session 3. international telecommunication rules.

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. The session includes also 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 co-operation, have emerged. The session will conclude with an analysis of current net neutrality initiatives.

Reading materials
Walden, International Telecommunications 
 

Optional
Palfrey and Gasser, Interop, chapter 1 
Benkler, The Wealth of Networks, chapter 11
MacKinnon, United Nations and the Internet: It's Complicated, Foreign Policy, August 2012
US Federal Communication Commission, Open Internet Press Release, 2015

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)$$

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)
Burri, New Technologies, New Patterns of Consumer/Business Behaviour and Their Implications for Audiovisual Media Regulation

A great interactive presentation on why the Internet matters, by Prof. Jonathan Zittrain, Harvard University can be found here. 

welcome 2016.

This blog is meant to accompany the course 'International Law of Contemporary Media' that I will be teaching in the fall semester 2016/2017 at the University of Lucerne and the University of Bern. 

For specific information about the rooms, schedule, etc., please consult the respective online learning platforms of OLAT and ILIAS.

The information of this blog will be generic and concern both courses. 

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.

Structure and participation

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'.

Target audience
The course is primarily directed at students of law at the master level. It is however also particularly suitable for media and communications studies or political science 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.


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, as well as on ILIAS and OLAT.

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.

I welcome you and look forward to an interesting course with fruitful discussions.