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International Criminal Law and Justice (LAWS70303)
Graduate coursework level 7Points: 12.5Not available in 2020
For information about the University’s phased return to campus and in-person activity in Winter and Semester 2, please refer to the on-campus subjects page.
Please refer to the LMS for up-to-date subject information, including assessment and participation requirements, for subjects being offered in 2020.
Overview
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How does law respond to experiences of mass atrocity and political transition? This question has animated conflicts throughout the world, from South Africa to the Democratic Republic of Congo, from Argentina to the Arab Spring of recent years. At the same time, the International Criminal Court has handed down its first judgment. This subject explores the legal institutions of criminal prosecution and truth commissions in post-conflict situations. Providing case studies of transitions and criminal responsibility, it provides in-depth knowledge of the various models of transitional justice, the paradigms of international criminal law, and role of human rights movements in addressing accountability, memory and justice, peace and social order. The lecturer is the Director of the International Criminal Justice program in the Institute for International Law and the Humanities.
This subject explores the practices of international criminal justice and transition, including criminal prosecution and truth commissions. It focuses on institutions and agencies of international criminal law in post-conflict situations, and in particular their representation and understanding of individual and collective trauma.
Principal topics will include:
- Understandings of responsibility and memory in law and trauma studies
- Legal responses to the destruction of European Jewry during World War II: Nuremberg, Eichmann and the aftermath of the Holocaust
- Models of transitional justice: Criminal justice, truth commissions and testimonial justice
- Institutions of transitional justice: Case studies, including Argentina and South Africa
- New international crimes: The emerging jurisprudence of the ad hoc criminal tribunals and the International Criminal Court (examples include rape and torture).
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject should:
- Understand the variety and complexities of international criminal justice and transition in post-conflict situations
- Appreciate the contribution of international criminal justice to the creation and maintenance of contemporary cultures of memory and law
- Understand the various meanings of trauma in international criminal justice
- Be able to evaluate the roles of criminal prosecution and truth commissions, including their possibilities for redress, reconciliation and transitional justice
- Understand the classification of crime within international criminal justice and the creation of new categories of crime to deal with unprecedented atrocities
- Obtain an in-depth appreciation of at least one case study of the legal aftermath of conflict and criminal injustice, and its implications for our understanding of responsibility, trauma and memory in international criminal law.
Last updated: 23 August 2023
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 23 August 2023
Assessment
Due to the impact of COVID-19, assessment may differ from that published in the Handbook. Students are reminded to check the subject assessment requirements published in the subject outline on the LMS
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Research paper on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 100% |
Last updated: 23 August 2023
Dates & times
Not available in 2020
Time commitment details
The pre-teaching period commences four weeks before the subject commencement date. From this time, students are expected to access and review the Reading Guide that will be available from the LMS subject page and the subject materials provided by the subject coordinator, which will be available from Melbourne Law School. Refer to the Reading Guide for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences.
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students. Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Last updated: 23 August 2023
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Core subject materials will be provided free of charge to all students. Some subjects require further texts to be purchased. Details regarding any prescribed texts will be provided prior to the commencement of the subject.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Graduate Diploma in International Law Course Master of Public and International Law Course Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies Course Master of Law and Development Course Master of Laws - Links to additional information
law.unimelb.edu.au
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 23 August 2023