International Criminal Law

Subject LAWS70033 (2011)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2011.

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 7 (Graduate/Postgraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2011:

November, Parkville - Taught on campus.
Pre-teaching Period Start not applicable
Teaching Period not applicable
Assessment Period End not applicable
Last date to Self-Enrol not applicable
Census Date not applicable
Last date to Withdraw without fail not applicable


Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: The total class time is between 24 and 26 hours.
Total Time Commitment: Not available
Prerequisites:

Successful completion of Principles of International Law or equivalent.
Corequisites: Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.
Recommended Background Knowledge: Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.
Non Allowed Subjects: Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.
Core Participation Requirements: Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.

Coordinator

Prof Tim Mccormack

Contact

For more information, contact the Melbourne Law Masters office.

Email law-masters@unimelb.edu.au or phone +61 3 8344 6190.

Alternatively, visit our website:

www.masters.law.unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview:

Principal topics will include:

  • The nature of law, war and crime
  • Concept of individual criminal responsibility for violations of international law
  • Elaboration of basic crimes
  • Universal jurisdiction
  • International criminal courts
  • Truth commissions
  • Civil remedies
  • Case studies; e.g. Cambodia, Lebanon, Sierra Leone.
Objectives:

This subject will focus on individual accountability for human rights abuses, including both the substantive law providing for such responsibility and the range of mechanisms available for holding individuals accountable. A student who has successfully completed this subject should:

  • Locate the law of war crimes in the great moral and political dilemmas of the last half century
  • Understand the concept of individual criminal responsibility for violations of international law
  • Assimilate the core crimes, as well as critical extensions of culpability, such as command responsibility, and key defences, such as duress or superior orders
  • Be aware of the historical development of international criminal law
  • Appreciate the relationship between national and international jurisdiction for the prosecution of international crimes
  • Be conversant with the advantages and disadvantages of prosecutions compared to other methods of individual accountability, including the debate over amnesties and pardons
  • Understand the full range of non-prosecutorial mechanisms for holding individuals accountable, including truth commissions and civil suits
  • Comprehend the basic workings of the United Nation’s (UN) ad hoc criminal tribunals and the permanent International Criminal Court.
Assessment:

Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.
Prescribed Texts: Core subject materials will be provided free of charge to all students. Some subjects require further texts to be purchased. Visit the Melbourne Law Masters website for more information about this subject.
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.
Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date

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