International Criminal Law

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Academic Year of Entry: 2024/25
Course overview
(LLM) Master of Laws
International Criminal Law
Current
University of Essex
University of Essex
Essex Law School
Colchester Campus
Masters
Part-time
Law
LLM M21E24
08/05/2024

Details

Professional accreditation

None

Admission criteria

A 2:2 Degree in Law or a joint honours Degree in another subject with Law.

Applicants who do not hold a Law Degree but who have at least six months of relevant professional experience, traineeships, or professional qualifications/certifications issued by professional bodies such as Bar Associations can apply and will be considered. Please provide your CV.

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) code


If English is not your first language, we require IELTS 6.5 overall with a minimum component score of 6.0 in writing and 5.5 in all other components.

If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.

Additional Notes

The University uses academic selection criteria to determine an applicant’s ability to successfully complete a course at the University of Essex. Where appropriate, we may ask for specific information relating to previous modules studied or work experience.

Course qualifiers

A course qualifier is a bracketed addition to your course title to denote a specialisation or pathway that you have achieved via the completion of specific modules during your course. The specific module requirements for each qualifier title are noted below. Eligibility for any selected qualifier will be determined by the department and confirmed by the final year Board of Examiners. If the required modules are not successfully completed, your course title will remain as described above without any bracketed addition. Selection of a course qualifier is optional and student can register preferences or opt-out via Online Module Enrolment (eNROL).

None

Rules of assessment

Rules of assessment are the rules, principles and frameworks which the University uses to calculate your course progression and final results.

Additional notes

You must complete all core and compulsory modules and the required number of optional modules (as noted on the full-time version of this course) during your two years of study. When you start your course, please contact your School or Department office to agree on the sequence in which you will take your core, compulsory and optional modules.

External examiners

Staff photo
Prof Konstantinos Kritsiotis

Professor

University of Nottingham

External Examiners provide an independent overview of our courses, offering their expertise and help towards our continual improvement of course content, teaching, learning, and assessment. External Examiners are normally academics from other higher education institutions, but may be from the industry, business or the profession as appropriate for the course. They comment on how well courses align with national standards, and on how well the teaching, learning and assessment methods allow students to develop and demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills needed to achieve their awards. External Examiners who are responsible for awards are key members of Boards of Examiners. These boards make decisions about student progression within their course and about whether students can receive their final award.

eNROL, the module enrolment system, is now open until Monday 27 January 2025 8:59AM, for students wishing to make changes to their module options.

Key

Core You must take this module.
You must pass this module. No failure can be permitted.
Core with Options You can choose which module to study.
You must pass this module. No failure can be permitted.
Compulsory You must take this module.
There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the degree if you fail.
Compulsory with Options You can choose which module to study.
There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the degree if you fail.
Optional You can choose which module to study.
There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the degree if you fail.

Year 1 - 2024/25

Exit Award Status
Component Number Module Code Module Title Status Credits PG Diploma PG Certificate
01 Option(s) from list Optional 90

Year 2 - 2025/26

Exit Award Status
Component Number Module Code Module Title Status Credits PG Diploma PG Certificate
01 LW560-7-FY-CO Dissertation – International Criminal Law Core 60
02 Options year 2 Optional 90 Optional Optional

Exit awards

A module is given one of the following statuses: 'core' – meaning it must be taken and passed; 'compulsory' – meaning it must be taken; or 'optional' – meaning that students can choose the module from a designated list. The rules of assessment may allow for limited condonement of fails in 'compulsory' or 'optional' modules, but 'core' modules cannot be failed. The status of the module may be different in any exit awards which are available for the course. Exam Boards will consider students' eligibility for an exit award if they fail the main award or do not complete their studies.

Programme aims


  1. Enable students to form an advanced, systematic conceptual understanding of international criminal law, including its domestic context, that is informed by insight based on scholarship at the forefront of the discipline.

  2. Set international criminal law in its geopolitical, philosophical and historical contexts.

  3. Enable students to understand, evaluate and develop a critical awareness of the key contemporary legal and governance issues relating to international criminal law.

  4. Enable students to develop critical, analytical and research skills, problem-solving skills, and transferable skills.

  5. Produce graduates who can conduct independent research and construct coherent, well written arguments.



Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods

On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:

A: Knowledge and understanding

A1: Demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of the fundamental legal rules, methodologies, concepts, models, principles and institutions of international criminal law.

A2: Demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of the geopolitical, historic and social framework in which international criminal law operates.

A3: Demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of the means and methods of implementing, enforcing and upholding international criminal law.

A4: Demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of how international criminal law is applied in various judicial, governmental and field situations.

A5: Learn some areas of international criminal law in depth.

Learning methods

A1-A5 are acquired through large group interactive classes, which encourage dialogue between the students and teacher and between the students, and through seminars which allow for dynamic interaction based on directed, pre-set reading. Materials and resources are provided for students in advance of the classes. A1 – A5 are reinforced by the formatively assessed Foundation Essay and independent research for the dissertation. Inclusivity is achieved through the use of Moodle to communicate resources and teaching materials, through different styles of teaching and learning and through different types of assessment.


Students are expected to undertake thorough and in-depth independent research for modules and, in particular, the dissertation, which involves the analysis of primary and secondary sources. They are required to submit research of high quality which involves not only a thorough analysis of law but also of the economic, cultural, political and societal actors which underpin it. The analysis will involve a variety of legal documents that range from national laws to international conventions and it is based on the referencing of a wide range of resources which include reports, articles, books as well as conference papers and national and international case law. The essays in question form an original piece of research and require a high level of skills. Students will also be tested on their understanding and knowledge in examinations for some modules, to showcase their ability to think on-the-spot without support of secondary material.


Assessment methods

A combination of assessment methods will be used. Testing the knowledge base for A1 - A5 is through unseen examinations, take home examinations, module essays, the foundation essay and the dissertation. The assessment and examination processes take into account the needs of students with specific learning differences or other needs.


B: Intellectual and cognitive skills

B1: Identify accurately the issue(s) which require researching.

B2: Apply relevant primary and secondary legal sources.

B3: Reason critically, identify, analyse, and solve complex problems, even in the absence of complete data.

B4: Recognise, rank and collate items and issues in terms of relevance and importance.

B5: Produce a comprehensive, coherent and sophisticated synthesis of relevant doctrinal and policy issues in relation to a topic.

B6: Critically evaluate the merits of particular arguments and advanced scholarship in the field.

B7: Present and make a reasoned choice between alternative solutions or methodologies and, where necessary, propose new hypotheses.

B8: Deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, make sound judgements in the absence of complete data, and communicate their conclusions clearly.

B9: Demonstrate and exercise originality of thought in the application of knowledge.

Learning methods

Skills B1 - B9 are obtained and developed through the inclusive teaching of seminars and large group interactive classes where there is an emphasis on group discussion and analysis of case material and problems (hypothetical and actual). B5 and B6 are also enabled through lectures. All skills are complemented by independent reading undertaken by students in the light of guidance by lecturers and through discussion tasks. Intellectual and cognitive skills are also acquired through written and oral feedback provided on coursework. In addition, learning is enhanced by formative assessment of Skills B1 and B3. B7 - B9 are learned through in-class discussion. Inclusivity is achieved through the use of Moodle to communicate resources and teaching materials, through different styles of teaching and learning and through different types of assessment.


In addition, the dissertation requires students to identify a precise research question, to apply primary and secondary legal and other relevant resources, to critically assess major legal questions and problems and to suggest solutions or take side in a debate. The analysis often involves legal, political, historical, cultural as well as doctrinal matters and requires the students to make reasoned arguments which should be well-referenced in literature and jurisprudence. They are required to criticise the existing parties to major debates as well as to take sides and choose between contrasting views. The dissertation is a demanding piece of independent research which requires a high-level of legal analysis.


Assessment methods

A combination of assessment methods will be used, which will enable the students to demonstrate successful development of all B skills. Some modules will be assessed through unseen exams, take home exams, and some through essays. Independent working is also assessed through the dissertation (B9). The assessment and examination processes take into account the needs of students with specific learning differences or other needs.


C: Practical skills

C1: Identify, select and retrieve up-to-date legal information, using both paper and electronic sources.

C2: Identify, select and retrieve non-legal information pertinent to issues of international criminal law, using both paper and electronic sources.

C3: Use and apply legal terminology and legal concepts in context to applied problems, actual or hypothetical.

C4: Plan and undertake tasks in and beyond complex areas of law that have already been studied, and autonomously undertake independent research in areas of law not previously studied.

Learning methods

A precise use of legal terminology is at the centre of the relevant analysis. The students are required and taught as to how to analyse a field of law which is quite well researched in the past and yet to be able to submit an original piece of work; it involves their ability to criticise, analyse, compare, explain well-researched questions or aspects of law which are yet relatively unexplored.


Skills C1 and C2 are developed through preparation for seminars and the large group interactive classes, and through research for the Foundation Essay and Dissertation.


In addition to traditional research methods, students are expected to use the internet and legal databases when researching their assessed work in order to find primary and appropriate secondary sources, either in on-line or paper format.


Skills C3 and C4 are developed through seminars by way of the medium of problem solving and group discussion.


Skill C4 is particularly developed through the Foundation Essay and Dissertation.


Skills C1 - C4 are developed in seminars, large group interactive classes, and the Foundation Essay, which assessment reinforces student learning. Inclusivity is achieved through the use of Moodle to communicate resources and teaching materials, through different styles of teaching and learning and through different types of assessment.


Assessment methods

A combination of assessment methods will be used. Some modules will be assessed through exams and some through essays/problem questions. Skills C1 - C4 are assessed through summative take home exams, unseen exams, module essays, the Foundation Essay and the Dissertation. The assessment and examination processes take into account the needs of students with specific learning differences or other needs.


D: Key skills

D1: Both orally and in writing, (i) work with the English language proficiently in relation to legal matters; (ii) present knowledge or an argument in a clear, coherent and relevant manner, (iii) Analyse a range of materials that are complex and technical.

D2: (i) Produce a word-processed dissertation as well as other essays or texts in an appropriate form and (ii) effectively use online academic and other resources to facilitate the research process.

D3: Where relevant, proficiently use, present and evaluate information provided in numerical or statistical form.

D4: (i) Analyse complex factual and hypothetical scenarios and (ii) Identify key legal questions and apply relevant law and effective research methodologies thereto.

D5: Participate in group work, where appropriate, to the benefit of the group as a whole

D6: (i) With limited guidance, reflect on own learning, and make use of feedback, and (ii) demonstrate the ability to plan and undertake effective independent research.

Learning methods

Skills D1, D3 and D4 are acquired through seminars where students debate legal issues and problems, as well as the Foundation Essay, and the Dissertation.


Skill D3 will be developed, where necessary, in modules and assessments where students are required to read figures and statistics in the context of various empirical studies.


Skills D2, D4 and D5 will be gained in particular through the Foundation Essay and the Dissertation.


Skills D1 – D5 will be learnt through writing summatively assessed and formative course essays and take home exams, the Foundation Essay, and through the consequent feedback, both written and that obtained in oral sessions. Skill D5 is developed through continual oral feedback in learning and teaching sessions to stimulate self-reflection and personal learning development, including through researching and writing the dissertation. Inclusivity is achieved through the use of Moodle to communicate resources and teaching materials, through different styles of teaching and learning and through different types of assessment.


Assessment methods

Skills D1 - D6 are assessed through essays, take home exams, unseen exams and the dissertation, including D3 where necessary. The assessment and examination processes take into account the needs of students with specific learning differences or other needs.



Note

The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its programme specification is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can be necessary to make changes, for example to courses, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include a change of law or regulatory requirements, industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key personnel, change in government policy, or withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to courses may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications.

The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.

Contact

If you are thinking of studying at Essex and have questions about the course, please contact Undergraduate Admissions by emailing admit@essex.ac.uk, or Postgraduate Admissions by emailing pgadmit@essex.ac.uk.

If you're a current student and have questions about your course or specific modules, please contact your department.

If you think there might be an error on this page, please contact the Course Records Team by emailing crt@essex.ac.uk.