This module is a resource for lecturers

Key issues

This Module commences by exploring key concepts, such as the rule of law and international cooperation. Framed around the objectives and framework of the CT Strategy, it then examines the different types of international, regional and national 'hard' and 'soft' instruments which are legal sources of the Strategy, such as international treaties and customary international law, resolutions, influential reports, guidelines, standards and so forth. In doing so, it examines an issue of particular importance to the CT Strategy's overall effectiveness, namely the relationship between international law obligations and national constitutions, in particular how the former is incorporated within domestic legal systems, be they 'monist' or 'dualist' in nature. The Module focuses primary on Pillar IV which specifies that the common fight against terrorism should be founded on the promotion of the rule of law, respect for human rights and effective criminal justice systems. The Module then introduces the key principles and instruments of three out of the four international legal regimes underpinning the CT Strategy which recur throughout this University Module Series: international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and international refugee law. International criminal law is examined in Module 4.

The sub-pages to this section provide a descriptive overview of the key issues that lecturers might want to cover with their students when teaching on this topic.

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