By Judith Onwubiko – Kent University Postgraduate LLM Student
It has been 8 weeks since I joined the Kent Law School LLM programme. Reflecting on my previous studies, I think that this has been the most exciting period in my academic life. I wake up every morning eager to attend my lectures and seminars; I am always looking forward to the class discussions. I am specialising in International Law with Medical Law and Ethics. In addition to the compulsory module (LW919: Legal Research and Writing Skills), I am taking 3 modules this term: Public International Law, Legal Aspects of Contemporary International Problems, and Foundations of the English Legal System.
I have learnt from my Public International Law lectures that the international legal order has two foundational issues:
- International law is state-centric. This has very serious implications for the international legal order. While on the one hand this seems to hold the system together, on the other hand, it tends to inhibit the growth and development of the system. Thereby bringing to question the relevance of a less-developing international legal order for a continually developing world.
- International law is euro-centric. This is somewhat tied to the problem of state-centrism. The international legal order has been built on very European foundations. While this seemed ok initially, it became problematic as soon as colonialism ended and independent states began to sign up to the system. Of course these independent states could not ‘reject’ the system since their independence was rooted in it. Since the attainment of independence is based on international law, attaining independence is invariably accepting the system. Although there has been some changes to the international legal order, these changes have not really dealt with the problem of euro-centrism. Instead of alleviating euro-centrism, they tend disguise and reinforce it. Of course the difficulty of bringing change to the international legal order is due to its state-centric nature.
The Legal Aspects of Contemporary International Problems lectures have helped bring these issues to light in relation to contemporary international problems. State-centrism and euro-centrism are at the centre of most international problems; including problems relating to the use of drones, the use of torture, arms trade, military interventions and even the ongoing refugee crisis. These problems have also been fostered by the attitude of states to the international law provisions that regulate these areas. Both powerful and less powerful states are guilty of this. However, the powerful states tend to easily get away with it. This exercise of what looks like imperial power weakens the international legal system and questions its significance.
The lectures organised by the Centre for Critical International Law (CECIL) have been great so far. The lecture with Sundhya Pahuja on International Law and the Making of the World was very insightful. She explored the imperial/euro-centric nature of the international legal system and how the concept of ‘development’, as a machine, has been used to disguise and prolong imperialism. I had never thought that the concept of development could have such imperial connotations. That although the colonies are now independent, they are still bound to the yoke of the imperialists. And development, with the indebtedness that comes with it, is one of those yokes used to bind the independent states to their colonial masters. Most importantly, international law is the platform upon which this imperialism takes place.
I attribute these understandings of international law to the critical approach employed by the law school in its teaching of law. My lecturers have been very good at stimulating critical thinking through the assigned readings and the class discussions. The class discussions are very engaging and this has been very useful for me. In relation to the assigned reading, they haven’t always been so easy to grasp. Though the lecturers and other academic staff have been very helpful in this regard; always willing to take on your questions and broaden your understanding. Also, sometimes the readings are so much they tend to take up your entire weekend. I guess that’s the price you have to pay for being a postgraduate.
Since starting my LLM at Kent I have met with very wonderful people from different nationalities and with different cultures and experiences. What I enjoy the most is listening to them talk about their various experiences during the class discussions. The contribution of other students to the class discussions helps me relate with the subject more closely and understand it better. The conversations I have had with other students outside the classroom have also been very useful.
So far, my expectations for the Kent LLM has been exceeded and I hope it gets even better.