COMMON SYLLABUS AND CLASS RULES
Special Issues in International Law
Ateneo de Manila University
Academic Year 2019-2020
Second Semester
Borja, Cruz-Ferrer, Divinagracia, Gulapa, Linsangan, and Yap
1. Assignment. Assignment for each meeting will be confirmed during the immediately
preceding meeting. If the class is unable to finish the assignment at the relevant meeting,
discussion of the previous assignment will be continued before discussion of the next
assignment.
2. No Laptops and Devices/Internet. Except during the colloquia or round-table
discussions, students shall not be allowed to use their laptop and similar devices or access
the internet in class. Any student violating this rule will merit a 60 for the relevant meeting,
even if not called for recitation.
3. Questions during Class Time. Students are encouraged to ask questions anytime. If the
question is, in the opinion of the professor, manifestly intended to disrupt the discussion or
avoid the conduct of recitation, the question will be disregarded.
4. Absences. Please observe the current school policies on absences. The professors will not
call anyone who is absent.
5. Pass when Called. This will merit a 70.
6. Coaching. This will merit a 60.
7. Eating in Class. Other than water or coffee and a light sandwich or crackers, no food will
be allowed in class.
8. Grading. Grades comprise:
a. Recitation* : 20%
b. Midterms : 20%
c. Papers** : 20%
d. Final Exams*** : 40%
* The recitation grade includes participation at the colloquia and round-table discussions.
** Students will write 1 reaction paper among the 5 topics (maximum of 3 pages; no
footnotes; single space; short bond; Times New Roman 12; 1-inch margin on all sides).
We suggest that students limit their comments/reaction to 2 or 3 points so that they will
have room to expound each point extensively. The first paragraph should be a summary
of the portions of the work or discussions you wish to comment on and react to. After the
1
summary, the students should frame the discussion such that the professors will understand,
at the outset, the content of the reaction.
Reaction points may take the form of:
a. testing the premises and assumptions of the author/speaker;
b. disagreement with or objection to the arguments of the author/speaker;
c. elucidation of missed opportunities (such as what the author could/should have used
as basis or reason to support her arguments); and/or
d. suggestion to extend the findings/conclusion to another area of application.
*** The final exams will consist of a written and oral part, each consisting 20% of the final
grade. For the written part, students (grouped together depending on the number of
students in a class) shall write part of a memorial on a hypothetical case (1 prayer for 1
side) (no maximum no. of pages; correct footnoting; double space; short bond; Times New
Roman 12; 1-inch margin on all sides). For the oral part, students will be asked to orally
answer question/s on matters tackled in class, including the hypothetical case.
Please email a Word version of your reaction paper and final written paper on the deadline
set out below to _____________.
First Session Overview
Course Requirements
Syllabus
Second Session Review of Public International Law
Readings
MIRIAM DEFENSOR SANTIAGO, INTERNATIONAL LAW (WITH PHIL. CASES
& MATERIALS & ASEAN INSTRUMENTS) 1-230 (2015).
Third Session Review of Public International Law
Readings
MIRIAM DEFENSOR SANTIAGO, INTERNATIONAL LAW (WITH PHIL. CASES
& MATERIALS & ASEAN INSTRUMENTS) 1-230 (2015).
Fourth Session Departmental Colloquium on Treaty Withdrawal
Readings
1. Democratic Alliance v Minister of International Relations and
Cooperation and Others (Council for the Advancement of the
South African Constitution Intervening) (83145/2016) [2017]
ZAGPPHC 53; 2017 (3) SA 212 (GP); [2017] 2 All SA 123
(GP); 2017 (1) SACR 623 (GP) (22 February 2017) available at
http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPPHC/2017/53.pdf
2
2. No SC action on pleas vs ICC withdrawal days before effectivity-
sources, 12 March 2019, available at https://news.abs-
cbn.com/news/03/12/19/no-sc-action-on-pleas-vs-icc-
withdrawal-days-before-effectivity-sources
3. Hannah Woolaver, From Joining to Leaving: Domestic Law’s
Role in the International Legal Validity of Treaty Withdrawal, 30
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IL 73 (2019) available at
https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chz003
Reaction Paper due on 22 February 2020 at 11:59 pm
Fifth Session Class Discussion on Treaty Withdrawal
Sixth Session Departmental Colloquium on The Immunity of Head of States and Jus
Cogens
Readings: TBA
Reaction Paper due on 7 March 2020 at 11:59 pm
Seventh Session Class Discussion on The Immunity of Head of States and Jus Cogens
Midterms Written
Eight Session Departmental Colloquium on Refugees
Readings: TBA
Reaction Paper due on 11 April 2020 at 11:59 pm
Ninth Session Class Discussion on Refugees
Tenth Session Departmental Colloquium on Indigenous Peoples
Readings:
1. Northern Territory v Mr. A. Griffiths (deceased) and Lorraine
Jones on behalf of the Ngaliwurru and Nungali Peoples [2019]
HCA 7 available at
http://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/showCase/2019/HCA/7
2. Eleni Polymenopoulou, Cultural Rights in the Case Law of the
International Court of Justice, 27 LEIDEN JOURNAL OF IL 447
(2014) available at
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271587849_Cultural_R
ights_in_the_Case_Law_of_the_International_Court_of_Justice
Reaction Paper due on 11 Aprils 2020 at 11:59 pm
3
Eleventh Session Class Discussion on Indigenous Peoples
Twelfth Session Departmental Colloquium on Nuclear Weapons
Readings: TBA
Reaction Paper due on 9 May 2020 at 11:59 pm
Thirteenth Session Class Discussion on Nuclear Weapons
Fourteenth Session Preparation for the Final Exams
Finals Finals Paper due on 30 May 2020 at 11:59 pm
Oral Exam: TBA
