Discussion — 3 units. This course provides an overview of the structure and basic principles of international environmental law and policy. The course considers the challenge of addressing global environmental problems in a system characterized by multiple sovereign governments, the regulatory limitations of U.S. law, and the basic structure and principles of international environmental law, as well as substantive areas such as climate change, biodiversity and wildlife protection, and the intersection of international trade and the environment.
Discussion — 2 units. This seminar will provide an overview of the theory and practice of human rights law. The course requirements include weekly discussion responses, a seminar paper (which can fulfill the writing requirement), and active class participation. Topics covered include the major human rights treaties and institutions; the universality of human rights; women’s human rights; human rights and digital technology; and human rights advocacy and enforcement.
The UC Davis Journal of International Law and Policy publishes semi-annually and strives to contribute pertinent and interesting scholarly works to the field of international law. The following student positions comprise the enrollment of this journal:
Seminar — 3 units. The seminar focuses on legal relations between Native nations and the federal and state governments in the United States. The course will consider tribal sovereignty in light of the jurisdictional conflicts that dominate this area of law, including specific areas such as land rights, hunting and fishing rights, family law, gaming regulation, taxation, sacred sites, and criminal law. The course will also consider historical and critical perspectives, constitutional issues pertaining to tribes, and questions of federal policy.
Discussion — 2 or 3 units. A study of how law operates across state and national borders. The topics covered include choice of applicable law in transactions involving multiple jurisdictions, recognition of judgments, and the exercise of jurisdiction. Particular emphasis will be given to conflicts analysis in transnational cases. The course deals with problems practitioners frequently encounter in a wide variety of fields, from commercial law to family law to law in cyberspace.
Discussion — 3 units. This course examines the fundamentals of public international law in the context of contemporary world affairs. Topics covered include sources of international law, treaty formation and interpretation, recognition of states and governments, jurisdiction and immunities, the relationship between national and international law, the international obligations of states, individuals, and other actors, the role of the United Nations, international dispute settlement, the use of force and law of armed conflict, and international criminal law.
Discussion — 3 units. This course will introduce students to the international aspects of taxation and how the regime bears on broader social debates. The course will begin by discussing the idea of worldwide taxation, particularly as applied to individuals and as intersecting with immigration law. Then the course will proceed to discussing source of income definitions in American tax law; concepts in inbound taxation i.e. the U.S. taxation of foreign persons; and then concepts in outbound taxation i.e. the U.S. taxation of foreign income.
Skills — 3 units. This seminar will provide students with an introduction to the theory and practice of international arbitration and familiarize them with the framework of international treaties and national laws that undergird the international arbitral system. We will analyze the elements of an international arbitration clause, and examine the relevance of the stipulated arbitration rules, the agreed-upon place of arbitration, and contractual options concerning arbitrator selection.
