This will be a basic course about the ideas and rules that constitute “public international law. It will seek to explain how international law is made and enforced; the connections between international law and international politics; between international law and domestic law; and between national and international tribunals. Among the issues to be discussed will be the legality of the use of force, the protection of human rights, peacekeeping, war crime trials and antiterrorism campaigns; and the relevance of international law to contemporary environmental and economic issues. Finally, the course will examine the relationship of international law to United States law, institutions and policies, including the roles of the Executive and Legislative branches in framing the foreign affairs of the United States, and of U.S. domestic courts in interpreting and enforcing the treaty and customary international law obligations of the United States.

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