PLS 317 International Law
Spring 2011
Final Exam Essay Questions

Two of the following questions will be randomly selected at the beginning of the final exam.  You will then write on one of them 

1. Your best friend has committed a series of crimes in Peoria and is about to flee to the newest state, the Republic of Texas to avoid prosecution.  Your friend asks you, the expert in international law, "Can I be extradited back to the US?" Lacking knowledge of this specific situation, you cannot give your friend a simple yes or no answer.  Instead, you must give your friend an overview of extradition in international law and what would be the probable elements of a US-Texas extradition treaty--if one exists.

2. Your boss, President Obama, has decided to solve the US budget deficit by making Iraq and its oil part of the United States. Your task is to systematically analyze the major modes of a state acquiring territory, noting any changes that have occurred in the last 100 years, to identify the legal ways under international law Iraq can become a legitimate part of the United States before all US forces are withdrawn in 2012.

3. Create a brief primer, (Sea Zones for Dummies) on the various sea and undersea zones recognized under international law.  Note differences between the zones on fundamental rights and obligations, and discuss how old and how settled the law is in each zone.

4. Briefly review the laws of diplomatic immunity being sure to note purposes, key concepts and conventions, and important differences such as those between missions and consular facilities, and differing immunities of members of a mission.

5. Your boss, President Obama, has asked you to research the various ways the US could avoid its legal obligations under the pending Global Warming Treaty.  Your job is to brief President Obama on the international law about the validity of treaties and the termination of treaties and/or termination of legal responsibilities under treaties.

6   Based upon what you learned in Ardenia v. Rigalla and Vogel article, analyze the legality of (1) the US use of drones in Pakistan and (2) the US operation to capture Bin Laden.  Be objective noting those issues where the law is clear and applies to the situation and those issues where there is a lack of clarity and/or need for judgment.

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