The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the interconnectedness of global health with our daily lives and the functioning of societies across borders. However, many crises before COVID-19 have revealed gaps and deficiencies in international cooperation to protect against transnational and international health threats – from influenza pandemics and outbreaks of measles, Ebola, mpox, polio and Zika, to commercial products like tobacco, as well as global change events like the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. The resulting field of international law dedicated to the governance and regulation of global health is Global Health Law.
The course seeks to explore the context and development of global health law and governance, while introducing contemporary case studies and examples. The course provides a critical overview of international health law within the context of the development of contemporary international law as well as the structures and features of global health governance, including key instruments such as the WHO Constitution, the International Health Regulations, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and the proposed Pandemic Treaty. Students will be encouraged to think critically about global health law as a field of international law, as well as its colonial legacies and present, paradigms such as “global health security”, and its development beyond crises.
This course will explore:
- Definition, scope and functions of international law and global health;
- The WHO as the main institutional actor in health governance and its normative role;
- Interactions of public health concerns with international instruments and regimes such as those regulating international trade and investments, human rights, international security and environmental protection;
- The main features and actors of global health governance and their role in the development of global health law; and
- A critical assessment of the adequacy of global health law for the protection and promotion of public health and prospects for their development and reform.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Demonstrate an advanced understanding of how international law regulates health, both in theory and in practice;
- Demonstrate an ability to reflect critically on global health issues and to consider how international organisations deal with health, including the effectiveness of strategies used to address global health issues;
- Demonstrate an advanced understanding of the relationship between international health law and various other bodies of international law and an ability to apply and/or explain how these principles sit within the broader international legal framework;
- Demonstrate an ability to think critically about international health law and to engage in complex analysis of the international law bearing on health; and
- Plan and execute complex legal research with independence in order to produce original scholarship.
Indicative Assessment
- The proposed means of assessment for this course will provide students with at least two pieces of assessment, including one piece during the semester. More information about the means of assessment, including the relationship between the assessment and the learning outcomes of the course, will be available in the Class Summary and on the course WATTLE page. (100) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
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Workload
Classes offered in non-standard sessions will be taught semi-intensively with compulsory contact hours of approximately 26 hours of face to face teaching. The course will also require advanced preparation through assigned readings. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion of this course (class preparation, teaching and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours.
Classes offered during semester periods are expected to have three contact hours per week. Students are generally expected to devote at least 10 hours overall per week to this course. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion of this course (class preparation, teaching and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Students must rely on the approved Class Summary which will be posted to the Programs and Courses site approximately two weeks prior to the commencement of the course.
Preliminary Reading
Students must rely on the approved Class Summary which will be posted to the Programs and Courses site approximately two weeks prior to the commencement of the course.
Assumed Knowledge
Participants must have completed LAWS2250 /LAWS6250 International Law or Principles of International Law (LAWS8182) or equivalent.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 34
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $5280 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $6720 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.