Noelle Higgins

Field Trips as Short-Term Experiential Learning Activities in Legal Education

Field trips offer students the opportunity to learn in a real-world setting and bridge the gap between theory and practice. To date, there has been a dearth of both theoretical and empirical research into the use and effectiveness of field trips as a pedagogic tool in legal education. This article seeks to fill this gap, first by analysing the current research on the use of field trips in higher education across different disciplines and the reported advantages and disadvantages of such usage, and secondly by providing empirical evidence on the benefits of such activities from a field trip, “Living the Law: A Tour of Legal Dublin”, undertaken with students in Dublin City University, Ireland. The tour involved visits to important legal establishments in the city of Dublin, including the Supreme Court, the training institutions of barristers and solicitors in Ireland and a premier legal firm. The article analyses feedback from the students who took this trip on the benefits of such a learning experience.

The Use of Force, Wars of National Liberation and the Right to Self-Determination in the South Ossetian Conflict

The 2008 conflict in South Ossetia, involving both Georgian and Russian armed forces, attracted much international attention and debate. This article seeks to analyse the international legal framework regarding the use of force which should have applied to this conflict. It will first look at the history of, and circumstances surrounding, the South Ossetian conflict, and then examine the jus ad bellum regarding wars of national liberation and aggression. The concept of intervention to protect nationals abroad will also be discussed. These legal paradigms will then be applied to the events of August 2008 in the region of South Ossetia to analyse the legality of the use of force in this conflict.

Field Trips as Teaching Tools in the Law Curriculum

While field trips are often employed in primary and even second level education as a pedagogical tool, aimed at exposing students to real life experiences, such activities are not as popular at third level (Falk and Balling, 1982; Muse et al., 1982; Anderson and Zhang, 2003). However, such experiential learning techniques can be invaluable to university students by allowing them to engage more with the world around them and to see a practical side to their area of study. Scarce indentifies field trips as a form of ‘short-term experiential education’ and comments that ‘what students learn and the way they learn it should be rooted in society and in social experiences’ (Scarce, 1997, p. 219). He locates these activities in the experiential learning framework, as espoused by educationalists such as Dewey (1938) and DeMartini (1983). This short article contains an analysis of academic literature on the use of field trips in third level education and their potential value in the law curriculum. Law is a suitable subject to explore through the use of such trips, as lecturers endeavour to illustrate how the rules and principles propounded in legal instruments and cases influence society and how, concomitantly, societal changes and opinions influence the creation and development of law.

The Role of the Russian Federation in the Pridnestrovian Conflict: An International Humanitarian Law Perspective

Pridnestrovie, a de facto state within the territory of the Republic of Moldova, declared itself independent in September 1990, a declaration that was followed by an armed conflict between Moldova and Pridnestrovie in 1992. To date no settlement has been achieved between the conflicting parties. The situation is complicated by the fact that the Soviet Union and subsequently the Russian Federation has been involved in the conflict in various ways. This article seeks to analyse the conflict from an international humanitarian law perspective. The involvement of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation in the conflict is of great significance because third-party involvement, depending on the level of involvement, has the potential to change the categorisation of a conflict from a non-international armed conflict to an international armed conflict. This in turn impacts on the number and nature of international humanitarian law provisions applicable to the conflict situation. As international humanitarian law provides protection to those fighting in and those caught up in a conflict, it is important to investigate which international humanitarian law provisions could be applicable. The article offers an assessment of the categorisation of the Pridnestrovian conflict, focusing on the role of the Soviet Union and Russian Federation, and the consequent implications for the application of international humanitarian law.

Discussion Interrupted: The Destruction and Protection of Cultural Property under International Law and Islamic Law - the Case of Prosecutor v. Al Mahdi

Al Mahdi was the first case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) which focused on the destruction of cultural property, and indeed, the first case before an international criminal tribunal which had the destruction of cultural property as the sole charge against a jihadist. Despite the many legal sources which seek to regulate attacks on cultural property, the exact contours of the offence are unclear, especially with regard to the rationales for protection and prosecution. Some international instruments seek to prohibit attacks on cultural property because such property constitutes civilian property, while other instruments highlight the need to protect cultural property as a result of its importance to humanity. In addition, the case of Al Mahdi also opened up the issue of justifications for attacks on cultural property as Al Mahdi was a member of the Hisbah, or ‘morality brigade’ in Timbuktu, which had justified the attacks in accordance with Islamic law. In this context, the question arises if membership of the Hisbah could have been seen as a justification for the attacks on cultural property in Mali? This case note first addresses the international legal framework on the protection of cultural property in Section 2. Section 3 then assesses the concept of Hisbah and its operation, including the reasons why the Hisbah group in Mali destroyed cultural property. The next section considers the facts of the Al Mahdi case. Section 5 highlights the shortfalls in the Trial Chamber’s consideration of the rationales for the protection and destruction of cultural property, before the note concludes in Section 6.

Damages as Compensation for Human Rights Violations in Ireland

Human rights are protected in various ways in the Irish legal system, including by the Irish Constitution, by legislation and via international treaties. A number of remedies are provided for violations of such rights, including compensation. This chapter sets out the Irish legal framework which seeks to protect human rights and analyses when damages are available as a remedy for violations of these rights. The first section provides a brief overview of the human rights protection system in Ireland. The second section discusses when damages are available for breach of non-constitutional rights while the third section focuses on constitutional rights and damages. Section 8.4 discusses the types of damages available under Irish law. Section 8.5 analyses the remedies, including damages, available under the European Convention on Human Rights regime. Finally, Section 8.6 focuses on the protection of human rights and corollary damages under the international human rights treaty system.

Simulating the Law: Experiential 'Teachniques' in the Modern Law Curricula

The concept of arguing aspects of legal scenarios in order to facilitate student learning within the law curriculum originated in the vocational Inns of Court in 14th century England (Dickerson, 2000). Nowadays, simulations of court proceedings, such as moot courts and mock trials, are widely employed as educational tools in law modules in third level institutions, both academic and vocational, around the world (Knerr et al., 2001) in order to foster advocacy and legal reasoning skills (Hernandez, 1998). However, there is a dearth of empirical research (with the exception of Lynch, 1996 and Keyes & Whincop, 1997) on the actual benefits of such experiential learning techniques for students. The majority of literature on this topic tends to rely heavily on anecdotal evidence, provided by law lecturers on how he/she perceived that such tools benefitted his/her students (Gaubatz, 1981; Kenety, 1995; Hernandez, 1998). In order to properly evaluate whether or when such experiential learning techniques should be included in a law curriculum, a project was carried out in the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University in the academic year 2008 - 2009, in order to assess their benefits as a pedagogical tool at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Perhaps differing from the approach to simulations which is adopted in many law courses in third level institutions, whereby there is a stand-alone ‘Moot Court’ module in place, the project carried out at DCU integrated the experiential learning techniques into substantive modules within the law curriculum.