International Humanitarian Law (The Law of Armed Conflict)

See || chr(38) ||lsquo;Detailed course information || chr(38) ||rsquo; regarding requirements and syllabus.

Three years of law studies.

Students must fill one of these requirements:

• Passed 1st - 3rd year of the 5-years degree Master of Laws (Master i rettsvitenskap at UiO) (or exams that qualify for exemption for these) or
• Hold a 5-years Master¿s degree in Laws (Master i rettsvitenskap at UiO) or equivalent.

Starting Autumn 2013 exception from the formal prerequisites will be given only to students on the faculty's exchange programmes, and not to students with admission to other Master`s programmes at the University of Oslo.

You may register for this course if you have admission to a Master || chr(38) ||rsquo;s programme at UiO or the faculty || chr(38) ||#39;s exchange programme. You can also register for this course if you do not have admission to any programme at UiO, but meet the formal prerequistites.

All students are required meet the formal prerequistites.

Have you met the formal prerequisites at another institution than the University of Oslo, and the results are not formally registered at UiO, you must apply for admission to courses at Master || chr(38) ||rsquo;s level . Students with admission to Master || chr(38) ||rsquo;s degree programmes at other faculties than The Faculty of Law must also apply for admission.

When your admission is in order you must register for courses in StudentWeb

Students must fill one of these requirements:

• Passed 1st - 3rd year of the 5-years degree Master of Laws (Master i rettsvitenskap at UiO) (or exams that qualify for exemption for these) or
• Hold a 5-years Master’s degree in Laws (Master i rettsvitenskap at UiO) or equivalent.

Exemptions from the formal prerequisites will be given to students with admission to the faculty`s own exchange or master’s degree programmes. This rule does not apply to students with admission to other master’s degree programmes at the University of Oslo, unless otherwise agreed.

Lectures.

Language of teaching for this course is English. This means that all
communication during lectures/seminars will be in English, and all
literature and auxiliary materials are in English.

Students are graded on the basis of a 4-hour written open book digital school examination.

The candidates will take the exam on a PC and the submission is digital in Inspera. Read about School exams in Inspera.

You must familiarize yourself with the rules that apply to exam support materials, and the use of sources and citations.

Previous exam papers

Regulations for support materials permitted at examination for courses taught in English . Please read all three chapters.

Previous exam papers

You can usually resit an exam, but the conditions depend on whether you had a valid reason for absence from the regular exam. Read more about resitting an exam.

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

The language of examination for this course is English. This means that the examination question will be given in English, and students may answer in English only.

Other

The language for this course is English. Students enrolled in the
Masterprogrammet i rettsvitenskap must pass one
English subject as part of their degree, this course will meet these
obligations.

This subject is taught at Master 's level. The subject is also taught at Bachelor's level (15 ECTS credits), see JUR1730 - International Humanitarian Law (The Law of Armed Conflict). Please see the chapter above, regarding overlap. For instances of overlap, credits will be deducted on the subject at Bachelors's level.

You may request an explanation of your grades, and you may also appeal against your grades or make a complaint about formal examination errors. Read more about explanations and appeals.

Evaluation

Feedback from our students is essential to us in our efforts to ensure and further improve the high quality of our programmes and courses. All courses are subject to continuous evaluation. At regular intervals we also ask students on a particular course to participate in a more comprehensive, periodic evaluation of this course.

Overlapping courses

International Humanitarian Law

The following reading list is common for the courses taught at bachelor’s and master’s level. Note that there are different achievement requirements:

• Master’s level (10 credits): A good understanding is required
• Bachelor’s level (10 credits): A general understanding is required

Course content

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) defines methods and means of warfare in armed conflicts and establishes various forms of protection for civilians, other non-combatants as well as combatants. The rules seek to balance military necessity against fundamental principles of humanity. The principles of proportionality, the principle of distinction between military objectives and civilian objects, as well as the principle on unnecessary suffering and superfluous injury form the basis for this body of law.

The legal bases for IHL are rules of international customary law as well as treaty law, in particular the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 with their additional protocols of 1977, and the Hague Regulations of 1907. In addition there are several specific treaties pertaining to e.g. use of certain weapons and other means of warfare.

The subject International Humanitarian Law is a part of public international law, but does not go in detail into the rules on the legality of warfare (jus ad bellum). The main focus is on which rules apply when there is an armed conflict going on (jus in bello), irrespective of the status of the conflict. International Humanitarian Law has certain contact points with two other subjects under public international law; international criminal law and international human rights law.

Requirements

Achievement requirements for master's level (10 credits)

Achievement requirements for bachelor's level (10 credits)

The following achievement requirements apply to both MA-level (JUS5730) and BA-level (JUR1730): Students are expected to gain good understanding (JUS5730) or general understanding (JUR1730) of the followings issues:

• The principle on proportionality and military necessity, the prin

If you have a disability or a health problem that entails significant inconvenience in an examination situation, you may be considered for special examination arrangements. Mothers who are breastfeeding may apply for extra time to complete the exam.

Please se Detailed regulations for the Faculty of Law, Chapter 3 regarding application, responsibilities and special measures.

A student can sit for this exam up to 3 times. If a student wishes to withdraw from the exam, s/he must do this in StudentWeb at least two weeks prior to the first day of the exam. Failure to do so will be counted as one of the three opportunities to sit for the exam. A study programme may have rules that further limit the number of times a student may re-take this exam. In such instances the rules of the study programme will have priority.