Droit des conflits armés / Law of armed conflicts

This course focuses on the rules of international law that apply in situations of war. More specifically, it will examine the rules applicable between belligerent parties in times of armed conflict that govern the conduct of hostilities and the protection of war victims, as well as the means to ensure the implementation of these rules ("law of armed conflict", "international humanitarian law" or "jus in bello").

The course seeks first to convey to students the logic, rationale and main principles underlying the law of armed conflict. Secondly, the course aims at mastering the most important elements of the Law of Armed Conflict, the fundamental concepts and the main instruments of the Law of Armed Conflict. At the end of the course, the student should be able to apply the rules of the Law of Armed Conflict in concrete cases.

The course includes a theoretical component, consisting of the presentation of the main rules of the law of armed conflict, the complexities of their interpretation and the current problems related to their application. 
The theoretical presentation will be accompanied and complemented by a practical component consisting of the resolution of practical exercises. This practical component is extremely important for the success of the course and will be carried out throughout the semester. Thus, small practical cases will be integrated into the sessions that present the course material. Moreover, sessions specifically devoted to the resolution of case studies are scheduled in the course's session calendar. 

Contribution to the teaching profile

• Acquiring in-depth knowledge of the rules of public international law applicable in times of armed conflict.

• Development of students' ability to analyse and interpret these rules.

• Development of students ability to apply the rules of armed conflict to concrete cases.

References, bibliography, and recommended reading

A complete bibliographic list is provided to students via the Virtual University.

Course notes

• Université virtuelle

Additional information

The course is given in English. Students can interact in the language of their choice. In order to be able to effectively follow the course, it is necessary for students to have an active knowledge of one of the two working languages of the course and a passive knowledge of the other. 

Contacts

Vaios Koutroulis: Vaios.Koutroulis@ulb.be

Campus

Solbosch

Method(s) of evaluation

• written examination

written examination

Closed book written examination, consisting of the solution of practical cases.
Students will be allowed to bring with them to the examination only the Code of International Humanitarian Law (or a copy of the IHL instruments found in the Code).

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

The evaluation will be carried out on the basis of a written exam at the end of the semester (100% of the final note).

Language(s) of evaluation

• english
• french