LAWPUBL 408 Special Topic: International Organisations - Course Outlines

Course Prescription

An introduction to the law, practice, and politics of international organisations such as the United Nations, technical agencies, and international financial institutions, including: the historical evolution of international organisations; and cross-cutting doctrinal issues such as membership, organs, decision-making, legal powers, and accountability.

Course Overview

Many of major issues facing New Zealand—climate change, pollution, migration, poverty and inequality, to name but a few—have international or global dimensions. At the same time, we are governed not only by our national government and national laws, but also by a complex web of international laws and transnational regulations, many of which are produced and applied by international organisations (IOs). This course focusses on the institutional law common to IOs. The course will critically analyse the key legal features of such organisations in light of practice, with a particular emphasis on issues that have arisen in the major global IOs, such as the UN, the World Bank, and the International Labour Organization, as well as selected regional IOs. The course will highlight recent controversies in such organisations to illustrate the application of the law to complex factual situations, and investigate the historical circumstances of the origins and evolution of IOs to understand how they have come to play the roles that they do today.

The course will be divided into two parts. Part A, titled “Principles”, will serve as an overview of the law of IOs. The main topics to be discussed in Part A are likely to include: the definition of IOs; the role(s) of IOs in international affairs; the legal status of IOs in international and domestic law; structural features of IOs, such as their organs, membership, and financing; interpretation of the constituent instruments of IOs; the acts and instruments produced by IOs; doctrinal foundations of the powers exercised by IOs; validity and review of the acts of IOs; responsibility of IOs for wrongful acts under international law; and accountability and reform of IOs in practice. The approach in Part A of the course will be primarily comparative. We will seek to identify the main similarities and differences between the constituent instruments and legal practices of international organisations. Are there general principles that can be said to apply to all international organisations?

Part B of the course, titled “Practices”, will take a closer look at one or two of these organisations in greater depth and detail. The approach in this part of the course will be broadly historical and socio-legal as we try to understand how the activities of IOs have changed over time, and how those activities have influenced (and in turn been influenced by) the law of IOs. The main topics to be discussed in part B are likely to include: historical and socio-legal approaches to the study of IOs; the evolution of IOs in relation to the emergence of welfare states in the early 20th century; the evolution of IOs in relation to decolonisation and practices of development in the mid-20th century; the evolution of IOs in relation to the 'neoliberal turn' in international political economy and the rise of 'global governance' in the late twentieth century.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: LAW 211

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

Identify and critically evaluate relevant legal principles of the law of international organisations and apply them to factual scenarios in order to reach reasoned solutions. (Capability 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.3, 3.1, 3.3, 4.1 and 5.1)
Demonstrate an understanding of the basic structures, processes, powers and functions of significant international organisations. (Capability 2.3, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1 and 5.2)
Communicate clearly, precisely, coherently and concisely. (Capability 4.1 and 4.2)
Display an understanding of how law interacts with different modes of morality and expertise in the practice of international organisations, and critically assess the positive outcomes and problems associated with the growth of international organisations. (Capability 1.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 6.2 and 6.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type	Percentage	Classification
Reflection	5%	Individual Coursework
Discussions	5%	Group & Individual Coursework
Test	35%	Individual Test
Take Home Exam	55%	Individual Examination
4 types	100%

Assessment Type	Learning Outcome Addressed
	1	2	3	4
Reflection
Discussions
Test
Take Home Exam

Workload Expectations

This is a standard 15-point course. There will be around 36 hours of lectures in this course. As a general guide, you should expect a workload of three hours outside of the classroom for each hour spent in class. The guideline for the total workload for this course is 150 hours.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is required at lectures to receive credit for components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. However, learning will be strongly enhanced by attendance. Moreover, lectures will include group discussions and other learning activities that may not be picked up on recordings. Details will be given closer to the time.
Attendance on campus is required for the test.
Attendance on campus is not required for the take home exam.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

There is no required textbook for this course, however the following books provide useful overviews of general issues in the law and practice of international organisations:

• Frederic L Kirgis, International Organizations in Their Legal Setting (2nd ed 1993)

• José E Alvarez, International Organizations as Law-Makers (2005)

• Nigel White, The Law of International Organisations (2nd ed 2005)

• C F Amerasinghe, Principles of the Institutional Law of International Organizations (2nd ed 2005)

• Philippe Sands and Pierre Klein, Bowett’s Law of International Institutions (6th ed 2009)

• Jan Klabbers and Åsa Wallendahl (eds), Research Handbook on the Law of International Organizations (2011)

• Henry G Schermers and Niels M Blokker, International Institutional Law (5th ed 2011)

• Ian Hurd, International Organizations: Politics, Law, Practice (2nd ed 2014)

• Jan Klabbers, An Introduction to International Organizations Law (3rd ed 2015)

• Jacob Katz Cogan, Ian Hurd, and Ian Johnstone (eds), The Oxford Handbook of International Organizations (2016)

• Simon Chesterman, Ian Johnstone, David M Malone, Law and Practice of the United Nations: Documents and Commentary (2nd ed, 2016)

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course director, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a Student Academic and Support Adviser as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Capability 1:	Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2:	Critical Thinking
Capability 3:	Solution Seeking
Capability 4:	Communication and Engagement
Capability 5:	Independence and Integrity
Capability 6:	Social and Environmental Responsibilities

LAWPUBL 408 : Special Topic: International Organisations

Law

2022 Semester One (1223) (15 POINTS)