LLM International Criminal Law

Students discussing lecture notesModule leader: Professor Robert Cryer

Module description:

“International criminal law” is a part of international law but it aspires to share the characteristics of national criminal laws – respect for the principle of legality, the importance of clear definitions and fair trials. While an understanding of international law is necessary to grasp the institutional difficulties in realising these objectives, if the project is successful, the core of an international criminal process requires knowledge of the features and details of criminal law and procedure, increasingly in the context of obligations arising from human rights instruments. The course will explore the present (and still developing) field of international criminal law as established by practice, mainly of the two ad hoc tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda and the International Criminal Court.

Seminar topics:

  • Introduction – the idea of international criminal law
  • The Nuremburg and Tokyo International Military Tribunals
  • The ad hoc Tribunals (ICTY and ICTR)
  • Internationalised Tribunals
  • The International Criminal Court
  • Genocide
  • Crimes Against Humanity
  • War Crimes
  • Principles of Liability
  • Defences
  • National Prosecutions of International Crimes
  • Amnesties

Methods of assessment

Modules on the LLM programmes will be assessed in one of the following ways. As this website is set up in advance, it is not possible to specify which method of assessment will be implemented for each module.

Either:

  • One 6000 word essay

Or

  • One 3-hour written examination

If you'd like to find out how a module will be assessed in the forthcoming academic year please contact the LLM Programmes Administrator at Law-LLM@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

 

Disclaimer

Modules and Courses are constantly updated and under review. As with most academic programmes, please remember that it is possible that a module may not be offered in any particular year, for instance because a member of staff is on study leave or too few students opt for it. The University of Birmingham reserves the right to vary or withdraw any course or module.