The course will focus on general international law, seeking to identify, in particular, the impact of the relevant norms on the conduct of international relations and national decision-making in this area.
Subject matter coverage will centre on those parts of general international law that are most essential in equipping candidates with the necessary knowledge and skills to tackle more specialised areas on international law: nature, function and sources of international law, relationship between international & domestic law, international agreements, and subjects of international law (including statehood & recognition).
Special emphasis will be put on developing the students' capacity to apply international legal norms in concrete settings, and the course will include problem-solving workshops.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Synthesise, apply and communicate the basic concepts and terminology of public international law;
- Evaluate the processes by which international law is formed and the role and status of key actors and sources of international law in the international legal system;
- Evaluate the rules and relevance of treaty law in the context of contemporary issues in public international law, including to apply relevant rules of treaty law to analyse international disputes;
- Recognise and appraise the interaction between the international legal system and the Australian legal system;
- Evaluate by reference to particular cases the relevance of international law to current political and social developments at the international and national levels;
- Critically analyse and reflect on complex international law problems in order to develop and communicate creative, practical and theoretically-informed solutions;
Other Information
The Maritime Law Studies iteration of LAWS8182 is a CLOSED cohort and will not be open to general enrolment.
Indicative Assessment
- The proposed means of assessment for this course will provide students with at least two pieces of assessment, including one piece during the teaching period. More information about the means of assessment, including the relationship between the assessment and the learning outcomes of the course, will be available in the Class Summary and on the course WATTLE page. (100) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
- Classes offered in non-standard sessions will be taught semi-intensively with compulsory contact hours of approximately 26 hours of face to face teaching. The course will also require advanced preparation through assigned readings. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion of this course (class preparation, teaching and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Students must rely on the approved Class Summary which will be posted to the Programs and Courses site approximately two weeks prior to the commencement of the course. Alternatively, this information will be published in the Program course list when finalised.
Preliminary Reading
Students must rely on the approved Class Summary which will be posted to the Programs and Courses site approximately two weeks prior to the commencement of the course.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 34
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $5280 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $6720 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Summer Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1418 | 24 Feb 2025 | 07 Mar 2025 | 07 Mar 2025 | 14 Apr 2025 | In Person | View |
| 1419 | 24 Feb 2025 | 07 Mar 2025 | 07 Mar 2025 | 14 Apr 2025 | Online | View |
| Maritime Law Studies | ||||||
| 1478 | 17 Feb 2025 | 18 Feb 2025 | 14 Mar 2025 | 04 Apr 2025 | In Person | View |
Winter Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6463 | 21 Jul 2025 | 01 Aug 2025 | 01 Aug 2025 | 08 Sep 2025 | In Person | N/A |
| 6464 | 21 Jul 2025 | 01 Aug 2025 | 01 Aug 2025 | 08 Sep 2025 | Online | N/A |