Information

25 September - 16 October 2024
Application start 5 August 2024
Application end 11 September 2024
Fee: 1250 Swiss Francs

Introduction to Public International Law and Subjects of the International Legal Order

The UN Security Council The UN Security Council

Descriptive

This online short course focuses on the role of public international law in international relations and on international legal persons. The first part aims at showing the function of law in the international community and its primacy in regulating international relations. The second part deals with international subjects, that is to say, all those entities, regardless of their intrinsic specificities, that have the capacity to apply public international law rules.

Online

This is an online short course.

Schedule

Classes will take place online during lunchtime on:

  • Wednesday, 25 September 2024, 12:00–14:00 (CET)
  • Friday, 27 September 2024, 12:00–14:00 (CET)
  • Wednesday, 02 October 2024, 12:00–14:00 (CET)
  • Friday, 04 October 2024, 12:00–14:00 (CET)
  • Wednesday, 09 October 2024, 12:00–14:00 (CET)
  • Wednesday, 16 October 2024, 12:00–14:00 (CET)

Audience

This short course forms part of the Geneva Academy Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict. It is open to professionals – diplomats, lawyers, legal advisers, judges, NGO staff, human rights advocates, media specialists, professionals working in emergency situations, UN staff and staff from other international organizations – who are not enrolled in the Executive Master and who want to deepen their expertise in this specific issue.

Fee

The fee for this short course is 1,250 Swiss Francs. In case of cancellation by the participants, CHF 200 won't be returned.

Certificate

Participants obtain a certificate at the end of the course (no ECTS credits are gained).

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted via this online form.

Your application will have to include:

  • A short motivation letter (no more than one page)
  • Your curriculum vitae
  • Proof of your competence in English (a certificate or statement highlighting your solid background in English)
  • A valid copy of your visa or residence permit for candidates wishing to follow the short course in Geneva (only applicants who require a visa to enter the Schengen area).

Once admitted to the course, participants receive instructions on how to pay. Proof of payment is required before you begin the course.

Professor and Lecturer

Picture of Giovanni Distefano

Giovanni Distefano

Professor of International Law at the University of Neuchatel

Giovanni Distefano's areas of research and expertise include public international law, the law of treaties, state responsibility and use of force.

Location

Online course

Access

The course will be conducted online using the ZOOM platform.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

Participants in a Geneva Academy expert meeting at Villa Moynier News

2017 Annual Report

21 June 2018

Our 2017 Annual Report is out! It provides a look into our research and educational activities.

Read more

Participants in the Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict News

19 Professionals Start the Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict

14 October 2019

Coming from 18 different countries, they work as diplomats, lawyers as well as for NGOs, UN agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and academic institutions.

Read more

Yemen,  Sana'a, Faj Attan district. Destruction. Short Course

The Rules Governing the Use of Force in International Law

14-23 May 2025

This online short course provides an overview of the content and evolution of the rules governing the use of unilateral force in international law, including military intervention on humanitarian grounds and the fight against international terrorism. It focuses on the practice of states and international organizations.

Read more

Short Course

The Law of Non-International Armed Conflicts

6-21 February 2025

This online short course discusses the protection offered by international humanitarian law (IHL) in non-international armed conflicts (NIACs) and addresses some problems and controversies specific to IHL of NIACs, including the difficulty to ensure the respect of IHL by armed non-state actors.

Read more

ICC Trial Chamber VIII declares Mr Al Mahdi guilty of the war crime of attacking historic and religious buildings in Timbuktu and sentences him to nine years’ imprisonment Project

Modes of Liability for International Crimes

Completed in January 2015

This project intends to clarify the conditions of accountability for international crimes by providing a detailed assessment of the customary international law status of, in particular, the actus reus and mens rea elements of modes of liability: planning, instigating, conspiracy, direct and indirect perpetration, co-perpetration, the three forms of joint criminal enterprise, the doctrine of common purpose under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, command responsibility and aiding and abetting.

Read more

Putis, Peru. The clothes of missing child found in a mass grave close to the village at the exhibition organized for the relatives of victimes. The family will be able to identify their missing relatives. Project

INVESTIGATING IN SITUATIONS OF ARMED CONFLICT: Law, Policy and Good Practice

Completed in January 2014

This project, initiated in 2014 by the Swiss Chair of International Humanitarian Law, Professor Noam Lubell, intends to identify, via expert meetings and research, a set of best practices that states should apply when they investigate or examine alleged violations or misconduct in situations of armed conflict.

Read more