LAW 409 - International Law

This course provides a general introduction to public international law. We will examine the sources of international law (e.g., treaties, custom); the relationship between international law and domestic law in the United States; the role of international organizations, such as the U.N. Security Council and the International Court of Justice; and international legal norms governing territorial sovereignty, natural resources, environmental protection, the law of the sea, international human rights, the law of armed conflict, refugees, and international crimes. Over the course of the semester, we will discuss a variety of recent and current controversies, including Russian aggression in Ukraine, the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change, Israel’s responses to terrorist attacks from Gaza and the West Bank, and the South China Sea dispute.