Technique of Teaching the International Law

This chapter surveys the scholarly literature on the teaching of international law in a number of key European languages (English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese). It points to three major trends in this scholarship. The first is the focus on self-reflexive writing, when the international law scholar reflects on their own practice as a teacher. This literature showcases a turn to granular analyses of international legal teaching practices, and a focus on the localization of these practices to serve local interests, which simultaneously grounds this literature and contributes to important theoretical interventions elsewhere in the discipline, which query the universality of international law. The second major trend, historically prevalent but now in decline, is major assessments of international legal curricula, and attempts at creating uniform practice in the field for the entire world. The third trend observed in the scholarship relates to the place of the international lawyer in the broader university community, particularly within the legal curriculum. This body of scholarship aids in the grounding of international law in the immediate reality of the place where it is taught, since it displays an attempt by the international law teacher to see themselves validated in relation to other legal fields. I argue that, considering these trends, what is needed is more critical reflection on how international law is taught, for what purposes, and based on what premises about the place of international law in the broader legal discipline. This field of scholarship seems to have moved past the point where simply calling for deeper engagement with pedagogical theory is sufficient, without doing the work. The diagnostic is well-established, what is now needed is addressing the diagnosed problems.

This chapter surveys the scholarly literature on the teaching of international law in a number of key European languages (English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese). It points to three major trends in this scholarship. The first is the focus on self-reflexive writing, when the international law scholar reflects on their own practice as a teacher. This literature showcases a turn to granular analyses of international legal teaching practices, and a focus on the localization of these practices to serve local interests, which simultaneously grounds this literature and contributes to important theoretical interventions elsewhere in the discipline, which query the universality of international law. The second major trend, historically prevalent but now in decline, is major assessments of international legal curricula, and attempts at creating uniform practice in the field for the entire world. The third trend observed in the scholarship relates to the place of the international lawyer in the broader university community, particularly within the legal curriculum. This body of scholarship aids in the grounding of international law in the immediate reality of the place where it is taught, since it displays an attempt by the international law teacher to see themselves validated in relation to other legal fields. I argue that, considering these trends, what is needed is more critical reflection on how international law is taught, for what purposes, and based on what premises about the place of international law in the broader legal discipline. This field of scholarship seems to have moved past the point where simply calling for deeper engagement with pedagogical theory is sufficient, without doing the work. The diagnostic is well-established, what is now needed is addressing the diagnosed problems.

In the twenty-first century, new research-prone areas have emerged in legal education which were previously unknown to the legal fraternity. One such area is International Humanitarian Law (IHL) or the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC). This can best be described as that branch of International Human Rights Law which deals with provisions for humanitarian relief and humane treatment of victims of war and is applicable only during war or armed conflicts. The study and research of IHL has become imperative due to the rise in the number of armed conflicts in the twenty-first century concentrated mainly in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia and the subsequent desire of the international community to reduce that number. Against this background discussion, this article gives a brief account of the academic efforts taking place across the globe to make this subject an integral part of law school curriculum. The article starts with a description as to how IHL was first accepted as a part of any standard courses in law particularly in the West. Further, the efforts undertaken in Asia are analyzed followed by the reasons as to why IHL has still not gained acceptance as a full-fledged course in Asia. Finally, the article ends with recommendations regarding what the Asian legal fraternity needs to do to increase awareness about IHL and to make it a mandatory teaching module in all Asian law schools.

This annotated bibliography surveys the literature on the teaching of international (and to a certain extent transnational) law, with limited critical commentary. It focuses on the literature in English, but also looks at some literature in other languages. It covers the experiences of a number of Anglophone and non-Anglophone countries and regions, as well as issues such as the relationship between international law training and the everyday life of the law and the legal profession, and the relationship between the teaching of international law and domestic foreign policy. It attempts to offer a roadmap for future research in this area.

In the twenty-first century, new research-prone areas have emerged in legal education which were previously unknown to the legal fraternity. One such area is International Humanitarian Law (IHL) or the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC). This can best be described as that branch of International Human Rights Law which deals with provisions for humanitarian relief and humane treatment of victims of war and is applicable only during war or armed conflicts. The study and research of IHL has become imperative due to the rise in the number of armed conflicts in the twenty-first century concentrated mainly in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia and the subsequent desire of the international community to reduce that number. Against this background discussion, this article gives a brief account of the academic efforts taking place across the globe to make this subject an integral part of law school curriculum. The article starts with a description as to how IHL was first accepted as a part of any standard courses in law particularly in the West. Further, the efforts undertaken in Asia are analyzed followed by the reasons as to why IHL has still not gained acceptance as a full-fledged course in Asia. Finally, the article ends with recommendations regarding what the Asian legal fraternity needs to do to increase awareness about IHL and to make it a mandatory teaching module in all Asian law schools.

El proyecto realizado en el marco de los estudios para obtener el título de Licenciado/Grado en Derecho trata de completar los principales puntos débiles del programa de formación y desarrollo de la docencia. Desde las Áreas de Derecho Penal y de Derecho Internacional Público pertenecientes al Departamento de Derecho Público se planteó el Concurso de Derecho Internacional Penal. Inspirados en concursos de tipo Moot Court desarrollados en Facultades de Derecho de nuestro entorno europeo, se puso en marcha en nuestra Facultad bajo el nombre de Quintiliano Saldaña (1878-1938), en honor a uno de los principales precursores de la idea del establecimiento de una corte penal internacional de carácter permanente. Lo novedoso de este proyecto consiste en lograr la simulacón de casos ante un tribunal penal internacional de reciente creación con carácter permanente vinculado estrechamente con las dos áreas de conocimiento implicadas lo que facilita la posibilidad de simular situaciones de gran actualidad que suponen un reto importante en el horizonte de los futuros juristas.