LAW 2563 - International Humanitarian Law and Advocacy

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2014

International Humanitarian Law (IHL), also known as the Law of Armed Conflict, is a set of rules that seeks to balance military priorities when engaging in armed conflict with humanitarian concern for those who are impacted by such operations. This body of law comprises at its core the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and the three 1977 Additional Protocols, as well as a myriad of associated treaty and customary international law that dates back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. After decades of promise, International Criminal Law has now found its place as a vibrant and entrenched part of the international legal panoply. The liberal dream of harnessing law's power and authority to restrain and criminalize aberrant violence has been realized. There is now a cascade of International Courts and Tribunals dispensing justice routinely and assigning legal culpability to individuals who have breached the growing body of application law. This course will examine both substantive IHL and the emerging principles of international criminal law that seeks to criminalise aberrant behaviour on the battlefield. Specific topics to be covered include:- dichotomy between the rules applicable to resort to force (jus ad bellum) and the rules applicable when engaging in armed conflict (jus in bello);- the rules of distinction and proportionality;- the intersection with international human rights law;- the domestic legal incorporation of IHL;- the normative interplay between law applicable to international and non-international armed conflict;- the role of ethical/moral values when advising military command on the application of the law in the battlefield and principles of international criminal law relating to individual and command responsibility.

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Course Details

Course Code	LAW 2563
Course	International Humanitarian Law and Advocacy
Coordinating Unit	Adelaide Law School
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate Law (LLB)
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	3 hours per week
Assumed Knowledge	LAW 1508
Restrictions	Available to LLB students only. No restriction to enrolment, but Advocacy/Moot Team by selection only
Assessment	Typically will include: Online quiz (10%); Essay (2000 words) (25%); Memorial Drafting (15%) and Advocacy Proficiency (50%)

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Professor Dale Stephens

Course Staff
Associate Professor Dale Stephens (Course Coordinator)
Location: Room 2.17, Ligertwood Building
Telephone: 8313 5937
Email: dale.stephens@adelaide.edu.au
Consultation: By Appointment via email.

Please check your student email as course-related announcements are communicated via email. Course Website: www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au

IHL Advocacy Judges

Dr Rebecca LaForgia - rebecca.laforgia@adelaide.edu.au
Ms Stacey Henderson – stacey.henderson@adelaide.edu.au
Mr Mark Giddings

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .

Course Learning Outcomes

1. To improve skills and techniques of legal research.
2. The development the ability to effectively structure and articulate a written argument.
3. To develop advanced skills in statutory interpretation.
4. The capacity to analyse a complex factual scenario and identify the relevant legal issues.
5. To develop creative approaches to resolving original legal problems.
6. To acquire and develop the skills of oral advocacy.
7. To identify and evaluate relevant ethical and moral issues in legal situations.
8. The development of good interpersonal and communication skills so as to be able to effectively participate in group projects.
9. Development a capacity to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a given legal argument maintained to justify military action.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Knowledge and understanding of the content and techniques of a chosen discipline at advanced levels that are internationally recognised.	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,9
The ability to locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner.	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7,8,9
An ability to apply effective, creative and innovative solutions, both independently and cooperatively, to current and future problems.	4, 5,9
Skills of a high order in interpersonal understanding, teamwork and communication.	8
A proficiency in the appropriate use of contemporary technologies.	1
A commitment to continuous learning and the capacity to maintain intellectual curiosity throughout life.	1, 4, 5, 7,9
A commitment to the highest standards of professional endeavour and the ability to take a leadership role in the community.	7, 8,9
An awareness of ethical, social and cultural issues within a global context and their importance in the exercise of professional skills and responsibilities.	1, 7,9

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Competition rules, advocacy problems and associated materials will be available for purchase from the Image and Copy Centre and, additionally, posted on MyUni.

Recommended Resources

J Snape & G Watt, How to Moot: A Student’s Guide to Mooting (2nd ed, Oxford 2010)

Christopher Kee, The Art of Argumentation: A Guide to Mooting (Cambridge 2006)

Online Learning

Supplementary materials and resources will be available on MyUni. Students are expected to access MyUni during semester for regular updates. https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au/webapps/login/

Learning & Teaching Modes

Seminars will be conducted on a weekly basis and additional oral mooting presentations will be arranged as required. Seminars will involve the analysis of the legal issues arising in moot problems and the preparation of written and oral submissions.

All Students are eligible to enrol in this course, although the Advocacy/Moot aspect of the course will comprise up to 24 students by selection. Hence after week 6, the course will comprise two streams – a general stream and an advocacy stream. Participants in the advocacy stream will participate as members of a moot team(s) of 2 students. Participation in both the general stream and the advocacy stream will enable students to acquire and develop skills in the research and presentation of legal arguments relating to the Law of Armed Conflict. Whereas the students in the Advocacy stream will focus upon oral skills, students in the general stream will undertake a more critical examination of the law and its underlying methodologies and assumptions.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

It is expected that full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) will devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies during term time; therefore, this course will require students to devote 12 hours of contact and non-contact study per week. There will be 3 seminar contact hours per week. Students are expected to attend all seminars throughout the semester unless an absence is excused due to illness or compassionate reasons are provided.

Learning Activities Summary

Week 1	International Law Structure, International Legal reasoning, Jus Ad Bellum and Jus In Bello, Customary International Law and subsidiary sources.
Week 2	IHL Framework – Overview, Geneva Conventions & Hague Law, Means & Methods of Warfare, Definition of Armed Conflict, Distinction between International and Non-International Armed Conflict, Principles of Military Necessity and Humanity, Definitions of attack, civilian population, reprisals etc.
Week 3	Principle of Distinction and Proportionality; Precautionary Principle.
Week 4	Direct Participation in Hostilities, PW status, International Criminal Law, Individual and Personal Liability, Defences.
Week 5	Weapons Systems & Prohibitions; Art. 36 Review
Week 6	Cultural Property, ROE, Human Rights and IHL
Week 7	Practice Moot	Review and writing of a judgement
Week 8	Moot (Assessment)	Strategic Space Law/Cyber Operations
Week 9	Moot (Assessment)	Law of Naval Warfare/Law of Air Warfare
Week 10	Moot –Semi Final	Critical Approaches to LOAC
Week 11	Moot – Grand Final	International Law and Military Decision Making
Week 12	Review – Principal Warfare Officer	Review – Principal Warfare Officer

Specific Course Requirements

Students are encouraged to attend each seminar. There will be no recording of seminars.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

5.1 Assessment Summary – Advocacy Stream

Assessment Item	% of Final Mark	Dates	Length	Learning Objectives
Memorial (Averaged)	20%	Ongoing	4 to 5 page submission excluding citations and bibliography	1,2,3,4
Quiz 1 (online)	5%	Friday of Week 3, 5.00pm	10 Questions	1,3
Quiz 2 (online)	5%	Friday of Week 6, 5.00pm	10 Questions	1,3
Oral Moot Presentations (Averaged)	70%	Weeks 8 and 9	30 mins each	5,6,7,8

5.2 ASSESSMENT SUMMARY – GENERAL STREAM

Assessment Item	% of Final Mark	Dates	Length	Learning Objectives
Written Opinion/Judgment	20%	Beggining of Week 7, Monday 5,00pm	2 to 3 page opinion on observed moot	1,2,3,4
Quiz 1 (online)	5%	Fridayof Week 3, 5.00pm	10 Questions	1,3
Quiz 2 (online)	5%	Friday of Week 6, 5.00pm	10 Questions	1,3
Essay	70%	Friday of Week 12, 5.00pm	2500 words	1,2,3,4,5,9

Assessment Related Requirements

Students are encouraged to attend each seminar. There will be no recording of seminars.

Assessment Detail

Assessment detail will be available via MyUni.

Detailed grade descriptors for this course are below:

High Distinction (85-100)	Distinction (75-84)	Credit (65-74)	Pass (50-64)	FAIL (0 - 49)
Outstanding or exceptional work - understanding, interpretation, presentation & originality	A very high standard of work which demonstrates originality and insight	Demonstrates a high level of understanding and presentation.	Basic understanding	Fails to demonstrate basic understanding.
Strong evidence of independent reading beyond core texts and materials	Evidence of reading beyond core texts and materials	Thorough understanding of core texts and materials	Evidence of having read core texts and materials	Little evidence of having read core texts and materials
Demonstrates insight, awareness and understanding of deeper and more subtle aspects of the topic.	Evidence of an awareness and understanding of deeper and more subtle aspects of the topic	Sound knowledge of principles and concepts	Knowledge of principles and concepts at least adequate to communicate intelligently.	Little knowledge of principles and concepts.

Submission

All written work in the Law School is required to comply with the approved Law School style guide, The Australian Guide to Legal Citation (3rd ed).

Unless otherwise required by moot competition rules all written assignments must be printed single-sided on A4 size paper, double spaced and with a margin of at least 2.5cm. Assessment work that is not submitted in this form either may not be accepted or be required to be resubmitted in appropriate form.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

A grade of conceded pass may not be presented towards the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Laws or the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Laws programs, or any postgraduate law program, nor to satisfy prerequisite requirements within any law course.

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/exams/results.html

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level (see: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/700/ )

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide (https://access.adelaide.edu.au/sa/login.asp)

Final results for this course will be made available through .

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the 成人大片.

Practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

For more information please check out the Writing Centre website at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Further information regarding the Law School Policies and Procedures in relation to Supplementary Assessment, Extensions, and Remarks etc can be found at:

Plagiarism and other forms of cheating

Plagiarism is a serious act of academic misconduct. All students must be familiar with the Adelaide Law School Enrolment Guide 2014, and should note in particular the sections relating to plagiarism, grievance procedures and academic conduct within the Law School and the University.

Plagiarism is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Please be aware that “academic dishonesty” (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to refuse to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia.

Academic honesty is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.

The 成人大片 is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The 成人大片 therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator

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