7 Course content and structure

Let me now quickly present the structure of the course for the various weeks to come. And the structure of the course reflects its aim, which is to teach you the fundamentals of international law. It is not about all the rules and all the institutions of international law, but about its basic principles and rules, its structural elements, which explain that it can be considered, indeed, as a legal order. Having acquired that basic knowledge, you will find it easier to learn by yourself some specific fields of international law, like human rights, international humanitarian law, investment law, law of the sea, etc. So after this introductory week, week two will set the stage where international law is played and developed. And by this I mean that we are going to survey the actors and the subjects of international law. International law, like any law, is about relations between subjects. And it is therefore crucial to understand who makes law and on whom it is binding. After having paid attention to the who question, we'll turn to the what question and we'll address the making of international law. What is international law means what are the processes by which rules of international law come to existence. And this is an important, more technical part of the course and it is usually referred to as the issue of the sources of international law. The making of international law will keep us busy during week three and week four. Then we shall turn to the how question. Knowing who makes international law and what it is, we are going to see how it is applied. Therefore week five will be dedicated to the application of international law, which requires to understand, among other things, how international law is interpreted and what is required to comply with international legal obligations, including in domestic law. Week six will also be dedicated to the how question, but turning to another issue. What happens when international obligations are not respected? How is it possible to claim responsibility for breaches of international law? And that issue will be taken a step further during week seven, which will be about seeking justice through international courts and tribunals. The pacific settlement of disputes, most notably through arbitration and through the law and procedure of the International Court of Justice, will be studied. But international criminal justice is also an important part of today's international law and we'll say a few things about it and about the International Criminal Court before turning to issues of immunities before domestic courts. And the course will end with week eight, by addressing the rules relating to international peace and security, that is, all matters of war and peace, notably the rules relating to the use of force in international relations and the powers and actions of the United Nations Security Council. So that is the content of the course for the weeks to come, or menu, if you want. And as always on edX, you do not have immediate access to all those weeks of teachings at once, as each one will be released in due course. Also, do not worry if you are lacking a little bit behind in the course and you can still be doing some work relating to week two, for instance, after week three was released. It does not matter much as long as you complete all the exercises and the quizzes on time. All along the way, you will see there will be videos, readings, quizzes, exercises and some discussions. And we'll also have a few Google Hangouts in order to interact more directly during live Q&A sessions. Dates of those Q&A sessions are to be found in the syllabus and in the calendar of the course. So that's about it for now. I hope you've enjoyed the course so far and I hope that you'll take it right up to the end.