Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Postgraduate Coursework
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Law School
This course will focus on selected topics in the law of war (or international humanitarian law). This body of law centres on the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their two Additional Protocols of 1977. We will examine issues such as the definition of armed conflict, the doctrine of military necessity, the significance of prisoner of war status, the relationship between international humanitarian law and human rights standards, and issues concerning implementation and enforcement. The course will consider the challenges posed to international humanitarian law by the changing character of armed conflict, the fragmentation of international law, and the evolving character of international relations. We will consider historical and current case studies to examine how humanitarian rules operate in practice.
The law of armed conflict (LOAC), also referred to as international humanitarian law or the law of war, is the branch of international law that regulates conduct during armed conflict. LOAC seeks to restrict the use of violence to what is necessary to attain legitimate military ends and to protect from harm persons and objects not involved in the hostilities. This course seeks to place LOAC within the framework of international law by showing its relationship to other areas of that law, principally the rules prohibiting the resort to force in international relations, as well as other rules that deal with the protection of the individual, such as human rights law. The course will cover the key principles and rules governing the conduct of hostilities, including targeting decisions and the choice of weapons, means and methods of warfare. It will also address the principles and rules relating to the protection of particular categories of individuals and objects. The course will conclude with an examination of the various means of ensuring compliance with LOAC, including a brief overview the general principles of international criminal law.
Course requirements
Assumed background
This course assumes a general understanding of public international law acquired through:
- the completion of, or current enrolment in, LAWS7710 Principles of International Law / Principles of Global Law; or
- the completion of a course on international law at the undergraduate level, such as LAWS5154 / LAWS3705 Public International Law.
Restrictions
LLM; LLM(Adv); LLM(16), LLM(24); MICLaw; GCGPP; GDipGPP; MGPP(16); MGPP(24); MGPP(32); GCIR; MIR(16); MIR(24); MIR(32), MIL, MIR/MIL
Quota: minimum of 12 enrolments.
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Dr Lauren Sanders
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Additional timetable information
This course is taught via intensive seminars, supported by explanatory videos of course content.
Aims and outcomes
Teaching Mission Statement
The mission of the TC BeirneﾠSchool of Law is to educate students in and about the law. We seek to assist you to think critically about the law and to investigate its structures, principles, policies, and values. This is achieved by engaging with you as fellow investigators in a range of critical and intellectual conversations about the law and its place in society. Our role is thus to guide you in your own intellectual journey in the law and to equip you with the necessary skills that will enable you to continue that journey long after you have left the School.
Course Aims
The course aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to:
- The historical evolution of the regulation of warfare;
- The fundamental philosophical and ideological premises of regulating warfare;
- The sources of the contemporary law of armed conflict;
- The relationship of the law of armed conflictﾠto other related areas of international law, such as the rules governing the resort to force (jus ad bellum), arms control and disarmament law, international human rights law and international criminal law;
- The thresholds of applicability of the law of armed conflictﾠin different conflict situations and the associated problem of conflict classification, as well as the difference in rules governing international armed conflicts and those governing non-international armed conflicts;
- The categorisation of persons for the purposes of targeting and detention (the fundamental distinction between civilians and combatants, and the legal status of ‘unlawful combatants’, ‘unprivileged belligerents’, ‘spies’, ‘mercenaries’, ‘civilians taking a direct part in hostilities’ and so on);
- The targeting process and the legal principles that govern it (the
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Articulate and critique the rationale and general characteristics of the law of armed conflict as a legal regime, and compare and contrast this legal regime to other international law regimes (such as international human rights law).
LO2.
Critically evaluate past and present developments in the law of armed conflict, and identify and analyse the social, moral, political and cultural factors that facilitate or hinder such developments.
LO3.
Identify, interpret and apply the appropriate rules and principles of the law of armed conflict to different conflict scenarios.
LO4.
Identify the actors involved in the development, interpretation and implementation of the law of armed conflict, and describe and evaluate the processes through which they do so.
LO5.
Assess the effectiveness of the law of armed conflict in achieving its aims, and identify and analyse the social, strategic, technological and other factors that facilitate or hinder compliance with the law of armed conflict.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
Case Note
|
40% |
28/04/2025 2:00 pm |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
Take Home Assessment
|
60% |
10/06/2025 2:00 pm |
Assessment details
Case Note
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
28/04/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05
Task description
You will be required to write a case note, which summarises and analyses a decision of a court relating to the law of armed conflict. The course coordinator will provide a list of cases to choose from via the course Blackboard site. You can also write the case note on a case that is not on the list, but you need to discuss that with the course coordinator in advance.
The maximum length of the case note is 2,000 words. Footnotes are not included in the word count provided that they only contain references. The word count must appear on the first page of the paper. Words in excess of the word limit will not be read, and will not be counted towards the answer.
This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct Policy.
Submission guidelines
Assignments must be submitted electronically via the submission link on the course Blackboard site.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Extension to Assessment Due Date
Where an extension for an assessment item due within the teaching period in which the course is offered is available, any extension is limited to one week (7 days). In exceptional circumstances, extensions may be granted for more than one week, but in no case will an extension exceed four weeks (28 days) in total. Where a student is incapacitated for a period exceeding four weeks of the teaching period, they should apply for removal of course.
A student may apply for an extension to assessment due date if they are unable to meet an assessment deadline due to extenuating circumstances. Please refer to the Applying for an extension page on my.UQ for further details on acceptable reasons for an extension and for instructions on how to apply. Additional information on extensions can be found within the Assessment Procedure .
Spoken or written notification of difficulties with assessment deadlines to a course coordinator or the School does not constitute an authorised extension.
Applications to be submitted before the due date: Applications for extension (whether they be medical or exceptional circumstances) shall be made by the due date and time for the assessment. Requests for extensions received after the assessment item submission due date and time, must include evidence of the reason for the late request, and will require the decision maker listed in the Student Grievance Resolution Procedure to accept the request for consideration.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Penalties for Late Submission
The following penalties apply to late submission of an assessment item, assuming that an extension has not been approved, and that late submission is academically possible (e.g., it does not delay feedback to a cohort, or interfere with course delivery).
First 7 periods of 24 hours (or part thereof) - 10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item. For example, a report worth a maximum of 40 marks, submitted 28 hours late will attract a penalty of 8 marks, calculated as 2 periods of 24 hours x 10% x 40 marks.
More than 7 periods of 24 hours - 100%.
Take Home Assessment
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 60%
- Due date
10/06/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05
Task description
For this assessment, you will be given three or more questions via the course Blackboard site on the specified date. The questions may be problem scenarios or essay-style prompts. The questions may be drawn from any part of the course.
You can freely choose two questions to answer and you will have 1 week to complete the assessment. The responses to the two questions will be weighted equally.
The maximum length of the assessment (responses to the two questions combined) is 4,000 words. Footnotes are not included in the word count provided that they only contain references. The word count must appear on the first page of the paper. Words in excess of the word limit will not be read, and will not be counted towards the answer.
This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct Policy.
Submission guidelines
Assignments must be submitted electronically via the submission link on the course Blackboard site.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Extension to Assessment Due Date
Where an extension for an assessment item due within the teaching period in which the course is offered is available, any extension is limited to one week (7 days). In exceptional circumstances, extensions may be granted for more than one week, but in no case will an extension exceed four weeks (28 days) in total. Where a student is incapacitated for a period exceeding four weeks of the teaching period, they should apply for removal of course.
A student may apply for an extension to assessment due date if they are unable to meet an assessment deadline due to extenuating circumstances. Please refer to the Applying for an extension page on my.UQ for further details on acceptable reasons for an extension and for instructions on how to apply. Additional information on extensions can be found within the Assessment Procedure .
Spoken or written notification of difficulties with assessment deadlines to a course coordinator or the School does not constitute an authorised extension.
Applications to be submitted before the due date: Applications for extension (whether they be medical or exceptional circumstances) shall be made by the due date and time for the assessment. Requests for extensions received after the assessment item submission due date and time, must include evidence of the reason for the late request, and will require the decision maker listed in the Student Grievance Resolution Procedure to accept the request for consideration.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Penalties for Late Submission
The following penalties apply to late submission of an assessment item, assuming that an extension has not been approved, and that late submission is academically possible (e.g., it does not delay feedback to a cohort, or interfere with course delivery).
First 7 periods of 24 hours (or part thereof) - 10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item. For example, a report worth a maximum of 40 marks, submitted 28 hours late will attract a penalty of 8 marks, calculated as 2 periods of 24 hours x 10% x 40 marks.
More than 7 periods of 24 hours - 100%.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 19 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 2 (Fail) | 20 - 47 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 48 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
Additional course grading information
While submissions will be evaluated against each of the assessment criteria, there is no specific weight given to any single criterion.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 3 To Week 10 |
Seminar |
Seminars The seminars will be held on 11 March, 25 March, 15 April and 6 May. Seminar topics are: 1. Introduction, Sources and Subjects Does it make sense to regulate warfare? Where does one find rules and principles of the law of armed conflict? How have States consciously developed the law? What has been the impact of other entities on the evolution of the law? Are customary law and general principles of law still relevant? 2. Scope of Application When, where and to whom does the law of armed conflict apply? How and why does the law distinguish between different types of conflict? Was there really a 'global war on terror'? 3. Targeting What categories of persons does the law recognise? What are the consequences of belonging to a particular category? Is there such a thing as an 'unlawful combatant'? Are ISIS fighters terrorists? Are private military contractors mercenaries? Who and what may be the object of an attack? What is collateral damage? How much collateral damage is permissible? Who decides? What precautionary measures must be taken when launching an attack? 4. Means and Methods of Warfare Can belligerents choose whatever weapons, means and methods they like? What restrictions does the law place on the use of specific weapons? Is cyber warfare really warfare? Are drones and autonomous weapons unlawful? 5. Wounded and Sick, and Civilians How must the wounded, sick and shipwrecked be treated? How must medical personnel and facilities be treated? When do the wounded and sick and medical personnel lose their protection? Other than being protected against direct attack, how does the law look after civilians? What is occupation? How must an occupant treat the inhabitants of an occupied territory? 6. Detention Who can be detained in an armed conflict? What is the process for detention? How can the decision to detain be challenged? How must detainees be treated? When and how must detainees be released? 7. Implementation and Compliance What happens on the international level to ensure compliance with the law of armed conflict? Have these measures been effective? What more could be done? 8. Individual and Superior Responsibility When can individuals be held accountable for breaches of the law of armed conflict? Is every breach of the law a war crime? Are superiors responsibly for every act of their subordinates? In what courts can war criminals be tried? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
School guidelines
Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: