Introduction

Question 1

Def of international law

Answer 1

A set of of rules and principles which govern the relations and dealings of nations and other international entities with each other.

Question 2

What is the aim of international law ?

Answer 2

Help countries to improve their quality of life, Setting rules about how countries and people behave with one another.

Question 3

What is the interpretation of the definition of international law?

Answer 3

It means human right, it could also be about a bunch about education, environmental laws… There is a thousand of documents in IL.
Rules: needed to follow (mandatory) and principles that we should follow bc it is a good thing to do (will be not punished/sanctioned to not follow principles). Ex of rule: we can not do plagiarism. Ex of principle: showing on time to classes, doing our homework.
IN international law, when you do not respect the rules, you are sanctioned. Ex: Russia has invaded Ukraine so it gets sanctioned for that (president can not visit other countries, there are money punishment)
In IL, rules and principles that are not followed can be punished the same way (unlike in national law)
What is NOT international law? Exchanges between countries (Coef the PP about)

Question 4

What is public international law?

Answer 4

Law of nations
-relations between several nations
- nations and the citizens of others nations
sources : customary law and conventional agreements- treaties, conventions, charters, judicials decisions, judicial writings

Question 5

What is private international law ?

Answer 5

Conflict of laws
-conflicts between private persons, natural or artificial, arising out of situations having relationship to more than one nation
(sources : a branch of internal law - national and customary law)

Question 6

What is Supranational law ?

Answer 6

• the law of supranational organizations (regional agreements)

European Union law- the first and only example of a supranational lagal framework

Question 7

Who were the subjects of international law in the past ?

Answer 7

in the past : state- the sole subject till tehe creation of the UNited Nations
1949- the International Court of Justice – confirmed that other entities could be subjects of international law

Question 8

Who are the subjects of international law in the past nowadays?

Answer 8

States, Inter-governmental organizations (constituted by states and have states as their members and are based on constitutive treaty), the individual, multinational corporations : possess rights and duties on the international plane

Question 9

what does international law depend on?

Answer 9

authority of international law is dependent upon the voluntary participation of states in its formulation, observance, and enforcement
- involves e.g. the United Nations, maritime law, international criminal law and the Geneva conventions

Question 10

What increased the use and the importance of public international law?

Answer 10

a) the increase in global trade
b) armed conflicts
c) worldwide environmental deterioration
d) awareness of human rights violations
e) increases in international transportation
f) boom in global communications

Question 11

What are the different Primary sources ?

Answer 11

1) Customary law – states follow certain practices generally and consistently out of a sense of legal obligation
2) Conventional Law – derives from national agreements (bilateral or multilateral) was established by a) the UNited NAtions (advisory standards and through inetrnational treaties

Question 12

What is a secondary source?

Answer 12

general principles common to systems of national laws

Question 13

What is the hierarchy of sources ?

Answer 13

• International treaties: The written sign thing is the law that has the most power, that must be applied.
• The second priority is tradition (international customary law)
• General principles. Ex: French ambassador in Canada that Canada wants to kick out. The judge will see which one was not having the good faith.
• Judicial decisions and writings (previsous decisions examined and taken into account by ICJ)

Question 14

Def of soft law

Answer 14

treaties which are non-binding eg. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

Question 15

What are the main examples of primary area of international law?

Answer 15

International Economic Law
International Environmental Law
International Criminal Law
International Human Rights
International Commercial Law
Law of the Sea

Question 16

What is the biggest problem of international law ? Cite an example

Answer 16

The big problem of international law is that not a lot of people care about it. Ex: if you do a criminal activity, you get arrested by the police that enforce the law. After, you go to court and then jell. Nevertheless, in international law, there is no international police, even if we have world judges. And we do not have an international jell. Thus, there is no compulsory judicial system. Countries respect international law bc there are other system that led countries to not break international law.

Question 17

Which sanction is worst that you can do to a country ?

Answer 17

Embargo

Question 18

Who maintain the peace ?

Answer 18

les casques bleues

Question 19

Cite some examples of primary documensts of international law

Answer 19

Draft Declaration on Rights and Duties of States
Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States
Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations
Optional Protocol to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations Concerning Acquisition of Nationality
United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, Including Diplomatic Agents
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
Statute of the International Court of Justice
Charter of the United Nations
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
Optional Protocol to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes
Etc.

Question 20

What are the concerns of public international law ?

Answer 20

group rights,
the treatment of aliens,
the rights of refugees,
international crimes,
nationality problems, and human rights generally
the maintenance of international peace and security
arms control,
the pacific settlement of disputes and the regulation of the use of force in international relations
global environment,
world trade,
global communications

Question 21

enforcement of public international law

Answer 21

no compulsory judicial system;
acceptance of its jurisdiction - based on consent, voluntary; no international executive or legislative
judicial tribunals in certain areas (e.g. trade, human rights) – the International Criminal Court (ICC)
enforcement through the UN Security Council
(violation of the Charter) – the International Court of Justice (ICJ)

Question 22

what is the International Law commission?

Answer 22

was established by the General Assembly, in 1947, to undertake the mandate of the Assembly, under article 13 (1) (a) of the Charter of the United Nations to:
promote the codification of international law
solve problems within both public and private international law
make recommendations as to which issues required to be addressed in international law and the steps desirable to that end
- draft proposals for international conventions on various issues (the commission formulates a plan of work and receives written opinions from governments on the issue in question; final draft is submitted to the General Assembly)
consider questions of international law; submit recommendations for actions to the General Assembly for final approval
work on the initiative of
a government,
an inter-governmental organization,
the General Assembly or
their own

Question 23

Def of a treaty

Answer 23

“Treaty” means an international agreement concluded between States in written form and governed by international law, whether embodied in a single instru ment or in two or more related instruments and whatever its particular designation; Bilateral treaties, Multilateral treaties – (Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaty 1969) - if ratified binding on the parties

Question 24

Def of a charter

Answer 24

Charters are constituent treaties of international organizations ( an institution or committee); they’re the guiding rules and regulations for the functioning of that institute and also might lay down certain limitations for outsiders or participating countries (Definition of key terms used in the UN Treaty Collection)
Eg. UN Charter, ICJ Charter

Question 25

def of a convention

Answer 25

1. (broader meaning ) all international agreements
   2. ( specific meaning) formal multilateral treaties with a broad number of parties; open for participation by the international community as a whole, or by a large number of states. Usually the instruments negotiated under the auspices of an international organization (e.g. Convention on Biological Diversity of 1992, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969) (Definition of key terms used in the UN Treaty Collection)

Question 26

What is the difference between signed paper/written documents ?

Answer 26

• Treaty. Ex: signed a treaty to not attack each other. Signed by several countries.
• Charter is like a constitution. Basic rule of a International Organization. Said what you can do, not do to the countries that join the organization.
• Convention: on specific subject (discrimination, equality btwn gender, biological diversity
• Treaty: two or several countries have signed an agreement that deals with what they can and cannot do.
• Charter: is like a constitution, legal documents about how citizens and the government functions and how they must behave. Ex: Québec, law 21, public Québec must be secular, but it is kind against the constitution. Charter is like a constitution but at the international level. It is the document for organisations that countries which want to be part of this organisation must sign.
• Convention: guiding document of united Nations. It applies to every country that want to join.

Question 27

What is the main steps of The treaty making process ?

Answer 27

-accesion
-signature
-ratification
-acceptance/approval
-reservation
-adoption
-entry into force

Question 28

Def adoption

Answer 28

is the act whereby a state accepts the offer or the opportunity to become a party to a treaty already negotiated and signed by other states. It has the same legal effect as ratification. It usually occurs after the treaty has entered into force.

Question 29

Def of entry in force

Answer 29

a time when a treaty becomes legally binding on the parties to the treaty

Question 30

Def of accesion

Answer 30

is the formal act by which the form and content of a proposed treaty text are established. It takes place through the expression of the consent of the states participating in the treaty making process.

Question 31

Def ratification

Answer 31

the international act whereby a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty; This institution grants states the necessary time-frame to seek the required approval for the treaty on the domestic level.

Question 32

Def acceptance

Answer 32

has the same legal effect as ratification and consequently express the consent of a state to be bound by a treaty. in the practice of certain states, it has been used instead of ratification when, at a national level, constitutional law does not require the treaty to be ratified by the head state.,

Question 33

Signature def

Answer 33

Signing of a treaty by a representative of a state by which the signatory state expresses the willingness to continue the treaty-making process

Question 34

Def reservation

Answer 34

is a declaration made by a state by which it wants to exclude or alter the legal effect of certain provisions of the treaty in their application to that state. It enables a state to accept a multilateral treaty as a whole by giving it the possibility not to apply certain provisions with which it does not want to comply.

Question 35

Where does international law come from?

Answer 35

Treaties: States essentially sign agreements or contracts that act as promises.

Custom: Repetitive interactive behavior that becomes seen as normal and legitimate guidelines for future behavior.

General Principles of Law: Violations of what is seen as ethical, moral, or other law.

Legal Scholarship: Precedence of past cases.

Question 36

What is COP (Conference of parties) ?

Answer 36

conference of the countries that signed a convention

Question 37

Basic facts about IGOS

Answer 37

States are members of IGOs
States are not members of NGOs
There are over 1,000 IGOs
There are over 30,000 NGOs

IGOs can have one function or many
NGOs usually have one function, like Red Cross

Question 38

NGO

Answer 38

More specialized in function than some IGOs

Funding and participants are citizens from many countries with similar interests, such as Doctors Without Borders, Green Peace, Red Cross, etc.

Not all NGOs are directly interested in politics and instead focus on culture, recreation, etc.

More focus on IGOs than NGOs, but NGOs can be important such as Amnesty International or Green Peace in affecting countries policies or behavior.

Question 39

Goal of IGO

Answer 39

Foster cooperation in specific areas
Peace, economics, education, health, culture.

Help enforce or verify treaties or other state agreements

Help resolve conflicts and disputes
arbitration, mediation, adjudication, peace-keeping

Help spread norms such as democracy, capitalism, environmentalism, or human rights.

Question 40

Sucessful and unsucessful IGO

Answer 40

Some IGOs are very successful: NATO, European Union, IMF, and many mundane organizations in Europe, especially Scandinavia.

Others have moderate success: Mercosur, Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC), Organization for African Unity, Arab League

Others have not been successful: South Asian Area of Cooperation (SAARC), Andean Group, etc.

Some IGOs are not very political: African Groundnut Council, others such as OPEC are highly contentious.

Question 41

What does the UN do ?

Answer 41

Multiple function: Peace, Development, Literacy, Health, Human Rights, Labor Relations, etc.

IMF, WTO, World Court, and many other organizations are actually part of UN system.

Thus, too simple to say that the UN is effective or not and it more depends on the topic.

Question 42

Structure of UN

Answer 42

General Assembly: Almost all states represented and one vote each.
Security Council: 15 members, five permanent with veto power, other ten rotate for 5 year terms with no veto power.
Secretariat: Administrative body of UN headed by Secretary-General, current Kofi Annan. Staffed with international bureacuracy.
Other UN agencies and programs including UNICEF (UN Children’s Fund), IAEA, World Health Organization (WHO), etc.