session 3. international telecommunications law.

Session 3 looks at the telecommunications rules at the international level. This entails an analysis of the law and policies of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which happens to be the oldest intergovernmental organization, as well as an enquiry into the rules related to satellite communications. We will also explore how the communications rules have changed over time and how new regulatory models, which move away from the traditional inter-national cooperation, have emerged.

Reading materials 
Walden, International Telecommunications
MacKinnon, United Nations and the Internet: It's Complicated, Foreign Policy, August 2012

Optional:
Palfrey and Gasser, Interop, chapter 1
Benkler, The Wealth of Networks, chapter 11
Burri, Defining Regulatory Objectives for Contemporary Electronic Communications: Between a Rock and a Hard Place 12 IJCLP (2008): 274-312

Here are the slides for session 3.

session 2. the international human rights framework.

It is the objective of session two to present the international human rights framework of pertinence to media. The different dimensions of the freedom of expression will thus be central to our analysis. We will look at the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights but also discuss the law and practice developed under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
I urge you to read the case Demuth v. Switzerland before the session, so we could discuss it in more detail.

Reading materials
Jorgensen, Freedom of Expression
Marauhn, Freedom of Expression (ECHR)

Legal texts:
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR)

Case:
Demuth v. Switzerland, ECtHR

Optional:
Mira Burri, Immer mehr staatlich verordnete Grenzen im Cyberspace (NZZ, October 2010) (in German)$$

Here are the slides of session 2.

session 1. introduction to the course and overview of its core topics.

The objective of the first session of the course is to get you acquainted with contemporary media as a specific subject matter of regulation. Amongst others, questions to be addressed are: What are the economic and societal justifications for regulating media? Have these rationales been modified over time as the media landscape has profoundly changed? What is international media law? What are its building blocks and how are they reflected in the course's structure?

Organizational sides of the course will also be clarified and the pertinent questions answered.

Reading materials:
Flew, New Media: An Introduction
Sauvé and Steinfatt, Multilateral Rules on Trade and Culture (only pages 326-339; the entire article for session 10)

Optional:
Benkler, The Wealth of Networks, chapter 1 (background text; also useful for subsequent sessions)
Jenkins, Convergence? I Diverge
Burri, New Technologies, New Patterns of Consumer/Business Behaviour and Their Implications for Audiovisual Media Regulation

Here are the slides for session 1.

welcome 2014.

The course international law of contemporary media of the University of Bern will take place in the spring term 2014 (starting on 17 February), every Tuesday from 2 to 4 pm (in the University's Main Building, Room 115). 
The course will bring your ECTS account 5 credits. The teaching language as well as that of the materials will be English.
I warmly welcome you and look forward to an engaging and interesting course.

Description
The course provides an introduction to the current issues in the regulation of media at the international level, covering the pertinent human rights norms, the rules of the World Trade Organization, and the relevant topics of international telecommunications, Internet governance and intellectual property law. New digital media build the specific focus of the course.
The course is structured into 13 weekly two-hour lectures with two interactive sessions in a debate format. Each student will be asked to participate in an interactive session at least once.
This participation will be assessed and constitutes 30% of the final note.
The final exam is oral and 'open-book'.

Participation
The course is primarily directed at students of law at the master level. It is however also particularly suitable for media and communications studies students, who would like to learn more about the international regulation of media, or who share a special interest in new media and their policy and legal implications.

For a non-binding enrolment in the course, please send a short note to Tobias Naef: tobias.naef@iew.unibe.ch. 

Literature
There is no particular script or textbook needed for the course. The relevant to each session readings will be provided electronically. All links will be made available here on this blog.

The books listed on the right-hand side of the blog are not necessarily part of the reading list. They are however relevant to the topics dealt with in the course and of potential interest to students eager to know more about digital media and their economic, social, political and cultural implications. All these books are made available under the creative commons licence and can be downloaded for non-commercial use free of charge.