1: Basic Concepts of PIL

Question 1

general and simple definition of IL

Answer 1

PIL is law applicable on the international community

significant because it shows us the difference between the national and international community

horizontal and above the state-level (supranational level) as opposed to vertical level national and state law

intranational law applies to international practice and conduct, influences and restricts state behaviour

Question 2

necessary sociological link - ubi societies, ibi jus

Answer 2

every society needs law

Question 3

what does law offer?

Answer 3

common lowest denominator that will unite all actors to maintain cohesion and to benefit from unity

IL as the rules of the game of the world: aims to regulate relations in an intranational community

Question 4

3 perspectives to address PIL

Answer 4

who does IL apply to? who creates IL? who is concerned by IL? what is the international community (subjects of IL)?

where do we find the rules? how is IL created?
- reference to sources of IL

what does IL regulate? what is its content or what are its rules? what are the themes/domains that are regulated by IL?

Question 5

international community

Answer 5

originally an interstate community - only counted sovereign states as being the subjects

Question 6

how did the meaning of an international community change?

Answer 6

creation of international organisations
- mainly after WWII but started at the end of the 19th century where states create common international institutions where they delegate/transfer some powers and charge them to administer them

granting an international legal subjectivity to individuals

• the individual/human being now at the centre of any world legal order (had to wait until WWII to realise this)
• extraction of individuals from domestic jurisdictions of the state above the rigid cover of state sovereignty
• grant individuals a world legal protection and at least basic human rights and fundamental freedoms through treaties and custom

Question 7

4 international crimes any individual can be prosecuted for and punished for on an intranational level

Answer 7

crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and acts of aggression

Question 8

2 clusters of international humanitarian law

Answer 8

set of rules applicable during war time

Hague law - legal warfare and forms of conduct

Geneva law - legal protection of non-combatants and civilians

Question 9

7 principles and pillars as basic principles of PIL

Answer 9

sovereign equality

pacta sunt servanda

prohbition to use force

peaceful settlement of disputes

international cooperation

non-intervention

self-determination

Question 10

sovereign equality

Answer 10

horizontal level of international law - cannot coerce a state to sign a treaty

combination of sovereignty and equality: any state is free to join any intranational legal arrangement

state is not subject to any other power of the same nature and the power of the state to decide itself the limits of its powers without any external interference

from a legal point of view, every state is independent and sovereign over its jurisdiction, territory and citizens
- nothing prevents the state from voluntarily giving up its sovereignty, whether it’s partially or wholly (EU)

conflicting with pacta sunt servanta which means that all states have to respect international legal engagements

before law, all states are equal

Question 11

pacta sunt servanda

Answer 11

states shall fulfil in good faith their international obligations and to comply with PIL

Question 12

prohibition to use force

Answer 12

offensive use of force forbidden

settled in the UN charter through Art 2(4)

all force and threat prohibited - both direct/indirect uses of force (invasion or supporting a country from a distance)

use of force against territorial integrity (crossing territories) and against political independence (cyberattacks) also forbidden

exceptions

• UN SC authorisation for humanitarian intervention
• self-defence

argue that these exceptions are existing legal rights by resorting to a custom (non-written and established rule)

Question 13

peaceful settlement of disputes

Answer 13

found in Art 2(3) of the UN Charter

necessary correlation of the prohibition to use force - disputes have to be settled peacefully

different means like negotiation and mediation enumerated in the UN Charter

Question 14

international cooperation

Answer 14

duty of a state to cooperate with one another regardless of political, economic and social systems

references in Art 1 and in the preamble

in compliance with principles of sovereign equality and non-intervention

Question 15

non-intervention

Answer 15

found in Art 2(7) of the UN Charter

universal institutions with the possibility of endangering universal sovereignty and too excessively penetrating domestic affairs of the state and putting pressure, so non-intervention from the UN

confirmation of the principle of sovereign equality

importance of the maintenance of peace and security with an exception for the UN SC who has the right to interfere in domestic affairs if they endanger peace and security

doesn’t say anything about other states interfering in state domestic affairs which is a custom
- principle of non-intervention is a typical custom existing since the 18th or 19th century that is well-respected

intervention typically contains an element of coercion/pressure

scope of domestic jurisdiction as areas not regulated by IL

Question 16

self-determination

Answer 16

concept allowing the people of the colonial territorial unit to freely decide about their political status (original understanding)

• concept in intranational law concerns the colonised nations and was an impetus for decolonisation
• gives suppressed nations the right to gain independence, separate from the metropole, join another independent state or become independent

today, most states are multinational and great diversity of minorities in any state so IL is against a partial or total disruption of states

• doesn’t allow for separation from the state but gives an autonomy to minorities within an existing state
• also invoked in other contexts for autonomy and self-administration

have to be careful about what self-determination is from the legal point of view (Catalonia)

Question 17

do states respect IL typically?

Answer 17

yes because they know it is essential to their place in the world and international community

helps establish their independence

interdependence on other states in terms of peace, trade, security

sense of co-existence and cooperation strong - no state can live in isolation

price of violation very high