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International Dispute Settlement (LAWS90022)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Online
To learn more, visit 2023 Course and subject delivery.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
June
Lecturer
Professor Anne Orford (Coordinator)
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: 13 MELB (13 6352), International: +(61 3) 9035 5511
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | June - Online |
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Fees | Look up fees |
This subject introduces the techniques and institutions used to manage and resolve international disputes, focusing on both diplomatic (negotiation, mediation, inquiry, and conciliation) and legal (arbitration and judicial settlement) methods. Students will explore historical and topical examples to analyse when, how, and with what effect states, corporations, and individuals have resorted to different forms of international adjudication or arbitration to settle disputes, and consider the extent to which powerful states such as China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US have embraced international dispute settlement. The subject analyses key issues that have arisen in cases across various substantive areas of international law, including decolonisation, investment, trade, climate change, human rights, nuclear testing, the law of the sea, the use of force, and territorial sovereignty. Students will become familiar with different dispute settlement bodies and mechanisms, including the International Court of Justice, investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms, the dispute settlement systems established by the World Trade Organization and the UN Law of the Sea Convention, and international human rights courts and tribunals. The subject concludes by examining and identifying emergent trends in, and challenges to, international dispute settlement.
Principal topics include:
- The broad historical and political context of international dispute settlement
- The international obligation to settle disputes by peaceful means
- The role of diplomatic procedures, such as negotiation, mediation, and conciliation
- The International Court of Justice, including issues involving state consent to jurisdiction, reservations to the optional clause, the evaluation of scientific evidence, and the Court's advisory jurisdiction
- Investor-state dispute settlement, including issues relating to jurisdiction, the use of precedent, and the recognition and enforcement of awards
- WTO dispute resolution procedures and the challenges facing the Appellate Body
- Dispute settlement under the UN Law of the Sea Convention
- International human rights courts and tribunals
- Backlash against and reform of international dispute settlement mechanisms
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject should be able to:
- Identify, analyse, and critically reflect on the diplomatic and legal forms of international dispute settlement
- Understand the processes and principles by which international courts and tribunals are created, and the typical procedural rules by which they operate
- Identify and analyse key cases of the International Court of Justice, the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the World Trade Organization Appellate Body, and the dispute settlement mechanisms established by the Law of the Sea Convention
- Identify and analyse treaties that are central to this field, including the statutes establishing relevant courts and tribunals, bilateral investment treaties, and treaties on enforcement of international arbitral awards
- Evaluate the utility, legitimacy, and effectiveness of different dispute settlement mechanisms and the changes that are taking place in this field.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
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: 31 January 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Take-home examination
| 4 - 7 August 2023 | 100% |
Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance is required. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- June - Online
Coordinator Anne Orford Mode of delivery Online Contact hours No class will be held on Monday 12 June 2023 (King's Birthday) Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 10 May 2023 Pre teaching requirements Please refer to the Reading Guide on the LMS subject page for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences. Teaching period 7 June 2023 to 14 June 2023 Last self-enrol date 15 May 2023 Census date 8 June 2023 Last date to withdraw without fail 7 July 2023 Assessment period ends 7 August 2023 June contact information
Lecturer
Professor Anne Orford (Coordinator)
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: 13 MELB (13 6352), International: +(61 3) 9035 5511
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a 'first in' basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of waitlisted places in subjects will be given as follows:
- To currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students with a satisfactory record in their degree
- To other students enrolling on a single subject basis, eg Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Melbourne Law School may reserve places in a subject for incoming international cohorts or where a subject is core to a specialisation with limited alternate options.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist materials will be made available via the LMS in the pre-teaching period.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
- Links to additional information
- 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-masters@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: 31 January 2024