Public International Law
Ten examinable topics for the second-year SOAS PIL exam, written in the IRAC structure (Issue → Rule → Application → Conclusion) the course convenor expects, with the leading cases (Nicaragua, Lotus, North Sea Continental Shelf, Pinochet, Germany v Italy, Wall Advisory Opinion, Armed Activities, Oil Platforms), the codifying instruments (VCLT 1969, Montevideo Convention 1933, ILC Articles on State Responsibility 2001, UN Charter), and the theorists you should engage with (Crawford, Brownlie, Koskenniemi, Anghie, Chimni, Mutua, Kattan, Higgins, Charlesworth).
How the exam works
Format: open book; 2 hours; one question (or one of two parts) from the set paper.
Structure: each question is a quotation or proposition followed by “discuss”. The lecturer rewards a clear thesis sustained from introduction to conclusion, not the historical/political windup.
What examiners reward (Drew, exam tips): use the IRAC formula — Identify the legal issue, set out the Rule or framework, Apply it, Conclude. Always give legal authority for every proposition (case + date, treaty article number). Do not just describe the law — engage with it, deploy it, build an argument with it. Set out both sides and critique the position you oppose. Have your own voice.
What loses marks: long political/historical introductions, footnotes, unsupported assertions, polemical or judgmental language, citing “the Montevideo Convention” instead of “Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention 1933”, sitting on the fence. The law is the tool; your argument is the work.
The ten topics below map to the lecture series and tutorials. The strategy card at the bottom distils Drew’s exam-tips handout, the IRAC formula and the theorists you can lift directly into a script.
The Ten Examinable Topics
What is International Law?
Definition, sources, the “is it really law?” question (Austin, Hart, Koskenniemi). The decentralised system: no legislature, no compulsory court, no police force. Sovereignty, consent, the Lotus presumption.
Foundational · Lectures 1–2 02Sources of International Law — Custom
Article 38(1)(b) ICJ Statute. Two elements: state practice + opinio juris. North Sea Continental Shelf, Asylum, Nicaragua, Nuclear Weapons. Specially affected states, persistent objector, instant custom.
Lecture · Sources I 03Sources of International Law — Treaties
VCLT 1969. Consent (Articles 11–17), reservations (Genocide Reservations, Belilos, DRC v Rwanda), interpretation (Articles 31–32), pacta sunt servanda, jus cogens (Article 53), invalidity, unequal treaties.
Lecture · Sources II 04Critical Perspectives on International Law
TWAIL: Chimni’s 2006 manifesto, Anghie’s Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law, Mutua, Okafor. Koskenniemi’s indeterminacy, Charlesworth’s feminist critique, Marxist accounts of international law as legitimating capital.
Theme · runs through every topic 05Statehood and Recognition
Montevideo Convention 1933 criteria. Declaratory v constitutive theories. Aaland Islands, Yugoslavia Arbitration, Bosnia 1993, Palestine 2012/2024, Kosovo, the South African homelands. Self-determination as a corrective.
Lecture · Week 4 06Jurisdiction and Immunities
Bases of prescriptive jurisdiction (territorial, nationality, protective, universal). State Immunity Act 1978. Absolute → restrictive immunity, jure imperii v jure gestionis, the commercial and tort exceptions. Germany v Italy.
Lecture · State Immunity 07Immunities and Torture
The jus cogens-trumps-immunity argument. Pinochet (No 3), Al-Adsani v UK, Jones v Saudi Arabia, Germany v Italy, Furundzija. Procedure v substance (Hazel Fox). The civil/criminal divide.
Lecture · State Immunity 08State Responsibility
ILC Articles on State Responsibility 2001. Articles 1, 2, 4–11 (attribution). Effective control v overall control: Nicaragua, Tadić, Bosnia v Serbia. Tehran Hostages, Caire Claim, Velazquez Rodriguez. Erga omnes (Article 48).
Lecture · State Responsibility 09UN and Collective Security
Article 2(4) prohibition on force; Article 51 self-defence (Caroline test, Nicaragua, Oil Platforms, Wall AO, Armed Activities); Chapter VII (Articles 39–42). Authorisation in Iraq 1990, Libya 2011. Humanitarian intervention.
Lecture · Use of Force 10Iraq 2003 and Iran 2026
Iraq: revival, the second-resolution question, the Bush doctrine of pre-emption, the Goldsmith advice. Iran 2026: the US Article-51 letter of 10 March, imminence in the Caroline sense, anticipatory v pre-emptive self-defence.
Lecture · Use of Force II