Undergraduate Course: Why Rules? Law and Legitimacy in the Rules-based International Order (LAWS10305)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The core components of the course involve analysing changes in law and politics at national, transnational and international levels. In particular it looks at whether the current conceptual tools and models for law and legitimacy based on state sovereignty are adequate in understanding legal practice and legitimacy in globalised world. It will also analyse new models and proposals for reconceptualising law and mechanisms of legitimacy in a globalised world. Subject matter-wise, the course involves a blend of constitutional law, legal theory, international law with some elements of private law, private international law, human rights law and EU law. |
| Course description |
The world is awash with global problems: climate change, war, environmental degradation, trade tariffs, poverty, wealth inequalities, human rights violations and rising authoritarianism to name but a few. Thus the governing institutions which make up what have conventionally be called the ¿rules-based international order¿ from the United Nations, the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the World Trade organization, the International Labour organization to the European Court of Human Rights and the European Union seem more necessary than ever. Yet in an era of rising authoritarianism and populism, rarely has their authority and very existence been so contested.
Behind the political backlash to the rules based international order lie legal frameworks which prompts a deeper question: where is the law in the rules-based international order ¿ and whose values does it serve? In this course we will try to understand the law at the foundation of these frameworks and institutions, as well as the questions of legitimacy which hang over them.
We will address questions such as:
¿ How should we understand the ¿rules¿ in the rules-based international Order as well as their claims to authority?
¿ To what extent is legal pluralism a useful lens with which to understand the rules-based International Order?
¿ What is legitimacy and how does it apply to the legal frameworks and institutions of the rules based international order?
¿ Is the rules based international order the cause or the solution to the current rise of authoritarianism?
Through structured debates, critical analysis, and engagement with real-world controversies, we will draw on international law, legal theory and political theory to explore these pressing questions.
This course is ideal for students interested in international law, human rights, global justice, policy, legal theory, political theory or academic research who wish to get a better understanding of contemporary global problems, the institutions and frameworks which try to address them, as well as the current backlash against those very institutions.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Spaces on this course are allocated as part of the Law Honours Course Allocation process. Places are generally only available to students who must take Law courses. To request a space on this course, please email Law.courseselection@ed.ac.uk |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | This course is only open to visiting students coming through a direct exchange with the School of Law (including Erasmus students on a Law-specific Exchange). Exchange students outside of Law and independent study abroad students are not eligible to enrol in this course, with no exceptions.
**Please note that Honours Law courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces.**
Priority will be given to students studying on exchange within the Law department, and it is highly unlikely that there will be additional spaces for general exchange students & independent study abroad students to enrol; we will look into this on a case-by-case basis in September/January. Visiting students are advised to bear in mind that enrolment in specific courses can never be guaranteed, and you may need to be flexible in finding alternatives in case your preferred courses have no available space.
These enrolments are managed strictly by the Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
80 %,
Practical Exam
20 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
4000 word research project worth (80%)
Participation in a project title workshop (20%) |
| Feedback |
Students will have the opportunity to either write a critical summary of one of the prescribed readings for the course or provide a draft table of contents on the coursework essay for which they will receive critical feedback. Students will also receive feedback on the book review, and on the final essay. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Knowledge and understanding Demonstrate an understanding of some of the legal frameworks and institutions that make up the rules-based international order and articulate the foundational legal principles upon which they are built.
- Practice Apply theoretical concepts of legitimacy, legal pluralism, and international law to analyse real-world controversies and contemporary global problems such as climate change, trade disputes, human rights violations, and the rise of authoritarianism.
- Generic cognitive skills Critically evaluate the authority and legitimacy claims of international legal frameworks and institutions, and assess the extent to which the rules-based international order functions as either a cause of or solution to current global challenges.
- Communication, numeracy and IT skills Communicate complex legal and political arguments clearly and persuasively through structured debate, written analysis, and reasoned engagement with competing theoretical perspectives on international law and legitimacy.
- Autonomy, accountability and working with others Work collaboratively in structured debates to develop independent, evidence-based positions on contested questions concerning the legitimacy of global institutions, whilst demonstrating accountability to rigorous legal and theoretical reasoning.
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Reading List
Intimations of global law, Neil Walker 1960, Cambridge, United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press ;2015
Legality's borders: an essay in general jurisprudence, Keith Charles Culver 1969- Michael Giudice
New York ; Oxford : Oxford University Press ;2010
Authorities conflicts, cooperation, and transnational legal theory, Nicole Roughan, Oxford : Oxford University Press ;2014
Ruling the world? : constitutionalism, international law, and global governance, Jeffrey L. Dunoff 1960-; Joel P Trachtman, Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press ;2009 |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Law,Legitimacy,Globalisation,Global Constitutionalism,Global Democracy |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Cormac Mac Amhlaigh
Tel:
Email: cormac.mac.amhlaigh@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Lauren McCrory-Irving
Tel:
Email: lmccrory@ed.ac.uk |
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