest that you will learn more, and you will learn it more "deeply".  And also because I do not think that the "data dump" approach of conventional teaching helps you down the path to becoming good lawyers, at least not as quickly as does flipped teaching.

Will it be more work?  Yes and no.  The way I use flipped teaching, you will need to stay on top of your game.  In our "practices", I have high expectations of you.  You can't coast.  And so you will need to be primed. 

Flipped teaching and active learning may also be something you're not used to.  You have mostly become very efficient "passive" learners -- that is how you succeeded and got to law school in the first place.  In my courses, I am asking you to develop a new skill set.  And so that may take a little longer.

But the pay off is huge.

And more than that, I also will assign less reading than I would in a passive class.  More on that below.

My Job

I have a number of obligations.  First, I obviously need to give you work.  But just to be clear: my approach to legal education is not "I suffered for my law degree and now it's your turn".  And my rejection of this philosophy means two things:

Second, my most important job is to give you individualized feedback.  And not (just) feedback once you have written your exam.  I need to give you feedback so you can measure how well you are absorbing the course so that you know, and can adjust your strategies.  To do this successfully, I need your help -- more on that below.

Third, and on a related issue, my job is to teach.  That means that I do the things I've described above, but I will also do my best to resist the ever-present law school temptation to play "hide the ball" on you.  That's not to say that I spoon feed -- quite the contrary.  But it does mean that my job is to help you navigate the material, pull it together, draw connections and weave together patterns.  To be clear: I want you to do this yourself -- it is your job to learn how to do this because I will not be standing at your shoulder through your professional career.  But my job is to help teach you how to do this, as best I can.

You won't all get As.  (Under faculty guidelines, the average in this class will be a B.  Usually, it is a "natural" B -- I have never had to bring down marks to meet guidelines.)  But I want the grade you earn to be just that: earned.  I will be measuring you against high standards.  But bottom line, I want to make sure that, at least in principle, each of you is equipped to meet those high standards.  That is my job.

Your Job

I hold myself to very high standards -- no one feels worse than I do when I fail to meet them.  And I also ask that you impose similar expectations on yourself.  There will be a lot of you, and one of me.  I will be working very hard to give you individualized feedback throughout the term.  This is just one of several classes I teach.  And my teaching is only one part of my professional obligations.  

So I require your full and enthusiatic cooperation.  Which is to say I expect people to work earnestly, to prepare and come prepared, to work hard on the active learning projects, to meet deadlines and generally to perform as well as your natural aptitudes allow you to.  This is a serious profession for serious people confronting some of the most serious issues in our society, and while we can have fun along the way, I take seriously my obligation to certify to the world my view on your talents, through the grades I give you. 

I understand that things happen, that sometimes the wheels fall off because of matters beyond your control.  I am not hard hearted and this is not boot camp.  For formal extensions, avail yourself of our exam accomodation procedures, if life takes an unexpected turn.  On top of that, if in the course of the term, developments make it hard to stay apace our course, come see me.  Let me know and we will discuss options.

You also have another job: it is very important to me that I get to know each and every one of you by name.  But I have an awful memory for names.  (I've been known to pause in uncertainty when suddenly confronted by a close relative.)  I need you to help me with that. For instance, I ask that you prepare "tent cards" with your names that you place in front of you during class session.  I will also take wild guesses at your names as I meet you around the school, and will often be dead wrong.  So your job is to forgive me this social faux pas, and assist me in correcting my misapprehension of your identity.

Materials

Course materials will be more diverse than is typical. I have organized each class into a "Practice".  Each of these Practices is associated with assigned readings and also relevant podcasts and in-class exercises.  Readings are typically pages assigned from Currie, Forcese, Harrington, Oosterveld, International Law: Doctrine, Practice and Theory (Irwin Law, 2014).  Please note: you must use the 2d Edition, as it contains many materials not found in the 1st Edition.  I will be asking you to read one full ICJ case and one full treaty, and you will complete skill building "research" quizzes on this case and treaty. 

Quizzes will be found on the University of Ottawa's Blackboard Learn system.  You should ensure that you are able to login to this sytem and access our course.  If you have problems with Blackboard Learn, be sure to contact Virtual Campus Support (CMTL), Tel.: 613-562-5800 ext. 6555, Assistance request form

If you have difficulties accessing other materials from the H20 playlist, contact me.

Evaluation

So how will I evaluate you?  There will be an exam at the end of this course.  It will be two hours, open book and "computerized".  (That is, you will be able to use the law school's ExamSoft system, with details to follow from Academic Office at some point in the term).

On paper, this exam will be worth 65% of your final grade.  But the way it will work in practice is more complicated -- this is just a nominal weighting.  That is because of the way the rest of course (35%) will be assessed through our "active learning" excercises, quizzes and practices.  Those exercises, quizzes and practices are pass/fail.  But in order to earn a "pass" they must be B quality.  Anything less than a B, and you must repeat the exercise, quiz and practice until you achieve a B.  (You will have a maximum of 3 tries at this, although my experience is that you will probably succeed the second time). 

If you complete all of the excercises, quizzes and practices meeting this standard, I will assign you 25 points.  These 25 points are the marks toward your final grade that you will have accumulated going into the exam.  They are "marks in the bank" and represent the equivalent of a B level performance in 35% of the course.  If you score a grade lower than a B in the exam (worth 65%), these 25 points will end up lifting you higher than you would otherwise score if they didn't exist.  If you score higher than a B in the exam, then I will use the exam grade as your final grade.

This is a complicted way of saying that the pass/fail exercises, quizzes and practices are a "safety blanket", but they won't drag you down if you outperfom on the exam.  (Since this is law school full of aspiring lawyers who should read fine print, I must also add a proviso that to benefit from this system, you need to actually complete the exercises, quizzes and practices to the B standard.  If you don't then, you can't just turn up and hope that the exam will constitute your final mark.  It won't, and that final grade will weighted to take into account both the final exam grade and the other (incomplete) assignments.)

I am also obliged to add that the end results must meet the faculty's grading guidelines, which set a B as the average for this course (subject to reasonable deviations).  But based on past experience, my grading formula should naturally produce results that lie within the faculty's permissible range.  (If I go need to adjust grades, my methodology is to add/substract the same number of points (say 2 points) from every student, shifting the grading curve up or down so that the average meets faculty guidelines.  I do not impose a mathematial belling formula that treats students differently, according to a statistical expectation about mark distribution.)

I am sometimes asked why I use this pass/fail system, with a pass amounting to 70% (25/35).  The short answer is that I want to take the focus off of "grading" for the assignments, and place it on "feedback".  Grading is a high pressure situation, in which the focus is on performance -- in a graded environment, for instance, I would never allow 'do overs' and students would be saddled with results from their first try.  Feedback is about encouraging learning and improvement, and not measuring performance to 5 percentile levels of resolution.   And in fact, many of the assignments do not lend themselves to this 5 percentile level of resolution -- they are either acceptable, or not.  The other answer is that in the absence of this pass/fail system, I would need to set a very different exam to meet faculty marking guidelines.  Basically, the system described above means I can set a challenging, but not arduous exam, to meet faculty grading guidelines 'naturally' without using any ad hoc mark adjustments.  Because of the provisos set out above, students who struggle with the exam (below a B) have a safety blanket.  Students who do well on the exam (above a B) are not hobbled by a pass/fail system in which the maxiumum achievable mark for an assignment is a B.

Lectures for this course are delivered exclusively through podcasts.  Podcasts come in two forms.  A handful are available in both audio and video formats.  These are podcasts in which images and drawings are sometimes useful to help navigate concepts, and you are encouraged to take advantage of this feature.  Some podcasts are, however, audio only.

Video podcasts are housed as an "albuum" on Vimeo, and there are links in the Practice session descriptions in this syllabus to the relevant videos.  I also include links to the relevant audio podcasts.  Audio podcasts are housed on screencast.com and are feed through to iTunes, if you wish to access the full roster as they are posted.  The formal iTunes Store subscription link is here, allowing you to download directly to portable devices. 

You may download or stream audio podcasts.  Video podcasts are for streaming (video downloads are very memory intensive). 

If you stream audio podcasts directly from the screencast.com site rather than downloading or using iTunes, please be aware that there is a delay between when you press the play icon and the start of the podcast, as the file downloads.

Conventional office hours don't work very well.  I usually just sit there like the Maytag repair man, waiting for students who never come. Except suddenly around exams -- and then there are queues and mobs and you waste time waiting to see me.

I would like to avoid that, and so this is the way I work:

Most of you will prefer to contact me through email, at cforcese@uottawa.ca.  I am generally very good at responding to email -- but please use "CML XXXX" (with XXXX the course code for our class) as the preface in your subject line so I know the message comes from a student and I can prioritize it.

But I also hope to meet all of you in person over the course of the semester.  I have blocks of times where it is possible to automatically schedule one-on-one appointments with me.  Please use my automated scheduler app and follow all the instructions.  By doing this, appointments will be logged into our respective calendars, and we will avoid double-booking, line-ups and missed appointments.

Academic Fraud:

Students are reminded of the rules on academic fraud. All instances of fraud will be reported for investigation and sanction. Assignments submitted must be your own work. Please familiarize yourself with the University Academic Fraud Regulations and the University of Ottawa student integrity guide.

The university disciplinary process for fraud can result in penalties ranging from loss of credits for the course to expulsion. Academic fraud must also be reported to the Law Society of Upper Canada, which in turn may refuse you admission to practice law in the province.

Classroom Etiquette:

Laptops and electronic devices are to be used in practices -- I will be asking you to conduct "insta-research" exercises during practices, partnering with those who have devices if you do not. However, it is easy for your device to become a distraction to you and to those around you, and therefore you are to avoid using computers for entertainment or extraineous purposes during practices.  Research shows that using your laptop for other purposes means that you will score lower grades:

We found that participants who multitasked on a laptop during a lecture scored lower on a test compared to those who did not multitask, and participants who were in direct view of a multitasking peer scored lower on a test compared to those who were not. The results demonstrate that multitasking on a laptop poses a significant distraction to both users and fellow students and can be detrimental to comprehension of lecture content.

Faira Sana, Tina Weston, Nicholas Cepeda, "Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers," (2013) 62 Computers & Education 24.  See also the newspaper story on this issue. 

I am indifferent if you wish to sully your chances of good grades.  I am much more concerned if your activities are impairing the chances of those around you.  Accordingly, here are the classroom rules.

Accomodation:

For students in need of accommodation

To request an exam deferral, assignment extension, or other accommodation, please contact, clawaccess@uottawa.ca.

Circumstances that may warrant accommodation include but are not restricted to:

• a permanent state of affairs (e.g., a disability, a permanent medical condition),

• an ongoing situation (e.g., a personal crisis, pregnancy),

• reasons related to equity concerns (e.g., religious obligations, sole parenthood),

• a one-time event or circumstance (e.g., a short illness, a temporary injury, a day surgery), or

• compassionate grounds (e.g., a death in the family, a sick child or dependant).

Students should consult the Equity and Academic Success portion of the Common Law Student Centre website for complete details regarding accommodation procedures.

For students in need of learning supports

Students who require accommodation or academic support because of a physical or learning disability, or any ongoing condition which affects their ability to learn, are invited to register with SASS- ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS:

Office: Desmarais Building, room 3172 (3rd floor)

Telephone: 613.562.5976

TTY: 613.562.5214 E-mail: adapt@uottawa.ca Web: www.sass.uottawa.ca/access/

As part of the registration process, students will meet with a Learning Specialist to identify their individual needs, discuss appropriate strategies, and establish adaptive measures. SASS – Academic Accommodations assesses, establishes, and implements appropriate academic accommodations for students who have a disability, while adhering to the University of Ottawa’s policies, procedures, and administrative regulations, as well as Human Rights legislation. SASS – Academic Accommodations works collaboratively with our faculty to facilitate the academic accommodation process.

Deadlines to request accommodation for final exams:

Fall Semester: before 15 November

January term: Before January 10

Winter Semester: before 15 March

For students in need of counselling and wellness resources · Member Assistance Program:

Law students are invited to use the free and confidential support and counselling services. This is a service funded by and fully independent of the Law Society of Ontario, available 24/7 at 1-855-403-8922: http://www.myassistplan.com/ · SASS – Counselling and Coaching:

The University of Ottawa’s Counselling & Coaching Service provides free and confidential counselling support to Common Law students. For a consultation, please call 613-562-5200 or visit their website at https://sass.uottawa.ca/en/personal. The Counselling & Coaching Service is located at 100 Marie-Curie (Health Services building), 4th floor. · University of Ottawa Health Services (UOHS) - Mental Health Unit:

The Family Health Team of the UOHS offers mental health services. The Family Health Team Psychiatrists and Mental Health Counsellors are available to patients enrolled with a family physician with the UOHS Family Health Team. Services are free. To register with UOHS, visit https://www.uottawa.ca/health/register. · Just Balance:

A support site aimed at promoting the well-being of law students in Canada: www.justbalance.ca · Emergency Services: http://sass.uottawa.ca/en/personal/emergency

Information regarding the prevention of sexual violence

The University of Ottawa does not tolerate any form of sexual violence. Sexual violence refers to any act of a sexual nature committed without consent, such as rape, sexual harassment or online harassment. To report an incident of sexual violence or to obtain confidential support in regard to an incident, the following resources are available to you.

Emergencies: In the case of an imminent threat of sexual violence or sexual violence in progress, a report can be made by calling 911 or by contacting Protection Services.

Other reporting mechanisms: In non-emergency situations, incidences of sexual violence can be reported to: · The Human Rights Office: (613) 562-5222 (www.uottawa.ca/respect/en) · Protection Services: (613) 562-5411 (www.uottawa.ca/protection/en)

· Student Academic Success Service (SASS) – Counselling and Coaching Unit (sass.uottawa.ca/en/personal) · University of Ottawa Health Services (www.uottawa.ca/health/)

Other forms of support: Some survivors of sexual harassment or sexual violence may want to speak with someone about their experience prior to deciding whether to file a formal report. Others may choose not to report, but will still want support from professionals who specialize in the area of sexual violence prevention and supporting survivors. If this is the type of support you are looking for, you can contact one of the following organizations to receive confidential services without judgement. These organizations will listen to you, direct you to other services you may need, and support you throughout the process you choose to pursue:

On-campus:

· Student Academic Success Service (SASS) – Counselling and Coaching Unit (sass.uottawa.ca/en/personal)

Off-campus: · Ottawa Rape Crisis Center (ORCC) (www.orcc.net). This organization provides English-language support for women. · Centre d’aide et de lutte contre les agressions à caractère sexuel (CALACS) (www.calacs.ca). This organization provides French-language support for women. · Law Society of Ontario Discrimination and Harassment Counsel (www.lsuc.on.ca). This is a free service available to the Ontario public, lawyers and paralegals. It provides confidential assistance to those who may have experienced discrimination or harassment by a lawyer or paralegal. The service is provided in both English and French.

Date (dd/mm): Session Title

I will populate this file with the relevant readings and podcasts as the term proceeds.  When readings begin/end on a page within a chapter, assume that you are to start/finish reading at the first headings, unless otherwise noted.

30/01: Practice 1: Intro to Int'l Law and Relations

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, pp. 1-47; Sean Mirski, The South China Sea Dispute: A Brief History & Dispute in the South China Sea: A Legal Primer

Podcast: Podcast 1 (History); Podcast 2 (Politics).  These two podcasts are longer than usual, and are designed to create a "level playing" field for students coming to this topic for the first time.

01/02: Practice 2: Substantive Topic I: Use of Force (The Basics)

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, pp. 843-860; 880-895; 596-599; Spratly Skirmish - 1988; Philippines-Mindanao Conflict

Podcast: Podcast 2A (Primer on the Law of Armed Conflict)

06/02: Practice 3: Sources of Int'l Law (Treaties I)

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, pp. 47-50; 54-70; 70-83 (excluding Genocide Conventions case and Law in Context text box)

Podcast: Podcast 3 (Treaties 1); Podcast 4 (Treaties 2)

08/02: Practice 4: Sources of Int'l Law (Treaties II)

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, 83-88 (up to Free Zone case); 90-92 (up to "Draft Articles"); 97-115.

Podcast: Podcast 5 (Treaties 3); Podcast 6 (Treaties 4)

Ripped from the headlines: Be prepared to evaluate the international law claims made in this article and this article.

13/02: Practice 5: Sources of Int'l Law (Custom and Left Overs)

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, 116-157

Podcasts: Podcast 8 (Customary I); Podcast 9 (Customary II); Podcast 10 (Other Sources of IL)

15/02 Practice 6: Subjects of Int'l Law (States I)

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, 180-193 (up to Customs Regime); 195 (beginning at last full paragraph "One of...") - 202 (up to "Memorandum"); 204 (from second last full para "The Canadian approach...") - 211.

Podcasts: Podcast 11 (States I)

20/02: No practice (Family Day)

DUE by 4 pm 21/02: Feedback Quiz I (Sources) and Research Quiz I (Int'l Law in Cdn Law) (listen to Podcast 7 (Treaty Reception) before attempting this quiz.

22/02: Practice 7: Subjects of Int'l Law (States II)

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, 211-221; 225-246

Podcasts: Podcast 12 (States 2)

27/02: Practice 8: Subjects of Int'l Law (Int'l Organizations & the UN System)

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, 246-306

Podcasts: Podcast 13 (UN System)

01/03: No practice (Career Day)

DUE by 4 pm 04/03: Feedback Quiz II (Subjects); Research Quiz II: Reading an International Treaty (make sure to have a full copy of the UN Charter in front of you before attempting this quiz).

06/03: No practice

08/03: Practice 9: Substantive Topic II: Int'l Human Rights Law (The Basics)

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, 599-636; 654-676

Podcast:  Podcast 13A (Primer on International Human Rights Law)

13/03: Practice 10: State Jurisdiction over Territory (Land I)

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, 307-345

Podcasts:Podcast 14 (State Territory I)

15/03: Practice 11: State Jurisdiction over Territory (Land II)

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, 345-380

Podcasts: Podcast 15 (State Territory II)

DUE by 4 pm 17/03: One page briefing note for Canadian minister of foreign affairs's statement on the developing crisis in the South China Sea (part of our in-class "hypothetical")

20/03: Practice 12: State Jurisdiction over Territory (Inland Waterways and Oceans)

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, 381-387; 393-400; 402-454.

Podcasts: Podcast 16 (Oceans I) and Podcast 17 (Oceans II and Special Regions)

22/03: Practice 13: State Jurisdiction over People, Places and Things (Enforcement and Prescriptive Jurisdiction)

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, 475-521

Podcasts: Podcast 18 (State Jurisdiction I)

27/03: Practice 14: State Jurisdiction over People, Places and Things (Jurisdictional Immunities)

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, 523-548; 554-584

Podcasts: Podcast 19 (State Jurisdiction II)

29/03 Practice 15: Substantive Topic III: International Criminal Law (The Basics)

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, 905-916; 929-941

Podcasts:Podcast 19A (Primer on International Criminal Law)

DUE by 4 pm 31/03: Feedback Quiz III (Jurisdiction); Research Quiz III (Reading an ICJ Case Skill Building) (this quiz will focus on whole Tehran Hostage Taking Case, so read the Case judgments before attempting this quiz)

03/04: Practice 16: State Responsibility

Readings: Currie, Forcese et al, pp. 763-792; 797-803; 807-810

Podcasts: Podcast 20 (State Responsibility)

05/04: Practice 17: Pre exam prep and review

Podcast: Forcese exam writing tips and podcast

DUE by 4 pm 07/04: One page briefing note for Canadian minister of foreign affairs's statement on the latest in the developing crisis in the South China Sea (part of our in-class "hypothetical")