International Law

Question 1

What is the definition of “International Law” ?

Answer 1

Embodies a set of basic principles mandating what countries may or may not do, and under what conditions the rules apply

Question 2

Who is considered the “father of international law”?

Answer 2

Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) who was a Dutch scholar and statesman and codified laws of war and peace.

Question 3

What has been considered the treaty as the basis of international law?

Answer 3

Peace of Westphalia (1648)

Question 4

What was the Peace of Westphalia?

Answer 4

Series of peace treaties signed between May and October 1648 in Osnabrück and Münster. These treaties ended the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years’ War (1568–1648) between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the independence of the Dutch Republic.

Question 5

_________ rather than legal and ethical principles provided the means to a relatively stable world order by the 19th century.

Answer 5

Deterrants

Question 6

The Covenant of te League of Nations (1920), the Kellog-Briand Pact (1929), and the United Nations Charter (1945) all …

Answer 6

Emphasized peaceful relations among nations, but the use of force continues to be employed to achieve political ends.

Question 7

What is the Kellog-Briand Pact (1928)?

Answer 7

was a 1928 international agreement in which signatory states promised not to use war to resolve “disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them”. Parties failing to abide by this promise “should be denied of the benefits furnished by this treaty”. It was signed by Germany, France and the United States on August 27, 1928, and by most other nations soon after. Sponsored by France and the U.S., the Pact renounced the use of war and called for the peaceful settlement of disputes. Similar provisions were incorporated into the UN Charter and other treaties and it became a stepping stone to a more activist American policy. It is named after its authors, United States Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg and French foreign minister Aristide Briand.

Question 8

What are examples of attempts to replace armed conflict with the rule of law?

Answer 8

• The International Court of Justice
• The judicial arm of the United Nations
• The Permanent Court of International Justice (the predecessor of the judicial arm of the UN)

Question 9

Why is the World Court ineffective?

Answer 9

• Nation-states are reluctant to submit vital questions to the Court
• Lack of consensus as to the norms to be applied

Question 10

What is the UN Charter?

Answer 10

• Seeks to humanize scene in its admonition (warning) that all member nations assist victims of aggression.
• Negates old idea of neutrality
• Dismisses tradition of war as tool for resolution of disputes between nation-states of equal legal status
• Aggressive conflicts can be categorized as “crimes against humanity” and individuals may be held personally accountable for launching them

Question 11

What are critics of international law?

Answer 11

• Rise of multiculturalism has called into question the relevance of applying Western legal traditions to the global community
• Seen as an instrument of the powerful nations in pursuit of their aims at the expense of weaker nations
• Strong nation-states are in position to both enforce intentional law and violate it w/o fear of reprisal
• Ultimately, International law is claimed to be an instrument to maintain the status quo