The course intends to provide students with the basic knowledge of the international legal order and its main features and functioning, as well as its evolutive dynamics. It is ideally divided in two parts.

In the first, more general part, the course will examine the foundations of the international legal order and its structure, with a special focus on the sources of international law, its classification, interaction and development, as well as on the interrelationship between international and domestic law. Attention will then be devoted to the subjects of international law, focusing on the issue of international legal personality and its implications with regard to States and international organizations, as well as to individuals. Subsequently, the course will examine the topics of the international responsibility, the peaceful settlement of international disputes, the use of force in international relationships and the role and the functioning of the Security Council and Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

The second part of the course focuses on the protection of the individual in international law, on human rights and their different protection mechanisms. Specific attention will be devoted to the regional systems and, above all, to the various mechanisms operating within the Council of Europe and, most notably, the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights based in Strasbourg.

The different topics of the course will be examined in an interactive way, always looking at the current challenges and dynamics of the international community. A special focus will be put on Italy, on its role and engagement within the international community.

Suggested text:

Cannizzaro, Diritto internazionale, V° ed., Giappichelli, Torino, 2020

Additional study materials (e.g. documents, scientific articles, case-law, Power Point presentations, etc.) will be made available by the Professor during the course and will be accessible through the Moodle Platform.