Exam 2 Flashcards
Under international law a state is an entity that has a…
- Defined territory
- Permanent population
- Under the control of its own government
- Engages in or has capacity to engage in formal —relations with other such entities.
Legal controversy as to whether an entity should be regarded as a state may arise under many situations:
- Breakup of an existing state into a number of states.
- Secession by part of a territory of an existing state.
- Exercised of foreign control over the affairs of state by treaty, unilateral imposition or delegation of authority.
- States that have merged or formed a union.
The principle of self determination provides that
- All peoples have the right to freely determine without external interference their political status, and to
- Pursue their economic, social, and cultural development.
- Every state has the duty to respect this right in accordance with the charter.
General Assembly Resolution 2625 indicates that
Every state shall refrain from any action aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and territorial integrity of any state.
Reference Re Secession of Quebec
Supreme Court of Canada, 1998
Quebec attempted to secede from Canada.
Rule: A people’s right to self-determination cannot be said to grant a right to unilateral secession.
Frontier Dispute Case
(Burkina Faso/Mail)
ICJ 1986
Burkina Faso and Mali submitted a question to the International Court of Justice about a border dispute.
Rule: There is an obligation to respect pre-existing international frontiers in state succession.
What does the General Assembly Res. 2625 do?
encourages nations to maintain friendly relations. It remind them to avoid military occupations of another state’s territory, and avoid the use of force as a means of settling international issues.
Prosecutor v. Tadic
International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia-1996
Tadic claimed that the UN Security Council was not authorized to establish an international criminal tribunal.
Rule: Once the Security Council determines that a situation poses a threat to peace, it has discretion to act.
Membership in international organizations are generally limited to states:
States become members by:
Treaty
Admission
Succession
The American Convention on Human Rights adopted by the Organization of American States provides that:
Every person has a right to a nationality
Every person has the right to the nationality of the state where he was born if he does not have the right to any other nationality.
No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality or the right to change it.
Acquisition of nationality is also expressed under the European Convention on nationality.
It grants nationality to:
- spouses of its nationals
- children of its nationals
- children adopted by a national
- anyone who is born on its territory who reside there lawfully and habitually
- stateless person and recognized refugees lawfully resident on its territory
The 14th amendment to the US constitution states that
“All person born or naturalized in the US are citizens”
Transnational Corporations
They are often private, nongovernmental entities subject to the law of the home and host states. Sometimes they enter into agreements and legal transactions with governments.
Under European Union Law, such private enterprises enjoy rights and are subject to direct regulation.
Jesse Lewis (the David J. Adams) claim(United States v. Britain)
The US claimed that the interpretation of the Treaty of London of 1818 by the Canadian government was incorrect.
Rule: The duty of an international tribunal is to determine from an international perspective how the provisions of a treaty are to be interpreted.
Article 31 of the Vienna Convention provide the “golden rule” of interpretation:
“A treaty should be interpreted in good faith in accordance with the ordinary meaning of the terms of the treaty in their context and in the light of its object and purpose.”
