6 ECTS credits
180 h study time

Offer 2 with catalog number 1022205BNR for all students in the 1st semester at a (B) Bachelor - advanced level.

Semester
1st semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Enrollment Requirements
Je hebt 'Inleiding tot het recht' gevolgd, alvorens dit vak op te nemen. Deze inschrijvingsvereiste is enkel geldig voor studenten bachelor Rechten (standaardtraject).
Taught in
Dutch
Partnership Agreement
Under agreement for exchange of courses
Faculty
Faculty of Law and Criminology
Department
Publiek recht
Educational team
Stefaan Smis (course titular)
Activities and contact hours
39 contact hours Lecture
80 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

The course builds on the 'Introduction to Law' course and aims to provide a thorough overview of public international law by deepening the main domains of international law and also teaching students how to approach international law not only from a theoretical but also from a practical perspective. Students are therefore introduced to the case method used throughout the course to take a practical approach to approach the theory. The course focuses, among other things, on the subjects of international law and, in particular, on states, international organisations and individuals, the sources of international law and treaty law. It also zooms in on peace and security, the responsibility of states, international organisations and individuals, law enforcement, dispute and conflict resolution and the applicability of international law in the Belgian legal order.

The course is taught in a blended format with on-campus lectures, Q&A moments, knowledge clips and assignments to be prepared at home.  

Course material
Handbook (Recommended) : Bronnen van internationaal recht, Wouters, Studenteneditie 9781096960218, Intersentia, 9789050953337
Handbook (Required) : Kern van het internationaal publiekrecht, Nollkaemper, P.A, 10, Den Haag, Boom Juridische Uitgevers, 9789462909120, 2023
Digital course material (Required) : Texts made available through CANVAS, Canvas
Course text (Required) : Internationaal recht I, Doorwerking van het internationaal recht in de Belgische nationale rechtsorde, Cedric Van Assche, VUB, 2220170010441, 2023
Course text (Recommended) : Internationaal recht I, Doorwerking van het internationaal recht in de Belgische rechtsorde: aanbevolen literatuur, Cedric Van Assche, VUB, 2220170004440, 2023
Additional info

A limited number of Q&A sessions are provided for the students of the evening programme in which they are given the opportunity to ask questions about the subject matter and in which a number of practical cases are solved.

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

  • Students possess an in depth knowledge of international law.
  • Students understand the structure of international law, have a basic knowledge of the most important terminology, legal concepts and basic rules of international law. 
  • Students have an in depth knowledge and understanding of the subdomains of international law allowing them to start the master in law and function in the professional field for jobs requiring a bachelor degree. 
  • Students understand how legal rules are formed and understand the dynamic character of law.                   
  • Students have developed a critical approach that they can also apply to the relationship law and society 
  • Students know the international dimension of law. Students have a basic knowledge of other legal systems. 
  • Students have such knowledge of scientific methodology and technics applicable to legal research to allow them to analyze legal questions and translate them into legal terminology while at the same time find the appropriate legal sources, understand and apply them.  
  • Students can develop a legal argumentation and can autonomously develop an own view on simple legal questions. 
  • Students are able to defend arguments and views in a written and oral form to peers as well as to the general public. 
  • Students understand English and French legal instruments. 
  • Students know the most important international case-law applicable to the domains addressed during the course;
  • Students have the capacity to look for details without losing sight of the general framework. 

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Written Exam with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Written exam with a limited number of multiple choice questions and various sorts of open questions and one or more practical cases. The students are allowed to use their international law code during the exam. They are not allowed to write in their codes; underlining, highlighting, use of empty post-its and cross references are permitted. For the multiple-choice questions, a slight guess correction is used; a half a point will be deducted for a wrong answer. 

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Bachelor of Laws: default (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Laws: Verkort traject (only offered in Dutch)
Bridging Programme Master of Laws: Default track (only offered in Dutch)
Preparatory Programme Master of Laws: Default track (only offered in Dutch)
Preparatory Programme Master of Laws in International and European Law: Standaard traject (only offered in Dutch)