International Organisations

The course presupposes a basic knowledge of public international law. The course is offered as an elective to students registered in the MSc in International Security and Law and also open to students of law, political science or other relevant educational programmes.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a comprehensive knowledge of key issues of the law of international organisations. The course builds on the students' knowledge of public international law.

The aim is to enable students to understand the role and position of international organisations in contemporary international law and relations, with a particular focus on international security.

At the end of the course, students will have a comprehensive understanding of the legal aspects relevant to establishing and interpreting the mandate of an international organisation in practice. This will enable the students to analyse legal issues and provide reasoned solutions to current issues of international law and security.

International organisations play an increasingly important role in international law and relations. They are active in virtually all fields of human activity and most international issues are in one way or another regulated by international organisations. International organisations regularly conclude international treaties and continuously interact with other actors of international law. A sound understanding of the law of international organisations is therefore indispensable to those who work in international relations, especially to those that seek to identify and analyse the drivers of conflict and the possible responses by international organisations. 

The first part of the course provides an introduction to the law and practice of international organisations. It provides an overview on the evolution of international organisations, illustrating their status in international relations and their functions, membership, institutional structure and decision-making powers. This first part of the course gives the students the theoretical background to analyse cases and explain rules concerning legal problems related to international organisations.

The second part of the course focuses on selected international organisations. The conventions and laws regulating these organisations will be outlined with a view to investigate legal issues arising in relation to the competencies of these organisations, their interplay with each other as well as their role in international security and key areas of international law such as human rights.

The first part of the course considers the following issues: - the history of international organisations - treaties establishing international organisations, including certain aspects of the law of treaties - legal personality of international organisations - functions performed by international organisations - responsibility and accountability of international organisations.

The second part of the course allows the students to apply their theoretical knowledge to specific organisations and to examine the powers and function of these institutions in depth. The second part of the course may consider aspects such as, the mandate, practice and interrelationship of: - the United Nations, in particular the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council - the European Union – the African Union (AU) – the International Criminal Court (ICC) – the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The goal of the course is to provide students with a comprehensive knowledge of the key issues of the law as well as the functioning of selected international organisations, such as the UN, the EU, the AU, the ICC and NATO. 

At the end of the course students are expected to be able to:

• demonstrate a sound understanding of the entity “international organisation”, the rules and principles governing their creation, structure and functioning, as well as their relationship with other international actors

Students should use this knowledge to select and apply theories, concepts and methods to analyse and suggest solutions to specific problems, including: 

• to describe and analyse the legal and organisational structure of an international organisation
• to compare and analyse the mandate and powers of international organisations 
• to select and apply legal norms to specific situations, such as explaining the relationship between an international organisation and its member states 
• to explain the relevant rules applicable in a given factual situation
• to describe the legal context of such rules and apply them to a given case  

The students will analyse and suggest solutions to novel problems, such as conflicts between obligations of member states of international organisations and extant legal obligations outside the relevant organisation, e.g. human rights.

The theoretical knowledge acquired during the course may apply to different professional capacities, including working for international organisations, the diplomatic service as well as in non-governmental organisations.

Example

• The main textbook is the fourth edition of Ian Hurd, International Organizations Cambridge University Press, 2021; and reliance will also be placed on the third edition of Jan Klabbers, An Introduction to International Organisational Law, Cambridge University Press, 2015.  
  

During the course additional articles and materials will be uploaded via Itslearning.

The final curriculum, which will be approximately 1000 pages, will be available at the start of the semester.

The course is taught in a comparative way, highlighting peculiarities of various organisations, their mandates and practice. The teaching is interactive and students are expected to participate actively in classroom discussions. The students will develop their analytical skills and ability to make reflective, nuanced judgments by discussing real-life cases in class.

The course will also include a visit to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen to discuss the realities and national impact of international organisations with Danish practitioners. In addition students will be offered to participate in an optional study tour to The Hague in the Netherlands where they will meet with staff from various international organisations, including the ICC and the UN. Students have to cover their own expenses and reservations are made for circumstances, that makes traveling impossible. Details will be announced in class.   

Scheduled classes:
30 lessons over 10 weeks.

Arbejdsbelastning:
This course grants 10 ECTS. As per university regulations, a 10 ECTS course entails a workload of 270 hours. The following time distribution is an estimate for the average student:
Classroom lectures:                                                                                  30 hours
Visit to the Foreign Ministry in Copenhagen (face-to-face):                        8 hours
Preparation:                                                                                             130 hours
Visit in the Hague and preparation:                                                           36 hours
Exam preparation (synopsis writing and oral exam) and examination:     66 hours
Total:                                                                                                        270 hours