Short Course: Foundations of Public International Law

Course Details

This short course provides participants with an in depth understanding of the basic tenets of public international law. Bringing together a distinguished cohort of international law experts from academia and practice, the course provides participants with a solid working knowledge of the foundations of public international law including its nature and structure, the sources and subjects of international law, issues of responsibility, jurisdiction and dispute settlement.

The course can be taken alone or together with BIICL's 'Public International Law in Practice' course. That course adopts a thematic approach to the application and practice of public international law with sessions on individual fields of international law including: human rights and business and human rights, climate change, law of the sea, migration and refugee law, international criminal law, international humanitarian law amongst others.

Indicative course topics::

• Nature and Structure of Public International Law
• Sources of International Law
• Law of Treaties
• The United Nations Charter
• Jurisdiction and State Immunity
• Statehood and Recognition
• Law of International Organisations
• State Responsibility
• The Individual and non-state actors in international Law
• International Courts and Tribunals

  
Who is the course for?

The course is suited for anyone working within governments, civil society, law firms and elsewhere. It will also benefit anyone with a background in law, international relations, global affairs, policy making and politics, and for those finding that they are increasingly dealing with international law issues in their day-to-day work.

Course format

The virtual course format will consist of a series of 10 sessions in which live (synchronous) teaching is offered via Zoom. Participants will be able to interact with the tutors and amongst themselves on screen.

Testimonials from past attendees

"The course managed to cover a vast amount of material in a short space of time..."
"The course was excellent! We had the opportunity to learn a lot from leading experts in the field..."

Training scholarships

We are delighted to be able to offer scholarships designed to enable individuals from communities currently under-represented in the legal field to access our world-class courses and benefit from unparalleled learning experiences.

Scholarships are aimed at 3 categories: individuals from communities and backgrounds that are under-represented in the legal field in the UK and abroad; individuals who have recently received a needs-based bursary from their university or further-education college and representatives from Small Charities, NGOs, and Community-Based Organisations.

Applications for training scholarships must be received at least three weeks ahead of the course start date (26 March 2025). Applications must be made via the online form and applications received via any other means will not be considered.

Find out more and apply for a scholarship here 

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