PG Certificate in Law

This module explores historical and contemporary dimensions of the relationship between International Law and colonialism/ imperialism.

In the first part of the course, we will consider the historical mappings of the colonial endeavour within international law as well as theoretical debates concerning colonialism, post-colonialism and neo-colonialism. In the second half, we will focus on a variety of contemporary international law issues – e.g., statehood and recognition; self-determination of peoples; failed states; administration of territory; racialisation and capitalism; and reparations- in light of the historical and theoretical perspectives introduced in the earlier part of the term.

This course is an introductory module to environmental law that aims at giving students a solid and comprehensive foundation of key concepts of environmental law and a grounding in some of the most topical and foundational debates. These include the role of justice frameworks in relation to environmental law, as well as key debates in environmental legal regulation. The aim is to provide a platform from which to better appreciate some of the central tensions and dynamics in the study of environmental law generally. The course will introduce environmental law in its North-South context, in historical perspective, in a domestic, comparative and regional context. It will cover the context for environmental regulation, principles and regulatory techniques from a theoretical and practical perspective.

This course aims to provide a critical introduction to the building blocks of public international law – its nature and sources, international personality, statehood and recognition, jurisdiction and immunities, the law of responsibility, international organisations, and enforcement. Throughout the course, you will be introduced to different theoretical perspectives– including feminist and 'third world approaches to international law' (TWAIL)– and encouraged to think critically about the rule and role of law in the international order.

This module offers an introduction to law on armed conflict, including collective security, the use of force, international humanitarian law and counter-terrorism. These are studied alongside legal reforms in response to contemporary understandings of the relationship between war and gender.

This module provides a continuation of interdisciplinary critical explorations relative to the field of feminist, queer and trans legal theories and methodologies, as they pertain to law, initiated in our Term 1 module Gender, Sexuality and Law: Theories and Methodologies (which you need to take in order to be able to attend this module). We introduce a series of in-depth studies on a range of topics relative to gender, sexuality and law, which will provide you with an opportunity to study various specialised issues and apply the knowledge of theories and methodologies covered by the above-mentioned Term 1 module.

The objective of this module is to enable students to become well versed in the field of feminist, queer and trans legal theory, and the study of gender and sexuality in relation to law, with a particular focus on Global Southern experiences and methodological directions. Critical approaches to colonialism, imperialism and capitalism, and their entanglements with law and the state, are particularly emphasised. However, no prior knowledge of law is required to attend the module. You will be taught by diverse experts in the field and gain an interdisciplinary, critical introduction to this ever-evolving field.

This module is concerned in the broadest sense with nature protection and concerns around the sixth mass extinction. It addresses specifically law and policy around the broad themes of biodiversity, wildlife & habitats. It examines theoretical and practical dimensions of international and national legal and institutional arrangements concerning some of the most crucial environmental issues of our time. This includes the various dimensions of the biodiversity regime, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, its protocols, related legal instruments and related developments at the national level. These cover a wide variety of issues ranging from conservation and use of biodiversity in general to specific implementation mechanisms like ‘access and benefit sharing’, measures addressing environmental safety in the context of the release of genetically modified organisms (biosafety), and proposed measures to take into account social and cultural dimensions of biodiversity conservation and use. This module also addresses law and policy focused on the protection of nature and animals (wildlife), including a focus on the protection of migratory species and specific conservation techniques, such as the regulation of trade (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). The course also covers measures for the protection of specific habitats, ecosystems and biomes, including forests and polar areas, where distinct legal regimes have made a significant contribution to the development of environmental law.

This subject will provide an overview of the discipline of international criminal law. First, the course will examine the origins of the fundamental principle of international criminal law – individual criminal responsibility – and its operations through a variety of international crimes. Second, the course will explain the core theoretical assumptions of the law - focusing in particular on the rationales for criminalisation and for the creation of international criminal tribunals – and take a critical look at these core theoretical assumptions. Third, the course will look at the operation of international criminal law through national jurisdictions and international tribunals.

This module is concerned in the broadest sense with nature protection and concerns around the sixth mass extinction. It addresses specifically law and policy around the broad themes of biodiversity, wildlife & habitats. It examines theoretical and practical dimensions of international and national legal and institutional arrangements concerning some of the most crucial environmental issues of our time. This includes the various dimensions of the biodiversity regime, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, its protocols, related legal instruments and related developments at the national level. These cover a wide variety of issues ranging from conservation and use of biodiversity in general to specific implementation mechanisms like ‘access and benefit sharing’, measures addressing environmental safety in the context of the release of genetically modified organisms (biosafety), and proposed measures to take into account social and cultural dimensions of biodiversity conservation and use. This module also addresses law and policy focused on the protection of nature and animals (wildlife), including a focus on the protection of migratory species and specific conservation techniques, such as the regulation of trade (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). The course also covers measures for the protection of specific habitats, ecosystems and biomes, including forests and polar areas, where distinct legal regimes have made a significant contribution to the development of environmental law.

This module examines the nature of international investment and its legal regimes; the impact of foreign and domestic investment on the economic development of states; the protections afforded investors and their interpretations, the role of states and the impact of investment law on their regulatory powers; and the ICSID dispute resolution mechanism for investment related disputes between foreign investors and states. This module aims to equip students with a clear understanding and critical engagement of these issues from a legal perspective and particularly as it relates to developing and capital importing states.

The course will provide an in-depth introduction to international refugee law. It covers core concepts, the historical development of international refugee law, the Refugee Convention, particularly its definition, regional refugee treaties, particularly in Africa, refugee law and practice worldwide, the relationship between refugee law and human rights law, and broader questions of global refugee law and policy. It also explores cross-cutting issues, such as race, gender, age, and intersectionality, which have been of increasing importance in the field of international refugee law. The course builds on a range of theoretical perspectives that enable students to critically interrogate the genesis of, and current developments in international refugee law. Students will engage with case law and policy documents, as well as key academic texts to acquire both sound knowledge of the law and critical awareness of the biases, gaps and challenges in the current system.

This course focuses on global commons, in other words all the resources that are beyond state sovereignty either because they do not fall under their jurisdiction or because they have not been appropriated for legal or other reasons. Certain global commons like the high seas have been the object of significant attention for decades and innovative legal regimes have arisen, for instance, concerning deep seabed mineral resources governed by the principle of common heritage of humankind. Other global commons, such as the global atmosphere and the global water cycle are recognised as issues of global importance but suffer from incomplete or insufficient regulation. In the case of outer-space, the existing legal regime is premised on a principle of non-appropriation but rapid changes are visible in the context of new opportunities for natural resource exploitation, while at the same time the negative environmental consequences of outer-space use are becoming increasingly visible. This course course addresses some of the main global commons that are recognised and regulated, explores issues concerning global commons whose regulation is lacking and reflects on the consequences of appropriation, as happened in the case of seeds that were recognised as a common heritage of humankind until the 1980s.

This module offers an investigation into the theories and key texts that inform the dynamic field(s) of postcolonial, decolonial and anticolonial studies, with a specific focus on law. Whilst anticolonial uprisings are as old as the global project of Euro-American colonialism and imperialism itself, the long twentieth century saw the emergence of a body of thought that critically addressed the realities of both an enduring ‘coloniality of being’ around the world and the prospects of a Third Worldist approach to social, political and legal justice claims. This body of thought is the core preoccupation of the module, taught by a diverse team of experts in the field. No prior knowledge of law is required to attend the module.

This module uses diverse legal, historical, anthropological and sociological literature to introduce the dynamic region of Southeast Asia to SOAS postgraduate students. We are guided by a law and society approach, which places an emphasis on empirical, interdisciplinary understandings of the historical and present-day Southeast Asian polities; their social, religious and legal regimes; and the ways they have interacted with one another. You are not required to possess any prior knowledge of legal studies or, indeed, of Southeast Asia. Your weekly classes will be led by experts in the field of Southeast Asian Studies, and you will be able to learn a great deal about the historical, social and legal dimensions of life across Southeast Asia.

This module provides a critical introduction to the law of armed conflict ( also known as international humanitarian law). We will explore its history and sources, its relationship to the law on the use of force, and the basic principles that have governed its development. We then examine a range of historical and contemporary challenges to the law of armed conflict including colonial warfare and wars of national liberation, the classification of conflicts, lawful and unlawful combatants, the protection of the civilian population, weaponry, and human rights. Throughout the course we will think critically about the legal regulation of violence and the history of legal efforts to humanise war.

This course offers an introduction and critical exploration of ‘Harmony with Nature’ and the emerging legal doctrine of ‘Rights of Nature’ as potential alternatives to sustainable development. It delves into the philosophical roots and evolution of the idea of granting legal rights to the natural world, all within the larger framework of Environmental Law, Earth Law, and the Anthropocene era. Harmony with Nature", in the context of this module, refers to developments at the international and domestic level that promote a paradigmatic shift away from human-centred environmental law, towards a more ecologically-centred legal system. Relatedly, "Rights of Nature" is a legal concept that recognises nature's intrinsic value and grants certain legal rights to elements of the environment. For instance, the recent rise in granting legal personhood to certain natural entities, like rivers, forests, or specific ecosystems, in different parts of the world, allowing them to be protected and represented, on their own account. These developments have arisen as responses to the shortcomings of sustainable development and traditional environmental law in addressing environmental degradation at local, national, and global levels. The course will examine case studies of rights of nature laws, in their political, social, and legal contexts in various regions, engaging with different developments, such as the granting or river rights in the Global North and Global South. Throughout the course, students will critically assess the structure and key features of these laws, accounting for this broader context .The course examines case studies of rights of nature laws, in their political, social, and legal contexts in various regions, engaging with different developments, such as the granting or river rights in the Global North and Global South. Throughout the course, students will critically assess the structure and key features of these laws, accounting for this broader context."