KRIM4956 – International Criminal Justice and Mass Violence

Course content

The course addresses international calls to "do justice" in the aftermath of mass violence and international crimes, and their manifestations in international criminal tribunals and accountability processes. The course is based on discussions of course literature, different analytical perspectives and empirical case studies.

We address the rationales behind and outcomes of international criminalization processes and related re-presentations of victims and perpetrators of mass violence. While the course emphasizes the special contribution the criminological and socio-legal perspectives can bring to the study of mass violence and international criminal justice, it also crosses disciplinary boundaries and emphasizes a variety of approaches to these issues.

With literature suggestions as a point of departure, each lecture will present and discuss the current status of research related to the given theme. The following themes form the main content and focus of the course:

1. the emergence and development of international criminal courts;

2. the legitimacy of international criminal justice and of the International Criminal Court in particular;

3. re-presentations of victims and victims' justice;

4. re-presentations of perpetrators and international punishment;

5. contemporary developments in international criminal justice in response to current conflicts, shifting geopolitics and new technologies.

Learning outcome

Knowledge, at the end of the course, Master students are expected to:

• have a thorough understanding of the central discussions and positions of how to deal with mass violence and international crimes
• know how international criminal justice has developed
• know and be able to discuss the contributions of different theoretical perspectives on justice in the aftermath of mass violence and international crimes
• be able to weigh potential prospects and limitations of criminal justice responses to mass atrocities up against each other
• know general trends in (re)presentations of victims and perpetrators and be able to reflect on potential consequences such understandings may have.

Skills, at the end of the course, students are expected to:

• be able to apply central concepts, theories and empirical examples
• be able to discuss and problematize central themes addressed through the course
• be able to critically discuss how notions of law and politics intersect and affect responses to mass violence and international crimes
• be able to present and discuss historical trends and developments addressed in lectures and literature
• be able to reflect on the relationship between theory and empirical data.

Competences, at the end of the course, students have:

• enhanced their respect and understanding for social scientific critical thinking and inquiry
• learned what it entails to interpret, analyze and discuss scholarly texts
• developed their capability to critically reflect on the meaning and intersection of law and politics at the international level in relation to how mass violence and international crimes are addressed by the international community.

Admission to the course

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

Students enrolled in other Master`s Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

Overlapping courses

• 10 credits overlap with KRIM2956 – International Criminal Justice and Mass Violence.

Teaching

Lectures, but some student activity is included/expected.

Examination

Students are graded on the basis of a 4-day written home exam.

Maximum length for written home exam on Master’s level is 4000 words. Front page, contents page (optional) and bibliography are not included. If footnotes are used in the text (at the bottom of each page), they are included in the 4000 word limit.

Papers that exceed the 4000 word limit will be rejected, and not graded.

You must familiarize yourself with the rules that apply to exam support materials, and the use of sources and citations. If you violate these rules, you may be suspected of cheating or attempted cheating. You can read about what the university considers cheating, and the consequences of cheating here.

General rules on cheating and plagiarism apply during all exams. You must provide a reference whenever you draw upon another person’s ideas, words or research in your answer to the exam question(s). You cannot copy text directly from textbooks, journal articles, court judgments etc. without highlighting that the text is copied. Verbatim quotes must be put in quotation marks, italicised or otherwise highlighted to clearly mark that they are not the candidate’s own words. Failure to cite sources or highlight quotes in your exam answer constitutes a breach of exam regulations, and will be regarded as cheating.

See an example of how to cite correctly here: Sources and referencing

Any exam at the University of Oslo is being checked for both correct word count and incidents of cheating.

Language of examination

Subjects taught in English will only offer the exam paper in English.

You may write your examination paper in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

Marking criteria: This guide is used by examiners for grading this course.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.