LLB III - International Law - 17 June - Dr Ada Ama Njoku

International Law Exam Preparation Focus Areas
📌 The international law exam paper is described as "packed and heavy," requiring detailed answers, as over 90% of it consists of essay-style questions.
📌 Students are advised to focus study efforts on core principles (positivism vs. natural law), customary international law, use of force/self-defense (Art. 2(4), Art. 51 of the UN Charter), treaties, state responsibility, enforcement via the UN system, treatment of aliens/refugees, and extradition/deportation.
📌 Questions will be randomized, meaning students across the same sitting may receive different questions, necessitating comprehensive review of focus areas.
📌 The exam is marked out of 100 marks, requiring students to answer four questions, each worth 25 marks.

Legal Concepts and Definitions
⚖️ Natural Law focuses on what the law *ought to be* and emphasizes morality, whereas Positivism focuses on what the law *is*, disregarding moral principles.
⚖️ Customary International Law comprises norms developed through consistent state practice recognized as legally obligatory, contrasting with Soft Law (non-binding instruments like resolutions).
⚖️ Treaties are formal, legally binding agreements between states (or states/IOs) governed by international law; written treaties are covered by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT).
⚖️ Extradition involves cooperation between at least two states for criminal justice purposes, while Deportation is a unilateral act by a single state, often unrelated to criminal justice (e.g., visa violations).

Exam Answering Strategy and Legal Opinion
✍️ Students should divide their 3-hour exam time equally among the four questions, timing themselves for each section to ensure allocation covers all parts.
✍️ When asked for a legal opinion, the justification *must* be founded on the law (legislation, case law, jurists), whether agreeing or disagreeing with the existing law (e.g., using legal basis to argue against the death penalty).
✍️ For a 25-mark essay, structure the answer by breaking down the prompt into sections (e.g., 4-5 distinct parts) and allocating marks accordingly, focusing only on important aspects taught in class.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ The instructor explicitly advises against dwelling too long on the history of international law; focus must remain on core principles and specific chapters.
➡️ When answering opinion-based questions, do not reiterate the cited law in the conclusion; instead, reference the law briefly in your own words to support your judgment.
➡️ To manage the heavy workload, students should use their discretion based on class instruction to determine which aspects within large chapters (like Treaties) are most relevant and important.
➡️ For essay questions, structure responses around the components implied in the prompt (e.g., define, discuss elements, discuss enforcement) to ensure all allocated marks are addressed systematically.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Feb 17, 2026, 16:19 UTC