Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

Knowledge of Public International Law preferable but not pre-requisite

Co Requisite Comment

Knowledge of Public International law preferable but not co-requisite

Aims

• To develop knowledge and understanding of the international legal framework of universal and regional scope that applies to the movement of persons across States, borders, and territorial entities;

• To develop knowledge and understanding of the changing relationship between individuals and the State, and in particular of nationality & citizenship, and the status of non-nationals;

• To consider doctrinal approaches to globalisation and the law, and their ability to explain and respond to the relationship between competing legal orders (international (universal & regional)/EU/national), and to identify the applicable law to the movement of persons in a global context;

• To examine the movement of persons in historical perspective, acquiring comprehension of the background and roots for current and evolving trends and tensions in the international legal responses to the challenges posed by the movement of persons;

• To analyse critically the effectiveness of the system, including the role of the State in the context of a plurality of international actors and competing legal orders;

• To acquire comprehensive knowledge and understanding of existing substantial regimes for nationality & citizenship, freedom of movement under international and regional agreements (including the UN and the EU), diplomatic status, statelessness, refugee status, and other treaty-based status.


The 21st Century has seen an increase in the extent and complexity of the transnational movement of capital, goods, and persons; and with it international agreements (universal and regional) on the status of individuals have proliferated in the past hundred years, often linked to agreements on international trade and commerce and to the protection of internationally recognised human rights.

The significance of these developments is further enhanced by the challenges posed by the multiplicity of competing legal orders (international (universal & regional)/EU/national) that characterises a globalised world and the complex relationship between them. In this context, citizenship (understood as rights and duties of individuals within a community) emerges as an international legal concept predicated both of nationals and of non-nationals under certain circumstances. The practical and doctrinal relevance of this phenomenon make the study of the movement of persons in a globalised world an indispensable part of PG studies that examine the transnational movement of capital and goods, and generally transnational legal issues.

Outline Of Syllabus

This module examines the movement of persons in a globalised world, including the following issues:

• Introduction to the international legal framework for the movement of persons, including international actors and their relationship

• The movement of persons and the law in historical perspective

• Globalisation and the movement of persons across States, borders, and territories, including challenges derived from the decline of the sovereign state in a globalised world

• Doctrinal approaches to globalisation and the law, including challenges posed by the multiplicity of competing legal orders (international (universal & regional)/EU/national)

• Substantial regimes for nationality & citizenship, freedom of movement under international and regional agreements (including the EU), diplomatic status, statelessness, refugee status, and other treaty-based status.

• International human rights law as a foundation for trans-national citizenship

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

By the end of this module, students should be able to:

• Show knowledge and understanding of the international legal framework for the movement of persons

• Discuss and evaluate critically different approaches to the relationship between competing legal orders (international (universal & regional)/EU/national) and their impact on the status of non-nationals

• Within this framework, demonstrate in-depth understanding and critical analysis of substantial regimes regulating the status of nationals and of non-nationals under a variety of agreements

Intended Skill Outcomes

• Ability to write and speak with care and precision in the analysis and synthesis of the various aspects of the transnational movement of persons and the status of individuals

• Ability to identify issues for research and to retrieve accurate and relevant legal norms, case-law, and literature

• Ability to engage in critical analysis and independent legal thought, in particular on the various complex issues derived from the changing nature of the relationship between the individual and the State in a globalised world

• Ability to structure argument and analysis; resorting to interpretative methods across legal orders, and making reasoned choices to discriminate among competing arguments by relevance and importance;

• Ability to engage in critical judgement by discerning between the merits or otherwise of particular arguments

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Seminars provide an ideal opportunity for a dynamic and thorough discussion of the matters under consideration, allowing for the examination of detailed issues and the contribution of all students in the group. Students are required to undertake in-depth preparation, including by undertaking independent research, and to develop and present legal arguments to the group by reference to academic commentary, the law and the jurisprudence. This allows students to develop research and analytical skills, to develop substantial legal arguments, and to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the complexities and impact derived from the interaction between different legal orders on the status of individuals.

Private study constitutes self-directed study (especially in preparation for the assessed coursework) as well as study on the basis of the previously shared seminar questions and reading list.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The examination provides an important incentive for students to establish substantial knowledge in the subject. The examination tests the demonstration of knowledge and understanding by applying the skills that need to be developed over the whole module. The examination provides a means for testing students' ability to analyse, synthesise, deploy critical judgement and evaluate alternative arguments. It also allows candidates to demonstrate intended learning outcomes across a broad range of topics within the syllabus.

The assessed coursework will give students the opportunity to develop and demonstrate their research skills, undertake critical analysis, and present coherent arguments supported by appropriate legal basis, case-law, and literature.

General Notes

N/A