Unit INTERNATIONAL LAW
- Course
- Law
- Study-unit Code
- A001381
- Location
- PERUGIA
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- Teacher
- Alessandra Lanciotti
- Teachers
-
- Alessandra Lanciotti
- Maria Cristina Carta (Codocenza)
- Hours
- 54 ore - Alessandra Lanciotti
- 18 ore (Codocenza) - Maria Cristina Carta
- CFU
- 12
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2023
- Offered
- 2024/25
- Learning activities
- Caratterizzante
- Area
- Internazionalistico
- Academic discipline
- IUS/13
- Type of study-unit
- Obbligatorio (Required)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- The course is designed as an introduction to the study of International law. It will examine the structure of the International legal system and the rules governing the relationships among the main actors of the International community (states, Organizations, other actors, individuals). The basic elements of International Law will be analysed in the light of the great changes that have taken place in the last decades and the armed conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
Besides the institutional topics, such as sources of International Law, law enforcement mechanisms, dispute resolution, international accountability, integration in and compliance by domestic legal orders, the United Nations system and International jurisdiction (Part I, 6 Credits), a segment of the course (Part II, 3 Credits) is devoted to the multilevel protection of fundamental rights in Europe. The last part of the course offers a survey on the Italian private international law system (Part III, 3 Credits). - Reference texts
- Part I - GENERAL PART (=6 CFU):
TANZI A., Introduzione al Diritto internazionale contemporaneo, Cedam, Padua, (preferably, but not necessarily the last edition)
or as a possible alternative textbook:
RONZITTI N., Introduzione al diritto internazionale, Giappichelli editore, Turin,
or
CONFORTI B., Diritto internazionale, Editoriale Scientifica, Naples.
Part II - MULTILEVEL PROTECTION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS (= 3CFU):
the chapters "Spazio di libertà, sicurezza e giustizia e tutela multilevel dei diritti fondamentali" by G.Raimondi and "I diritti fondamentali nel dialogo tra la Corte Costituzionale e la Corte di giustizia by U. Villani, of the book edited by A.DI STASI, L.S. ROSSI, "Tutela dei diritti fondamentali e spazio europeo di giustizia", Editoriale Scientifica, Neaples, 2020, from page 27 to page 63 only. (these two chapters are available on Unistudium)
All materials (slides and handouts) of Part II care available on Unistudium Platform
Part III - PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW (=3CFU):
Ugo Villani, Diritto internazionale privato: profili generali, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, Napoli, 2019
NB. In case the student already owns a copy of a former edition of the indicated textbooks, he/she may still use it.
It is essential to integrate the study with the reading of the relevant treaties and conventions mentioned in the program. The texts of the main treaties as well as all the materials used in class (slides, judicial decisions, UN documents, etc..) are published on the UNISTUDIUM Platform - Educational objectives
- The course's objective is to introduce the student to the study of International law by providing him/her the basic knowledge of the structure of the International legal system in the age of globalization. The normative framework, the subjects and other actors, the dispute settlement mechanisms, the action of the UN are studied.
The course also wants to raise awareness about the rules that offer a multilevel protection of individual fundamental rights , to provide the basic knowledge of the theory of private International law and the functioning of the traditional conflict of law mechanisms.
It also intends to give the students the necessary skills for the identification and interpretation of the rules governing the International community, as well as the skills for the examination of practice and case-law and the ability to expose the topics covered with appropriate terminology. - Prerequisites
- For a better understanding of the topics covered in the course, students shall possess general legal notions about the State’s structure and the sources of law. They should have acquired those notions during their first year. This precondition is valid for both attending and non-attending students.
Students enrolled in Giurisprudenza are asked to verify compliance with the prerequisites before taking the exam. - Teaching methods
- The course consists of a series of face to face lectures and seminars, sometimes with the use of a presentation in power point; reading materials related to the topics discussed in class, such as case-law, texts of resolutions, declarations and treaties are provided by the professor. Those materials are published on the Unistudium platform.
- Other information
- In the first semester (September-December 2024), the topics of the general part of the course are covered. In the second semester (February- May 2025), the first segment is dedicated to the multilevel protection of fundamental rights, while the last one deals with the theory of private international law.
Course attendance is not compulsory. However, it becomes essential for those students wishing to write their final thesis in International law.
Attendance to classes is highly recommended for Erasmus incoming students. - Learning verification modality
- The exam consists of an oral examination, i.e. an interview (lasting approximately 20 minutes) during which the professor poses questions to the student in spoken form about the topics included in the programme (at least one question on each part of the programme). For those students who have attended question can be related also to issues and cases examined during classes.
The duration of the examination may vary depending on the answers given by each candidate. - Extended program
- PART I (1st Semester)
1. INTRO:
- What is International Law (IL). Public and Private International Law.
- Historical development of IL and structure of the International community
2. SOURCES
- Article 38 of the Statute of the iInternational Court of Justice: custom, treaties, general principles, ius cogens, codification conventions
- Formation of International custom and its detection, with case-law (Continental Shelf Case; Nicaragua Case, Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v. Italy).
- Formation and validity of treaties: The 1969 Vienna Convention; negotiation, signature, ratification and entry into force; causes of invalidity and termination. Interpretation of treaties. Rules on reservations.
- Other sources of International law, resolutions of International organizations, soft law.
- hierarchy and relationship between rules.
3. SUBJECTS
- Subjects and actors in the International community: States, International organizations and other entities, NGOs.
- Naissance and recognition of new states.
- International legal personality of individuals
4. INCORPORATION
- Incorporation of general International law and of treaty-law into the domestic legal order.
- Articles 10(1) and 117(1) of the Italian Constitution
5. AREAS OF SUBSTANTIVE INTERNATIONAL LAW
- The law of the sea
- Protection of the Environment
- Jurisdictional immunities
- International crimes in Gaza and Ukraine
6. WRONGFUL ACTS AND STATE RESPONSIBILITY
- Violation of International Law and attribution to the state
- Internationally wrongful acts, characterization of an act of a State as Internationally wrongful. Elements of an internationally wrongful act
- Circumstances precluding wrongfulness
- Legal consequences of an internationally wrongful act
- The ILC Project on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (2001).
- Individual and State responsibility for violation of International Criminal Law.
7. INTERNATIONAL DISPUTES
- Definition of dispute
- Duty of peaceful settlement
- Diplomatic and judicial means of dispute settlement
8. THE PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF FORCE AND THE CURRENT CONFLICTS
- The collective security system established by the UN Charter.
- The Security Council’s role under Chapter VII; individual and collective self-defence, Article 51.
- Aggression in International law
- the situation in Gaza and Ukraine
9. INTERNATIONAL JURISDICTION
- The International Court of Justice.
- International criminal jurisdiction: from Nuremberg to the establishment of the International Criminal Court.
- International crimes of the individual: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes.
- The crime of aggression.
Part II - MULTILEVEL PROTECTION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - 3 CFU)
(Classes in 2nd Semester)
- The protection of fundamental rights in the conventional system
- Multilevel protection of fundamental rights and construction of the European area of justice;
- The evolution of the "judicial statute" of EU fundamental rights into a "normative statute" . The added value of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
- The main mechanisms of "dialogue" between European Courts;
- The international protection of the rights of women victims of violence: the Istanbul Convention of the Council of Europe on preventing and combating violence against women and against domestic violence. GREVIO's monitoring procedure.
-
Part III - PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW (3 CFU)
(2nd Semester)
- Nature and function of private International law (PIL) rules
- Assesment of the law governing cases with international elements
- Sources of private international law (in the Italian private International law system): Law No. 218 of 1995 on the reform of the Italian system of private International law; international and european sources (uniform law conventions and relevant EU regulations)
- The so called 'communitarization' of private international law: the main Eu regulations providing p.i.l. uniform rules.
- The interpretative role played by the EU Court of Justice
- Structure of the conflict of law rule: abstract cathegory and dépeçage
- connecting factors and their classification, concurrence of connecting factors, with examples
- Assessment and application of conflict of law rules, the "jura novit curia" principle
- The so called "qualification" problem
- The "renvoi" (article 13, Law No. 218 of 1995).
- Interstate conflict of laws (article 18, Law No. 218 of 1995
- Limits to the application of foreign laws: the "ordre public" exception and the "lois the police" (articles 16 and 17, Law No. 218 of 2005).
***
N.B. During the course, some issues and topics taken from practice and current events will be commented and studied (e.g., the situation in Ukraine, Gaza, climate change, law of the sea, violence against women, etc...)
All materials are easily available on the Unistudium platform-diritto internazionale- aa. 2023-24
it is strongly recommended to consult the texts of the main international treaties and conventions (UN Charter, Vienna Conv. on the Law of Treaties, ICC Statute, and also the text of Law. 218 of 19995 on tprivate international law as well as the conventions on human rights mentioned in Part II.
The professor is available for further information on the program at the end of each class or by appointment. - Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile
- 5, 13, 16