Handbook

This course will focus on the international settlement of disputes as governed by established principles of public
international law. It examines the obligations of states to peacefully settle disputes in accordance with the UN Charter and
the types of disputes that arise within the international system. It then focuses on the types of dispute resolution
mechanisms including non-binding mechanisms (eg negotiation, mediation), international courts (in particular the
International Court of Justice), arbitration, claims commissions and specialist adjudicative bodies (like ITLOS and WTO)
that are now available for these inter-state disputes.

Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes is one of the postgraduate elective subjects for law. It fits within the
International Law, Dispute Resolution and Human Rights and Social Justice streams of the LLM and is an approved
elective for the Master (and Graduate Diploma) in International Law and International Relations, the Master (and Graduate
Diploma) in International Law and Security, the Master (and Graduate Diploma) in Human Rights Law and Policy and the
Master (and Graduate Diploma) in Dispute Resolution.

Main Topics

• Obligations in international law to settle disputes peacefully, including obligations contained in the United Nations Charter and specific international agreements
• The institutional and ad hoc mechanisms available for statestate dispute settlement, including conciliation, good offices, mediation, fact finding, inquiry, and adjudication
• The role of non-state actors in international disputes
• Case studies of selected disputes and institutions, including the settlement of trade disputes in the World Trade Organisation and the 2000 Tokyo Women’s Tribunal
• Systemic issues in international dispute settlement