Outline

Overview

How to limit and regulate violence in times of war or armed conflict is one of the most pressing challenges for international law. This unit introduces you to the principles and practices of international humanitarian law (IHL), also known as the laws of war or the law of armed conflict, including treaty law and customary international humanitarian law. This unit explores: the origins, purposes, sources and critiques of IHL; its scope of application (spatial, temporal and personal); the different types and thresholds of conflict (including international, non-international and transnational conflicts); the status and treatment of combatants and non-combatants and other categories (such as spies, unlawful combatants and terrorists); the permissible means and methods of warfare (including the principles of distinction and proportionality, and prohibitions and restrictions on certain weapons such as chemical, biological and nuclear weapons); the difference in rules governing international armed conflicts (IACs) and those governing non-international armed conflicts (NIACs); the relationship between international human rights law and IHL; and the relationship between the international terrorism suppression regime and IHL.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Law
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	LAWS3483 or LAWS5183
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Emily Crawford, emily.crawford@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Research essay (60%) Research essay	60%	Please select a valid week from the list below Due date: 04 Jul 2022 at 11:59	6000 words/8 weeks
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Short Release Problem Question Assignment (20%) Problem-style question, based on a fictional scenario	20%	Week 12 Due date: 16 May 2022 at 11:59	1000 words/72 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Research essay plan (20%) Research essay plan	20%	Week 13 Due date: 29 May 2022 at 11:59	1000 words/4 weeks
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ?

Assessment summary

Short-Release Problem Question Assignment (20%)

One problem-style question, based on a fictional scenario, that you will be required to analyse and advise on – you will be presented with a fictional scenario and asked to provide legal advice as to how to resolve the problem – this assignment should demonstrate your disciplinary knowledge and critical thinking and problem solving skills, as well as your written communication skills. The question will be released at 11.59 am on Friday 13 May 2022 and must be submitted at 11.59 am on Monday 16 May 2022. The word limit is 1,000 words. The outcome of a successful Special Consideration application will be an extension.

Research Essay Plan (20%)

The research essay plan should be a brief outline of your essay topic and how you intend to approach it. There is a word limit of 1,000 words. The essay topic should respond to the material covered in the present unit of study but should, of course, build on that material and demonstrate your understanding of the topic and your particular research question and how you plan to interrogate and analyse it. This assignment should demonstrate your disciplinary knowledge and critical thinking and problem solving skills, as well as your written communication skills. Additional information and guidance on how to write an essay plan will be posted to Canvas before the commencement of the Unit. The research essay plan must be submitted by 11.59 am on Sunday 29 May 2022. The outcome of a successful Special Consideration application is an extension.

Research Essay (60%)

A long essay that should respond to the material covered in the present unit of study but should of course build on that material. This assignment should demonstrate your disciplinary knowledge and critical thinking and problem solving skills, as well as your written communication skills. It should also demonstrate your ability to craft a persuasive, innovative, and reasoned reflective analysis of a particular topic. The word limit is 6,000 words and the essay must be submitted by 11.59 am on Monday 4 July 2022. Essay questions will be released prior to the commencement of the Unit. The outcome of a successful Special Consideration application is an extension.

Assessment requirement to pass a unit of study

A student must make a genuine attempt at all assessment tasks set out in this Unit of Study in order to obtain a Pass mark and grade (or above); otherwise an Absent Fail grade will be recorded as the student’s result for this Unit of Study.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Work receiving a high distinction grade will generally exhibit the following characteristics: • Completely answers the question. • Contains striking originality of approach or analysis. • Demonstrates exhaustive or innovative research (where independent research required). • Exceptionally well written, structured and expressed. • Is otherwise exceptional in some way.
Distinction	75 - 84	Work receiving a distinction grade will generally exhibit the following characteristics: • Completely answers the question. • Achieves a critical and evaluative approach to the issues. • Content and structure is well organised in support of the argument. • Demonstrates extensive research and analysis to support a well-documented argument. • Generally well expressed and free from errors. • Has a clear structure and is well articulated.
Credit	65 - 74	Work receiving a credit grade will generally exhibit the following characteristics: • Covers main issues fairly well in answering the question. • Contains no significant errors • Demonstrates an attempted critical approach to the issues. • Demonstrates reasonably sound research and analysis in addressing the key issues. • Has a clear structure and reasonably clear expression.
Pass	50 - 64	Work receiving a pass grade will generally exhibit the following characteristics: • Identifies the key issues, but does not follow through with a reasoned argument. • Contains some significant errors. • Displays satisfactory engagement with the key issues. • Offers descriptive summary of material relevant to the question. • Superficial use of material, and may display a tendency to paraphrase. • Demonstrates little evidence of in-depth research or analysis. • Adequate expression. • Overall, demonstrates the minimum level of competence in the assessment and satisfies the requirements to proceed to higher-level studies in the degree or subject area.
Fail	0 - 49	Work may fail for any or all of the following reasons: • Does not answer the question. • Contains significant or numerous errors. • Few or no identifiable arguments. • Content that is inappropriate or irrelevant. • Lack of research or analysis. • Difficult or impossible to understand through poor grammar, expression or structure. • Overall, does not demonstrate the minimum level of competence in the assessment.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

The late submission of a piece of assessment, which has not been granted an extension, will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment per calendar day or part thereof. Note that Canvas allows students to submit after the deadline, but will record the submission as late. Please factor this in when uploading assignments and give yourself enough time to upload before the due date and time. The date and time of submission as recorded by Canvas is taken as the official and final record of a student’s submission. The final document uploaded is the document that will be marked. Students are responsible for uploading the correct version of the correct document to the correct box for the relevant subject. Corrupt and incorrect files submitted through Canvas are not be accepted. Canvas allows students to check their submission.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Ongoing	1. The origins, purposes, sources and critiques of International Humanitarian Law 2. Scope of application the different types and thresholds of conflict;	Seminar (7 hr)
	1. Status in armed conflict, in particular how IHL classifies actors – including combatants, civilians, spies, terrorists, and persons who take direct part in the hostilities. 2. Prisoner of war (POW) status and treatment 3. The law relating to targeting	Seminar (7 hr)
	1. Permissible and impermissible means and methods under IHL. 2. Special protection regimes for certain kinds of objects, such as the environment and cultural property	Seminar (7 hr)
	1. issues of implementation of IHL, its enforcement, and methods of accountability for violations of IHL. 2. Emerging technologies and their legality under current international law, including cyber warfare, warfare in outer space, nanotechnology and bio-engineering, and semi-autonomous and fully autonomous weaponry	Seminar (7 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: All students are required to attend 70% of live classes (or as otherwise specified by the Unit Coordinator) to satisfy the pass requirements for each unit of study. Attendance requirements may be satisfied by in person as specified by the Unit Coordinator. Failure to meet this requirement may result in a student being precluded from sitting the final assessment.

For units offered in Intensive mode, participation in all scheduled sessions may be expected by a Unit Coordinator in order to satisfy the requirements of the unit.

Word count penalty: A piece of assessment which exceeds the prescribed word limit will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment for every 100 words, or part thereof. The total word count for essay and other written assessments will exclude bibliography; footnote numbers; footnote citation; cover page and include body text; headings and sub-headings; quotations; anything other than numbers and citations in footnotes.

Referencing: The Sydney Law School expects you to use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition, 2018) for your footnoting style, although you should confirm this with your lecturer, and a link to the library website where this is set out comprehensively is available at https://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/c.php?g=508212&p=3476376

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library eReserve, available on Canvas.

Gary Solis, The Law of Armed Conflict: International Humanitarian Law in War, Cambridge University Press, 2016
Andrew Clapham and Paola Gaeta (eds), The Oxford Handbook of International Law in Armed Conflict, Oxford University Press, 2014

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. demonstrate a sound knowledge of the substantive law in each of the topic areas
LO2. demonstrate skills of advanced legal analysis and reasoning
LO3. demonstrate an enhanced understanding of the processes of humanitarian law making
LO4. demonstrate a deeper understanding of the strengths and limitations of humanitarian law
LO5. demonstrate awareness of the political, ideological, ethical and philosophical implications of the law;
LO6. demonstrate familiarity with the sources of humanitarian law and be able to research further in the area
LO7. demonstrate skills of legal research and writing in the area of humanitarian law (including the ability to use research methods to write in a clear and logical manner, using plain and concise language).

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

The unit now has a higher weighting to the essay plan and problem question, and shorter research essay length and lower weighting of the essay component

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

LAWS6218: International Humanitarian Law

Intensive June, 2022 [Block mode] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect