LAW 599
International Dispute Settlement
(Harrington)
Prerequisite courses: None
Prerequisite for: None
Instructor: Professor Joanna Harrington
Course credit: 3
Method of presentation: seminar combining lectures and discussion
METHOD OF EVALUATION
A two-page briefing note (15%), a short oral presentation in class (10%), and a legal research paper of no more than 5000 words (inclusive of footnotes) on a current topic of international dispute settlement (75%).
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This seminar course examines the development and practice of international mechanisms for the settlement of disputes between States, and their evolution to apply to disputes between States and international organizations, between States and companies, and between States and individuals.
The course examines various methods of international dispute settlement, including negotiation, mediation, commissions of inquiry, conciliation, arbitration and judicial settlement, within various contexts, including environmental disputes, foreign investment disputes, and human rights disputes. But “settling disputes” is not just about settling disputes; it is also about the legal issues that are raised, the law that is generated in trying to resolve the dispute, and the processes that are developed to generate and determine this law.
Topics to be covered will likely include: key principles, non-legal methods of dispute settlement (such as negotiation, inquiry, conciliation), legal methods of dispute settlement (arbitration and judicial settlement), law of the sea disputes, trade disputes, investor-state disputes, human rights disputes, the International Court of Justice, the role for the UN and regional bodies, and the Inspection Panel process at the World Bank.
Looking for experiential or practice-related learning? This course has a strong legal skills component, with dedicated classes on legal research strategies and effective written communication skills. These skills have been identified as relevant to the practice of law by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada.
SPECIAL COMMENTS:
Description updated 2021-22. Please contact the instructor for any specific questions you may have related to this particular course section.
REQUIRED TEXT:
J.G. Merrills, International Dispute Settlement, 6th ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017)