International organizations and sustainable development

The course aims at exploring in a legal perspective the role played by international organizations in sustainable development. The course will deal with the law of international organizations in general, expanding on aspects that are not covered in depth in the International Law class and stressing in particular the ever-increasing role of the international organizations in the international law arena. Building on the general theory, the course will deal with the United Nations and a number of international organizations active in fields that are of utmost importance for sustainable development (e.g. health, labour, environment, food, cultural heritage). This course aims at providing students with a thorough understanding of the topics examined and a method of analysis apt to face the complex legal issues relating to international organizations and their role in the international legal order.

At the end of the course, students are expected to acquire: - a thorough knowledge and understanding of the role played by international organizations in the international community, with particular regard to sustainable development; - instruments by which knowledge and understanding can be applied to practical (real or moot) cases; - instruments by which judgments can be made and an autonomous opinion can be developed on legal issues relating to IOs; - communication skills, in particular as to the proper use of technical language and terms; - lifelong learning skills in terms of general comprehension of the interaction between IOs and international law.