This course aims at exploring some of the most relevant aspects of international law in times of armed conflict. The main goal is to provide critical tools that can help better understand the nature and function of the international law applicable to peace and security. This course will focus on specific case studies related to the normative aspects of international security (namely the threat and use of force, international humanitarian law and arms control). How can critical thinking contribute to a more comprehensive study of this international legal framework applicable in times of war?.

Cyberspace is by now a framework for increasingly more frequent, meaningful and extensive interactions between subjects of international law. International cooperation, exchange of information and conflictual relationships all take place ordinarily in cyberspace. In particular, malicious activities in cyberspace have increasingly proliferated in the past few years, now more than ever posing a risk for States’ security and other essential interests. As a global phenomenon calling for global responses, cyber operations are regulated in various ways by existing international law. These includes general principles of international law — like the principle of non-intervention in another State’s internal affairs — as well as the specific rules applicable to the use of force, international humanitarian law and international human rights law. This course will examine such rules with reference to the most relevant international practice.