To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL), to pass on the vibrant culture and spirit of CUPL, and to highlight the characteristics of training international legal talents, the China-EU School of Law (CESL) launched the ‘CESL Featured Courses Series’, an introduction to some featured courses from CESL.

Just as “Jurisprudence” is often the first law course that Chinese law students take, the course “Legal Foundations of Public International Law” comes first in the European and International Law course. This course aims to equip students with the basic concepts of international law, thus laying a solid foundation for the following courses. “Legal Foundations of Public International Law” is lectured by Dr. Shavana Haythornthwaite. Dr. Haythornthwaite is a Legal Consultant for the United Nations and a Lecturer in International Law at The University of Manchester. Dr. Haythornthwaite has been teaching the course “Legal Foundations of Public International Law” in the CESL programme of Master of European and International Law (MEIL LL.M.) for four consecutive years since 2018. She is also the master thesis supervisor for students who write a MEIL master thesis.

Dr. Haythornthwaite’s four lectures are offered in one week, complemented by nearly 200-page reading materials including the Charter of the United Nations and parts from Brownlie’s Principles of Public International Law and Shaw’s International Law. Two classes are pre-recorded lectures and two are live lectures. The course covers the history, subjects and sources of international law, the principle of non-use of force, international criminal law, and international human rights protection, etc. This course might appear a little theoretical, but it still involves many interesting issues such as non-use of force, the qualification of individuals as subjects of international law, etc. Therefore, this course still can stimulate students’ interests in exploring European and International Law.

In the first lecture, Dr. Haythornthwaite discussed with students interesting issues including the concept, the historical development and the subject of international law, and the concept of the “State”. Among them, the constituent elements of a “State”, and whether and when some special subjects such as individuals and corporations can become subjects of international law were fully discussed.

The second lecture of the course focuses on the sources of international law. Starting from Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, an enumeration was made respectively on international conventions, international custom and general principles of international law. Regarding international conventions, a focus was made on the definition and diversification of them. International custom is difficult to digest, especially “opinio juris”. Through an exposure to well-known cases such as North Sea Continental Shelf Cases and Anglo-Norwegian Fisheries Case, students gained a more profound understanding of international customs. Finally, general principles of international law such as “Pacta Sunt Servanda” and “Equity” were discussed.

The third and fourth lecture are pre-recorded which students need to study by themselves. The third lecture is themed on the prohibition of use of force and the last lecture involves international criminal law, international criminal courts and international human rights protection.

With the knowledge acquired in “Legal Foundations of Public International Law”, students are expected to proceed on their joyous journey given a full-fledged exploration of European and Public International Law.

Welcoming the 70th Anniversary of CUPL: CESL Featured Courses Series
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Welcoming the 70th anniversary of CUPL: Showcasing CESL's course on "International Business Law"
Welcoming the 70th Anniversary of CUPL: Showcasing CESL course on "Legal Research and Writing"

Written by: FANG Guimin, CESL MEIL student from 2021 intake