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International Dispute Settlement

Course Level

intermediate - advanced / 3rd - 4th year

Course Language

English

Course Classification

This is a Themis course. It is also open to non-Themis students.

Teaching Mode

We expect face-to-face teaching on campus in the winter term 2023/24.

ECTS-credits

5 (if course has been attended regularly and exam has been passed)

Frequency

This course will be taught at irregular intervals.

Contact Hours

This is an intensive course with class meetings on three entire Saturdays.

Time Schedule and Course Venue

please see our electronic course catalogue

Course Content

How do States settle their disputes? When can they bring other States before international courts and tribunals – and when may these hear cases? How do proceedings in international fora look like? What are the effects of decisions rendered by international courts and tribunals? Do States follow them, can they be enforced, and can they have an impact even if they are not complied with?

These are some of the questions that the course will tackle. It will do so with a focus on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) but other international courts and tribunals will also be considered (such as ITLOS, the WTO DSB, and inter-State or mixed arbitration). We will discuss these issues based on landmark cases as well as recent and current proceedings, such as the Treaty of Amity case brought by Iran against the US or the Relocation of the US Embassy case (Palestine v US).

Suggested Reading:

  • Collier and Lowe, The Settlement of Disputes in International Law (OUP 1999).
  • Crawford, Brownlie’s Principles of Public International Law (9th edn OUP 2019) pp. 669-716.
  • Hernandez, International Law (OUP 2019) pp. 279 - 322.
  • Merrills, International Dispute Settlement (6th edn CUP 2017).
  • Pellet, ‘Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes’ in Wolfrum (ed), The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, available at:
    http://opil.ouplaw.com/view/10.1093/law:epil/9780199231690/law-9780199231690-e70?rskey=y9kCQe&result=7&prd=EPIL (last visited: 18 December 2018)
  • Rosenne, ‘International Court of Justice (ICJ)’ in Wolfrum (ed), The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, available at:
    http://opil.ouplaw.com/view/10.1093/law:epil/9780199231690/law-9780199231690-e34?rskey=UGE0id&result=2&prd=EPIL (last visited: 18 December 2018)
  • Hernandez, The International Court of Justice and the Judicial Function (OUP 2014).
  • von Bogdandy and Venzke, In Whose Name? A Public Law Theory of International Adjudication (OUP 2014).
  • Shany, Assessing the Effectiveness of International Courts (OUP 2016).
  • Alter, The New Terrain of International Law: Courts, Politics, Rights (Princeton University Press 2014).
Further reading will be communicated to the participants ahead of each session.

Restricted Enrollment

yes (that means that the number of participants is limited and that you might not get a place in this course)

Course Registration

via Campus Management

Please sign up for this course under the module "Study Program for Exchange Students - Module 13".

registration period: 2 October 2023, 9 a.m. - 13 October 2023, 12 p.m. (noon)

In order to know if you have obtained a place in this course, please check out your course plan on Campus Management (tab "Stundenplan") from 14 October 2023.

As long as there are still seats available after the registration period has expired, they will be allocated according to the principle "first come, first served" if you sign up by 3 November 2023.

De-Registration from this Course

via Campus Management

regular drop period: 2 October 2023, 9 a.m. - 3 November 2023

After the regular drop period you can only drop this course with a valid cause until 14 days prior to the exam. Please contact the International Office at the Law Department if you have to use this option.

Type of Exam

oral presentation

Exam Period

Presentations are going to take place throughout the whole course.

Registration for the Exam

International exchange students will automatically be registered for the exam when they sign up for this course.

De-Registration from the Exam

Students who drop this course via Campus Management are automatically de-registered from the exam. Students who do not drop this course via Campus Management and do not take part any longer, are going to finish this course with a non-passing grade (0 points).

Grade Release

via Campus Management