Current Issues in International Law – (Certificate)

Contents

Is the world safe for democracy? It seems that with every passing day the world is becoming a more dangerous place. The phenomenon of war is not new; the emergence of non-state actors as parties to armed conflicts is. Terrorist activity has spread worldwide. Piracy today is not the pre-19th century romantic version people remember from novels and movies. With each effort to increase individual and collective security, decisions that negatively affect human rights are made. Terrorists are claiming that they are being tortured in the course of their interrogation. Pirates are beginning to finance terrorist activity. Efforts to stop attempted genocides and massive human rights violations through humanitarian intervention are still met with resistance on state sovereignty grounds. How can humanity cope? What are the answers?

The problems are enormously complex. To the above list we add can slavery, international drug trafficing and money laundering. State agencies and core institutions such as banks are facing the new phenomenon of cyberterrorism. The continuing threat of the use of nuclear and/or biological weapons by state and especially non-state actors is a concern that cannot be dismissed. Can the world survive without instituting Big Brother? Or would the acceptance of Big Brother mean we have already lost?

Benjamin Franklin expressed the belief that “people willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both.” What is the balance that must be achieved that will ensure both respect for human rights and global survival?

The course consists of an intensive series of lectures and seminars led by K. Jaak Roosaare, Juris Doctor, who has wide range of experience in international law (including human rights law and the law of war) and international relations from the United States, Estonia and Europe. Also participating as a keynote speaker will be Professor Rein Müllerson, President of Tallinn University Law School. Professor Müllerson, a member of the Institut de Droit International, is a former professor of the University of London’s Kings College and has served on United Nations human rights commissions.