International Law

2025/2026

Учебный год

ENG

Обучение ведется на английском языке

3

Кредиты

Кто читает:

Факультет мировой экономики и мировой политики

Статус:

Курс обязательный

Когда читается:

3-й курс, 1, 2 модуль

Преподаватели

Жилкин Антоний Сергеевич

Мартынова Екатерина Александровна

Course Syllabus

Abstract

International Law is a two-module course dedicated to the study of current issues of theory and practice of public international law. Students will gain knowledge about the sources of international law, the correlation between international and domestic, in particular, Russian law, the peculiarities of the use of coercive measures and bringing to international legal responsibility, the status of the state as a subject of international law, peaceful means of resolving international disputes and the basics of international judicial process. Within the course, students will learn about the international legal regulation of different subject areas, including human rights, the use of force and international security, international trade, international legal means of environmental protection, the structure and competence of a number of universal and regional international organizations, the law of international treaties. On completion of the course, students will be able to work with international legal instruments and scholarly literature, as well as interpret the foreign policy of states and their role in the development of modern international law in a theoretically sound and legally justified manner.

Learning Objectives

• The main objective of the course is to provide students with the necessary tools to navigate within the international law field, to prepare them to deal with different norms of international law, including soft law, make research and present legal argumentation on selected key issues of the contemporary public international law.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• to distinguish basic conceptual features of public international law, its structure and mechanisms; to apply substantial knowledge of the fundamental principles, rules and institutions governing the inter-state relations by legal means; to identify the sources and hierarchy of the international legal norms; to implement understanding and the ability to use specific terminology of public international law;
• to apply practical tools of research, analysis of the legal documentation and academic papers in the sphere of international law; to analyse and work with legally relevant information by using the juridical, comparative and other specific methods;
• • to describe legal problems and situations in the field of international law; • to demonstrate substantial knowledge of recent developments and current challenges in this sphere and apply a critical approach to the analysis of the existing problems, engage in debates involving the subject-matters of the course.

Course Contents

• Introduction to the international law: concept, characteristics and sources
• Responsibility and coercion in international law
• Subjects of international law
• The law of international treaties
• The law of international organizations and conferences
• Prohibition of the use of force
• International human rights law. Citizenship in international law
• International humanitarian law
• Peaceful means of dispute resolution. Fundamentals of international litigation
• International trade law. The law of the World Trade Organization
• International environmental law

Assessment Elements

• Active in-class participation
  25%. Attendance, active participation and in-class discussion: Each student is expected to attend all the sessions having go through and thought about the assigned material, including the questions and any problems in the text/ judgment, podcast, etc. that are assigned, and actively participate in class discussions, ask questions and make analytical comments about the assignments. The participants are expected to cover the assigned materials in advance for each class.
• Presentation
  25%. Each student is expected to prepare a short oral presentation (for 10-15 minutes) on one of the questions from Topics 2 to 11 of the Syllabus. The presentation may be prepared individually or in a small group of maximum 3 students. The students are expected to choose the questions and agree on the topic of their presentation with the seminar instructor at the beginning of the course. Use of artificial intelligence for preparation of the presentation is not allowed. During the presentation, it is not permitted to read the text of the presentation, including from a laptop, phone or other device.
• Final exam
  Form of the exam: oral offline closed-book exam in the form of an interview on the course program without providing time to prepare an answer (conducted in small groups).

Interim Assessment

• 2025/2026 2nd module
  0.25 * Active in-class participation + 0.5 * Final exam + 0.25 * Presentation

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Complete international law : text, cases, and materials, Abass, A., 2014
• International environmental law, Dupuy, P.-M., 2020
• International law, Shaw, M. N., 2021

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Modern treaty law and practice, Aust, A., 2013
• Principles of international economic law, Herdegen, M., 2013

Authors

• Вишнякова Наталия Владимировна
• Zakharova Elizaveta Sergeevna
• Korneev Oleg Vladimirovich
• Zhilkin Antonii Sergeevich
• Кузнецова Елена Викторовна
• MARTYNOVA EKATERINA ALEKSANDROVNA