Law of Treaties

SubjectLaw of Treaties
Semester3/4 semester
TypeOptional
ECTS6 ECTS
Study programme:Law studies (Master)
Primary language:Slovene

Prerequisits:
General conditions for enrolment into the Master Programme.

Content:
1. General issues about treaties
1.1 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treateis (1969) and other relevant conventions
1.2 Definition and types of treaties
1.3 Conclusion of treaties and reservations
1.4 Entry into force of treaties and provisional application
1.5 Respect, application and interpretation of treaties
1.6 Amending a treaty
1.7 Invalidity, termination and suspension of treaties.
1.8 Depositary and registration
1.9 State succession regarding treaties

2.Treaties and national law
2.1 General issues regarding the effects of treaties in national legislations
2.2 The status and effects of treaties and Slovenian legal order,
2.3 The procedure of concluding treaties in the Republic of Slovenia
2.4 Constitutional court review of treaties
2.5 Specific treaties in force in Slovenia – review

3.Treaties and the European Union
3.1 The status and effects of treaties in the EU legal order
3.2 Mixed agreements
3.3 Review of treaties by the Court of Justice of the European Union

Readings:

Required readings:

  • Polak Petrič, Ana, Jager Agius, Irena in Zidar, Andrža (ur.): Pravo mednarodnih pogodb: priročnik, strokovni prispevki in dokumenti, Založba Fakultete za družbene vede in Ministrstvo RS za zunanje zadeve, Ljubljana, 2014
  • Auts, Anthony: Modern Treaty Law and Practice, Third Edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2013.
  • Gardiner, Richard: Treaty Interpretation, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2017.
  • Türk, Danilo: Temelji mednarodnega prava, druga izdaja, Gospodarski vestnik, Ljubljana, 2015.
  • Drenik, S.: Mednaroden pogodbe v pravnem redu Republike Slovenije, v: Ana Polak Petrič in drugi: Pravo mednarodnih pogodb: priročnik, strokovni prispevki in dokumenti, Zbirka mednarodno pravo, Ljubljana, Fakulteta za družbene vede, Založba FDV, Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve Republike Slovenije, 2013, str. 33-104.
  • Škrk, Mirjam: Ustavnosodna presoja mednarodnih pogodb, Revus, Ljubljana, 2006, str. 73-96.

Additional literature will be proposed separately each year according to the current topics discussed.

Objectives and competences:

Students will developgeneral competences:

  • In-depth study of the discussed chapters in the field of international law. Expanding the general legal horizon in the field of the optional subjects, which provide a broader view that is extremely important for the establishment of quality decision-making;
  • Development and use of legal syllogism and argumentation, general communication skills, presentation of acquired knowledge inside and outside the organization and in the international environment;
  • Ability to use different interpretive methods of interpreting legal texts;
  • Ability to work independently and in teams, in professional and scientific research work.

Students will develop specifical competences:

  • Acquisition and/or deepening of knowledge in the field of the Law of Treaties;
  • Deepening of the knowledge in the field pf constitutional, national and EU law regarding the effects of treaties in the said legal orders,
  • Ability to transfer theoretical knowledge into practice with the ability to solve more complex cases in the field of treaty law.
  • Ability to address specific professional legal issues using relevant legislation, case-law, interpretative arguments and scientific methods and procedures.

Intended learning outcomes:
After successfully completing the obligations, the student will be able to:

  1. define a problem relating to the Law of Treaties and finding correct solutions;
  2. Independently and correctly applaying the theory and principles of the Law of Treaties, including the case-law of Slovenian courts, CJEU and of international courts and tribunals,
  3. Prepare professional materials for decision makers.

Learning and teaching methods:
Lectures will be conducted through active participation of students on the basis of the Socratic method, case studies, individual and group research work, distance lectures (IKT), presentations, preparation of a seminar paper, debates, guest lectures.

Assessment:

  • a written examination (50%),
  • preparation of a seminar paper (25%)
  • participation and presentation of the case during the seminar (25%)

The condition for the admission to the written examination is a successful presentation of the case and positive grade for a seminar paper.

Lecturer's references:
Dr. Simona Drenik Bavdek graduated in 2000 from the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana, in 2002 she received her master's degree (LL.M) in International law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands, and in 2016 her doctorate degree in international law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana. In 2002, she also attended the Hague Academy of International Law.

She worked in Slovenian diplomacy for 15 years, since 2008 as a Minister Plenipotentiary. She was Head of the International Law Department for four years, Head of the Project Unit for a Pleading before the Arbitration Tribunal and Slovenia's Agent before the Arbitration Tribunal for four years. As a head or a member of diplomatic delegations, she participated in many international or intergovernmental conferences as well as at several negotiations regarding bilateral treaties. She was also a member of a bilateral commission for Nuclear Power Pant Krško, as a member of a supervisory board of the Succession Fund of the Republic of Slovenia.

From 2015 to 2019, she was a Secretary at the Ministry of Justice in the Directorate for Penal Law and Human Rights, and also a member of the Project Group for the execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

Since 2020, she is Counsellor to the Ombudsman, working as the Assistant Head of the Centre for Human Rights at the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia.

In her work and research, she draws from the connection between theory and practice. She is the author of over 50 scientific or professional works. She is a member of the Rule of Law and International Investment Law Committee of the International Law Association (ILA) and of the Legal Working Group of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI).

References:

  • Drenik, S.: Mednaroden pogodbe v pravnem redu Republike Slovenije, v: Ana Polak Petrič in drugi: Pravo mednarodnih pogodb: priročnik, strokovni prispevki in dokumenti, Zbirka mednarodno pravo, Ljubljana, Fakulteta za družbene vede, Založba FDV, Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve Republike Slovenije, 2013, str. 33-104.
  • Drenik, Simona: Praksa sklepanja mednarodnih pogodb v Republiki Sloveniji, v: Javna uprava, letn. 45, št.. 1/2 (2009), str. 121–148.
  • Drenik, Simona: Arbitražni sporazum: potek pogajanj in dosežene rešitve. Pravna praksa, 19. nov. 2009, leto 28, št. 45, str. II-V.
COBISS (presonal bibliographies):
https://bib.cobiss.net/biblioweb/biblio/si/slv/conor/14433635