SYLLABUS

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Ms. Corinne Lewis
SPRING 2010 (Mon., Wed. 9:00 -10:25*)

Overview of Course

Welcome to the course on the law of international organizations. The decisions and
actions of international organizations play an increasingly important role in the world
today and impact not only peace and security issues but also social and economic
problems of our time. This course takes a contemporary view of the law governing
international organizations and the law created by such organizations.

Course Materials

The casebook for the course is:

There is no document supplement as the key international instruments are contained in

Useful supplementary materials are listed at the end of each chapter. Relevant web sites
for more in-depth research are contained in Annex VII of the textbook.

Class Discussions and Examination

As the materials in the text are presented in a manner that mirrors legal research on a
particular topic, class discussions, debates and roleplay will constitute an integral part of
the course. In order to foster the interactive nature of the course, based on careful reading
of the assignments, the class will be divided into groups. On a rotational basis, each
group will be expected to prepare written answers to the questions that are assigned for
the chapter. These answers are to be handed in at the beginning of the class. The students
who are not responsible for the questions in the chapter are nevertheless expected to
come to class prepared.

The answers to the questions should be double-spaced and will be graded as follows:
Insufficient, Sufficient, Good, and Very Good and will be used as part of the assessment
of class participation. The extent and quality of class participation, which will include
the quality of the papers submitted during the semester, will determine whether the
student’s grade is raised or lowered one-half letter grade.

*The extension of the course to 10:25 will permit the missed classes on Monday, April
5th and Wednesday, April 7th to be made up during the course of the term.

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There will be one make-up class for the Wednesday, February 17th class during the term.
This is currently scheduled for Friday, March 12th, but will be confirmed following
verification of students’ availability.

The final exam will be on Monday, May 10th from 9 a.m. to noon. The exam will be an
open book exam since many of the key reference documents are contained in the text.
However, as the course will emphasize synthesis of the materials, students are
encouraged not to rely on the content of the text during the exam.

Attendance

In accordance with the Law Center’s policy, students are expected to attend a minimum
of 80% of the class meetings for the course. Any student who attends fewer than this
minimum percentage of classes will be dropped from the course.

Meetings with Students

Office hours are from 10:30-11:30 on Wednesdays in room #2, which is located on the
ground floor of BLB, around the corner from the library and across from the Business
Services Office. Meetings may be arranged at other times as well. Please contact the
professor by e-mail ([email protected]) to schedule an appointment.

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 CLASS ASSIGNMENTS
We will normally cover one chapter of the text during each class session. As the text
contains 24 chapters, the additional two sessions will cover supplementary materials. A
sheet detailing which group is responsible for the questions for the particular chapter will
be handed out in class.

Wed., Jan. 20
Chapter I Introduction to the Law of International Organizations, pages 3-42 of the text,
The Law of International Organizations.
Be ready to discuss questions/problems (a) – (h) on pages 3-4 of the text.

Mon., Jan 25
Chapter II Membership- Credential Challenges
(Questions/problems pages 45-46)

Wed., Jan. 27
Chapter III Succession Problems
(Questions/problems pages 89-90)

Mon., Feb. 1
Chapter IV Privileges and Immunities
(Questions/problems pages 149-151)

Wed., Feb. 3
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – Part I: Mandate and
Responsibilities
(Questions/problems in Supplementary Materials)

Mon., Feb. 8
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – Part II: Refugee Law Crisis
(Questions/problems in Supplementary Materials)

Wed. Feb. 10
Chapter V Negotiation, Mediation, and Arbitration
(Questions/problems #1 and #3 pages 203-205)

Mon., Feb. 15
Chapter VI The Role of Law in Peace Negotiations
(Questions/problems pages 253-254)

Wed., Feb. 17 – no class

Mon., Feb. 22
Chapter VII The International Court of Justice – Part One: Jurisdiction and Admissibility
(Questions/problems pages 303-304)

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Wed., Feb. 24
Chapter VIII The International Court of Justice – Part Two: U.S. Withdrawal
(General Class Discussion of whether the US should re-submit to the compulsory
jurisdiction of the World Court, and if so, under what circumstances)

Mon., March 1
Chapter IX The Security Council – Part One: Powers
(2 students represent Venezuela and the other 2 Guyana. All other students will be
assigned responsibility for representation of a Security Council member based on
questions/problems page 405)

Wed., March 3
Chapter X The Security Council – Part Two: Reform
(General Class Discussion of simulation begun on Mon. March 1)

Mon., March 8
Chapter XI U.N. Sanctions – Part One: The Sanctions Debate
(Questions/problems pages 445-446)

Wed., March 10
Chapter XII U.N. Sanctions – Part Two: The U.N. Sanctions Committee
(General Class discussion of questions/problems pages 493-494. Each student will
represent a member of the Security Council.)

Friday, March 12 (tentative make-up date)

Mon., March 15 No class – spring break

Wed., March 17 No class – spring break

Mon., March 22
Chapter XIV U.N. Peace Operations – Part Two: Reform
(Questions/problems page 592)

Wed., March 24
Chapter XV Humanitarian Intervention: From Kosovo to Iraq
(Questions/problems pages 639-640)

Mon., March 29
Chapter XVI The International Human Rights Framework – Part One: The Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights and the Human Rights Committee
(Questions/problems pages 691-692)

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Wed., March 31
Chapter XVII The International Human Rights Framework – Part Two: U.N. Procedures
(Questions/problems pages 723-724)

Mon., April 5 – No class

Wed., April 7 – No class

Mon., April 13
Chapter XVIII The WTO, Human Rights Sanctions, and Treatment of Detainees in the
War on Terror
(Questions/problems pages 777-778)

Wed., April 14
Chapter XIX International Criminal Police Organization: Interpol
(Questions/problems pages 829-830)

Mon., April 19
Chapter XX U.N. Conference to Define Terrorism
(Questions/problems page 873)

Wed., April 21
Chapter XXI International War Crimes Tribunals
(Questions/problems pages 921-922)

Mon., April 26
Chapter XXII Toward a Permanent International Criminal Court
(General class discussion of whether the US should become a party to the International
Criminal Court – questions/problems page 987)

Wed., April 28
Chapter XXIII Financial Issues
(Questions/problems page 1041)

Mon., May 3
Chapter XXIV The International Monetary Fund: A Mandate to Fight Money Laundering
and the Financing of Terrorism
(Questions/problem pages 1094-1095)