More than 200,000 students have taken CWRU School of Law’s free online international criminal law course.
With frequent news reports of war crimes in countries such as Ukraine, Gaza, Syria, Sudan and Yemen over the last decade, international criminal law has been a topic of interest for many people—more than 200,000 to be precise.
Coursera, a global MOOC provider established in 2012 by two Stanford University professors, works with universities, including Case Western Reserve, to offer online courses, certifications and degrees for a variety of subjects. Soon after its founding, Michael Scharf, CWRU’s Joseph C. Hostetler - BakerHostetler Professor of Law, was invited to become one of Coursera’s first instructors.
The course comprises eight one-hour units, covering war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, terrorism, piracy, extradition and international criminal trials. There are reading and writing assignments, as well as quizzes.